Admonitions on Governing the People: Manual for All Administrators 9780520947702

Citation preview

This page intentionally left blank

Admonitions on Governing the People

The publisher gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the Philip E. Lilienthal Asian Studies Endowment Fund of the University of California Press Foundation, which was established by a major gift from Sally Lilienthal.

∶Ằᚨ᭡ Admonitions on Governing the People Manual for All Administrators

Chŏng Yagyong Translated by

Choi Byonghyon

U NIVERSIT Y OF CALIFOR NIA PR ESS Berkeley

Los Angeles

London

University of California Press, one of the most distinguished university presses in the United States, enriches lives around the world by advancing scholarship in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences. Its activities are supported by the UC Press Foundation and by philanthropic contributions from individuals and institutions. For more information, visit www.ucpress.edu. University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California University of California Press, Ltd. London, England © 2010 by The Regents of the University of California

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Chong, Yag-yong, 1762–1836. [Mongmin simso. English] Admonitions on governing the people : manual for all administrators / Chong Yag-yong cho ; translated by Choi Byonghyon. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-520-26091-7 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Civil ser vice ethics—Korea. 2. Local officials and employees— Korea—Conduct of life. I. Choi, Byonghyon, 1950– II. Title. JS7394.A2C45733 2010 351—dc22 2009037669

Manufactured in the United States of America 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

10

This book is printed on Cascades Enviro 100, a 100 postconsumer waste, recycled, de-inked fiber. FSC recycled certified and processed chlorine free. It is acid free, Ecologo certified, and manufactured by BioGas energy.

Con t en ts

Notes on Translation Translator’s Introduction

xi xv

ADMONITIONS ON GOVERNING THE PEOPLE

Author’s Preface

1

Book I. Assuming Office 1. Appointment

5

2. Preparations for Traveling to the Post

15

3. Taking Leave of the King

20

4. Traveling to the Post

28

5. Inauguration

33

6. Conducting Official Duties

39

Book II. Self- Discipline 1. Setting the Body in Order

51

2. Integrity

80

3. Ruling the Household

107

4. Rejecting Personal Requests or Favors

124

viii

contents

5. Frugality

134

6. Enjoyment of Bestowing Benefits

145

Book III. Public Service 1. Edification of the People

152

2. Observing the Law

156

3. Proper Manners toward Superiors and Subordinates

158

4. Making Official Reports

168

5. Collecting Taxes and Tribute

174

6. Responding to a Requisition Order for Ser vice

181

Book IV. Love of People 1. Caring for the Elderly

189

2. Fostering Orphans

193

3. Saving the Poor

198

4. Commiseration and Support for the Families of the Dead

201

5. Generous Treatment of the Sick

205

6. Saving the Victims of Natural Disasters

208

Book V. Personnel Administration 1. Taking Control of Yamen Clerks

213

2. Subordinating Petty Functionaries and Underlings

228

3. Employing the People for the Local Government

234

4. Recommending Virtuous Men

241

5. Supervision of Personnel

246

6. Evaluation of Personnel

254

Book VI. Taxation 1. Land Administration

261

2. Law of Taxation I

278

3. Law of Taxation II

295

contents

ix

4. Grain Administration I

309

5. Grain Administration II

326

6. Household Registration

343

7. Justice in Levying Corvée Ser vices I

360

8. Justice in Levying Corvée Ser vices II

385

9. Encouraging Agriculture

408

Book VII. Rites and Ceremonies 1. Sacrifices

434

2. Entertaining Guests

460

3. Educating the People

492

4. Promoting Learning

515

5. Maintaining Social Hierarchy and Order

530

6. Selection and Examination

541

Book VIII. Administration of Military Affairs 1. Enlistment for Military Ser vice

557

2. Training Soldiers

593

3. Repairing Weapons of War

606

4. Recommending Martial Arts

610

5. Domestic Disturbances

618

6. Defending the District against Enemy Attack

629

Book IX. Administration of Justice 1. Trial Hearings I

655

2. Trial Hearings II

684

3. Judgment and Imprisonment

709

4. Judicious Enforcement of Punishments

739

5. Compassion for Prisoners

758

6. Prohibition of Tyrannical Abuses

776

7. Eliminating Threats and Harms

796

x

contents

Book X. Public Works Administration 1. Cultivating and Managing Mountain Forests

825

2. Managing Waterways and Reservoirs

844

3. Repair of the Yamen Office

857

4. Repair of the Fortress

868

5. Construction and Maintenance of Roads

876

6. Manufacturing Goods

885

Book XI. Famine Relief 1. Preparation of Relief Supplies

893

2. Solicitation of Contributions

911

3. The Extent of Relief Measures

927

4. Setting Up Camps and Organizing Relief Activities

946

5. Additional Measures for Dealing with Famine

954

6. Concluding Relief Operations

964

Book XII. Departure 1. Replacement and Transfer

975

2. The Baggage of the Departing Magistrate

985

3. The People’s Request That the Magistrate Stay Longer

990

4. Minor Offenses and Failures

1001

5. Mourning the Death of the Magistrate

1005

6. Missing and Honoring the Late Magistrate

1010

Glossary Bibliography Index

1023 1085 1089

Not e s on T r a nsl at ion

The primary source text of the present translation is the Korean translation of Mongmin simsŏ (Ch’angjak kwa pip’yŏng, 1978). It consists of six volumes and also contains the original classical Chinese in which the book was written. According to the preface, the Korean translation was a ten-year collaboration of fifteen scholars. I also consulted other Korean translations, as well as the original source text in the complete collection of Chŏng Yagyong’s works, titled Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ. The source text was too massive to be translated in its entirety; the copious information and historical facts were curtailed in order to provide the most relevant and meaningful English translation. Because of the work’s encyclopedic scope, many of the details are repeated or are too technical to be appreciated by modern readers. For instance, “Saving the Victims of Natural Disasters” (in Book IV) overlaps with “Famine Relief” (Book XI), and “Proper Manners toward Superiors and Subordinates” (in Book III) overlaps with “Maintaining Social Hierarchy and Order” (in Book VII). The detailed descriptions of record keeping for revenue purposes or of preparing food and medicine during famines may be of interest to specialists or historians but not to general readers. For this reason, I was convinced that an abridged version of the English translation would be best. Admonitions on Governing the People is written in a style called kangmok ch’e, an exposition of main topics (written in italics in the present text) followed by explanations and illustrations. Although the endless examples and precedents usually support and reinforce the arguments, they can be rather distracting and contrary to their purpose simply because they are often too extensive and detailed. xi

xii

Notes on Translation

The source text that I used for my translation provides a number of notes, but I had to expand them significantly and add many more (printed here at the foot of the page or as brief interpolations in square brackets in the text) for Western readers. Readers will also find that much evidence and many examples in the text are drawn from Chinese history, a cultural legacy inherited by Korean people through their education because of their historical relationship with the Chinese over the past millennia. In addition, readers may find similarities of names of people and of official titles, measures, and currency confusing. Most Korean and Chinese readers may be able to distinguish between Korean and Chinese names in the English translation (although this, too, may be difficult when they are written only in Chinese characters), but Western readers may find this extremely difficult. To deal with this problem, I have provided a glossary, transcribing Korean and Chinese names using the McCune-Rheischauer Romanization system and Hanyu Pinyin, respectively. The abbreviation “Ch.” has been used in giving Chinese equivalents of terms in Korean. The problem of translating units of measure and currency is even more complicated. The exact computation of Korean and Chinese measures and currencies in Western standard measurements is awkward and therefore probably undesirable. It seemed better to translate Korean and Chinese measurements such as yang/liang or p’il/pi as “tael” and “bolt,” respectively. However, it seemed inappropriate to translate 1 sŭng/sheng as 0.99 quart or 1 mu as 0.16 acre, so I decided to transliterate most of those measurements and currencies both in Korean and Chinese even though they are the same, providing footnotes and listing them in the glossary. Another difficulty that I have encountered in this translation is the lack of references available in English translation, particularly major Korean legal codes and various official Chinese histories. I had no choice but to provide those references as far as I could, even though I knew that they would not be of much help for the general reader. Besides, even when those texts were available in English translation, I often found myself not quite comfortable with the translation itself. When that happened, I was compelled to use my own translation instead of the ones in the source text.

This translation is the fruit of seven years’ hard work. Although I have tried my best, I cannot escape the feeling that my work could have been done better. Nevertheless, this long road of translation has been very heartening because I found many supporters whose help and encouragement served as fuel along the way. First of all, I would like thank the authorities of Korea Literature Translation Institute, including former directors Chin Hyung-joon and Yoon Jigwan and current director Kim Joo Youn, whose financial and moral support was indispensable for this project. I am also indebted to President Kim Yeongho of Ilshin Cultural

notes on translation

xiii

Foundation and President Kim Jaecheol of Dongwon Education Foundation for their financial support. At the initial stages of this undertaking, Professor Lewis Lancaster of the University of California at Berkeley recognized the importance of my project and introduced it to University of California Press, and I owe my deepest gratitude to him for his kind efforts. I also thank Malcolm Reed, acquisitions editor at UC Press, who helped guide the project through all the due process for publication despite the severe financial crisis of the State of California. The reviews of my work by Professor Donald Baker of the University of British Columbia and Professor Mark Setton of the University of Bridgeport, distinguished scholars who have greatly contributed to the study of Neo-Confucianism in Korea in relation to Catholicism and Practical Learning, reinforced my confidence in my work, and I am deeply grateful for their encouragement and their many insightful comments. I was extremely lucky to have an excellent copyeditor and production editor, Charles N. Eberline and Barbara Goodhouse, respectively. If I plowed the land and leveled the ground, it was they who cleared all the weeds, which were innumerable. I would also like to thank a number of people whose warm support and guidance made me feel that I am not alone in this undertaking. Dr. Dai Soon Lee, president of Asia Taekwondo Union and former president of Hoanam University, has helped me whenever I faced difficulties along the way. President Pak Songmu of the Institute for the Translation of Korean Classics, an eminent scholar and translator of Tasan’s works, also has provided me with valuable moral support and practical advice. I also thank Professor Song Jeanhee for designing the cover of this book, as well as the authorities of Kangjin County who allowed us to take photographs of Tasan’s manuscript. Mr. Yun Dongwhan, the former chief of Kangjin County and a descendant of Yun Tan, a disciple of Tasan, also provided me with materials for my work, and Professor Geng Lee of Zhongqing Foreign Language School in China proofread my translation. In addition, I owe my gratitude to Professor Lee Jeongnim, a Chinese literature scholar at Honam, for his advice on my translation; to Mr. Lee Chungho, who kindly gave his time to take photographs for me; and librarian Noh Sanghwi and my assistant Kim Junhee, who helped me with my research and technical problems. Finally, I would like to thank my family, especially my wife, Inyoung, and my two daughters, Yoon Sung and Yoon Sun, who have stood by me patiently throughout the long years of my struggle.

This page intentionally left blank

T r a nsl ator’s I n t roduct ion

A book titled Mongmin simsŏ (Admonitions on Governing the People), one of the most famous and celebrated works of the nineteenth-century Korean scholarofficial Chŏng Yagyong (better known by his pen name, Tasan), became a “mustread” for the ruling elite toward the end of the Chosŏn period (1392–1910) and still more celebrated at the turn of the twenty-first century. In the last twenty years or so Chŏng has received recognition as one of Korea’s most creative and systematic thinkers, especially among the younger generation of scholars and intellectuals in Korea. He is now attracting more interest than T’oegye and Yulgok, traditionally regarded as Korea’s greatest names in classical and political thought. Mongmin simsŏ is so well known in Korea that its title has even been used for a best-selling novel and a subsequent television miniseries that draws on that novel. For this reason alone, an English translation is very desirable and long overdue. Furthermore, because the author of Admonitions takes both Korean and Chinese history as the main sources of his book, it will generate interest among readers of these two countries, as well as Japan, which has a similar cultural legacy. However, the main concerns and vision of the book transcend national and cultural boundaries. Chŏng Yagyong’s Admonitions on Governing the People is a poignant presentation of circumstances and issues still relevant in society today. Although it is based on the social and political scene of Korea’s late Chosŏn dynasty, the many cases of irregularity and inefficiency among local governments described by Chŏng are perennial, as is the quest of civilized states to achieve governments that might effectively manage such aberrations. The challenges leaders face in ruling a society are universal and predictable, but Chŏng’s motivations and the way in which he presents these timeless issues xv

xvi

Translator’s Introduction

are nonetheless unique. Moving beyond mere description of societal problems and their management, Chŏng’s text is simultaneously an admonition and an attempt to rectify the social ills of his time and the future. Drawing deeply from the annals of history, which he believes to be a great code of conduct and moral guidance, Chŏng evaluates problems in administration and all other matters from a historical perspective. As a result, Admonitions is encyclopedic in its range and depth, providing insight not only about administrative matters but also about crucial aspects of the history and culture shared by East Asian countries such as Korea, China, and Japan. Furthermore, the book reflects and exemplifies Practical Learning (Sirhak) in Korea and Evidential Learning (Gaozhengxue) in Qing China, the new intellectual schools, or movements, that originated as critical reactions to the ideologically rigid and restrictive Neo-Confucianism. Incorporating diverse currents from these sources into the ocean of his vast learning, Chŏng Yagyong also produced more than five hundred volumes on a variety of subjects, including treatises and commentaries on all the major Confucian classics, local administration, institutional reforms, the legal system, economics, national defense, geography, philology, education, and medicine, along with thousands of poems, epitaphs, eulogies, letters, and other literary works. Thus, if one were to read Chŏng’s oeuvre in its entirety, one would recover the whole intellectual heritage of East Asia from ancient times to the early nineteenth century. In spite of his great achievements and his status as one of Korea’s greatest scholar-reformers, Tasan is virtually unknown to general readers in China and Japan, not to mention the rest of the world. In his pioneering study Chŏng Yagyong: Korea’s Challenge to Orthodox Neo-Confucianism (1997), Mark Setton first introduced Tasan’s works to a Western audience. English-speaking readers, however, have had no direct exposure to Tasan’s work because of the lack of English translations, and secondary scholarship provides only a partial view of the importance of Tasan’s scholarship and work. C HŎNG YAG YONG : L I F E A N D G E N E R A L BAC KG ROU N D

Chŏng Yagyong (1762–1836), often referred to by his pen name, Tasan (Tea Mountain), was the fourth son of Chŏng Chaewŏn, a magistrate of Chinju. Residing in the upper reaches of the Han River (now Kwangju in Kyŏnggi Province) for over nine generations, his family produced high officials who rose to the Jade Hall. Because of their affiliation with the Southerners faction, which had been ousted from political 1. Jade Hall: a nickname of the Office of Special Counselors (Hongmun’gwan). To serve as a royal counselor was deemed a great honor among the officials in the court.

translator's introduction

xvii

power, his immediate forefathers, with the exception of his father, were never allowed to reenter public office. His mother, Lady Yun Sugin, was a descendant of the illustrious Haenam Yun clan, which produced Yun Sŏndo (1587–1671), a famous sijo master and mentor of Prince Pongnim (King Hyojong) and Prince Inp’yŏng, and Yun Tuso (1668–1715), one of the three greatest painters of Chosŏn Korea. Endowed with a rich familial heritage in addition to extraordinary talent of his own, Tasan published a small volume of poems titled Three-Eyebrow Collection when he was only nine years old. Proving his scholastic ability, he passed the classics licentiate examination, which ensured his entry to the National Confucian Academy. Shortly after he entered the academy, he was commended for his outstanding exposition of a philosophical topic presented to King Chŏngjo, his future patron and a scholar of the highest caliber. Given the king’s deep impression of Tasan’s extraordinary talent and scholarship, the chief royal counselor observed that “Chŏng is certain to make a great name for himself after all those praises from the king.” His prediction proved to be true. Finding increased favor in the king’s eyes, Tasan ultimately passed taekwa, the higher level of the state civil ser vice examination. Within less than a decade Tasan had already served in a number of honorable and prestigious positions in the government hierarchy: fourth censor of the Office of Censor General, fourth inspector of the Office of Inspector General, second royal counselor, third minister of war, and, finally, third minister of punishments. The king’s extraordinary patronage, however, turned out to be both a blessing and a curse for Tasan. As the king’s favorite, Tasan was often attacked by jealous opponents and was compelled to decline appointments and privileges. Fully aware of Tasan’s difficult situation, the king also demonstrated caution and attempted to restrain any ostentatious promotion of his protégé. The king regularly gave Tasan tasks and missions, such as reviewing and compiling various texts concerning histories and rites; producing poems and essays in response to the topics he gave; building floating bridges over the Han River for royal trips; designing and constructing the fortress of Hwasŏng, a new royal city; and conducting secret investigations of corrupt officials. In addition, the king at times assigned Tasan to minor posts or ordered him to serve as a local magistrate; in one extreme case the king briefly exiled Tasan so that the latter could avoid being the target of accusations. A message of comfort to Tasan, however, was always veiled in the king’s stern decree. King Chŏngjo and Tasan shared not only loft y idealism and a love for learning but also a common enemy: the Western Principle subfaction (Pyŏkp’a), which had conspired to bring about the death of the king’s father, Crown Prince Sado, and had tried to prevent the enthronement of his son, Chŏngjo. Tasan and 2. A Korean poetic form.

ART (TK)

Figure 1. An imaginary portrait of Tasan placed in Tasan Ch’odang, the cottage in Kangjin where he lived while in exile.

translator's introduction

xix

his family were affi liated with the Southern Expediency subfaction (Sip’a) and had been sympathetic to the crown prince and opposed to his execution. Nevertheless, the crown prince was put to death in 1762, the year Tasan was born, and Tasan’s father deeply mourned his death and withdrew from public ser vice. Surrounded by enemies from the day of his enthronement, the king needed to build his strength. The first step he took was finding and raising new talent, like Tasan and the circle of his Southerner associates, who could support him in his difficult situation. Thus he promoted Ch’ae Chegong, a senior Southerner statesman, to the position of state councilor and also appointed the prominent Southerners Yi Kahwan and Yi Kiyang minister of works and minister of rites, respectively. This maneuvering, however, was accomplished only in the later period of his reign. As a loyal son, Chŏngjo could directly avenge the death of his father by using his sovereign powers, but he could not do so without violating his filial obligations toward his grandfather, King Yŏngjo, who had ordered the death of his father, as well as toward his maternal grandfather, who had been deeply involved in the factional conspiracy. Avenging his father’s death thus risked undermining his own legitimacy. Because of the complicated situation surrounding the king’s personal tragedy and the ongoing power struggle, Tasan became the major target of the king’s enemies. Instead of directly challenging the king, they chose to weaken him by attacking those who were most loyal and beneficial to him. They relentlessly attacked Tasan, for his association with Catholicism made him vulnerable to criticism. Catholicism had begun to spread swift ly among the members of Tasan’s family and friends. Interest in Catholicism, or so-called Western Learning (Sŏhak), among the Southerners was already more than a century and a half old by the time the controversy broke out. In 1614 Yi Sugwang (1563–1628), who had been to Ming China as a member of a Korean diplomatic mission, published Topical Discourses of Chibong (Chibong yusŏl), which introduced the work of Matteo Ricci and Western culture in general. Yi Ik (1681–1763), one of the founders of the Practical Learning school, showed an interest in Western Learning, particularly its scientific aspect. His interest was soon shared by his disciples and followers, but some of them also took an interest in its religious side. Yi Sŭnghun, Tasan’s brother-in-law, visited Peking to be baptized by a Western priest and baptized his colleagues after his return to Korea. Tasan was closely connected to this group of people through kinship, discipleship, or faction. Yi Pyŏk, a literary licentiate and a brother-in-law of Tasan’s elder brother, Yakhyŏn, initially introduced the twenty-three-year-old Tasan to Catholicism on 3. Matteo Ricci (1552–1610) was an Italian Jesuit priest and one of the founding figures of the Jesuit mission in China. Proficient in the Chinese language, and established in the imperial court of Ming China, he associated with Chinese scholars and officials and transmitted Western knowledge to them.

xx

Translator’s Introduction

a ferryboat ride along the Han River. Tasan first read a book given to him by Yi Pyŏk and later joined Yi in a seminar on Catholicism he had organized. Yi Pyŏk was baptized by Yi Sŭnghun soon after the latter’s trip to Peking. Under the influence of these in-laws and Tasan’s family circle, all of Tasan’s brothers (except the eldest, Yakhyŏn) converted, although he and his second-oldest brother Yakchŏn soon recanted their faith. As expected, King Chŏngjo proscribed Catholicism in 1785 when the Roman Catholic Church ruled that ancestor worship and belief in Christianity were incompatible. Six years later, in 1791, Yun Chich’ung, a member of the Yun clan and Tasan’s maternal cousin, destroyed the memorial tablet for his mother in accordance with the papal decree of 1742. This incident outraged the government, as well as the public, for it offended the mainstream aristocracy and challenged traditional Confucian morality. Yun Chich’ung was soon arrested and executed amid public outcries. This was one of many incidents that made Catholicism a major political issue and provided the Old Doctrine Principle subfaction with a pretext for removing the Southerners, who had begun to rise again with the king’s support. Its members accused Tasan and his associates of violating the royal decree on Catholicism and insinuated that their activities were potentially treasonous. Although their attempt to discredit Tasan was aborted by the king, who refused to accept their accusations, it was soon followed by another unexpected incident that put both Tasan and the king in a difficult position. A Chinese priest named Chou Wenmo secretly entered Korea to support the newly founded Catholic Church. Korean authorities tried to arrest him, but with the help of his followers, the priest managed to evade them. Eventually, however, he was captured along with his followers. Among those who were arrested was a man named Yun Yuil, whom Tasan had previously befriended during the early stage of his contact with Catholicism. Yun Yuil was a colleague of Yi Sŭnghun and Kwŏn Ilsin, to whom Tasan was related by kinship and faction. Tasan and his colleagues were later charged with being secret supporters of Yun Yuil’s activities. Sometime earlier, as pressure continued to build up, Tasan submitted a request for his replacement. He included a personal statement in which he admitted that he had read books related to Catholicism when he was young and immature; he stated that he had been influenced by them to a certain extent, but he insisted that his reading had mainly been motivated by his intellectual curiosity, not the religion itself. He also made it clear that when he had learned of the Catholic Church’s prohibition of ancestor worship through the Chinsan incident, he had found this tenet repugnant and therefore had abandoned Catholicism and any affiliations related to it. 4. Chinsan is the hometown of Yun Chich’ung, Tasan’s maternal cousin, who burned the memorial tablet of his mother to keep his faith in accordance with the teachings of the Catholic Church.

translator's introduction

xxi

Impressed by the sincerity and honesty in Tasan’s statement, the king trusted his words. Pacifying his enemies, however, was another matter. Therefore, he dispatched Tasan far from Seoul as superintendent of post stations in Kŭmjŏng, South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. In return, Tasan repaid the king’s trust by working hard to persuade residents to return to Confucian ways and renounce Catholicism. Convinced of Tasan’s innocence and further appreciating his loyalty, the king promoted him to his highest post yet, fourth minister of war, and then to the equally influential positions of fifth and fourth royal secretaries. Naturally, these drastic promotions revived the old accusations among Tasan’s enemies, who were much fiercer this time and eventually compelled Tasan to resign from his position in the Royal Secretariat. Then the king appointed him local magistrate of Koksan, Hwanghae Province, which was far from Seoul, as well as from factional strife. During his magistracy Tasan characteristically devoted his talent and energy to improving the district of which he was in charge. In the process he acquired firsthand experience with the abuses of the ruling class and the sufferings and resentment of exploited people, which was most likely the basis of his inspiration for Admonitions. When the term of his magistracy ended in 1799, Tasan was called back to Seoul, promoted to the position of third minister of punishments, and ordered to take over many of the responsibilities of the aged minister Cho Sangjin. In addition, the king frequently invited Tasan to his royal quarters, where the two engaged in late-night talks. This further disconcerted the other royal counselors. Hong Sibu, a friend of Tasan, secretly informed him that the Office of Special Counselors was spying on his private interviews with the king. A few days after this warning, his opponents renewed their attack on Tasan, citing an accusation made by a man named Cho Hwajin, an apostate of the Catholic Church. Sometime earlier Cho had submitted an urgent report that Tasan and his senior colleague, Yi Kahwan, were promoting Catholicism with the assistance of their righthand man Han Yŏngik. Cho had been seeking revenge on Han, who had refused his offer to marry his daughter to Chŏng Yakhwang, the stepbrother of Tasan. In the process of carrying out his plot, he drew Tasan into his accusation. Although these accusations were soon dismissed upon investigation, they not only exasperated Tasan but made him fearful. He finally took his family and retired in the early spring of 1800 to his old home, Mahyŏn, on the upper Han River. When the king heard that Tasan had gone, he immediately sent a message that he was planning to call him back for a job in the Publications Office (Chusaso) as soon as his place was ready. A few months later the king sent another message: “We have not seen each other for a long time. Since your place is almost complete and I want you to take charge of publishing books, you will be able to attend the royal lectures at the end of the month.” According to the royal 5. Censor General Sin Hŏnjo and Th ird Inspector Min Myŏnghyŏk.

xxii

Translator’s Introduction

messenger, the king appeared to miss Tasan greatly, and his words were charged with deep emotion. But on that very day, as Tasan recollected, the king’s health started deteriorating. By the time the two were supposed to meet, the king had passed away. Tasan mourned his death, lamenting, “The sky has collapsed.” The death of his king and patron utterly devastated Tasan, for it meant the death sentence for his career, as well as his own life. Even before the funeral of the king ended, rumors began to circulate, and not long afterward Queen Dowager Kim (Yŏngjo’s queen), now regent for the new king, pronounced a stern warning through her decree that those who believed in the Religion of the West (Catholicism) would be punished severely. Early in 1801 Hwang Sayŏng, the brother-in-law of Tasan’s third-oldest brother, Yakjong, secretly attempted to send the so-called silk letter to the Catholic bishop in Peking, requesting that Western nations send in their navies to compel the Korean government to grant religious freedom. When Hwang’s daring and treasonous act was discovered, Tasan’s brother, Yakjong, decided to conceal some letters and books related to missionary activities. Hiding them in a bamboo container, he had his servant carry them out with the firewood; unfortunately, the servant was searched, and the container was confiscated by the authorities. Although it contained nothing related to Tasan himself, he, his colleagues and associates, and his two elder brothers were implicated in the official report on Hwang Sayŏng and were all tried and tortured. As a consequence, Tasan’s third-oldest brother, Yakjong, and his in-laws and faction members, including Yi Kahwan, Kwŏn Ch’ŏlsin, Yi Sŭnghun, and Hong Nangmin, were all put to death; Tasan and his second-oldest brother, Yakchŏn, as well as many others, were exiled. This infamous Catholic Persecution of 1801 (Sinyu saok) took place when Tasan was forty years old and changed his life permanently. Tasan was exiled to Changgi, a remote sea village on the east coast, and his brother Yakchŏn to Sinji Island in the south. Despite his exile, persecution and threats to his life continued. When Hwang Sayŏng, who had escaped, was finally arrested, Tasan’s enemies reopened the case, and he was imprisoned again with his brother and others for interrogation. Showing Hwang’s silk letter to Tasan, the chief interrogator said, “There is no hope for those who read even one word of the Western books; death is their only destiny.” However, because the interrogators failed to produce any connection between Hwang’s letter and the prisoners, Tasan was exiled to Kangjin and his brother to Hŭksan Island, both located in the distant southern province. Frustrated at finding out that they were unable to take Tasan’s life, one of Tasan’s enemies angrily said to the censor general: “If you kill a thousand but fail to take Yagyong’s life, it is as though you have killed none. 6. A letter written on a scroll of silk explaining the situation of Catholic persecution taking place in Chosŏn, Korea, and thereby seeking help.

translator's introduction

xxiii

Figure 2. Tasan Ch’odang, where Tasan spent the last ten years of his exile writing numerous books, including Admonitions.

Why do you not exert yourself more?” The censor general replied, “Since the man does not die himself, what can I do?” In the summer of 1802 Tasan arrived in Kangjin, the place of his exile. Upon his arrival, Yi Anmuk, the magistrate of Kangjin, accused Tasan of a trivial matter. Because his accusation was false, however, his attempt to ensnare Tasan failed. In the winter of the following year (1803), Queen Dowager Kim ordered his release, but Minister Sŏ Yongbo, Tasan’s mortal enemy, intervened and overturned the decision. As the years passed, Tasan’s life in Kangjin began to settle down. Although he had to live apart from his family, who remained in Seoul, Kangjin was relatively congenial to Tasan because of its proximity to Haenam, the hometown of his mother’s family. In 1808 he moved to a little hill called Tasan (Tea Mountain), from which he took his pen name. With the generous support of his maternal relative Yun Tan, he built a couple of thatched cottages, landscaping the area with a little pond and a waterfall to suit his tastes. Stacking a thousand books in his room, he devoted himself solely to reading and writing while educating the sons of the local gentry. His place, called Tasan Ch’odang (Grass-Roof Cottage of Tasan), is now a major tourist attraction in the area. 7. Sŏ was a major figure of the Old Doctrine Principle subfaction. When Tasan served as secret royal inspector, he had accused Sŏ of questionable dealings as governor of Kyŏnggi Province.

xxiv

Translator’s Introduction

In 1810 his son Hagyŏn appealed to the authorities to release his father, beating the gong set up outside the royal palace. When the king granted his release, Tasan’s old foes, Hong Myŏngju and Yi Kigyŏng, once again intervened and persuaded the king to withdraw his decree. In 1814 the decision to release Tasan was made by the Office of Inspector General, and the official document was sent to the State Tribunal (Ŭigŭmbu). However, Chief Magistrate Yi Chipdu did not dare execute the order because Second Censor Kang Chŭnhŭm was strongly opposed to it, as revealed in his memorial to the king. In 1818 Fourth Counselor Yi T’aesun submitted a memorial in which he criticized the State Tribunal for failing to carry out the royal order to release Tasan. Chief State Councilor Nam Kongch’ŏl joined him, reproaching the officials of the State Tribunal. Chief Magistrate Kim Hŭisun immediately dispatched an official order to Kangjin, and Tasan was finally released from his exile, which had lasted for eighteen years. He was fifty-six at the time of his release. Tasan lived another eighteen years after he returned from exile, completing many works that he had started during his banishment. When he first started his exile, he said to himself, “Although I had initially resolved to set my mind on learning, secular affairs and public ser vice prevented me from studying the great Way of the sage kings of old. Now I finally have the leisure to fulfill my wish.” He began to study the Six Classics and the Four Books, paying close attention to the texts and collecting related commentaries and theories, dating back to the days of the Han and Wei dynasties, as well as the Ming and Qing periods; his ultimate purpose, however, was to establish his own views and ideas, discovering and demonstrating major errors and providing corrections and remedies. Once this project was accomplished, he started working on more practical books. Thus he wrote books dealing with institutional reform of the central government, local administration, and the legal system, respectively titled Design for Good Government (Kyŏngse yup’yo), Admonitions on Governing the People (Mongmin simsŏ), and Toward a New Jurisprudence (Hŭmhŭm sinsŏ). These three books, known to represent his scholarly achievements, are virtually the summa of Tasan’s ideas on social reforms and the ethos of the Practical Learning school, with which he was affiliated. The circulation of Tasan’s manuscripts was limited to his close family and friends. Perhaps the best reader and critic Tasan could find was his second-oldest brother, Yakchŏn, the author of Register of Hŭksan Fish (Chasan ŏbo), who was in exile on Hŭksan Island. Upon reading Commentary on the Classic of Changes (Chuyŏk sajŏn), he wrote to Tasan, “The mystical truths in the hearts of the three sages are now finally revealed bright.” After reading Introduction to the Classic of Changes (Yŏkhak sŏŏn), he said, “The previous work of yours seemed to be a 8. These are often called “one p’yo and two sŏ” (one treatise and two books), following the Korean pronunciation of their titles.

translator's introduction

xxv

Figure 3. Handwritten copy of Admonitions. The calligraphy is not Tasan’s.

morning star shining bright in the east; this one is like the sun shining in the middle of the sky.” About Four Commentaries on Funeral Rites (Sangnye sajŏn), he commented, “Like the one who neatly combs tangled hair, or the one who washes his clothes clean or cooks well, you dealt with all the matters properly in the way in which Zhang Tang handled litigations.” Yakchŏn’s praise of Examination of Documents on Music (Aksŏ kojon) was even more lavish: “Like a dream that one has once in the long night of two thousand years, the spirit of great music finally returned.” Tasan was more pleased with the compliment of Kim Maesun, a famous scholar of the Palace Library, who read his Evaluation of Mei Ze’s Classic of History (Maessi sangsŏp’yŏng): “The way in which the author uncovered the subtle truth by touching a delicate spot is akin to Fei Wei’s hitting a louse by shooting an arrow; that he sorted out entangled stuff, separating the hard from the soft, is akin to Pao Ding’s ability to separate bones from flesh when butchering an ox; that he uncovered wickedness with stubbornness is like the ways in 9. A famous archer of ancient China. 10. Pao Ding was a legendary butcher in the text of Zhuangzi (chapter 3). He once butchered an ox in the presence of Prince Wenhui. Having expert knowledge of the anatomy of the ox, he separated the flesh from the bones without damaging his knife. He never whetted his butcher knife for nineteen years, but it remained as sharp as it had been when it was first whetted because it always stayed away from the bones. Zhungazi indicates both the name of an ancient Chinese phi losopher who lived around the fourth century B.C. during the Warring States Period and the text he wrote. Influenced by Laozi, his philosophy was deeply concerned with Dao (the Way of nature and the world). It is also skeptical and relativistic in making observations and judgments.

xxvi

Translator’s Introduction

which Shang Yang ruled Weishui and Bian He howled in Mt. Heng. The author, on the one hand, is a great merit subject [one who greatly contributed to founding or saving the kingdom] by settling the turmoil surrounding the Old Text Shangshu [a version of Classic of History which turned out to be a forgery], and, on the other, a powerful minister by suppressing the scorn directed at Zhu Xi. Great achievements made by the Confucian literati cannot surpass his. Since this happened after a journey that lasted a millennium and, furthermore, among the wilderness covered with weeds, how can we deny that a miracle has happened?” Much earlier, in a letter to his friend Han Sangik, Tasan had complained that there was no one who could read his works, even though three years had passed since his return from exile. Under these circumstances, Kim Maesun’s praise undoubtedly provided him with great comfort, so Tasan wrote to Kim to express his gratitude: “Receiving this kind letter from you after having gone through all kinds of misfortune and suffering, for the first time, I wish to live longer.” This indicates how isolated Tasan had been in his last years, but not without “fit audience though few.” TA SA N ’ S WOR K S I N S O C I A L A N D H I S T OR IC A L C ON T E X T

In Self-Written Epitaph (Chach’an myojimyŏng), his autobiography, Tasan enumerates his works and provides brief explanations of their main ideas. What is missing, however, is an explanation of the social and historical context that influenced and shaped his work. There were two dominant philosophical and political ideologies during the Chosŏn dynasty (1392–1910): Neo-Confucianism and Practical Learning (Sirhak). 11. Shang Yang was a famous legalist and statesman of the Qin dynasty. The numerous reforms he initiated and developed helped the Qin conquer all of China. 12. Th is refers to the story of Bian He, a man of the Chu state. When he presented a jade to the king, the king would not believe him. When Bian He insisted that it was a genuine jade, he was tortured for deceiving the king. Nevertheless, he continued to maintain his claim until the jade was recognized by the king. 13. A great Confucian phi losopher of Song China and the proponent of the metaphysical philosophy which maintains that the two primary forces called li and qi are behind the manifestation of all realities and the universe at large, constantly interacting with each other. This dualistic world view, combined with his contributions in making the Confucian canons of Four Books, was influential enough to become orthodox Confucianism, and Zhu Xi himself was revered as a sage not only in China but also in Korea. 14. John Milton, Paradise Lost 7:30. The quotation actually reads, “Urania, and fit audience fi nd, though few.” It is possible to fi nd a certain parallel between Tasan and Western poets like Dante or Milton, who had a brilliant career in the beginning and fell from power and great achievements later in life.

translator's introduction

xxvii

Replacing Buddhism, the former contributed to the foundation of the dynasty and dominated the first half of its reign; the latter emerged in the late seventeenth century in reaction to the excesses of the former and turned its attention to practical issues rather than philosophical ones. The Neo-Confucianism of the Chosŏn dynasty developed through li and ki disputes, four-seven debates, and rites disputes; thus it became more and more ideological and metaphysical. This led to criticism by Practical Learning scholars like Yi Ik that the current scholarly trend was so focused on the question of origin that it was hardly aware of matters concerning outcome or reality. Whereas the former ideology served the interests of the elite and the aristocracy in power, the latter served scholars ousted from power, as well as the general populace. If the former was preoccupied with morality, the latter was preoccupied with reality. Thus Neo-Confucianism was focused on preservation, and Sirhak on transformation. The chronic tensions and dialectic between preservation and progress greatly influenced Tasan’s life and works. Initially, scholars and politicians shared and accepted the two trends of thought without partisan politics; even when factional strife first broke out between Easterners and Westerners in 1575, personal animosity rather than ideology was the determining factor. Interest in Catholicism or Western Learning stemmed from intellectual curiosity and transcended party lines. Thus Yi Sugwang (1563–1628), the precursor of the Sirhak school, and Yi Imyŏng (1658–1722), a prominent member of the Old Doctrine faction and third state councilor during the reign of Sukchong, both contacted Westerners in Peking whose books and ideas they later introduced to Korean readers. Their introduction of Western learning could have been construed as an indirect challenge to the ruling authorities, but it was never perceived that way. However, as factional politics continued to grow and affect directly the lives of its players, as well as society as a whole, ideological conflicts and confrontations between opposing camps were inevitable. In par ticular, the prolonged dominance of the Old Doctrine faction exacerbated these conflicts, leading those such

15. During the mid-Chosŏn period Neo-Confucianism came into full maturity with distinguished scholars like Yi Hwang, Yi I, and Ki Taesŭng. Though Zhu Xi maintained that the primary forces called li and qi were interdependent, he put more emphasis on the importance of li, which he related to principle or pattern or order, than qi, which stands for material or vital force, asserting that li is the essence as well as the guiding principle of human nature. Yi Hwang tried to develop Zhu Xi’s theory further, aiming at the clarification and definition of the four beginnings (of feeling) (sadan) in the Mencius and the seven emotions (ch’iljŏng) from the Book of Rites. His attempt produced one of the most sophisticated debates among Korean scholars in the history of Confucian philosophy. 16. Yi Sugwang visited the Ming court as an emissary in 1611 and acquired several books on Catholicism written by Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit priest from Italy who at that time was staying in China. Later, in his book, Topical Discourses of Chibong (Chibong yusŏl), Yi made reference to Ricci’s True Principle of Catholicism (Ch’ŏnju sirŭi), showing his interest in Western religion and learning.

xxviii

Translator’s Introduction

as Southerners who were barred from power to challenge them. The mainstream Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism that had been elevated to the level of a sacred dogma by the dominant Westerners was subjected to attack along with its advocates. This challenging spirit toward the entrenched Neo-Confucian orthodoxy became the seed of the ideas that shaped the School of Practical Learning (Sirhakp’a). The first major sign of conflict began to emerge when Yun Hyu (1617–1680), a prominent and independent-minded scholar of the Southerners faction, began to raise questions openly about Zhu Xi’s interpretations of Confucian classics: “When I read the works of Zhu Xi, and particularly his commentaries, I would write and then edit, edit, and again write” (Setton, Chŏng Yagyong, 30). Unwilling to grant Zhu Xi’s commentaries the status of ultimate authority, Yun Hyu contended that a person had the right to interpret ancient texts on the basis of his own study. Yun Hyu’s daring critique of Zhu Xi’s commentaries and his defense of personal interpretation (a great influence on Tasan in his later career) was perceived as a direct challenge to Song Siyŏl (1607–1689), the leader of the ruling Westerners faction and a promoter of Zhu Xi’s orthodoxy. The two men, formerly close friends, thus chose different paths and eventually became mortal enemies as they battled over the Rites Dispute of 1659 (Kihae yesong). Although this dispute was seemingly trivial and even senseless, it had strong implications for the legitimacy of King Hyojong. Hyojong, the second son of King Injo, had been chosen over his elder brother Sohyŏn, the legitimate heir according to the tradition of primogeniture. Ancient rites, being ambiguous in cases such as this, provided no clear guidance. Therefore, when King Hyojong died, the government consulted the two foremost authorities on Confucian rites at the time. Song recommended one year of mourning, whereas Yun advised three years. While Song based his argument on family relationship, Yun based his on the exceptional status of the royal family. According to Yun, applying the regular mourning rites of ordinary people to royalty was inappropriate; the one-year mourning period advocated by Song, therefore, was irrelevant to the case of the queen dowager. As the rites dispute escalated, senior members of the Southerners faction (Hŏ Mok, Yun Hyu’s former teacher, and Yun Sŏndo, Tasan’s distant ancestor on his maternal side) joined the battle by supporting the position of Yun Hyu. This raised more political controversy because they contended that Song and his 17. Cheng-Zhu here indicates two brothers, Cheng Hao (1032–1085) and Cheng Yi (1033–1107), and Zhu Zhu Xi, the founders of Chinese Neo-Confucian philosophy. 18. Th is concerned the duration of the king’s mourning period for his stepmother, Queen Dowager Cho.

translator's introduction

xxix

Westerners faction were attempting to endanger the king and the state by making unacceptable distinctions in the line of succession. This dispute turned out to be inconclusive because the young King Hyŏnjong paid little attention to the contentious issue. However, when another dispute over a similar situation arose fifteen years later, he ordered a thorough investigation and supported the Southerners faction, which had argued for exceptional status for members of royal family in observing funeral rites. The Southerners finally won the dispute and political power, but their triumph was short lived; their loss of power, which had occurred in 1680, lasted until the Policy of Impartiality (T’angp’yŏngch’aek) was implemented during the reign of Yŏngjo, thereby allowing a handful of Southerners, including Tasan, to serve briefly in the court of Chŏngjo. As Tasan clearly stated in his autobiography and other writings, his exhaustive studies of the Six Classics and the Four Books were primarily intended for self-cultivation (sugi). From another perspective, however, they were an extension of the old rites dispute, which brought about the rise and fall of his family and the Southerners faction. The first book that Tasan wrote during his exile was Four Commentaries on Funeral Rites. Whether Tasan used this work as a platform to vindicate both his own position and that taken by the Southerners, for which they had been accused of Western Learning, is worth speculation. He said, “In the funeral of the emperor or the king, the queen dowager is also required to wear a mourning dress made of coarse hemp. Hence all those who are related to the dead by kinship, regardless of their closeness, must follow her example.” This statement was essentially identical to the contention of Yun Hyu, who was not only a prominent Southerner but also a member of the Yun clan to which Tasan’s maternal family belonged, during the Rites Disputes of 1659 and 1674. It is also possible to regard Tasan’s critique of Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian metaphysics in the same light. In Essential Meaning of Mencius (which followed Four Commentaries on Funeral Rites and An Examination of Ancestral Rites), Tasan argued that one of the ideological foundations of Zhu Xi’s philosophical system was erroneous. Whereas Zhu Xi conceived of human nature as part of the allembracing cosmic principle called li, Tasan maintained that there were no references in Confucian classics that equated human nature with li. Zhu Xi, unlike Mencius, tried to apply cosmic dualism, the principle-material force (li-qi), to the human psyche, as well as to matters of morality or the problems of good and evil. Tasan asserted that Zhu Xi’s labeling of things in human nature as “principles” (as opposed to predilections [kiho]) was a misinterpretation of Mencian moral principles. According to his argument, because human nature itself is essentially neither good nor evil, morality is a choice between two conflicting predilections. Not only did Tasan argue that Zhu Xi’s metaphysical approach was unauthorized by Confucian classics, but he further contended that it was greatly influenced by Buddhism. According to this claim, Zhu Xi’s orthodoxy and the original

xxx

Translator’s Introduction

Neo-Confucianism were, in fact, not as orthodox as they were perceived to be. Furthermore, the implication was that the Westerners’ Old Doctrine faction, not Tasan or the Southerners, should be charged with heresy. Tasan’s critical reading and deconstruction of Zhu Xi’s authority are closely aligned with the quintessentially critical attitude of the Practical Learning school of which he was a part. His exhaustive study of the Six Classics and the Four Books went beyond self-cultivation to self-vindication. More important, his interpretation of the classical texts had practical value because it could affect the lives of innocent people, as well as the future of the state. Although the chances of restoring the original state of those texts were slim for an exile like Tasan, he at least might have wanted to put his interpretation on record for posterity. In addition to the legacy of the Southerners faction and the School of Practical Learning, another great influence on Tasan was the Evidential Learning school that flourished in Qing China. Rather than their ideas, however, Tasan’s main interest was the critical methodology of the Chinese Evidential Learning scholars, which involved rigorous research and scientific evidence. For example, in An Evaluation of Mei Ze’s Classic of History, Tasan said, “The merit of Qing scholarship lies in its examination of evidence.” In the preface to Four Commentaries on Funeral Rites, Tasan summed up his methodological technique in two phrases: “interpreting a classical text through the use of other classical texts” (igyŏng chinggyŏng) and “comparing the details of individual texts to clarify their meaning” (p’ich’a pidae). These critical approaches involved philology, which became Tasan’s favorite methodology. Using philological means such as phonology, paleography, and etymology, Tasan tried to restore or recapture the ideas and intentions of ancient sages. Tasan named his scholarly approach “Susa learning,” referring to the rivers Su and Sa in Qufu, the home of Confucius. Thus Susa learning became the hallmark of Tasan’s scholarship. He disapproved, however, of the tendencies in Evidential Learning scholarship to focus only on glossing the texts. In his Treatise on the Five Schools (Ohangnon), he argued that the philological approach of the contemporary Evidential Learning school deviated from its original purpose by degenerating into detailed exegesis of minutiae. He contended that “true Confucianism originally aimed at ruling the state and making the lives of people comfortable; repelling the enemy and enriching the national finance; and dealing with whatever challenges one may encounter through the mastery of learning and military science. How can it be true learning to concentrate on discovering poetic phrases or producing commentaries on trivia like insects and fish or practicing propriety wearing clothes with wide sleeves?” Finding anomalies and aberrations both in the Evidential Learning school and the established Neo-Confucianists of his time, Tasan deplored a general tendency in them to disregard practical learning as something miscellaneous and trivial. His relentless study of the classics and ancient texts is

translator's introduction

xxxi

far from antiquarianism; rather, it was driven by his sincere desire to change Chosŏn society. C HO S ŎN KOR E A A N D A DMON I T ION S ON G OV E R N I NG T H E PE OPL E

During Tasan’s lifetime the local government of the Chosŏn period—the main focus of Tasan’s Admonitions—was in serious disarray. In a country already devastated by Japanese and Manchu invasions and preoccupied with continuous factional fights over issues like responsibility for wars, foreign policy toward Qing China, rites disputes, the death of the crown prince, and Western Learning, little attention was paid to what directly affected the lives of the people: the local administration. As a result, the suffering of the people was immense. Agriculture, the main source of national revenue, was ruined because wars had laid farmland waste. Cultivation shrank significantly, and even worse, the land registers had been destroyed, while the number of unreported “hidden fields” (ŭngyŏl) began to increase. Furthermore, the payment of tribute taxes was overly complicated and imposed an extra burden on the people. So-called tribute contracting (pangnap) and grain loans (hwangok) became sources of corruption and exploitation. Land and military taxes and corvée labor were levied exclusively on the common people, whereas members of the privileged yangban class were exempted from those requirements through bribery or other means. As a result, taxes were mainly imposed on the underprivileged poor and were collected ruthlessly. Under these circumstances, the local government registered boys as adults (hwanggu ch’ŏmjŏng or “fledgling legerdemain”) in order to make up for lost revenue in military taxes; alternatively, they kept the names of dead men on the tax records (paekgol chingp’o or “skeleton levies”). This grave situation is depicted in a poem Tasan composed when he was serving as a secret royal inspector: My brass spoons were taken away by the village head last time And my iron pots by a rich man next door the other day. My older son, five years old, is now on the military record for the cavalry, and a younger one, three years old, is registered for the army. Paying five hundred p’un for the military taxes of the two sons, All I am thinking now is that I wish I were dead.

19. Yangban refers to the traditional ruling class during the Chosŏn dynasty. It was mostly the literati who constituted the yangban, the members of the “two orders” of officialdom who served in the bureaucracy as civil or military officials (Ki-baik Lee, New History of Korea, 173). 20. P’un: a measure of currency; 1 p’un is 1/100 yang (Ch. liang) or 1/100 tael.

xxxii

Translator’s Introduction

The anger and frustration of the exploited people are also found in another poem written during his exile titled “Cutting Off His Male Organ in Despair” (“Aejŏlyang”). The poem presents a village woman who gave birth to a male child sometime ago, but her child was registered for military ser vice as soon as it was born. That means that her family has to pay military tax for the newborn child. However, she is too poor to pay the tax, and as this happens, an agent from the local government takes away a cow raised in her house. Outraged by this, her husband cuts off his male organ, regretting that he produced a son. This is what Confucius meant by his lament that “oppressive government is more terrible than tigers.” In short, the government was useless, and the people were helpless because maintaining the status quo was deemed more urgent than making changes. This general situation is what compelled Tasan to produce Admonitions. Tasan in his Design for Good Government, which was written around the same time as Admonitions, describes late eighteenth- and early nineteenthcentury Korean society as follows: After the Japanese invasion [in 1592], the government system slackened, and all state affairs crumbled into disarray. The continuing expansion of military bases drained the state treasury, and the disorder in the land-distribution system led to unjust taxation. The source of production was blocked, while the holes of waste remained open with no limit. The government tried to reorganize departments and agencies and reduce the number of officials. Although these measures brought about some benefits, the magnitude of the damage that it generated was far greater. So the government lacked officials, and officials often failed to be paid properly. As a result, the evil practice of abuses and avarice began to rise, and the populace was thrown into poverty. When I reflect on this situation, there is nothing that is not sick. Since the state will surely face calamity unless reforms are implemented right away, how can loyal subjects and patriots just keep their arms folded and watch this?

To understand the role of the local magistrates, knowledge of the structure of the local government (modeled after that of the central government) is essential. Its six chambers (yukbang)—personnel, taxation, rites, military affairs, punishments, and public works—were an extension of six ministries (yukjo) of the central government, and the local yangban association (hyangch’ŏng) was somewhat similar in function to the so-called Samsa in the royal court, a combined term for the Office of Inspector General (Sahŏnbu), Office of Censor General (Saganwŏn), and Office of Special Counselors (Hongmun’gwan). Composed of influential members of the local yangban gentry, the local yangban association kept an eye on the local administration as a whole. However, perhaps the most salient resemblance between the two political authorities—the king and the local magistrates, the so-called shepherds of the 21. Legge, Sacred Books of the East, Li Chi: Book of Rites, Part I, “The Tangong III,” 191.

translator's introduction

xxxiii

people—was the great power they wielded. As the king’s de facto rulers of the locality, the local magistrates exercised supreme power within their jurisdiction. According to Tasan, the main distinction lay in “the magnitude of their works.” Although they were normally the lowest-level central-government-appointed officials in a district, they served as the chief executive, chief tax collector, chief judicial officer, and chief law-enforcement officer for that district. Therefore, the central government was extremely cautious in selecting local magistrates and, once their appointment was decided, kept a watchful eye on their activities. The central government devised various mechanisms to control local magistrates, such as restricting the term of their duty to a maximum of one or two years, conducting secret inspections whenever necessary, and forbidding local magistrates to serve in their home districts. The provincial governor was called kamsa or kwanch’alsa, which can most accurately be translated as “inspector” or “surveillance official.” These terms highlight the way in which the governor’s primary duty was to watch over the magistrates in his province. The goal of allowing local magistrates to exercise absolute power in their respective domains was not to share power but to make them serve the central government more effectively through such activities as collecting taxes, mobilizing corvée labor, and recruiting soldiers. These were the principal requirements for the local magistrates. The situation of local magistrates was complex. On the one hand, they were required to discharge their duties successfully through the collection of taxes and the mobilization of corvée labor; on the other hand, as the shepherds of the people, they were expected to govern the general populace with benevolence and compassion. As a rule, however, the discharge of their duties was accorded priority, which usually led to the exploitation and suffering of the common people. Further complicating the task of the local magistrate were the petty functionaries called ajŏn, a hereditary group who usually worked in one district for their entire career. Admonitions portrays this class of people as avaricious and tyrannical in dealing with the common people. The ajŏn’s upward mobility was restricted, but unless they made serious mistakes, their position was secure because of their inherited social status; their intimate knowledge of the local situation actually enabled them to run the district office in the way they wanted. Requiring the expertise and cooperation of the indigenous functionaries, the local magistrates consulted and collaborated with them or, in some cases, simply pressured them to produce results required to fulfill their official duties. Despite their role and hard work, petty functionaries were mostly underpaid. They did not receive a salary as such. Instead, they lived in the district office compound and took a cut of the fines and taxes they collected. Under circumstances in which there was no clear line between public and private funds, it was easy for them to slide into corruption. The case of the local magistrates was somewhat similar; they collected taxes from their districts, sent what was expected to the

xxxiv

Translator’s Introduction

capital, and kept the rest for their professional and personal expenses. This system was inherently problematic and inevitably produced chronic abuses and exploitation by petty functionaries. People, however, took it for granted that all the irregularities and wrongdoing in the local administration could be attributed to the activities of petty functionaries. Tasan, on the other hand, believed that the chronic irregularities committed by petty functionaries were due to failure in the magistrates’ leadership. According to Tasan, the lack of effective leadership by local magistrates stemmed from two primary deficiencies: lack of personal integrity and lack of administrative expertise. In his book he repeatedly emphasizes the importance of integrity for local magistrates: “Integrity is the obligation of the magistrate, the fountain of all goodness, and the basis of all virtues. Without integrity, there will be no magistrate who can discharge his duty properly.” But integrity alone was not sufficient to make a good magistrate; it should be supported by practical knowledge of administration. In Admonitions Tasan often laments how a magistrate’s ignorance and lack of expertise lead him to play into the hands of crafty clerks and petty functionaries. Recounting his personal experiences, Tasan reveals how easily a magistrate can fall into a trap set by his manipulative subordinates: Since the civil officials of our country read poetry in their early years and the military officials practiced archery, aside from these skills, they know nothing except drinking with entertaining girls or gambling. Although some of them are distinguished in natural philosophy or divination based on the Book of Changes, these things have little value. Archery may be practical in some ways, but it is of little use for administrative work and governing the district. When a man is appointed magistrate, he must abruptly leave his home to carry out his official duties and sit alone above the yamen clerks and residents of his district. Although it is natural that the magistrate is ignorant of state affairs, the magistrate, ashamed of his ignorance, often pretends to know everything. Thus he issues orders and approves matters without making inquiry, secretly taking pride in his style, swift like running water. It is due to his own actions that the magistrate falls into the trap.

According to Tasan, a good magistrate is not necessarily a man who knows every little detail of administration; rather, he is a man who works hard to overcome his lack of expertise in his assigned duty; furthermore, he should do all that is within his power to challenge and change the abuses and maladies that plague the people and society. In Admonitions, on the basis of his administrative experience as the magistrate of Koksan, Hwanghae Province, Tasan provides various models of the proper ways for reform-minded magistrates to handle state affairs and rule the people benevolently. In Tasan’s view, a good magistrate must attempt to correct abusive and exploitative practices and customs. For example, upon his arrival in

translator's introduction

xxxv

Koksan, the first thing he did was to standardize measurements. Suspicious of the rulers officially used in the yamen, he discovered that they were 2 ch’on (about 2 inches) longer than the ones specified in The Ceremonies of Five Rites (Oryeŭi). So he made new ones based on the brass rulers used in the capital city, reducing the people’s tax burdens for their military ser vice. Furthermore, knowing that the clerks took advantage of the magistrate’s ignorance of households, Tasan conducted a districtwide census and made a new household register that also contained information on the property and financial situation of individual households. Because of this new census and household register, the clerks could no longer deceive the magistrate. Tasan also surveyed the land of his district and created an accurate map based on longitude and latitude. This map enabled him to see clearly the size and population of individual areas, thus preventing the trickery attempted by the clerks. He also reduced the number of Confucian students who qualified to take the state civil ser vice examination to eighty; this measure was intended eliminate abuses by the elite, who used the pretext of preparing for the examination in order to avoid labor ser vice. In addition to these institutional reforms, Tasan devised various ways to help the people in his district. For instance, when the price of cloth in his district rose sharply, he sent his men to P’yŏngan Province to purchase goods with public funds at a lower price. With the cloth thus procured, he first paid the central government and let the people pay the remainder. As a result, each household was able to save an amount equivalent to the cost of a small cow. In 1798 Chŏng Minsi, minister of taxation, set the taxes of the district of Koksan at 7,000 sŏk (equivalent to 15 to 20 mal). He instructed, however, that the rice must be paid in currency, charging 42 taels for a sŏk of rice. Because the current price for a sŏk of rice was 20 taels, paying the taxes in currency at the rate set by the government was an enormous burden on the residents, so Tasan collected the taxes in rice and kept them in the state warehouse, refusing to pay the taxes in currency. Minister Chŏng requested that the king dismiss Tasan for refusing to follow his instructions, but the king, who had read the report submitted by Tasan, acknowledged Tasan’s interest in protecting the interest of the people. Every year the provincial office of Hwanghae sent a dispatch to the district of Koksan and demanded that 3 mal of white honey and 1 mal of brown honey be presented; in fact, the clerks of the provincial office actually collected twice the amount of honey they asked for. When Tasan sent the honey exactly as they asked, ignoring the general practice of sending extra, the governor said, “Since that man [Tasan] has the residents behind his back and I have nothing but a mouth, I cannot argue with him.” Such examples reveal how, in Tasan’s opinion, 22. A book on various rites and ceremonies, as well as rules and regulations, originally compiled by Hŏ Cho and others in the early Chosŏn dynasty but finally completed and published in 1474.

xxxvi

Translator’s Introduction

the magistrate had to be able to refuse orders from his superior if they contradicted the law and undermined the interests of the people. During his magistracy ten convicts were exiled to Koksan. Shunned by the residents, these convicts suffered intensely. In response, Tasan established a relief place called Kyŏmjewŏn and provided them with shelter and food. In another instance, when the building of the yamen was old and in need of repair, Tasan not only drew up plans to reconstruct the building but also researched all the necessary building materials in advance. Then he sent his men to log the timber in a day, and using the vehicles and pulleys he had devised, he had them transport the timber to the yamen. Thus he was able to save time and money, alleviating the trouble of the people. In criminal investigations he personally inspected crime scenes and brought the criminals to justice. He also made sure that no one was falsely accused of crimes he or she had not committed; in such instances he made sure that they were exonerated. Tasan’s care for the people was not limited to these activities. In spite of his enormous workload, he found time to write Comprehensive Study of Smallpox (Magwa hoet’ong), which was designed to save children dying of smallpox. Because he had been a victim of smallpox when he was young and had later lost some of his children to it, Tasan was interested in finding a treatment for the disease. Tasan also presented a proposal on the government’s policy on agriculture in response to a royal decree. In November 1798 King Chŏngjo issued a decree that many books related to agriculture be gathered in order to commemorate the sixtieth anniversary of King Yŏngjo’s cultivation of the royal farm. In his proposal Tasan analyzed the following problems with agriculture: In comparison with other areas, agriculture lacks three things: it is less respected than the study of scholars; it is less profitable than commerce; and it is less convenient than technology . . . Unless these three things are revised, even if the government pressures the people with lashes every day, agriculture cannot be promoted. Even though the science of agriculture is extremely sophisticated, it is carried out crudely. Because it is dealt with crudely, it requires hard work but brings little profit; and because it brings little profit despite hard work, it becomes less and less respected day after day. Because it becomes less and less respected, it naturally becomes much cruder, and these two elements, repeatedly working together in an adverse way, make the administration of agriculture drift away from its goal.

Following this analysis, Tasan proposed three remedies: first, “make agriculture convenient” (p’yŏnnong); second, “make agriculture profitable” (hunong); and third, “make agriculture respected” (sangnong). Citing numerous cases of corruption and inefficiency in local administration in his book, he introduces a number of administrative reforms he carried out during his magistracy. Nevertheless, he was not a revolutionary; rather, he was a

translator's introduction

xxxvii

pragmatic visionary. In the preface to Admonitions, he said, “The age of the sages has already passed away, and the influence of their teachings has declined; those who rule the people nowadays do not know how to shepherd the people. Instead, they are interested only in exploiting the people.” In this respect Tasan was not unlike Confucius, who yearned for the sage rule of King Wen of the ancient Zhou dynasty. His approach exemplifies Confucius’s doctrines of generating the new by preserving the old. Reform for Tasan, then, was not necessarily replacing the old with the new; it could be just the opposite, replacing the new with the old. In his view, the maladies of his time largely resulted from the distortion of visions and moral values in ancient social customs and institutions. His reforms were thus efforts to preserve or return to the original state of things. His dedication to the study of the classics, for instance, was a way to recover the original state of things or the teaching of the sage kings. This does not indicate, however, that Tasan was a blind follower of old customs and institutions. In fact, his extensive and profound knowledge of ancient ways prevented him from accepting them blindly. His statement on a controversial custom of a local district is a good example: “Each district has so-called ordinances, which are customs handed down from old times. They may have been problematic even when they were first instituted, but they have been made worse because the magistrates have often revised them as they pleased, adding or eliminating statutes according to their own self-interest and exploiting the people. Therefore, laws of this kind, being too crude, obsolete, and arbitrary, cannot be enforced unless they are changed.” This statement aptly reveals Tasan’s basic attitude toward reform, which is both conservative and radical at the same time. Reading his preface, one senses a certain premonition that his admonitions will not be heeded. He laments the helplessness caused by his exile and the fact that he will be unable to realize his ideals for better government. This frustration and sadness are poignantly reflected in the title of his book, Mongmin simsŏ. Concluding his preface, he remarks: “What, then, made me decide to title my book ‘A Book from the Heart’ [simsŏ]? It was because my circumstances would not allow me to shepherd the people even though I desire this opportunity.” This quiet resignation, attached to his indomitable spirit and idealism, appears to suggest that his book is an appeal, as well as an admonition, to all those who govern the people. It poignantly reflects the humaneness, benevolence, and genuine care for the people that he believed to be most essential for all those in public ser vice.

This page intentionally left blank

Admonitions on Governing the People

This page intentionally left blank

Au t hor’s Pr eface

In the olden days Emperor Shun, who succeeded Emperor Yao, appointed twelve regional representatives [mu] and ordered them to shepherd the people. In like fashion, when King Wen established his political system, he installed local magistrates called shepherds [mufu]. While traveling in Pingliu, Mengzi used the metaphor of animal husbandry and likened the ruling of people to the raising of cattle. These examples clearly indicate that in the minds of the sages, looking after people and raising cattle were nearly indistinguishable. The teachings of the sages posit two primary ways of governing the people. The first is that the minister of education [situ] teach the people how to cultivate themselves; the other is that the National University [Taixue] educate the sons of the nobility on how to cultivate their morality and govern the people. This indicates the link between governing the people and nurturing them. Therefore, half of the superior man’s learning consists of self-cultivation, and the other half is nurturing the people.

1. Th is refers to a statement made by Mencius to the governor of Pingliu. See Legge, Works of Mencius, Gong Shunchou, Part II. Pingliu is a district that belonged to the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period. 2. The original hanmun (classical Chinese) text reads something like “Th is indicates that, in the language of the sages, taking care of the people is referred to as mu (raising, as in caring for cattle).” By discussing the etymologies and loci classici of the Chinese terms, the author provides the rationale for the title of his book, Mongmin simsŏ, which literally means “A Book from the Heart on Shepherding the People.” 3. First established during the Han dynasty, this was the paramount educational institution.

1

2

Author’s Preface

The age of the sages has already passed away, and the influence of their teachings has declined; those who rule the people nowadays do not know how to shepherd the people. As a result, the common people are malnourished and harassed; they have become so sick that their dead bodies fi ll the ditches. The so-called shepherds of the people, on the other hand, indulge in fine clothing and tasty food, busy only in making themselves fat. How unfortunate! My father, favored with appointments by the royal court, served as the magistrate of two small counties [hyŏn], the magistrate of one great county [kun], the magistrate of one strategic prefecture [tohobu], and the magistrate of one town [mok], and his accomplishments were outstanding. Even though I lack the ability of my father, I was able to observe and learn about the world while I followed him, and by testing what I observed and learned later I gained some understanding of the world. However, my misfortune deprived me of an opportunity to make use of it permanently. Living for eighteen years in exile in a distant corner of the country and studying the Five Classics and the Four Books, I have tried to cultivate myself and turn my learning into practice. Looking back, however, I finally realized that self-cultivation is only half of true learning. I went through twenty-three [Chinese] histories and various historical records of our own country, as well as philosophical essays and literary works [chajip], of those who served as the magistrates with the purpose of discovering the ways of magistrates in governing their people. I endeavored to select good examples and studied them carefully. Then I classified and edited them one by one. In the distant region in the southern border of Chŏlla Province corruption of and exploitation by local officials are rampant. They often steal taxes and tribute squeezed out of poor people. Now living among commoners, I have had the opportunity to hear and learn a great deal about all these irregularities. After classifying and arranging their details in order, I have tried to record them with my humble views on them. This book comprises twelve parts: (1) Assuming Office; (2) Self-Discipline; (3) Public Ser vice; (4) Love of the People; Parts 5 to 10 are about the Six Statutes [concerning personnel, taxes, education, the military, justice, and public works]; (11) Famine Relief; and (12) Departure. Each of these twelve parts consists of six chapters, totaling seventy-two chapters altogether. However, some volumes consist of several chapters only, and some chapters are divided to make several vol4. These are a corpus of Chinese classics that have served as the foundation of Confucianism and of Chinese culture as a whole. The Five Classics are Book of Changes, Classic of History, Classic of Poetry, Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals. The Four Books are Analects, Book of Mencius, Great Learning, and Doctrine of the Mean. For Tasan, however, Five Classics were not sufficient for his purpose. So he added one more, Classic of Music, and proposed that Six Classics be studied.

Author’s Preface

3

umes. As a result, the whole corpus is made up of forty-eight volumes. Since this book is a product of the present age and its social conventions, it cannot emulate the good works of the old sage kings; nevertheless, it appears to have an appropriate structure as far as governing the people is concerned. In the late Koryŏ dynasty [918–1392] the job performance of local magistrates was evaluated on the basis of what are called the “five affairs” [osa], which were further expanded into “seven affairs” [ch’ilsa] in the Chosŏn period. These basically provide general guidelines for magistrates’ discharge of their official duties. However, the responsibilities of a magistrate are so extensive that it is very hard to carry them out satisfactorily. It is difficult to accomplish even the ones that are fully specified, not to mention the ones not covered in the guidelines. With the exception of the first and last part, this book carries sixty articles related to the governing of the people. He who is concerned about discharging his duty successfully as the head of the people will not be kept in the dark if he takes a look at these sixty articles. In the olden days Fu Yan wrote Records of Villages and Districts [Lixianpu], Liu Yi Laws and Regulations [Fafan], Wang Su Solitary Decisions [Duduan], Zhang Yong Collection of Admonitions for the People [Jieminji], Zhen Dexiu

5. During the first year of the reign of U Wang of the Koryŏ dynasty (1375), the job per formance of magistrates was evaluated in the following areas: reclamation of land, increase of population, justice in levying statutory labor, fair and speedy trials, and prevention of banditry. However, during the reign of Ch’ang Wang, U Wang’s successor, prevention of banditry was replaced with promotion of education. 6. The National Code or Great Code of 1469 (Kyŏngguk taejŏn), which was compiled during the early Chosŏn dynasty, added two more to the previous “five affairs.” As a result, the seven affairs were fi xed as the development of agriculture and sericulture, increase of population, promotion of education, military administration, fairness in levying statutory labor, fair and speedy trials, and suppression of cunning and wicked people. 7. An official of the Southern Qi during the Southern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Jigui. He served as magistrate of Wukang and Shanyin and later as prefect of Yizhou. His work titled Records of Villages and Districts (Lixianpu) appears to have been a book about local administration, but details of it are unknown. 8. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhizhong. He served as magistrate of Xiongshan and later as senior official of Chuzhou. Details of Laws and Regulations (Fafan), one of his works, are not known. 9. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongyi, and his posthumous title Yimin. He served as censor during the reign of Renzong and later as minister of works. Little information is available about the Opinions (Duduan), but it is presumed to have been a book about local administration. 10. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Fuzhi, and his pen name Guaiya. He served as minister of personnel. 11. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was originally Jingyuan but was later changed to Jingxi. His posthumous title was Wenzhong. He served as vice grand councilor. A

4

Author’s Preface

Discourses on Administration [Zhengjing], Hu Dachu Key Words [Xuyan], and Zheng Hanfeng Lake of Official Life [Huanzepian]; all these books had to do with shepherding the people. Nowadays these books are rarely handed down or read, and only lewd language and odd phrases are in circulation. How can these books be expected to survive? However, the Book of Changes says, “One should cultivate one’s virtue by studying hard the precepts and exemplary works of predecessors.” The purpose of my book, then, is mainly to cultivate myself; it should not be limited only to governing the people [mongmin]. What, then, made me decide to title my book A Book from the Heart [simsŏ]? It was because my circumstances would not allow me to shepherd the people even though I desire this opportunity.

I, Yŏlsu Chŏng Yagyong, write this preface in the late spring of the twenty-first year of King Sunjo’s reign [1821]. renowned scholar who produced many commentaries and essays, he was often referred to as Master Xishan. Councilor is correct. 12. An official of the Southern Song dynasty. 13. Zheng Xuan, a scholar of the Ming dynasty. Hanfeng was his courtesy name. His book, Lake of Official Life (Huanzepian), was originally a section included in the Daily Records of Zheng Xuan (Zuofeian rizuan). 14. The literal translation of Mongmin simsŏ, the original title of the book, is “A Book from the Heart on Shepherding the People.”

I

Assuming Office

C H A P T E R  : A PP OI N T M E N T

All the Seats in the Government Can Be Actively Sought After, but the Office of Magistrate Is an Exception. Those who serve men of higher social status are called “people” [min], and those who look after them, “scholar-officials” [sa]. Scholar-officials are public servants, and all those who are in public ser vice are shepherds who take care of people. If they are prudent and discreet, the officials in the royal court in Seoul whose duty is to serve the king or carry out their duties in the various departments of the administration are generally less exposed to corruption or regretful actions. On the other hand, the magistrates who rule the local districts and deal with many things daily are in fact much like the king; the difference lies only in the magnitude of their work. If one is aware of this fact, how can he dare to bid for the office of magistrate? In the olden days the domain of superior dukes [shanggong] was 100 li, that of marquises [houbo] 70 li, that of viscounts [zinan] 50 li, and that of barons [fuyong] less than 50 li. All of them, however, were feudal princes. In our age the dukedom has become a large state, the domain of marquises a midsize state, that of viscounts a county, and that of barons a small village. Even though the titles of these regional officials have now changed, the nature of their duty is much the same as that of old feudal princes. Discharging the duty of a feudal lord in the old 1. Sa, also called sadaebu, broadly refers to the group of officials dominant in the government. They were mostly litterateurs and made up most of the bureaucrats.

5

6

book I

days was not difficult because he had a chancellor, three ministers, great officers, and a body of officials who worked for him. Magistrates at the present time sit alone above all the people, aided only by three wicked advisors [kanmin] on the left and sixty or seventy yamen clerks on the right; in addition, they have several rough and tough military officers to ensure their personal security and a few dozen wicked and violent slaves who act as their servants. These people often band together and mislead their superior, who is only one man, into wrongful decisions by manipulating official documents and harassing the people. Furthermore, the office of the feudal princes in the old days was transmitted from generation to generation, and because their status was hereditary, those who committed serious crimes, whether they were high officials or common people, had to suffer the consequences of their evil acts; they were either deprived of the opportunity to serve in the government or were too ashamed to stand before the people for a long period of time. This reveals how in olden society there was a strong sense of both moral obligation and justice. Because of this, even corrupt people at that time dared not disobey the law. In contrast, the tenure of magistrates these days lasts only two years at most, and sometimes only a few months. A magistrate’s tenure is as brief as a traveler’s overnight stay at a tavern. However, the offices of their chief aides, military officials, and servants are still handed down as in the olden days. Much time has passed since the relationship between master and traveler began to change, and the reason for this is different as well. Since there is neither trust nor loyalty in the local government between the king and his subjects nor a law fi xed by Heaven, it is commonplace for those who commit crimes to run away temporarily; when the magistrate or the traveler departs from the district, the criminal returns home and enjoys what is still left in his possession just the same as before. After all, what does he have to be afraid of? Looked at in this light, serving as a magistrate is a hundred times more difficult than the case of old feudal princes. How, then, can one dare to seek the office of magistrate? 2. According to Rites of Zhou, they consisted of the minister of education, the minister of war, and the minister of works. 3. Great officers or grand masters (taebu) were the officials who belonged to the upper middle rank in the official hierarchy. 4. “Th ree wicked advisors” (kanmin) here indicates the personnel of the local yangban association, who consisted of the chief of the local yangban association (chwasu), the special director of the left (chwabyŏlgam), and the special director of the right (ubyŏlgam). The special directors were assistants to the chief of the local yangban association. 5. Clerks, military guards, government slaves, and the like were all natives of the district. The magistrate, on the other hand, was always a man from the outside. In that sense, the local people were masters and the magistrate a traveler.

Assuming Office

7

No matter how virtuous he is, the official duty of a magistrate cannot be successfully discharged unless he is endowed with personal dignity; he may be eager to do a good job, but without intelligence he will be unable to accomplish his job in the way that he wants. When the magistrate fails to discharge his duty, it is the people who bear the dire consequences; they will suffer and die on the streets. Then people and ghosts alike will complain and reproach; the effect will be catastrophic and follow him down to his posterity. Taking all these dangers into consideration, how can one covet the office of magistrate? It has become customary in our time for a military man to pay a visit to officials in charge of personnel administration [chŏngwan] and beg for the office of magistrate. Thus he is unashamed to do this. He who seeks the position, lacking any sense of shame, never questions his qualifications for the job he desires, and the one who grants his request does not inquire about his qualifications; this is decidedly wrong. The officials who work in the Office of Special Counselors [Hongmun’gwan] or in the Royal Secretariat [Sŭngjŏngwŏn] often solicit the office of local magistrate under the pretext that they desire to serve their parents. Their request is granted on the basis of the principle of filial piety, and this practice has become such a part of our social customs that everyone takes it for granted. However, this type of practice never existed in the time of the Yu, Xia, Yin, and Zhou dynasties. An official who is too poor to provide enough food for his parents certainly deserves our sympathy. However, the act of serving in public office in order to aid a private person is questionable. As a public servant charged with the welfare of the people, is it appropriate for him to seek a magistracy simply to serve his own family? It goes against reason that he who is a subject of the king would seek an opportunity to serve his parents at the expense of the people; it also goes against reason that the king would allow his subject to exploit the people in order to serve his own parents. If an individual is confident of his talent and ability to govern the people, submitting a petition to request a job is reasonable. However, it is absurd for an individual to make such a request on the basis of his desire to discharge a filial duty he is prevented from achieving because of his impoverished condition. In the olden days, every so often officials who were already well liked and trusted by the people sought the office of local magistrate when they were invited to deliver royal lectures. In these cases the royal court granted their request 6. During the Chosŏn dynasty the Classics Colloquium or Office of the Royal Lectures, called Kyŏngyŏn, was instituted in the royal court, and learned officials and scholars were appointed or invited to give lectures on the classics and histories in the presence of the king and high officials. During the lectures, however, state affairs were often discussed, so the royal lectures had both academic and political functions.

8

book I

without any concern about their qualifications, and the people of the district were happy about their appointment as well. Taking advantage of this old precedent, people in the present try to solicit the office of magistrate despite their lack of talent and virtue. Furthermore, it is shameful for those who are neither poor nor lacking in resources to use their parents as an excuse to gain the post of a magistrate. Their examples should not be followed. T’oegye in his reply to a letter of Yi Kangi said, “It is natural that one should worry about the lack of good food to serve his parents. However, people today draw unjust stipends, and use serving their parents as an excuse. This is like borrowing food from the public cemetery in order to serve their parents.”  Is it honorable for a man of little talent with a substantial fortune to use serving his parents as an excuse to gain the position of magistrate? If he had a talent for governing the people, there would be no problem even if he recommended himself for that position. In the Later Han dynasty Geng Chun requested that he be allowed to be in charge of a district, vowing that he would do his best to produce some results in governing the district. The king laughed and said, “You try to recommend yourself by pledging to accomplish an outstanding job.” He granted the request and appointed him the magistrate of Dong Commandery. Desirous to prove himself, Li Baozhen of the Tang dynasty made a similar request that he be allowed to govern a prefecture. Thus he was first appointed prefect of Luzhou and later was reappointed and transferred to Huaizhou. During the eight years of his ser vice the people enjoyed peace. A Magistrate Who Is Newly Appointed Must Be Careful Not to Spend Money Recklessly. Since the payment of the magistrate’s salary is planned on a monthly basis, and the amount of his monthly salary is based on his daily expenditures, drawing an advance on his salary is spending money that is not supposed to be spent; spending money that is not to be spent is a sign of greed and exploitation. If the magistrate happens to be reassigned before he even arrives at his post, how can he, who is still 7. Yi Hwang (1501–1570), a great Neo-Confucian phi losopher and scholar-official of the midChosŏn period. T’oegye was his pen name. 8. Yi Chŏng (1512–1571), an official of the mid-Chosŏn period. Kangi was his courtesy name. 9. It refers to a man of Chi who deceives his wife and concubine in Mencius. “Li Lau,” in Legge, Works of Mencius, p. 341. 10. His courtesy name was Boshan. A native of Julu (now in Xingtai, Hebei), he rose to the position of Marquise of Dongguang. 11. His courtesy name was Taixuan. Being a younger cousin on the paternal side of General Li Baoyu (703–777), also known as Duke Zhaowu of Liang, he led an army and captured Zhutao.

Assuming Office

9

in Seoul, spend money belonging to the district to which he has been assigned before he has even done any work there? Therefore, he who is newly appointed must restrain himself from reckless spending and spend only what is necessary. Nowadays, when the newly appointed magistrate pays a visit to the king in order to report his departure, the special director of the Great Hall of the Royal Palace (aegye; also called taejŏn pyŏlgam) and the messenger of the Royal Secretariat (wŏnye; also called Sŭngjŏngwŏn saryŏng) usually extort money from him. This old practice of extorting money from the appointee is called “walking around in the royal court” [kwŏlnae haengha]. This sort of bribe money amounts to several hundred taels at the most and 50 to 60 taels at the least. When the money offered by appointees who belong to the privileged officials [ŭmgwan], military officials, and those who are from families of little importance is not sufficient, these runners and messengers in the court often ridicule them to their faces or even pull them by the sleeves, which is really humiliating. Long ago the former king [Chŏngjo] strictly prohibited this kind of practice, and as a result, the Royal Secretariat set a limit on the exact amount of money to be collected from appointees so that it could be neither raised nor reduced in the future. This measure resulted in the decrease of insults and embarrassment to a certain extent, but this method of collecting the money is hardly different from the collection of tribute taxes and therefore is seriously against propriety. When the royal court sends officials to the provinces, it should encourage them to take care of the people by reducing their expenses. By failing to warn them, however, the court instead allows those such as special directors and messengers in the court to extort money freely; at the same time it overlooks that the appointees, along with the court officials, appropriate public funds at their will and waste them on feasts and banquets at which they drink and womanize while listening to all sorts of music. How can this be justified? It is against propriety for a high official in the royal court to pressure an appointee with words such as “Why do you not treat those in the royal court now that you have gained a rich district and will soon enjoy sucking the fat and blood of the people?” Nor is it proper for an appointee to succumb to this demand by saying, “How can I dare to decline your request, having a chance to make up for my expenses once I take my office?” Moreover, because the districts all have different customs, there are those who draw from the public depository [mingo] the expenses [that are needed at 12. “Walking around in the royal court” (kwŏlnae haengha) refers to a newly appointed magistrate paying respect to officials in the royal court, offering presents or promises for their favor. 13. Mingo refers to various miscellaneous taxes collected for the official expenses of the local district. The word mingo can also be translated as “local tax storehouse” and “taxes for the local state storehouse.”

10

book I

the time of their appointment] for the practice of so-called walking around in the royal court. If this is the case, it is more or less the case that the government permits the special directors and messengers to exploit the people freely, is it not? Although the court should prohibit these kinds of irregularities, it actually overlooks them, vaguely indicating that there are certain precedents to be observed. Thus the appointees continue to follow the bad practices of the past. What can we do about this? If friends in need or impoverished relatives, including aunts, sisters-in-law, and sisters, come to ask for help, it is hard to ignore their requests. In such cases the appointee should attach the following note of instruction at the bottom of the paper underneath his signature: “All claims should be made ten days after my inauguration.” Then he passes it to the district’s capital agent [kyŏngjŏri]. (The number of days should be flexible. So it can be ten days or five days, for it depends on individual cases. What is important is to set the date after calculating the extent of time needed for his arrival.) If the situation of the people who seek his help is not urgent, the appointee can treat them with comforting words and promises and send them what they need a month or two after his inauguration; but his assistance should not exceed a limit that would cause financial burden on his district. In this case, too, he should first write a promissory note so that people in need can be assured about the payment they are to expect. (The promissory notes should state the name of the family, as well as the amount of money to be provided.) Irregularities Should Be Prevented from the Moment the First Dispatch of the District’s Capital Agent Is Sent Down to the District. The general protocol for welcoming a new magistrate is as follows: first, the offer of goods and articles as a tribute to the new magistrate; second, the repair of his official residence; third, welcoming with banners; fourth, heads of villages who wait to pay their respect to the new magistrate; and fift h, the people must go as far as the halfway point [between the district and Seoul] and greet the new magistrate. Some of these things, if deemed inappropriate, can be eliminated. When the district’s capital agent informs the new magistrate that he will dispatch a courier to the district, the new magistrate sends the following instructions to the chief clerk of his district: “The tribute items [offered to the new magistrate] should consist of some wine and side dishes and nothing else. As for the 14. A district’s capital agent (kyŏngjŏri) was a liaison official who represented and worked for the district’s interest, staying in Seoul. 15. “Heads of villages” here indicates the people with the titles of guardian of the customs and laws (p’unghŏn) and head of the community compact (yakchŏng).

Assuming Office

11

repair of my official residence, wait until I give my orders. There should be only two banners for escorting my entourage on the day of my arrival at the district border, and their main purpose should be to serve as a signal; these should be carried by gate guards [munjol]. Try to eliminate all other things. Never tell any military personnel about my arrival, regardless of whether they are inside or outside the district. My arrival should be kept secret especially from those who belong to the lower ranks and practice extortion of the people. The people like village representatives and heads of the community compact, as well as the regiment commander, the battalion commander, the company commander, and officers of banner and tally [bannermen who were also soldiers], are not an exception. As for your paying courtesy during my journey, it will be allowed only once I arrive at the midpoint, but tribute should not be presented.” In the old days the tribute for the new magistrate consisted of a number of things, including saddles and harnesses, cloth, paper, side dishes, and so forth, and they were part of the protocol in welcoming the new magistrate. The magistrate accepted them, but only to distribute them to his relatives, and this was indeed a graceful custom. However, because the districts have become poor and have deteriorated since the middle age, the magistrate must realize that he should reduce the size of the tributes and be careful to avoid overspending. Since the repair of the magistrate’s official residence requires a great deal of paper, generates many abuses, and exploits the labor of common people and Buddhist monks, it is advisable that the magistrate repair it at the appropriate time after his inauguration. The job of holding banners for the welcoming procession of the new magistrate is mostly carried out by the members of the local sog’o units [sog’ogun]. When these soldiers enter town, some of them choose to stay as long as ten days; those who stay outside the town take collections from the villagers to pay for their expenses. When this occurs during farming season, the damage they cause to the people can be more serious. The magistrate, therefore, must be careful about those people. When people from the countryside visit the town and stay long, they all become a nuisance to the residents. For this reason, courtesies paid by village representatives [p’unghŏn], heads of the community compact [yakchŏng], and guard officers [changgwan] should also not be allowed.

16. “The middle age” indicates the late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century mid-Chosŏn period, during which the Japa nese and Manchu invasions took place. It is also a period in which serious factionalism fi rst emerged, producing the Easterners and Westerners factions. 17. Sog’o units (sog’ogun) were local militias established after the Japa nese invasion in 1592. They consisted of both people of good status and government slaves, but slave soldiers formed a majority. The commanders called ch’ŏngch’ong, p’ach’ong, and ch’ogwan all belonged to these militias.

12

book I

In the early stages of welcoming the new magistrate, there is a seemingly endless line of local officials and clerks who visit to pay their respects to him. Their traveling expenses for this courtesy, however, are always drawn from the people. After the inauguration of the new magistrate, the runners collect money from local residents under the pretext of paying respect to the new magistrate, and their manner of raising money is called “begging with empty hands” [tongnyŏng] or “begging with a bottle of wine on one’s side” [chogon]. They also raise funds, visiting designated villages called kyebangch’on or even the islands and remote villages. Therefore, local officials who pay their respects to the new magistrate must be discouraged. Essays of Tasan [Tasan p’ildam] states the following: “The most superfluous among the subordinate officials who greet the new magistrate are the clerks of the personnel section [ibang]. If the magistrate intends to take his mother and wife with him to his post, they cannot be lightly dismissed; however, if he travels alone, they are quite useless.” When the magistrate sends down his first orders through his capital agent, he gives the following instructions: “Since I have no company and travel alone, there should be no elaborate welcoming ceremony. Do not let personnel clerks come up to Seoul in order to wait on me; just have them wait for me at the border of the district. Only a clerk in charge of punishments, a clerk in charge of the kitchen [churi or kamgsang], a clerk in charge of works in relation to the magistrate’s trip [kwalli or haengch’a kongbang], a boy servant, plus two attending slaves [sino or kŭpch’ang], two body servants [ch’ujong or ch’ujong pangja], and three runners [choye or saryŏng] should be allowed to come up to Seoul at once; the rest of the people should remain in the district unless they are ordered otherwise.” If his circumstances do not allow him to reduce the scale of his entourage, he can increase the number of personnel, but fewer are better. Since Collecting Travel Expenses [Swaemabi] for the New Magistrate in Spite of the Fact That They Are Already Paid by the Government Is Concealing the Grace of the King and Plundering the People of Their Property, It Should Never Be Allowed. According to the Supplement to the National Code [Soktaejŏn], the number of official horses [swaema] provided to incoming or outgoing magistrates was fi xed according to the distance traveled. Because all provinces except Pyŏngan and 18. Kyebangch’on: a village whose residents sign up with an official for low-rate ser vice in order to reduce the collective tax burden (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 1169). 19. The term swaemabi literally means the expenses for the horses of traveling officials. At first, the expenses for the horses were paid with rice, but they were later replaced with money. 20. Chosŏn dynasty law code of 1746, published during the reign of Yŏngjo.

Assuming Office

13

Hamgyŏng were supposed to keep these horses, the provinces and prefectures had twenty horses, and counties and subdistricts fifteen. These numbers were originally specified in the provisions of the law. In addition, the provinces were divided into three groups: high, middle, and low; likewise the districts: large, medium, and small. If the distance was very great and the districts were large, up to six additional horses were provided. If the distance was relatively short and the districts were small, two extra horses were provided. In the case of Kyŏnggi Province, the number of horses was reduced, but the regions to the west of Pakch’ŏn in Pyŏngan Province and to the north of Hongwŏn in Hamgyŏng Province were provided with horses. The expenses for official horses were initially paid with rice, but after the Equalized Tax Law [Kyunyŏkbŏp] the government paid them in currency (Comprehensive National Code) in the case of the coastal districts of the three southern provinces, and the amount of the payment ranged from a maximum of 400 taels or so to a minimum of 300 taels or so. When this law was initially enacted, the government’s main concern was to protect the district residents from potential abuses when welcoming or bidding farewell to their magistrates. Thus the government decided to provide all the necessary expenses for official travel. Despite this law, however, traveling expenses for both old and new magistrates are still collected from the people; furthermore, the amount of money thus raised is either double the sum provided by the government or equal to it. Although no one appears to be ashamed of this practice only because it has already become an old custom, it is no doubt morally wrong. In plundering the people’s property even though the king has already provided them with horses to prevent them from abusing the people for the sake of their travels, the magistrates conceal the grace of the king. This is exactly what the chief of Ge did to King Tang when he took ritual food from him without offering sacrifices. Since, strictly speaking, the collection of the new magistrate’s traveling expenses is always decided and directed by the local yangban association [hyangch’ŏng], the magistrate himself cannot be blamed for the collection. 21. In 1750, the twenty-sixth year of his reign, King Yŏngjo decreed that “the cloth tax be reduced from two to one, the loss in revenue to be made up by taxes on fish traps, salt production, and private fishing and trading vessels, and by a grain surtax” (Lee, New History of Korea, 226). 22. Chŏlla, Kyŏngsang, and Ch’ungch’ŏng provinces in the south of Korea. Since the coastal districts of these provinces were far from the capital and their road system was poor, their residents had a hard time paying their taxes with grain. 23. King Tang sent ritual foods such as oxen and sheep to the chief of Ge, but the latter ate them instead of making sacrifices. See “Tengwengong, II,” in Legge, Works of Mencius, 271–272. 24. Hyangch’ŏng was a local agency designed to aid the magistrate. It was led by a head seat called chwasu and an assistant called pyŏlgam, and the head seat was selected among the most reputable members of the local yangban association and appointed by the magistrate every two years.

14

book I

However, failing to pay for these expenses even after his inauguration is tantamount to stealing public funds. It is true that he did not collect the money himself, but he was the one who actually used it. How, then, can he not be blamed? If the money is not supposed to be taken, he should give instructions and convey his thoughts to his subordinates and the people. When he sends down his orders to his district, he separately calls the chief clerk and gives the following instructions: “You may have already collected the expenses needed for my traveling. However, since they have already been paid by the government, how can I make the people pay again for my traveling? I am afraid that refunding the money to the people will be difficult because it will likely evaporate in the process. I presume that the district has various taxes, such as statutory ser vice, military taxes, or land-use taxes, that are to be paid in full within a few months. Adjust the collected traveling expenses for those due taxes and have the people pay less in taxes. This would be a fair and reasonable solution. Let my intention be known to the local yangban association and make them take appropriate actions to resolve this matter.” If the replacement and appointment of old and new magistrates take place in Seoul, and, therefore, the district is unaware of this fact, the new magistrate sends down the following orders: “Since the expenses for my traveling were already paid by the government, how can you ask the people to pay for them? Make sure you do not collect money for this purpose.” When the new magistrate arrives, people will look to him in expectation. If the news of his orders reaches the people under these circumstances, they will cheer and sing his praises even before he arrives. Since the magistrate’s dignity stems from his integrity, those who are wicked and cunning will prostrate themselves in fear, and whenever he gives orders or fulfi lls his duty, the people will never fail to obey him. If the joyous cheers of the people can be gained with a mere 300 taels, is not the money well spent? The reason that there has been no one in the entire nation within the past several hundred years who has given such orders before his inauguration is not necessarily that they all lacked integrity. Those without experience were unaware of such precedents from the beginning and thus simply took the practice [that is, improperly collecting money for traveling expenses] for granted after their inauguration. This is why no one was able to act differently. Would it not be wonderful to be the first person to give such a righteous order? Local customs vary in many ways. Since the local governments have extorted money from the people under various pretexts, such as the repair of the magistrate’s official residence or the purchase of the magistrate’s sunshades and palanquins, which are usually collected along with the new magistrate’s travel expenses, the magistrate should address inquiries about this to the district’s capital agent.

Assuming Office

15

If there are indeed contradictions between these actions and local customs, he must deal with the matter along with the issue of travel expenses. C H A P T E R  : PR E PA R AT ION S F OR T R AV E L I NG T O T H E P O S T

When the Magistrate Prepares to Travel to His Post, He Should Keep His Old Outfits and Saddled Horses; He Should Not Replace Them with New Ones. The magistrate’s love of people lies in his frugality, and the essence of his frugality lies in a life of simplicity. Without being frugal, he cannot be upright, and without being upright, he cannot be benevolent. Thus frugality is a virtue he should try to attain first. A foolish and ignorant person tries to cut an impressive figure by wearing new clothes and a fine hat and riding on a fine horse with an expensive saddle. However, veteran clerks, curious about their new magistrate, will smirk at such a display of dignity. When the outfit of their magistrate is colorful and luxurious, they are relieved and pleased. On the other hand, if his appearance looks simple and austere, they are surprised and fearful. Since a man of learning looks down on things envied by children of the street, what good is it to stage such a show? A foolish man may believe that spectators are envious of him, but they are not; rather, they hate him. Is it not foolish to spend his money only to have his reputation damaged and, much worse, incur the hatred of the people? Luxury and extravagance are only for the foolish. Since he who is appointed a local magistrate is most likely to have served in Seoul, he may already have most of the clothes and saddled horses he needs. Would it not be better for him to leave without adding to what he has now? Not one item should be newly prepared. Zheng Xuan said, “When a poor scholar unexpectedly enters government ser vice, he immediately seeks a loan from a moneylender in order to prepare his horse and carriage, attendants and servants, and food and clothes, which are comparable to those of rich and noble families in cost and quality. Besides, he has to visit and thank the officials who worked for his appointment, and when he departs for the place of his appointment, his creditors follow him. If this happens, what choice does he have but to steal from the government treasury or extort money from the people in order to pay his debts?” 25. Th is is because they believe that a magistrate who dresses in this way will not be strict in dealing with them. 26. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Hanfeng. He was known to have written a book called Zuofeian ji, but the details of his life and works are not known.

16

book I

Fan Gongcheng of the Song dynasty in Admonitions to My Children [Guotinglu] said, “When my late father left for Suizhou, the place of his appointment, his traveling luggage amounted to only three bags, and when he returned home after quitting his post, it was still the same. If one maintains his traveling outfit in such a manner, he said, one would not only feel comfortable but also be safe from scandals [for instance, being falsely accused or slandered] if he runs into something unexpected on the way.” The reason that Yang Wanli [pen name Chengzhai] did not purchase anything at all while he served in the imperial court was that he feared that it might become a burden when he returned home. Also, the reason that Assistant Director of the Right [youcheng] Fan carried no more than three bags when he traveled to his post was that he believed that the traveling outfit of public officials should be simple. If he carried himself in such a manner, how could he not be honest in carrying out his duty? When Hai Rui of the Ming dynasty was appointed censor in chief of Nanjing and first arrived at his post carry ing only two wooden chests, residents did not recognize him, even though his ship had arrived at the upper reaches of the river, close to his destination. Sometime later he fell sick, and a doctor was called. When the doctor entered his room, he was surprised to find that his bedsheets were all made of white hemp cloth. The plainness of his room, marked by extreme frugality, was even worse than that of a poor scholar. When Second Minister Yu Ŭi governed Hongju, he used to go out with a ragged hat and a crude overcoat with a belt of faded color, riding a small pony. His bed was shabby, having neither an underquilt nor a pillow. Establishing his authority in this manner, he made those who were wicked and cunning so scared that he never needed to use any measure of discipline and punishment. I am the witness.

27. A great-grandson of Fan Chunren (1027–1101), a famous official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Shenzong. Admonitions to My Children (Guotinglu) is the precepts of Fan Chunren, intended for his family and off spring, which were collected by his great-grandson Fan Gongcheng. 28. Yang Wanli (1127–1206) was one of the Four Great Masters of the Southern Song dynasty. During the reign of Xiaozong he served as attending supervisor (shizhi) of the Hall for Treasuring Culture (Baowenge). 29. Fan Chunli, a brother of Fan Chunren. 30. Hai Rui (1514−1587) was famous for his strong and uncompromising character, as well as his integrity. 31. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Ŭiji. He also served as inspector general. 32. Modern Hongsŏng in South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province.

Assuming Office

17

Petty Tales by Hanam [Hanam shwaehwa] states: “When Second Minister Yun Kwangan and I worked together while proofreading at the Publications Office [Kyosŏgwan], I found the fabric of his coat loose and lacking threads, like the ones worn by mourners. When he later became governor of Kyŏngsang Province, his personal dignity dominated throughout his province. When Second Minister Yu Kang became governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, he decorated his hat string with wax beads, and the people of his district were afraid of him and submitted to his simplicity and integrity. “Kim Sŏgu, fourth tutor [of the Crown Prince Tutorial Office], enjoyed and practiced frugality all his life. He used to go out wearing an overcoat made of coarse hemp cloth with sheepskin on it. Looking at his odd appearance, the children on the street made fun of him. But when he became magistrate of Haenam, he ruled his district with such dignity and benevolence that even people suffering from malaria regarded him as the best cure. The upright public officials in the old days were all like this. “Some people argue that it is hard to maintain integrity because doing so deprives them of many opportunities, but they do not realize that integrity costs them nothing if they are frugal. Then why should it be difficult to lead a life of frugality? “In recent years a military official became magistrate of Haenam. He was seen carry ing a silk purse with a long decorative string with knots. Observing his outfit, the yamen clerks of Kangjin predicted that the new magistrate would be lewd and greedy. Their prediction turned out to be true. One does not need to be educated to make observations; sly and cunning clerks are also capable of making them. How can one not be afraid of this?” The Number of People Who Accompany the Magistrate Should Be Limited. One of the magistrate’s sons can be allowed to join his father’s entourage. According to our current custom, the magistrate usually keeps a personal secretary called ch’aekgaek, making him take care of his bookkeeping. Because this practice is against law and propriety, it should be stopped. (For more details, see the 33. Th is is presumed to be a work of Chŏng Yagyong, but it does not survive. 34. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Poikch’o, and his pen name Panho. He served as governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, censor general, and minister of rites. 35. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Sajŏng. He also served as special capital magistrate (puyun) of Kyŏngju and censor-in-chief. 36. Beads for hat strings were usually made of amber. 37. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. He also served as fourth censor and fourth inspector.

18

book I

section on the rules for hiring personal attendants.) If the magistrate lacks confidence in his calligraphy, it may be advisable for him to take a person who is good at it and make him his secretary. Since personal servants are moths in the government, none of them should be allowed to accompany the magistrate. If there are servants who rendered a great ser vice, the magistrate promises that he will reward them separately some other time. He should not take his household slaves, either; however, he can arrange for one of them to follow his wife. Generally speaking, those who follow the magistrate, including his son, must not be allowed to have talks with local functionaries. On the day when the head of the yamen attendants in charge of welcoming the new magistrate pays his first visit, the magistrate tells the man that he and his colleagues can see the faces of his family, including his sons, but cannot address or converse with them. He says, “If any member of my family addresses you, you will have no choice but to respond, and in that case, my people are to be blamed. On the other hand, if you say even one word to them first, you will be held responsible. If you fail to stop the clerks and servants who try to speak to the members of my family, you will also be held responsible.” After giving such orders, he makes sure that his own family does not violate his injunction, and if anyone breaks it, he punishes the person with no exception. When Xu Zi, a man of integrity and strong personality, was appointed magistrate of Jiashan, he took with him to his post only one of his sons and a servant. His quarters were very cold during the winter, and his son, unable to stand the cold, asked that he be allowed to bring some charcoal from outside to warm the room. Xu, however, ordered that a dry stick be brought from the barn and gave it to his son. He said, “Try to step on it and roll it with the bottom of your feet. Your feet will get warm by themselves.” This, in my view, seems to be too heartless and unnaturally severe to be a good example for the magistrate’s conduct. When Yang Jizong was in charge of Jiaxing Prefecture, he lived with only his servant, and his life resembled that of a man residing in a strange land. He finished nine years of his appointed term without any of his family members. When Wang Shu toured the Yunnan region for inspection, he did not bring his servants. When he announced his intention through a public notice by saying, “I wanted to take my servants with me, but I decided to come alone, despite my old age, out of fear that it might bring about the complaints of the people,” the residents all paid their respects to him by burning incense. 38. An official of the Ming dynasty. 39. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Chengfang, and his posthumous title Zhensu. He also served as director (zhushi) of the Bureau of Punishments and assistant censorin-chief (qiandu yushi). 40. An official of the Ming dynasty during the reign of Xiaozong (1470–1505). His courtesy name was Zongguan, and his posthumous title Duanyi. He also served as minister of personnel.

Assuming Office

19

When Tang Kan was appointed magistrate of Yongfeng and left for the place of his appointment, he did not take his wife and children; he took with him only one or two servants and lived on a diet of rice with vegetables and bean soup. As time passed, the clerks and people trusted and obeyed him. Xie Zixiang was also a man of integrity. Although he served as a local administrator for thirty years, he never took his family to the districts that he served. (The records on these people are in the History of the Ming Dynasty.) If the Magistrate Takes a Carriage Full of Books in Addition to a Quilt and Pillow Set and Padded Clothes, This Will Make an Outfit Befitting an Upright Scholar. Those who are appointed district magistrates these days take only an almanac with them and do not include any books in their traveling package because they feel that even a book can be a great burden when they return home after quitting their posts. They know that they will accumulate lots of treasures to bring home once they arrive at their districts. How lamentable! If this is the way they think, which is so low and contemptible, how can they be expected to govern the people properly? If a man of letters is appointed a magistrate, the scholars in his neighborhood may want to ask questions or have debates with him. How can he deal with a situation like this if it happens? Although low in degree of importance compared to the above situation, a magistrate may have to teach local students who are preparing for the civil ser vice examination, and he may thus need to search for ancient precedents or subjects of literary compositions. How can he do this without his books? Again, a magistrate may have social gatherings with his colleagues in the neighborhood, even though these are not a top priority. On these occasions, enjoying the beautiful mountains and streams surrounding him, he may have to compose a few poems and share them with his friends, but how can he do this without any poetry books to read? Furthermore, how can he conduct his debates on matters related to land administration, statutory labor ser vice, famine relief, and legal justice without consulting the books of the olden days? Since the borders of the southern and northern parts of the country are very remote and their climate and environment are very different, one is very susceptible to sickness but has difficulty finding a doctor. How can the magistrate cope with this situation without taking a few books of medicine? A man appointed to border districts with garrisons will have to prepare day and night for potential disturbances. Then books on military science, including 41. A man of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yanzhi. He also served as director of the Bureau of Punishments. 42. A man of the Ming dynasty during the reign of the Yongle Emperor (1360–1424). His name was Xie Gun, and Zixiang was his courtesy name. He served as district magistrate of Qingtian.

20

book I

those of Qi Jiguang,43 Yu Dayou,44 Wang Minghao,45 and Mao Yuanyi,46 must be ready at his side. That is why it is indispensable to bring a carriage full of books. If he returns home with his books without taking any local products in his carriage, will not the clean wind fi ll up the road of his departure?47 C H A P T E R : TA K I NG L E AV E OF T H E K I NG

When the Hearings of the Two Offices [the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Censor General] Are Successfully Completed, the Appointee Reports to the King for His Departure. The Supplement to the National Code [Soktaejŏn] stipulated as follows: “All firsttime appointees to the office of inspector [tosa] or district magistrate must have confirmation hearings. However, those who have already served as royal advisor or are above rank 3 in their official status are exempted from this requirement. The hearings are conducted by the two officials who represent each of the two offices [the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Censor General]. (When the officials from the two offices are not both present, the ones who arrived first can proceed with the hearing.) If one happens to fail confirmation hearings even though fift y days have passed since the day of his appointment, a memorial should be submitted to the king so that his appointment can be renewed.” “Bailiffs [kamch’al] who have already had confirmation hearings at the time of their appointment are exempt from the hearings requirement even if they are first-time appointees.” 

43. A military general and a national hero of the Ming dynasty. He is famous for repelling the Japa nese pirates along the east coast of China and repairing the Great Wall. He produced a number of books on military science, including New Book on Effective Military Tactics. 44. A military general of the Ming dynasty and a colleague of Qi Jiguang. He is remembered for eliminating the Japa nese pirates leading a fleet of battleships and suppressing the bandits of the Huichao area. 45. Unknown. 46. A military general of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of Wufei zhi, an encyclopedia of military science in 240 volumes, which he completed in 1621. 47. When a departing magistrate has a heavy load of baggage to take home, the vehicles and personnel he hires will naturally raise a great dust on the road; on the other hand, a magistrate who has little to take home can enjoy the clean wind on his way. 48. The officials during the Chosŏn dynasty were divided into two groups: civil and military officials, which are called tongban (Eastern fi le) and sŏban (Western fi le), respectively. Both of them were again divided into nine ranks, and state councilors belonged to rank 1, and ministers to rank 2. 49. An official belonging to the Office of Inspector General whose duty was to inspect state examinations or spending of public funds. 50. Th is is also from the Supplement to the National Code.

Assuming Office

21

According to my observations, so-called confirmation hearings [sŏgyŏng] are essentially a procedure for examining the candidate’s family records [which concern the four previous ancestors] on both his paternal and maternal sides before a final decision is made about his appointment. (This rule is also applied to his spouse.) Only when there was a special order from the king could the candidate be exempt from the hearings of one of these two offices. However, nowadays this process is only a formality. According to the National Code [Kyŏngguk taejŏn], “District magistrates are required to take oral examinations on the Four Books and one classic, The Great Ming Code [Da Ming Lu], and the National Code, as well as written tests on how to govern the people.” (According to the Comprehensive National Code, candidates who have failed to pass an examination on three books or have failed to take oral tests three times are to be disqualified; ones who have failed to pass on one book or did not take oral tests twice, or ones who have failed to pass on two books and did not take one oral test, are also disqualified. The written tests are now abolished.) In my observation, ancient laws accorded special importance to the appointment of magistrates and governors. Thus they provided a series of procedures that included the process of recommendation before the appointment was made, confirmation hearings on the appointees once the appointment was made, and finally the examinations on the books and classics and code of laws, which were to ensure the qualifications of the candidates. Nowadays these laws are in name only despite the fact that phrases and formalities attached to them still remain. As a result, men of little talent and learning are able to advance to the office of magistrate with few impediments. (Nowadays only those who are appointed to offices above rank 6 without taking the civil ser vice examination are required to take the oral examination.) The National Code states, “Every lunar January, civil officials above rank 3 and military officials above rank 2 can recommend those who are talented and qualified to become district magistrates or lesser garrison commanders [manho]; however, the number of candidates they recommend cannot exceed three.” It also states, “If the men they recommended commit crimes of bribery and inhumane acts, those who recommended them are also held responsible for the crimes.” The law of recommendation, in my observation, still remains intact in its form, but what is the use of it when it is no longer enforced?

51. Four previous ancestors: father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and great-great-grandfather. 52. A law code compiled during the reign of Chŏngjo (1785) that was based on the National Code and the Supplement to the National Code.

22

book I

When the Appointee Pays Respect to the High Ministers of State and the Officials of the Offices of Inspector General and Censor General at the Time of His Departure, He Should Talk About His Lack of Ability, Not the Lack of His Stipend. No matter how little the stipend of a district magistrate may be, even a family of ten will not starve. It is appropriate for both the appointee and those who send him to discuss matters and problems that concern the people in the district, not a disgraceful topic of conversation such as the amount of the stipend. If someone congratulates the appointee on his prospects of making a good income, he should respond, “Since much of it may have to do with things that are unlawful, how can I be pleased?” If someone shows concern over the small amount of his stipend, he will answer, “It is still sufficient to feed a family of ten. Why should I be worried?” If there are high ministers or inspectors [taesin] who formerly served as governor of the district to which he is assigned or as a magistrate of a neighboring district, he should ask them in detail about the customs and irregularities of the place and seek their advice to straighten out the problems. He should seek their help and advice with a sincere, not superficial, heart. When Yang Wanli became assistant magistrate of Lingling, he went to see Minister Zhang Weigong in order to seek his advice. Kneeling on the floor, he paid respect to him as if he were his disciple. Then the minister answered, “During the years of Yuanfu, there were many officials who wore purple robes with golden belts around them, but only the names of Qu Zhiwan and Chen Yingzhong remain untarnished like the light of the sun and moon.” Keeping these words in mind, Yang Wanli exerted himself throughout his whole life to maintain integrity and rectitude. When the Appointee Pays a Farewell Visit to the Officials in Charge of Appointments, He Should Not Express His Gratitude. Since the officials in charge of personnel [chŏn’gwan] selected a man for the sake of the state, they should not regard their selection as a personal favor to the appointee; likewise, since the appointee was selected on the basis of his qualifications, he should not feel indebted to them. Even if he happens to meet with them privately, he should not touch on subjects related to recommendation, and if the

53. “Inspectors” (taesin): officials of the Office of Inspector General. 54. Zhang Jun, an official of the Song dynasty. Weigong was his posthumous title. 55. Qu Hao, an official of the Northern Song dynasty. Zhiwhan was his courtesy name. He was famous for being outspoken and uncompromising. 56. Chen Quan, an official of the Northern Song dynasty. Yingzhong was his courtesy name. He was also famous for being outspoken.

Assuming Office

23

other side brings them up, he should only reply, “Your honor chose a man of little talent. I am afraid that I may fall short of your expectations.” These days military officials who are appointed magistrates pay farewell visits to the officials in charge of personnel administration at their homes and always ask if there is anything that they need. If they say they need something and pretend to seek regular goods that are not expensive, the military officials request that they be allowed to present them with ones of better quality. Thus they take it for granted that they publicly send bribes to those from whom they sought a position once they assume office. This is deplorable and entirely different from the customs of our predecessors. Third Minister Kim Pyŏngwang did not seek office after he quit his post as section chief. Retiring to his hometown in the countryside, he chose to lead a life of poverty. When Yun so-and-so became third minister of personnel, he recommended Kim as the magistrate of Yonggang. Later Minister Yun sent a message to Magistrate Kim asking for horses to be used for his daughter’s wedding. Kim replied, “It is appropriate that one help another in time of need. However, it would be wise for the superior man to be careful in instances where his help may raise suspicion among the people. Even though Your Honor and I were not friends before, you recommended me to the present post, so I am deeply indebted to you. Providing you with what you are asking for is not unreasonable, and it is certainly not a bribe. However, those who do not know about our relationship will try to find fault with us, and the honor and reputation that I have worked hard to maintain for many decades will be lost in a day. I feel very ashamed and embarrassed to send your man back empty-handed.” When Clerks and Servants Arrive to Welcome the Magistrate, He Should Treat Them with Gravity, Peace, Simplicity, and Reticence. There is always a small notebook in the bag carried by a chief clerk who comes to greet the new magistrate called General Records of the District [Ŭpch’onggi]. This book shows the ways and means of manipulating the amount of the stipend paid in rice, as well as ideas for exploiting the residents for personal gain. When the chief clerk submits this book during his first interview, the new magistrate is delighted to have it. He soon finds out how to make his fortune by asking numerous questions, which is a great shame under Heaven. When the chief clerk produces such a book, he should give it back to him right away without comment. Then he should warn and admonish his sons, relatives, and guests not to request to see such a book.

57. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Kyŏngsil. He served as third minister of works.

24

book I

The following day he calls in the chief clerk and asks him about one or two main issues concerning the district. Listening to what he says, he makes no comments. If he believes that some of the problems indeed need to be corrected, he should discuss them with his predecessors who served as governors of his district and find ways to rectify them when he makes rounds to pay his farewell visits. When he meets the clerks and servants who came out to greet him, he should neither lose dignity nor put on airs. Since it is important to have a pleasant atmosphere while cutting an impressive figure, the best thing to do is to keep silent. When Pak Chŏng of Kŭmju was newly appointed magistrate of Namwŏn, a clerk who had made a trip to welcome the new magistrate privately sent a letter to the people in his district and said, “He is a scholar young in age. Sitting straight, he neither speaks nor smiles, so it is difficult for one to guess what he is thinking.” This report of the clerk was once circulated widely, and years later it turned out to be a part of the eulogy included in an inscription on a painted portrait. The magistrate should strongly and repeatedly admonish his children and slaves not to talk with yamen clerks and servants. When the morning inquiries about the magistrate’s health are finished, the magistrate should immediately send the clerks back to the capital agent’s office, instructing them not to return for the day. The following day he does the same, making sure that even a boy servant is not allowed in. (If they are allowed to stay, they will try to watch what goes on in his household. Also, since they came from afar, arrangements need to be made for their stay.) The magistrate calls in the chief clerk and makes a pledge: “If I happen to hear the name of a clerk from the high officials during the time of making rounds to pay farewell visits to them, I will certainly remove his name on the very day of my inauguration, regardless of whether the favor the high officials asked for is serious or not. Even one whose case is deemed not serious will be dismissed with no exception.” When the Magistrate Takes Leave of the King and Walks out of the Royal Palace, He Should Pledge to Live Up to the Expectations of the People and Do His Best to Repay the Grace of the King. Since the magistrate is supposed to recite the seven duties of a magistrate in the presence of the king or make a presentation on the same subject at the office of the Royal Secretariat on the day of his departure, he should not neglect to pre58. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Taegwan, and his pen name Hasŏk. He participated in the restoration of King Injo and was invested with the title Lord of Kŭmju.

Assuming Office

25

pare for this procedure. He should also try to seek help and advice from those who know about the protocol of advancing and retreating in the royal court, as well as the propriety to be observed in the presence of the king, lest he risk making a mistake. According to the History of Koryŏ, in the first year of his reign King U issued a decree that the evaluation of district magistrates’ job performance should be based on five areas: expansion of farmland, increase of households, justice in labor-service administration, decrease of litigation, and elimination of thieves. (Earlier than this, in the ninth year of Hyŏnjong’s reign, six articles of evaluation were decided regarding the main duties of magistrates in charge of provinces, prefectures, and so forth: first, watching over the sufferings and grievances of the people; second, supervising the job performance of subfunctionaries in the local government; third, surveillance of bandits and wicked people; fourth, vigilance over violations of laws committed by powerful local landowners; fift h, taking care of those who practiced fi lial piety, propriety, and integrity; and sixth, scrutiny of the corruption of local yamen clerks.) When King Ch’ang rose to the throne, Cho Chun submitted a memorial to the king that advocated a change in the evaluation of district magistrates, and he proposed five criteria: expansion of farmland, increase of households, decrease of litigation, justice in labor-service administration, and improvement of educational institutes. He asked that they be made the basis of the evaluation for either dismissing or promoting district magistrates. The National Code of our Chosŏn dynasty expanded those criteria from five to seven: development of agriculture and commerce, increase of households, development of academies, competence in military administration, justice in administering statutory labor ser vice, decrease of litigation, and elimination of cheating and corruption. In the preface to “Biography of Distinguished Magistrates” [“Xunlichuan”] of the Book of Tang, there is the following statement: “Since there is nothing more important than the role of a magistrate in governing the people, when the letter of appointment is conferred, the emperor grants him a special interview at his private royal quarters and makes him depart, bestowing clothes on him as a gift.” 59. The official history of the Koryŏ dynasty, compiled by Kim Chongsŏ and Chŏng Inji in the early Chosŏn dynasty period. 60. An official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn dynasties. He was a dynastic foundation merit subject (one who greatly contributed to the founding of the dynasty) and served as chief state councilor during the reign of T’aejong. 61. Th is means the magistrate’s ability to recruit people and properly discharge his military duty. 62. Also called Old Book of Tang (Jiu Tangshu), it is the chronicle of the Tang dynasty compiled by the chief minister named Liu Xu and others in 945. It is one of the twenty-five books of history.

26

book I

Sŏ Kŏjŏng presented a memorial: “Making obeisance with my head touching the ground and examining the matter, I beseech Your Majesty to be extremely careful in choosing each of your officials, and district magistrates in par ticular. When you select them, please allow both the Council of State and the Ministry of Personnel to work together to make the right choice. As for the candidates who are distinguished in learning and governing, their appointment should be decided according to their ranks and capability, and when you send them away to their posts, Your Majesty must call them in before they leave and give them warm words of exhortation, as well as detailed instructions. You should make them concentrate their efforts on the five areas and evaluate their achievements using the scale of ten grades. If they win the highest scores, you should promote them, drastically raising their grades, and appoint them to a position of trust. The reason that you do not evaluate the officials in the central government in this manner is that Your Majesty regards the local magistrates as extremely important.” When Yu Yanling was appointed prefect of Jianzhou and took leave of the king, the king asked him, “How far is Jianzhou from the capital?” He answered, “It is 8,000 li.” The king said again, “Do not think that it is very far, since I can find out from here whether you are doing a good job or not, once you go there. The front of the steps I am standing on is like 10,000 li outside.” Essays of Chagyunam [Chagyunam manp’il] states: “When I was appointed magistrate of Koksan and went in to see the king at the Hall of Illustrious Rule to take my leave of him, the king said, ‘According to the old laws, when the magistrate turns out to be corrupt or incompetent, the officials who recommended him are supposed to take the responsibility. Therefore, the one recommended by the king himself should be much more careful and reverent, because if he fails in his duty, the king cannot be held responsible. How many men did I appoint, confident in my judgment, and how often did I regret what I have done!

63. A famous scholar-official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kangjung, and his pen name Sagajŏng. He served as director (taejehak), inspector general, minister of punishments, of works, of taxation, of personnel, and sixth state councilor. Learned in classics and literature, he compiled National Code, Comprehensive Mirror of the Eastern Kingdom (Tongguk t’onggam), and Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea (Tongguk yŏji sŭngnam), and wrote Anthology of Korean Literature (Tongmun sŏn) and An Author’s Trivia (P’irwŏn chapgi), a collection of his essays. 64. Little is known about him other than what is stated here. 65. Th is is presumed to be Tasan’s work, but the details about the book are not known. 66. Koksan is a district in Hwanghae Province. The author served as magistrate of Koksan for nearly two years, from June 1797 to April 1799. 67. Th is hall, called Hŭijŏngdang in Korean, is located in Ch’angdŏk Palace in Seoul.

Assuming Office

27

Nevertheless, once again, I ignored the recommendations of the officials and singled out your name. (That time the Ministry of Personnel recommended some other persons three times, but the king himself entered my name on the paper.) Thus the result seems to have been that I became the main sponsor of your appointment. Go out and do well so that I may not be ashamed of you.’ I was absolutely awestruck and had sweat dripping down my back, and I still cannot dare to forget what he said.” After the magistrate takes leave of the king and arrives at the palace gate, he turns around toward the royal palace and silently makes a pledge to himself: “Since His Majesty entrusted me with the responsibility of taking care of hundreds of thousands of his people, even death cannot pay the price of my mistakes if I do not succeed in holding His Majesty’s instruction in reverence.” Then he turns around and mounts his horse. In the Case That the Magistrate Is Transferred to the Neighboring District and Inaugurated, There Are No Precedents for Paying a Farewell Visit to the High Officials and the King. Because the magistrate is inaugurated without going through the procedure of seeing high officials and the king, the purpose of this rule is basically to reduce cumbersome formalities, not to disregard the ancient practice of regularly providing the magistrate with instruction on his duties. Minister Ling Hutao of the Tang dynasty transferred his friend to a neighboring district and made him a new prefect after issuing the letter of appointment along with an order that required him to go straight to his assigned post. Reading the report submitted by Ling Hutao, the emperor asked the reason, and Ling answered, “Because the way to the place of his appointment was near to where he was, the decision was made only to save the cumbersome procedures of dispatching and welcoming.” The emperor said, “It is my understanding that many of those who are appointed district magistrates often turn out to be disappointments because they are not the right persons. Concerned that they might cause harm to the people, I wanted to see them myself, ask them questions about their ways of governing the people, and promote them if they were outstanding in talent and ability. Despite the fact that the imperial decree (prefects must not be directly transferred and appointed without royal permission from the emperor) had already been pronounced, it was quickly abandoned and discontinued. The minister is indeed powerful.” It was very cold that day, but Ling Hutao was sweating so profusely that his fur coat became soaking wet. 68. His courtesy name was Zizhi. He also served as prefect of Wuxing.

28

book I

C H A P T E R  : T R AV E L I NG T O T H E P O S T

The Magistrate Who Travels to Assume His Post Should Appear Austere and Benign but Very Reticent, as Though He Were a Mute. The magistrate should always start his travel early in the morning and stop early in the evening. It is acceptable for the day to break as soon as he mounts his horse and for the sun to linger when he dismounts. Summoning the chief clerk, he strictly instructs him, “If the servants are finished with their meal, have them bring mine right away. Since it is ideal that the day break when I mount my horse, use your good judgment in doing what you have to do.” If the magistrate, inexperienced in the affairs of his subordinates, rises early and, without prior notice, rushes to have breakfast and jumps on his horse, his servants have no choice but to rise up and follow him before they finish their meals. The magistrate should not gallop on horseback. If he does, he will appear insincere and impatient in people’s eyes. When he passes through narrow winding roads, he should not look back. If he does, those who follow him have to dismount from their horses [as a sign of respect] even if the ground is messy with mud. Always mindful of their situation, he should not only try not to look back but also to turn away purposely so that others can feel comfortable during the trip. When they are on the road, he should not reproach the clerks and attendants who do not bend their backs toward him. Additionally, he should just keep silent as though he were a deaf-mute. The three daily meals taken on the road during the trip should not exceed four dishes per meal, which include a bowl of soup, a dish of kimchi, and a bowl of soybean sauce. The four dishes indicate two dou and two bian [two different types of ancient ritual vessels]. Whether he eats at a restaurant or at a roadside kitchen, he should eat no more and no less than four dishes. As for the goods required for this purpose, he should leave everything in the charge of his servants, saying not a word with regard to those items even if there is a little waste. If his district is poor like Mokch’ŏn and Yŏngi and his stipend is meager, his regular meal should be limited to two dishes. In our custom, when the magistrate goes out to inspect his district, an official leading his carriage shouts aloud in order to announce the magistrate’s presence. This custom was originally intended to keep the people quiet, but it seems to backfire. When his carriage arrives at the outskirts of a town, the magistrate 69. Districts in South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. 70. Since the stipend of the magistrate was paid from the reserve grain (yuch’imi) of his district, its amount depends on the fi nancial status of the district.

Assuming Office

29

should summon the chief clerk and tell him: “Since I have no taste for your practice of announcing my arrival by shouting, shout only once when you pass through the villages, and only three times when you pass through the towns or when you enter or leave them, or when you enter or leave the post stations. If you exceed the limit I have outlined, you shall be punished.” Classic of Poetry says, “I heard that you were leaving for a distant region, but I heard only the news, not a sound.” The traveling of a superior man should be solemn and dignified in this way. According to our customary fondness for noisiness, when a band of servants escort their magistrate, they chatter and babble about all sorts of things. Onlookers will be little impressed by the magistrate because his carriage lacks solemn dignity. He who is thoughtful and dignified would not enjoy such noises. A magistrate must be able to think about the welfare of his people and use all his knowledge and concentration even when on horseback. In the face of constant disruption, how can he come up with fine and sensible ideas? When Lü Huiqing was appointed prefect of Yanzhou, he was supposed to pass through Xidu on his way to his post. At that time Zheng Yichuan heard the news and said to his disciples: “I have heard the name of Lü Jifu [Lü Huiqing] but have never seen him in person. If he passes by the gate of my house tomorrow morning, I will try to take a look at him.” When he later asked about his passing, he discovered that it had already been many hours since Lü Jifu had passed by. Deeply impressed, Zheng Yichuan remarked, “To lead hundreds of attendants and dozens of horses without making any noise is worthy of the term silence. Although there was some talk about him when he was in the imperial court, how can such a talent be unnoticed?” When his carriage reaches the outskirts of a town, the magistrate summons the chief clerk and has him pledge to follow his words: “When I run into a scholar on the road and the scholar dismounts from his horse to pay respect to me, you should also dismount from your horse. Otherwise you will be punished. If you are certain that the one who walks ahead of you looks like a yangban, you should dismount from your horse. If there is any problem regarding this, I will hold you responsible.” In recent years the behavior of yamen underlings has become so arrogant that they do not dismount from their horses even when officials from the royal court or notable scholars dismount from their horses to pay respect to the magistrate. Instead, they continue to gallop on their horses without looking back. Since the magistrate is often strongly criticized for his neglect to educate his men properly, he needs to be strict in dealing with his attendants. 71. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Jifu. Recommended by Chancellor Wang Anshi, he entered the public ser vice. 72. A famous Neo-Confucian phi losopher of the Northern Song dynasty. He was a younger brother of Zheng Hao, another famous Neo-Confucian phi losopher.

30

book I

If both his yamen clerks and his servants happen to commit crimes while they are on the road, the magistrate should deal with them swiftly if they are trivial and accidental. In more serious cases he calls in the clerk in charge of law enforcement and orders him to put them in custody for the time being. Then, three days after his inauguration, he summons the suspects and reprehends them but eventually forgives them all. It is inhumane to inflict physical punishment on men who are traveling hundreds of miles with him in the middle of the journey and refuse to forgive their mistakes even after arriving at his destination. However, crimes that are unpardonable should be dealt with as necessary without exception. If the magistrate receives a report from the chief clerk while traveling to his post, he only replies briefly, saying “Received” or “Understood,” and should not discuss its content in a lengthy and tedious manner. If there is an urgent matter, he lets the chief clerk take care of it, communicating his orders through a private channel. If the magistrate receives a petition on the way to his post, he just writes “Submit your petition after my inauguration” without discussing the propriety of what is in the petition. Some Yamen Clerks, Being Superstitious, Prefer to Take a Detour Instead of Taking the Main Road. Nevertheless, the Magistrate Should Abolish the Weird and Wicked Practice of Superstition by Always Taking the Main Road. When No Chun became magistrate of Chŏnŭi, he found that the north gate of the city was shut down and that people passed through other places. When he inquired about this, a gate guard replied that it had been over a hundred years since the gate had closed down. Another man said, “It happened because a shaman warned that the magistrate would suffer a personal disaster if it was not closed down,” and another remarked, “The gate was closed down to divert the traffic of incoming travelers, who were so great in number that the residents feared that their resources might be drained.” No Chun said, “This measure is too miserly, and deceptive as well, is it not? The conduct of a wise man should benefit the people, and therefore anything contrary to that is a sin. I will see to it that the gate is reopened.” Then he sent a report to the superior office and obtained permission to reopen the gate. The residents of the city were overjoyed by the new convenience. Those who had been thinking about moving elsewhere now chose to stay, and travelers were also glad to visit the district. According to the History of the Southern Dynasties [Nanshi], when Xia Houxiang became prefect of Xiangzhou, there was a high hill in the south of 73. Unknown. 74. An official of the Liang dynasty.

Assuming Office

31

the fortress. People said, “If the magistrate climbs up the hill, he will soon be dismissed.” Because of this rumor, no magistrates had ever tried to go up that hill. However, Xia Houxiang built a terrace at the top of the hill, revealing how lightly he took his public career by inviting his colleagues to the terrace. When Son Sunhyo became governor of Yongnam, he discovered the Sŏŭmnyŏng mountain pass in a village called Yŏnghae. The popular belief was that “the royal messengers who first climb over this mountain peak will surely have a calamity.” Therefore, every official tried to avoid crossing the pass. Undaunted by this rumor, Son Sunhyo decided to cross the pass and, arriving at the top of the mountain, peeled a piece of bark from an old tree and inscribed a poem on it: You bend toward Mt. Hwasan, shouting ‘Long live the king,’ and I try to render comfort to the people on behalf of our king. Who can tell which one is more important? The bright sun sheds its light equally on both sides.

After writing this poem, he changed the name of the mountain peak to P’agoehyŏn [Mountain Pass on Which Evil Spirits Were Rendered Harmless]. Even Though Certain Government Offices Are Rumored to Be Haunted and Yamen Attendants Advise the Magistrate to Avoid Them, He Should Not Be Affected at All and Should Rectify the Misguided Customs. At the time of the Later Han dynasty, when Wang Dun was appointed magistrate of Mei District and arrived at Shiting, the man in charge of the official guest house told him that he could not stay there because the place was haunted by ghosts, and guests were killed. Wang Dun replied, “Since humaneness overcomes disaster and virtue repels evil, how can I be scared of ghosts?” Then he entered the guest house and fell asleep. In the middle of the night a woman appeared and appealed to him. She complained that the man in charge of the guesthouse had unjustly killed her. The following morning Wang Dun called in the patroller and ordered him to interrogate the suspect about his crimes. He fi75. That Xia Houxiang took his public career lightly may sound bad, but it does not mean that he was necessarily a frivolous person. What Chŏng tries to say here is that Xia was neither superstitious nor worldly. 76. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Muljae, and his pen name P’yŏnghae. He also served as minister of justice and inspector general. 77. Hwasan indicates Mt. Samgak, Seoul’s guardian mountain to the north. 78. An official of the Later Han and a native of Xindu. His courtesy name was Xiaolin. 79. A patroller (youjiao) was an official who was in charge of local security.

32

book I

nally succeeded in eliciting confessions from the suspect about all the details of his crimes and put him in prison. Fu Zhao of the Liang dynasty served as left and right imperial secretary [zuoyou shangshu] and became magistrate of Ancheng. Since the days of the Song dynasty, this place had had a series of wars, and the official residence of the magistrate had turned into a haunted house. During the night the magistrates used to run into ghosts, and because of that, hardly anyone had finished his term successfully. When Fu Zhao was newly inaugurated as magistrate, a man saw an armed soldier departing from the official residence at night, saying, “Since Magistrate Fu is a good man, I cannot hurt him.” With these words he flew into the air. Thereafter, old worries finally disappeared for good. When the Magistrate Stops by the Yamen Office of Local Governments on His Way to His Post, He Should Discuss the Ways of Governing the People, Trying to Learn from the Experience of His Predecessors and Never Spending the Night Exchanging Jokes and Pleasantries. When the magistrate enters the province of his district, the magistrates of the other districts become his important colleagues. Unless there is enmity between families that dates back to a previous time, he must not appear arrogant by passing by them without paying a visit. Moreover, since these neighbors have already spent a considerable amount of time in their districts, he will find many things to ask about customs and manners, new abuses, the sufferings of the people, and so forth. How can a newly appointed magistrate carry out his duty successfully without trying to broaden his perspective? The Magistrate Must Spend at Least One Night in a Neighboring District before His Inauguration. Instructions on Governing the Districts [Ch’ihyŏngyŏl] states as follows: “Before his inauguration, rather than sleeping in his own district, the magistrate should 80. An official of the Song, Qi, and Liang dynasties during the Southern Dynasties period (420– 589). His courtesy name was Maoyuan, and his posthumous title Zhen. 81. “Left” and “right” indicate first and second when they refer to official titles. In the case of three state councilors, for instance, they consist of chief state councilor, fi rst state councilor, and second state councilor. First state councilor and second state councilor are called left state councilor and right state councilor, respectively. 82. Th is refers to the Song dynasty founded by Liu Yu (363–422) during the period of the Southern and Northern Dynasties. 83. Also called Ch’igun yogyŏl, this is presumed to have been a book on the subject of governing districts, published in the years of either Yŏngjo or Chŏngjo.

Assuming Office

33

spend at least one night in his neighboring district. If he sleeps in his own district, it will inconvenience the residents because there will always be many people who either followed him or gathered to greet him.” On the other hand, such consideration may be unnecessary for the people of the post stations located on the districts’ borders. They are in charge of accommodating officials and are exempt from the duties of labor ser vice. However, the magistrate should evaluate their situation and find a happy medium for both sides. C H A P T E R : I NAUGU R AT ION

There Is No Need to Choose an Auspicious Day. If It Rains, However, It Is Advisable to Wait until the Weather Improves. Even though almost everyone chooses an auspicious day, it always happens that men are either fired from their posts with the official treasury being sealed up (when the secret royal inspector drives out a corrupt official, he first shuts down the treasury section) or are dismissed after being impeached for their incompetence or quit their posts because of mishaps. If one’s predecessors were unable to produce desirable outcomes despite their attempts to choose good dates, why does one continue to follow a good-for-nothing custom? I have observed that in some cases the new magistrate deliberately takes his time, traveling slowly and moving to only one post station a day or indefinitely delaying his departure even though he is already close to his destination, all under the pretext of choosing the most auspicious day. The yamen clerks who wait for him in the district secretly scorn him because they can guess well what the magistrate is up to, and those who follow his carriage are also agitated when they think about their families or the money wasted on the road. In both cases they will curse their magistrate and wish for his misfortune. Since the auspicious day chosen for inauguration is not an adequate defense against the curses of these people, what is the good in choosing an auspicious date? Nevertheless, since the magistrate cannot make a good impression on the residents if the weather on his inauguration day turns out to be terrible, with wind and rain, it is better for him to wait a while until the weather clears. Since there are problems with the indiscriminate use of banners, only a pair of them designed for giving orders should be used. The welcoming protocol to be observed by the rest of the yamen underlings must be allowed to be followed on the basis of precedents. Once the magistrate enters his district’s borders, he should forbid his followers from galloping on their horses but allow the spectators on the streets to watch his party. When he enters the district capital, he should order his men to be more cautious in riding their horses because that is the way to look grave and dignified in the eyes of the people.

34

book I

While he is on horseback, he should neither look around ceaselessly nor sit leaning to one side. His dress, including his hat and coat, should be maintained in an orderly and solemn manner, which makes him look grave and dignified in the eyes of the people. When he arrives at the outside of the guest house, he must first change his clothes and enter the yard to perform the ritual of paying homage to the royal palace. Performing obeisance for a moment with his head touching the ground, he pledges to himself: “Since His Majesty is seeing everything from afar, I am still in his presence. Fully aware of this, how can I not be reverent? Since His Majesty specially entrusted me with the lives of his people, how can I dare not do my best in governing the people?” After pledging this, he rises and withdraws from the place. The Magistrate Receives Courtesies from His Subordinates in the Yamen. The magistrate calls in the head of the local gentry and says, “Unless official affairs are urgent, let them wait until I officially begin my duties. (His official duty starts three days after his inauguration.) If they are urgent, do not hesitate to bring them to me even today or tomorrow.” Even though the yamen looks gorgeous, the magistrate should not speak of it admiringly; if it looks shabby, he should not make a comment either. What he must do is keep silent regarding the qualities of the various surroundings, whether they are good or bad. His eyes should appear as if they do not see, and his mouth should resemble that of a mute. Without any noise, the office should be hushed as if water was thrown into it. During the inauguration there is always a ceremony of offering food to the magistrate. The food should naturally be of the highest quality, but the wine should be limited to one chalice. The food should be as follows: two separate plates for food (a plate of rice cake and a plate of noodles); three bowls of soup (these soups are made of mixed vegetables and sliced meats); three plates of meat (one dish of boiled meat, one dish of grilled meat, and one dish of raw fish); four dishes of wet food (two dishes of vegetables and two dishes of fish and meat); and four plates of dry food (two plates of fruits, a separate plate of dried meat and fish, and a plate of foods made of rice flour). No other food should be added to them. Food for the children of the magistrate or those who followed the magistrate as relatives and guests, of course, should be lower in quality and quantity, and the wine should be limited to one chalice. Their food should consist of one plate of food [cake and noodles], a bowl of soup, one dish [of meat and fish], two dishes [of vegetables and fish and meat], and two plates [of fruits or dried meats or dishes made of rice flour]. No extra food should be offered.

Assuming Office

35

If the district to which the magistrate is appointed is impoverished and as a result cannot afford to pay him generous stipends, the food for his inauguration, of course, should be of modest quality and should consist of one bowl [of soup], two dishes [of vegetables or fish and meat], and two plates [of fruits or dried meat and fish or dishes made of rice flour], but they should be of the highest quality. What are called rites are standards of conduct. Since sacrifices and banquets require more sincerity than anything else, the grade and the number of vessels can be neither increased nor reduced. Those who take rites and propriety lightly are more than likely to disregard the laws of the state. Therefore, the superior man gives importance to rites and propriety. When his carriage arrives at the midpoint of his journey, it is advisable for the magistrate to give instructions related to the procedures of rites to the chief clerk so that he can privately inform the people back in the district. All the yamen underlings and servants who accompanied the magistrate’s carriage should be given three days of leave, but it is not necessary to accord this privilege to the chief clerk. The magistrate summons the chief clerk and the head of the local military unit and gives them the following instructions: “The morning meeting will start around daybreak, and the ceremony of greeting the magistrate should be over by the time the sun rises. Since I will finish my daily work and leave the office during the second watch of the night, you will be able to go home by the time the gate is closed and the meal of cooked barley is ready for you. (During winter nights it is allowable to be a little late.) Every morning when my servant informs me of the time for the morning meeting, I will soon open the door. Every night when my servant announces the end of the day during the second watch of the night, I will order everyone to go home. I am letting you know today what you should expect when working with me. Please keep that in mind lest you be punished.” Holding meetings early in the morning is an ancient custom. No matter how small the district is, the morning meeting should be held at an early hour. According to my observations, magistrates who lack discipline in their way of life wake up very late, when the sun is high in the sky, and men like clerks and military officers who have work to do just stand and wait outside the gate, hanging out under the shade of elms and willows. When this happens, the people who come to visit the yamen to conduct their business have no choice but to wait indefinitely and finally waste the whole day. This should never be allowed to happen since it delays all kinds of daily business and throws everything into confusion and disorder. If the magistrate gets up too early, however, his subordinates find it

84. About 9 to 11 p.m.

36

book I

troublesome. If the weather is terrible because of rain or snow, the morning meeting can be passed over. When the Morning Meeting Is Over and People Are Dismissed, the Magistrate Quietly Sits Straight to Meditate on the Ways to Govern the People. He Carefully Sets Down His Objectives in Advance on the Basis of the Principles of Generosity, Gravity, Simplicity, and Minuteness, Resolutely Working on Them in Keeping with Time and Situation. Instructions on Governing the Districts stated as follows: “The superior man who governs the people must first try to bring the proper balance to the weak points in his character. He should strengthen a part if it is weak, make it diligent if it is idle, make it generous if it is too stubborn, and make it fierce if it is too gentle.” Always keeping books like Extended Meaning of the Great Learning [Daxue yanyi] by Qiu Jun, Records for Self-Admonitions [Zijingbian] by Zhao Shanliao, Documents and Memoirs [Congzhenglu] by Xue Wenqing, and so forth by his side, the magistrate should read outstanding passages in them that exhort men to good words and deeds so that he can maintain integrity. If he also reads and studies books like the National Code, Royal Decrees and Regulations of 1698 [Sugyo chimnok], Guidance for Civil Suits [Kyŏlsong yuch’wi], Forensic Monograph for Removing Grievances [Wuyuanlu], New Edition of Judicial Precedents and Examples for  Saving Lives [Chongdŏkp’yŏn], Collection of Complicated Criminal Cases

85. A scholar of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Qiongshan. He was also called by his posthumous title, Qiu Wenzhuang. He was a learned man and served as grand secretary of the Hall of Literary Profundity (Wenyuange taixueshi). Daxue yanyi or Daxue yanibu, his major work, is a comprehensive manual of public administration. 86. A scholar of the Northern Song dynasty. Zijingbian is a compilation of sayings and deeds of scholars and statesmen of the Song dynasty. 87. Xue Xuan, a scholar of the Ming dynasty. Wenqing was his posthumous title. His courtesy name was Dewen, and his pen name Jingxuan. He served as right vice minister of rites and Hanlin academician. He was a Neo-Confucian scholar and took Zhu Xi as his main model in his scholarship. 88. A compilation of all the new royal decrees and regulations for about 150 years since the era of King Chungjong. 89. A manual concerning all kinds of legal matters and judicial cases, compiled by Kim Paekhan during the reign of Myŏngjong. It is also called Sasong yuch’wi. 90. A famous book of forensic medicine compiled by a man named Wang Yu during the Yuan dynasty. The book was popu lar and widely distributed in Korea. 91. Originally called Chongdŏk sinp’yŏn, this book was written by Kim Yuk (1580−1658), chief state councilor during the reign of Hyojong, for local administrators.

Assuming Office

37

[Yiyuji], and so forth, he will find the information gathered in them very useful in the future. Since it is known that a man in ancient days had his students first read the Analects and Classic of Filial Piety every morning before he taught them medicine, this approach is certainly recommendable. Essentials for Local Magistrates [Imgwanjŏng’yo] by An Sunam stated as follows: “The customs in the land of a thousand li are all different, and the traits in the territory of a hundred li are not the same. Even in the same district, towns and villages are different in their tastes and values. Where there are many merchants, people are cunning, and where the farmers reside, people are simple and good-natured. He who governs the people should deal with them, carefully observing their environment and characteristics. In the old days when Liu Zhongying served as metropolitan governor, one of the subofficials working at the Northern Office failed to deliver grain, diverting it into his pocket. By ordering the man to be flogged to death, he came to be known as strict and straightfoward in dealing with public affairs. Later, when he became governor of Henan, he ruled his district with generosity and benevolence. Someone pointed out that his rule in Henan was not like the days when he served as metropolitan governor. Liu Zhongying replied, ‘In ruling a metropolitan city, establishing authority is by far the most important; however, in ruling districts in the countryside, nothing is more important than generosity and benevolence.’ Cui Yan ruled the district of Shan with benevolence and the district of E with severity. He said, ‘Because the former’s land was dry and its people were impoverished, it was in danger of rebellion if it was not pacified; the latter, because its land was fertile and its people tough, had to be treated with authority.’ When Zhang Yong was governor of the Shu region, he ruled it with severity at first, but when he was later appointed again, he relented and ruled it with benevolence. All these instances indicate that the three local administrators knew how to be flexible in accordance with the customs and characteristics of their domains.”

92. A collection of criminal cases that are too complicated to judge. It was compiled by a Chinese scholar named He Ning during the Five Dynasties period (907−960). 93. An Chŏngbok (1712–1791), a scholar of Practical Learning of the Chosŏn dynasty. Sunam was his pen name. A disciple of Yi Ik, he also wrote Annotated Account of Korean History (Tongsa kangmok) and Comprehensive Record of Successive Reigns (Yŏlcho t’onggi). 94. An official of the Tang dynasty. He was famous for being a good administrator. 95. An unofficial reference to the Palace Domestic Ser vice, located in the northern section of the central government quarters in the palace grounds (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 373). 96. An official of the Tang dynasty. He served as governor of various provinces and eventually rose to the position of minister of personnel.

38

book I

On the Following Day the Magistrate Visits the County School and Pays His Respects to the Shrine of Confucius; Then He Moves to the Shrine of Earth and Grain Deities and Again Pays His Respects with Profound Reverence. The magistrate gets up early in the morning before daybreak and, carry ing a torch, visits the shrine of the county school. There he lights the candles and performs the rite of obeisance. When he finishes the initial rite of obeisance, he moves up to the elevated platform and performs the rite again, and he continues to do the same after moving to the east and west wings in the school. The next place that he visits is Myŏngryundang, the main lecture hall of the county school. There he meets with the Confucian students who participated in the rite of obeisance along with him. He makes the following promise to them: “Although I am a member of the personnel who are responsible for the county school, I am afraid that I may not be able to see you. However, since I intend to preside over the rites scheduled in the first month of the four seasons, as well as the rites of Confucius held in the spring and autumn, we will be able to see each other on those occasions. I will also hold composition contests once in a while to test the students. Then we will not fail to meet again, along with the personnel of the county school who are to supervise the contest. Besides, if I happen to want to hear from you about public opinion concerning civil suits or irregularities in our district, I will summon you and we will see each other. Therefore, do not make any personal visits to my office. You will not be allowed to present yourself suddenly at the yamen and ask for an interview.” Returning to his office, the magistrate summons the clerk in charge of rites and warns him, “Since I thus made a promise to the people of the county school, you should never allow them to request an interview with me.” After his visit to the county school, he changes into court dress and goes to the shrine of earth and grain deities and inspects its current status after paying his respects. He also dispatches a clerk in charge of rites to the altars of hungry ghosts and the guardian deities of the villages so that those deities may not be neglected. As for the guardian deities, the ones in charge of earth and grain are the most important. Nevertheless, the district magistrates nowadays tend to pay little attention to them, and this is not right. In the case of the altars of hungry ghosts and local guardian spirits, the magistrate does not have to pay a personal visit. However, since the magistrate is in charge of all those spirits, it is appropriate 97. A government educational institution established in each county during the Chosŏn dynasty. Palais translates hyanggyo as “local, provincial school” (1164) or sometimes “official school”(Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 39). 98. The shrine for the earth deity Sa and the grain deity Chik. It was established in Seoul, as well as in each county or district throughout the state.

Assuming Office

39

that he send his man to attend to them with all due propriety at the time of his inauguration. When all these processes are complete, the magistrate finally returns to his office and receives courtesy calls from his staff for the beginning of the day. C H A P T E R : C ON DUC T I NG OF F IC I A L DU T I E S

Early in the Morning of the Following Day the Magistrate Takes a Seat and Starts Working. The magistrate examines the reports to be sent to the superior office and signs them right away if they are well made in accordance with the precedents. However, if they contain matters that need to be discussed further, he orders them to be revised and rewritten on the basis of the initial drafts made by the clerks. In signing decrees concerning the people, the magistrate must be extremely careful, checking every word and phrase. He first consults the Six Codes of Governance (Yukchŏn) and the thirty-six statutes concerning the six ministries and makes sure that what is in the document is completely free from intrigues and deceptions. Then he finally signs the document. If he finds anything suspicious, he should not be ashamed to ask his subordinates questions. He summons the chief clerk and the clerk in charge of the matter and conducts a thorough investigation; after making sure that he fully understands the matter, he proceeds to inscribe his signature. I have often observed that the most foolish magistrate is the one who pretends to know what he is doing and is ashamed to ask his subordinates questions. Hence, even though he has some doubts in his mind, he just swallows them and signs the document, which makes him fall into the tricks of his subordinates. If the drafted reports are based on wrongful precedents that have been handed down and are very unreasonable in their nature, it is advisable to keep them on his table without signing them, unless they must urgently be dispatched, until he has an opportunity to rectify the problem. If the matters are too complicated to change easily, he should go ahead and sign the reports and start making reforms slowly. 99. Originally complied by Chŏng Tojŏn and Cho Chun in the early Chosŏn period, it was revised and expanded during the reign of T’aejong. The revised versions were titled Basic Six Codes (Wŏn yukchŏn) and Supplement Six Codes (Sok yukchŏn), respectively (Lee, 172–173). Six Codes of Governance here appears to refer to one of them. 100. The “thirty-six statutes” probably indicates article 36. The six ministries or six boards (yukcho) were the Ministries of Personnel, Revenue, Rites, War, Justice, and Works. The six-ministry system, along with the State Council and the Royal Secretariat, was perhaps the most important administrative structure during the Chosŏn dynasty. They had the authority to memorialize the king directly on matters under their purview and then to put into execution his decisions (Lee, New History of Korea, 175.)

40

book I

If some of the men who followed his carriage committed wrongdoings on the road, this is a good day to hold hearings on their misdemeanor cases and release them with reproaches. To give them corporal punishment is not desirable. If the nature of their wrongdoings is too serious for them to be forgiven, he orders them to be imprisoned and lets them wait for trial. He avoids ordering punishment within ten days from his inauguration so that he can be known to the people as a man of generosity and benevolence who is neither tough nor severe. On This Day the Magistrate Gives an Order to the Gentry and the People to Make Reports on the Problems of Their Communities and Asks for Their Opinions to Solve Them. The magistrate sends out the following official notice to all the gentry and the people of various classes in his district: “The present magistrate wants the people to know that since taking office, which was possible only because of the excessive grace of the government conferred upon him, he is deeply concerned and troubled day and night and lacks confidence in discharging his duty. Therefore, he wants to know about any irregularities that cause pain and suffering to the people, whether they are new or old. Since I am certain that there are some, let five or six men in each of the administrative units who are intelligent enough to understand the affairs of the world get together and have detailed discussions in order to submit a report on their findings to me. General problems related to the whole town or unique problems confi ned to small units such as villages should be individually written down on one piece of paper, all in the form of official documents, and submitted to me within seven days from now. Yamen clerks, military officers, and members of the local gentry may not like some of the things in your reports. If you are therefore reluctant to speak out for fear of reprisals from them, you will betray the original purpose of this investigation, initiated at the start of my term as magistrate. Your report should be sealed and glued with thin paper and marked on the outside. Around noon of a given day, you and your colleagues should pay a visit to the town, come into my office, and submit it to me personally right in the yard of my office. If anyone comes to the town with evil intent, stays for a long time, and attempts to revise or delete the items in your report, he will be severely punished. You should keep this in mind. Surveying public opinion is easy, but rectifying the problems is very hard. Things that can be changed will be changed, and things that cannot will be allowed to remain until they can. So there is no need to be excited today or disappointed the next day. Towns and 101. Th in paper is designed to prevent the breaking of the sealed envelope because it can be easily detected if anyone tries to break the seal on it.

Assuming Office

41

villages may have problems perpetrated by some individuals who constantly mislead the people for their personal purposes by falsely and treacherously exaggerating or concealing the facts or producing rumors. However, they will be exposed in the end. Let me give them a warning.” When the new magistrate starts his official duties, he is supposed to give a strict order against three things: slaughtering oxen, making wine, and cutting pine trees. However, since this is a matter of formality, such an order should not be issued. The first time Zhu Xi was appointed to Nankang, he posted a notice of admonition: “The present magistrate, being sick, had retired from office for a long time until only recently, favored by the grace of the royal court, he was ordered to take charge of the present district, although he tried hard to decline the appointment on account of his poor health. When he started his official duties, he was struck by the thought why our divine emperor searched for a man in hiding and entrusted him with the responsibility of taking care of his people; it was indeed to cultivate and enlighten them and thereby build up national power in the future, not just to see improvement in bookkeeping and the increase of meetings. Although it is not easy to cultivate people and foster national strength, how can he not try to do his best? Now there are several matters that will require his inspection and recommendations: First, what should the magistrate do if he discovers the origin and development of taxes and labor ser vice, which are complicated and heavy? Second, men like Sima Shi and Xiong Shi of the previous generation were famous for their filial devotion; Hong Shi, who came from a righteous family, lived a life of righteousness like his forebears; and the widow Chen kept her fidelity without marrying again. It is my wish that the later generation should also cultivate themselves in order to be worthy of their predecessors. Third, I would like to see that parents among the local gentry send their sons who are interested in learning to the county school.” These statements of Zhu Xi, in my observation, call attention, first, to the public welfare; second, to the enlightenment of the people; and third, to their education. The superior man who deals with the people should always give priority to public welfare first, then start working on their enlightenment, and finally on their education. This sequence of order should be kept in mind. When Sim Taebu [pen name Pŏmje] became magistrate of Sŏngsan, he posted a notice on the gate of the fortress that read: “Since it is the duty of the 102. A great Chinese phi losopher of the Song dynasty and the founder of Neo-Confucianism. His extensive commentaries on traditional Confucian texts became accepted as the standard ones after his death, and his metaphysical philosophy based on the notion of principle (li), vital force (qi), and the Great Ultimate (taiji) exerted a great influence on the Confucians as well as people in both China and Korea. He also served as a local magistrate and accomplished many reforms. 103. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sinsuk, and his pen names Kaŭn and Pŏmjae. He served as second censor (sagan).

42

book I

magistrate to maintain his conduct in an upright and industrious manner and discharge his duty with fairness and justice, he will exert himself to do what he is supposed to do. On the other hand, it is the duty of the people to cultivate their filial piety and friendship and keep promises without violating the laws. Therefore, the people should also work hard to fulfill their obligations.” If Lawsuits Are Filed on This Day, the Magistrate Makes Brief Statements Describing the Essential Points of Individual Cases. Instructions on Governing the Districts stated: “In judging the lawsuits of the people, the magistrate should not take what is stated in them too seriously until he interrogates both sides and cross-examines them. Especially in the case of arguments involving physical assault, the magistrate should not order the accused to be arrested too quickly and should not simply believe the words of the person who brought the charge.” The Instructions also stated: “The job of processing lawsuits originally belongs to the work of low-ranking officials, and since the capacity of a man is limited, one cannot deal with them all by himself. If the magistrate exerts himself only in these matters, what else can he do? He should divide the lawsuits of the people into several categories, based on their contents, and give them to the legal clerks along with samples of judicial decisions related to them. In selecting the legal clerks, the magistrate chooses four persons if the district is large and two persons if the district is small. He lets these clerks handle the lawsuits, classifying them according to kind, as well as recording their titles. He also lets the clerks put their own names at the left side of the date so that they can be used as references in the future and, at the same time, as a deterrence to prevent trickery and deception. If the magistrate handles lawsuits in this way, there will be hardly any problem even if he has to deal with ten thousand lawsuits a day.” If a lawsuit is about a farmstead and slaves, for instance, the magistrate in the sample statement makes rules as follows: “Both sides are required to bring their deeds and related documents for cross-examination.” If the same lawsuit is brought after the vernal equinox, he rules, “Since it is not the right time for lawsuits, the litigant should wait until the autumnal equinox and resubmit his case.” If the lawsuit is about an unpaid loan, the magistrate rules: “There will be face-to-face questioning of both sides to find out whether the debtor is creditable or not, or if the creditor makes excessive demands for the repayment of his loan.” If the debtor happens to be a farmer and it is the middle of the farming season, the magistrate rules: “Since it is against the rules to demand the repayment of a loan during the hard season of springtime, the case should be resubmitted later in the harvest season.” The magistrate should provide law clerks with sample rulings as above. If there happens to be a case that defies ordinary classification, he orders them to

Assuming Office

43

pick it out and submit to him. Then he examines the case closely and places it under a separate title. Essays of Tasan stated: “If the taxes on a farm turned out to be excessive and this led a farmer to appeal, the magistrate in the sample decision he makes states that since the matter requires an extensive investigation at some future time, the one who brought the appeal should go home and wait until he receives a notice from the authorities. Then he immediately orders the law clerk to record the name of the person and the summary of his petition, compiling similar cases in one book.” When a man who was already exempt from the military tax complains that he is required to pay the military cloth tax again, the magistrate states that since there will be a general investigation of this matter, the one who brought the appeal should go home for now and wait until he receives a notice from the authorities. Then the magistrate immediately orders the law clerk to record the name of the person and the summary of his grievances, arranging similar cases in a book. If a man brings an appeal to the court because he was told to pay for grain he did not borrow from the government, the magistrate notes down the case in the same manner as above. After five or six days, if there is still an increase in the number of appeals, the magistrate summons all the clerks who handle these cases (they comprise the clerks in charge of land, military affairs, the granary, and so forth), choosing one of the slow days. The magistrate shows them a book containing the summaries of all the appeals and in their presence investigates the origin of those problems. In this investigation he includes the head seat [chawsu] of the district, as well as the chief clerk. If certain things prove to be wrong during the investigation, he corrects them without delay, and if an individual among them is found responsible for scheming and cheating, he makes him confess his wrongdoings. If the individual still tries to cover up or misrepresent what he did, he immediately gives an order to punish him, and finally, he notifies the petitioner that his problem was solved. (If a person is exempt from the military cloth tax but there is no one to pay the tax in his place, have people like village representatives and heads of the community compact pay it.) Instructions on Governing the Districts states: “The reason that people bring petitions to court is that they suffer from injustice. If they appeal their military cloth tax, there may be something wrong with my military administration. If they appeal their land taxes, there may be something wrong with my land administration. If they appeal their corvée labor, this indicates that I failed to do justice in administering it. If the appeal is related to the granary, it may be due to my mismanagement of public finances. If people suffer from exploitation and appeal, it is because I failed to control the powerful local families, and if people have their property taken away and appeal, it is because I failed to supervise the

44

book I

clerks in the yamen. By examining the appeals and petitions of the people, I can discover whether I am discharging my duty properly. If a magistrate knows how to straighten out the main problems in his administration, the injustice that troubles the people will disappear by itself. How, then, can the petitions keep coming in?” Instructions on Governing the Districts also states: “The troubles or happiness of the people and good or bad job performance do not depend on the verdicts delivered by the magistrate. If the magistrate is competent enough to handle the main problems in his administration, minor mistakes concerning his verdicts are not worth discussing. Land administration, military administration, grain administration, compulsory labor ser vice, household registers, and providing relief are the six principal affairs of administration. If the magistrate can take control of these things by setting up law and discipline, the yamen clerks will not be able to cheat the people, and the people cannot help but receive benefits from the action taken by their magistrate. Then the number of lawsuits will naturally decrease.”

On This Day the Magistrate Makes a Pledge to Those Under His Charge That Certain Procedures Will Be Followed Faithfully and Orders That a Large Drum Be Established Right Outside the Yamen. “The present magistrate believes that there should be a mutual pledge between the government and the people, and he wants the people to know this. Therefore, I announce the following instructions so that the people can understand and abide by them, never taking the law into their own hands. Since those who ignore the instructions will be severely punished without mercy, one must be extremely careful. These are the instructions: 1. People do not have to present their petitions in person. If their problems are urgent, they can submit their petitions directly in person; otherwise, they should give the petitions to the village representatives or heads of the community compact so that they can submit them to the court on the day they are scheduled to visit the yamen, or they can send them through another petitioner who happens to visit the court so that the petitions can be jointly submitted. My office does not mind even if one person presents ten petitions at a time. 2. When a petition is presented jointly, only one person who is familiar with its subject matter should present it, even if it was signed by as many as ten individuals. If a petition is important enough to be brought in by more than one person, let two or three men present it together. Nevertheless, no matter how important it may be, the number of petitioners should not exceed three.

Assuming Office

3.

4.

5.

6.

45

Those who are entrusted with presenting the petitions should not spend money excessively on food and wine, burdening petitioners by frequent traveling back and forth between the village and the yamen. Despite this injunction, if they still occupy the liaison agent’s [pangin] house with a crowd of colleagues while sending only one person to the court, pretending that they are observing government regulations that restrict the number of people who can present petitions, they will surely regret their act and, therefore, had better be careful. (After the announcement of these instructions, if a petition of some magnitude is submitted through the district agent’s house, the magistrate secretly dispatches a man to watch the house. If there are still people staying in it, he orders them to be arrested and punished.) If he who has lost something or an important document or has had his cow or horse stolen wants to have an official attestation, have him first obtain a statement made by the upper households [sangho] or a report made by the guardian of the customs and laws and have it attached to his application. He who visits the yamen to submit a petition does not have to meet with law clerks or ask gate guards; he can just walk through the outer and inner gates and submit his petition directly to the magistrate. In this way he can avoid the problem of being stopped by the clerks and guards. If he is still stopped by these men, he will beat a drum established on the gatepost. If he beats the drum early in the morning or evening, or whenever he feels like it, an official will come out and inquire about his grievances. Even if the magistrate in his preliminary ruling ordered both sides to be summoned together for face-to-face questioning for the trial, this proceeding is not necessary if they are reconciled and are prepared to settle the matter by themselves. If efforts to bring about reconciliation fail, and the plaintiff submits an appeal that the defendant failed to appear at the trial, the court has no choice but to dispatch a liaison agent or sometimes, much worse, a guard or a military officer to apprehend the defendant. If this happens, there will be a serious commotion in the village. He who refuses to attend the trial at the court will be punished in order to maintain peace in the village. Even if the defendant proves to be innocent, his refusal to attend the trial will be dealt with separately. If there is a cunning person who purposely conceals the court summons from the beginning and attributes his failure to appear in court to his adversary, and this trickery is exposed during the crossexamination, he will be punished twice as much. This warning should be taken seriously. If there is an urgent official notice, it will, of course, be dispatched through liaison agents; if it is not urgent, however, it will be sent by either village representatives or heads of the community compact for the peace of the village. When an order is delivered through an official notice, it should be

46

book I

delivered in a timely fashion; that will eliminate the abuses of sending liaison agents. He who defies or delays an official order from the government, causing a disturbance in the district, will be strictly punished without exception.” In a large district petitions gather like clouds or accumulate like mountains. If the magistrate tries to examine each of them in detail one by one, he will be tied down by them and, furthermore, will be regarded by the people as a suspicious man. In my opinion, therefore, it is undesirable to work in this way. If he just picks out one petition and discovers its tricks and deceptions while handling them speedily without stopping, he will do an outstanding job worthy of a magistrate. Main Points in Administration by Un’gok [Un’gok chŏngyo] states: “When the people bring their petitions to the government office, they should be able to feel as if they are coming to their parents’ home. When the feeling of the people is fully conveyed all the way up to their magistrate, the magistrate deserves his name as the parent of the people. The guards at the gate should not stop the people who come to see their magistrate, even if the magistrate is in the middle of his meal or taking a bath. If the guards violate this injunction, they should be punished by three lashes.” The following happened when Bao Zheng was in charge of Kaifeng. According to an old system, a petitioner was not allowed to come directly into the yamen; a clerk known as diesi [official collecting the papers] at the gate collected the petitions. Bao Zheng ordered the gate of the yamen to be opened wide and made the people directly approach the magistrate’s chair to argue their own cases, and because of this, the clerks, as well as the people, did not dare to fabricate their cases. Kim Ikgyŏng served as the magistrate of quite a few districts, but he paid little attention to complicated and trivial matters, concentrating only on major problems. He ordered that the door of the government office always be open to the public so that people with problems could directly come in and appeal their sufferings; after this new arrangement hardly anyone was unwilling to talk about his problems.

104. A book on administration written by Yi Kwangjwa (1674−1740), who served as chief state councilor during the reign of Yŏngjo. Un’gok is his pen name. 105. Bao Zheng (999−1062) was a famous judge of the Northern Song dynasty popularly known as Bao Qingtian (Blue-Sky Bao). He served as metropolitan governor of the capital city and was popu lar for his uncompromising stance against corruption. He impeached numerous high-ranking officials for their corruption, including Prime Minister Song Yang. Thus his name became synonymous with justice in the mind of the Chinese people. 106. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Kyemyŏng. He also served as magistrate of Kangwŏn Province and second minister of rites.

Assuming Office

47

Since the Business of the Government Office Is Based on Promises, the People Will Not Be Afraid of Official Orders Unless the Promises Are Kept. For This Reason, Keeping Promises Cannot Be Neglected. The way to govern the people is to inform them clearly of the promises that both the government and the people have made to each other and repeatedly remind them of those promises so that the people have ample time to prepare for them. If the people choose to disregard the promises on their part despite these efforts of the magistrate, they have only themselves to blame when they are punished. Hu Dachu once said: “Nothing can be accomplished without trust. Because the affairs of the district are complicated and the magistrate is limited in his ability, how can he discharge his duty if neither his promises nor his orders are working? Therefore, nothing can be more important than firmly setting a certain time limit. However, since the circumstances of the people can differ according to each individual, their failure to keep their promises may be tolerated two or three times; however, if they continue to disregard their promises, they deserve severe punishment.” He also said: “The magistrate needs to set up a rule in advance with regard to the time allowed for people to fulfill their pledges, calculating the distances of their areas of residence. Hence, in calculating the distance between the villages and the yamen, those who live more than fift y li away from the district yamen should be given seven days, and those who are from shorter distances five days. He should also order a clerk on day duty to stay at his desk all the time so that he can keep records on the fulfi llment of the promises without delay for future reference. Those who violate this rule should be punished.” When Han Yanshou became prefect of Yingchuan, he made sure that due dates for taxes and corvée labor were announced far in advance and were observed under all circumstances. As a result, the people were afraid of him and obeyed him with respect. When Zeng Gong served as prefect, he set due dates, carefully weighing the amount of time before the due date concerning the nature of the matters, and never applied pressure until the due dates arrived. When due dates were not observed, he punished the offender according to the law. If the due dates and the nature of matters conflicted (meaning that the due dates did not allow sufficient

107. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Changgong. He also served as magistrate of Huaiyang and grand master of remonstrance. 108. Zeng Gong (1019−1083) was a scholar and historian of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zigu, and his pen name Nanfeng. He served as Secretariat drafter. He participated in the New Classical Prose movement and was known as one of the eight literary masters during the Tang and Song periods.

48

book I

time to do whatever was required), he rescheduled the due dates after gathering opinions from the districts. If there was still a person who failed to meet the deadline, he ordered him to be punished without forgiveness. As a result, people did not dare neglect their work, and things could be accomplished on time. When Xu Jiusi was appointed magistrate of Gourong District, he did not allow corporal punishment to exceed ten lashes during the trial. He also set due dates in advance on various kinds of taxes, and if they were not met, he just had an individual arraigned by the elders of the village instead of sending his own men. On This Day the Magistrate Makes a Small Notebook Based on the Almanac and Writes Down All the Due Dates for His Reference. Zhu Xi stated, “The government office usually keeps an official journal that deals with daily events and the details of ongoing public affairs. If a work is finished, it is marked; if not, the magistrate pays more attention to it so that it can be completed as scheduled.” Record of Koksan [Sangsannok] stated: “A record of prison inmates is called sudo, and it is kept by a law clerk. (It has been that way from the beginning.) In collecting and transporting taxes, there are always due dates, which are called hangi. They are handled by a clerk in charge of taxes. (The following are the ones I tried to make.) When summonses are issued, appointments are given to the individuals, and the record about them is called kirok. This record is taken care of by an attending servant [sidong]. (The work of this man involves apprehending people by presenting official warrants.) There are certain matters (things like payment of taxes to the government or making decisions based on divination) in which the superior office pressures the magistrate so that the latter can hurry and finish in time. A record related to this is called ch’ongnok [smart record], and it is kept by the chief clerk. These things should be recorded and read by the magistrate so that they cannot be forgotten.” On the Following Day the Magistrate Orders an Experienced Clerk to Find a Painter and Have the Four Pieces of Picturesque Maps of His District Drawn and Hung on the Wall of the Yamen. Instructions on Governing the Districts states: “The rivers and mountain ranges shown in the maps should be drawn like the real ones. Each of the four directions, that is, east, west, south, and north, and the points of the compass should be marked 109. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongjin. 110. Sangsan is another name for the district of Koksan, Hwanghae Province, in Korea. Th is record appears to have been made during Tasan’s magistracy.

Assuming Office

49

and divided. The names of administrative units like subdistricts and villages should also be marked, and the length of all roads, as well as the number of households, large and small roads, bridges, ferries, hills, taverns, and temples, should all be included in the maps. Equipped with such maps, the magistrate can observe the customs and conditions of his district and comprehend the current state of affairs, and also the roads through which yamen clerks and residents come and go.” In my belief, the maps are essential. If there is no painter in his district, the magistrate can borrow one from his neighboring districts. It does not matter whether the painter lacks skill. However, it is important that experienced local officials, expert yamen clerks, and veteran military cadre members supervise the making of the maps. The maps of our country are mostly useless because they are drawn in a square shape regardless of the length and size of the land. One must first draw the lines of longitude and latitude. Then the painter makes 1 k’an [a space between two objects] a unit of 10 li. He marks 10 k’an on the east in the map if the place is located 100 li to the east, and 1 k’an on the west of the map if the place is located 10 li to the west. The yamen should not necessarily be placed in the center of the map. A large village with one hundred households cannot be drawn in detail. In that case the painter can indicate its scale by densely drawing a number of houses. Even a house or two in a mountain valley should be included in the map, and large houses with tiled roofs should be depicted so that one can know that they are affluent households. The Letters on the Official Stamps Should Not Be Unclear, and the Magistrate’s Signature Should Not Be Crude. If the letters on the official stamps are unclear, it is easy for the clerks to commit tricks. For this reason, the clerks spread a rumor and say, “When stamps are made anew, the officials are soon replaced.” The magistrate who is foolish and superstitious, then, does not dare change his stamps, taking such a rumor to be the truth. Since he thus uses stamps whose letters are almost unrecognizable, the clerks can easily make all sorts of official documents for their purposes. It is indeed very easy to make such stamps even with a pumpkin skin or a piece of bamboo shoot because the letters on the stamp do not really matter. Months and years later, no one will recognize the stamped letters. If the magistrate finds that his official stamps are flawed soon after his inauguration, he should immediately report the matter to the Ministry of Rites and request a new set of stamps; this process should not exceed a month. The magistrate’s signature [hwaap] should also be consistent. If his letter strokes are crude and different whenever he inscribes his signature, the chance of trickery increases. If the magistrate truly intends to see how the affairs of the district run, he should first pay attention to things like this.

50

book I

On This Day the Magistrate Distributes Several Newly Made Stamps to Each Subdistrict. The size of the wooden stamps should be two by two ch’i and the letters in them should read “Official seal of so-and-so subdistrict.” Since village representatives and heads of the community compact have no stamps of their own, documents submitted to the court of the magistrate are often forged in the process. The abuses related to the stamps are serious. The stamps must be made of wood, and the use of black ink will be fine; a red ink pad for stamping is not required. If a record of a subdistrict meeting is presented without stamps, it will have the same effect as it would have with stamps. Hence the stamps are not called the stamps of the guardian of the customs and laws. However, it should be arranged that they be taken care of by the guardian of the customs and laws. Once the stamps are made, the magistrate distributes them and makes a pledge that he will recognize no documents unless they have those stamps. 111. Korean measurement of length. Also called ch’on or cun in Chinese, 1 ch’i is 3.03 cm.

II

Self-Discipline

C H A P T E R  : SE T T I NG T H E B ODY I N OR DE R

From the Days of Old It Has Been the Way of the Magistrate to Keep Discipline in His Daily Conduct, Maintain His Hat and Belt Properly, and Display Gravity When Interacting with the People. The magistrate gets up early in the morning, lights a candle, and washes his face; he puts his clothes on, wears his belt, and sitting still, concentrates and starts meditating. For a while he thinks about the things to be done that day and sorts them according to priority. He has to figure out which official document should be dealt with first and which orders he should give next, and so forth. After that, he starts thinking about the best ways to accomplish his first priority and, at the same time, how to eliminate his personal interest and follow the way of Heaven. When the day grows bright, he blows out the candle and remains sitting straight until his servant informs him that the day is already bright. Then he opens the window and starts receiving greetings from his staff. Since the garment called hŭkp’orip was originally designed to block the sunlight when one went out, it is neither a casual dress nor part of the official uniform. The official who meets with the people should always wear a black cap [samo] and blue jacket [ch’angŭi]. All the officials in the capital now follow this rule, but why do the officials serving outside [the capital city] choose to be different? When the magistrate carries out his official duty, he should wear a uniform that consists of a robe called tanryŏngp’o, a leather belt called chŏngdae, and black shoes. He receives greetings from his staff while sitting on the chair. 51

52

book II

When he discharges his official duties concerning military affairs, he should wear a military uniform called yungbok (it consists of a cap decorated with the beard of a tiger and a dress made of thin cloth), as well as a sword. In my observation, some magistrates who like simplicity and dislike restraint meet with their staff and the people wearing only chonggŏn caps and hyŏpsuŭi robes, or sometimes even without caps or socks. This is very wrong. Classic of Poetry says, “An outward demeanor, cautious and grave, is an indication of [inward] virtue.”  It also says, “With reverent care of outward demeanor, one will become the pattern of the people.” This is the old way that the sages taught. If dignity is lost, there is nothing for the people to imitate and learn. Then how can things be accomplished? During the autumn and winter, leaving the office should be a little delayed, and during the spring and summer, it can be made a little earlier. Hu Dachu said, “Since a day’s work depends on the morning, the magistrate should always be alert to determine and execute speedily which paper needs to be signed first, which report should be sent out, which taxes should be levied, which things should be dealt with, who should be released from prison, and so forth.” When Lü Gongzhu was a magistrate, he always woke up at four o’clock, lit a candle, and reviewed official documents. When the day grew bright, he went to the office and took care of the petitions from the people. When he finished his work, he withdrew to his place, but the way he enjoyed his leisure seemed as if he were purifying himself. There was, therefore, hardly any problem as far as time was concerned when his guests and fellow officials came to see him. As a result, there was no business laid up in his district, and the feelings [of the people] below could be channeled above. He governed six districts, but the way he governed was always in this manner. Pei Yaoqing of the Tang dynasty was industrious in carry ing out his duties. A big paulownia tree stood in front of the government building, and all kinds of birds gathered on the tree each day in the early morning. The time when the

1. Chonggŏn refers to men’s casual hats made from the tail hair of the horse, and hyŏpsuŭi to one of the traditional Korean overcoats which are still worn today. 2. “Decade of Dang” (256), “Greater Odes of the Kingdom,” Book of Odes, in Legge, Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center), 4: 243. 3. Ibid., 243. 4. An official of the Song dynasty. He served as grand councilor and opposed the Green Sprout Act (Qingmiao fa) of Wang Anshi (1021–1086), a famous statesman who introduced so-called New Policies (Xin fa). The Green Sprout Act was designed to relieve the peasants from their chronic debts by instituting ever-normal granaries which were used to loan grain to the cultivators, with the loans to be repaid only after harvests. Despite its good intention, however, the result turned out to be quite the opposite, and most peasants remained poor and debt-ridden. 5. An official who also served as senior vice director of the Imperial Secretariat.

Self- Discipline

53

birds gathered was the time when he went to work, and he referred to them as the “birds telling the morning hour.” The people thought that this was nice. When Han Chi became governor, he woke up early before daybreak and washed his face. Dressed in a cap and a coat, he sat on a seat, never allowing himself to lean on a pillow or sofa to his side. He sat up straight, kneeling with his hands gathered in front. Although he stayed that way all day long, he was never seen leaning to the side or staggering. Even if there was a railing on the window, he never leaned against it. Those who spent three years with him day and night never saw him yawning and stretching because of fatigue. When he finished his evening meal, he always took a walk in the backyard, but his paces were so even and consistent that they appeared to be measured and lined by a ruler. Tai Zu [founder king] of the Song dynasty once said to a district magistrate, “Never make it happen that you finish your day’s work on your bed with golden silk.” When Wen Yanbo was the magistrate of Yuci District, he wrote on the gong hung outside the yamen office: “Although I am now fortunate enough to have a bed with golden silk, I will try to get out of it to finish my day’s work.” (Su Shi says in his poem, “I see that, lying on a high bed and hugging a golden blanket made of silk, you make the people go home late.”) Minister Fan Wenzheng said, “Every time I go to bed, I think of the amount of ser vice that I received during the day and what I accomplished during the same period. If the two turn out to be about equal, I can fall asleep soundly; otherwise, I cannot sleep well all night long; the next day I certainly do the work that can make up for my failure of the day before.” This corresponds to what Classic of Poetry says: The superior man! He would not eat the bread of idleness!

When Zhao Bian was in charge of Chengdu, fully dressed and burning incense, he reported what he did during the day to Heaven every night, and he did not dare report the things he could not do. This self-vigilance, combined with discretion, anxiousness, and apprehension, is the true way that the superior man should follow. 6. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. 7. A grand councilor of the Northern Song dynasty. 8. Fan Zhongyan (989–1052) was a famous minister of the Northern Song dynasty. Wenzheng was his posthumous title. He served as vice grand councilor. 9. “Lessons from the States,” “The Odes of Wei,” Book of Odes, in Legge, Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center), 4: 112. 10. An official of the Song dynasty famous for his integrity and benevolence. His courtesy name was Yuedao, and his posthumous title Qingxian. He also served as governor of Sichuan and palace censor.

54

book II

If the Magistrate Finds Leisure While Conducting Public Affairs, He Should Always Gather His Mind and Concentrate His Thoughts and with All Sincerity Find Out How to Make the Lives of the People Comfortable. Zhu Xi said, “Wu Jigong stated that one should find time to cultivate and preserve his mind even in the midst of discharging the daily routine. What he tried to say was that the more annoying and complicated the daily chores are, the more leisure the magistrate should try to find so that there may be a lack of work, while his leisure is plentiful.” When Cheng Baizi became magistrate, he wrote a phrase made of four characters right next to his seat, “Shi min ru shang,”  and said, “I feel ashamed every day in front of these words.” (Yang Guishan made a comment on this: “Judging from the way he thinks, it seems certain that he did not whip his people with wrongful judgments.”) When Zhang Jiucheng became assistant magistrate of Zhendong, he was so assiduous in carry ing out his duties that no one could cheat him. Earlier he wrote on the wall, “If my body enjoys even a day of leisure, the people will have to endure suffering to no end.” Instructions on Governing the Districts stated: “The secret of a successful public life can be summed up in a single word, ‘fear’ [oe]. If the magistrate fears justice and law, as well as both his superior and the people, always carry ing fear in his heart, he will not appear to be arrogant, and because of this, he will be able to reduce his mistakes.” Essentials of Magistracy [Chŏng’yo] points out, “In public life, there are three secrets made of three words: first, cleanness; second, discretion; and third, diligence.”

11. Wu Jigong is unknown. Probably this refers to Wu Gongji, whose name was Ji, a colleague of Zhu Xi. 12. Cheng Baizi refers to Cheng Hao (1032−1082), a Neo-Confucian scholar. With his younger brother, Cheng Yi, he became a precursor of the Neo-Confucian philosophy of Song China. 13. “Take care of the people as if they were wounded.” 14. Yang Guishan (1053−1135) was a Neo-Confucian phi losopher of the Song dynasty. His name was Shi, and his pen name was Guishan. He was a disciple of Cheng Hao and left a book, Collected Works of Guishan (Guishan ji). 15. An official of the Song dynasty. He also served as vice minister of rites. 16. In the late Chosŏn dynasty there were a number of books published under the title Chŏng’yo, which were basically books on ways of governing the people. Hence it is not clear which Chŏng’yo is meant here. However, it is presumed to be Imgwan chŏng’yo, a book written by An Chŏngbok, a Sirhak scholar of the late Chosŏn period.

Self- Discipline

55

In the Precepts for the Children [Tongmengxun], Lü Benzhong says, “One cannot be said to have done his best unless he serves his king as if he were his parent, treats yamen attendants as if they were his own servants, loves people as if they were his own family, and takes care of state affairs as if they were his personal business. If there is something short and lacking, it is because he did not exhaust his efforts.” In dealing with things of similar nature, it is not advisable only to follow precedents all the time; within the limits allowed by laws and ordinances, the magistrate should try to be flexible enough to consider the comfort of the people and bring benefits to them. If the current laws and ordinances are not based on the national code of law and appear unreasonable, he has no choice but to rectify them. When Minister Han Qi served as judge of Kaifeng, he worked hard, and sweat ran down his back when the weather was warm. Observing him working, Prefect Wang Bowen said, “This man, even though his political career is already secure, works hard to take care of the people. He is indeed minister material.” These days, those who go out as magistrates after serving in the Office of Special Advisors and the Royal Secretariat conduct themselves in such an arrogant manner that they do not bother to pay attention to the details of their job, saying, “The way in which civil officials conduct their duty is not the same as that of those who were allowed appointments to lower-level posts because of their fathers’ position [ŭmgwan].” Thus they indulge in enjoying themselves, playing Chinese chess or composing poems, leaving state affairs in the hands of aides and thereby bringing affliction on the people. Men like this should read the good examples left by Minister Han Qi. When Zhen Xishan [Dexiu] ruled the Changsha region, he invited the magistrates of twelve districts to a banquet at Xiangjiang Pavilion and expressed his message through his poem: The officials and the people were originally one body like a family. However, since the people are harassed and their fat is squeezed out to contribute to the stipends of the officials, they should feel their suffering as though it were their own. Succeeding the Tang dynasty, our state has been regarded as an ancient kingdom; however, we should strive to be like the officials of the Han dynasty who were exemplary in discharging their duty.

17. An official of the Song dynasty and a grandson of Lü Gongzhu, grand councilor during the reign of Zhezong. He served as ju nior compiler and Secretariat drafter. 18. Han Qi (1008−1075) was a famous official of the Song dynasty who served as minister of education and palace attendant. He is commonly referred to as the Duke of Hanwei or the Duke of Weiguo. 19. An official of the Song dynasty and a native of Jiyin. His courtesy name was Zhongming.

56

book II Let a cup of wine at the Xiangjiang Pavilion today, once again, spread the vitality of spring to the four corners of the world.

Zheng Xuan said, “Heaven makes a man wealthy not to make him personally well off but to enable him to take care of the poor. Heaven makes a man honorable not to exalt him personally but to allow him to serve the people of low status. Since a man of low status makes his living by himself, working hard and spending what he earns with his sweat and blood, Heaven, which observes him struggling, will grant him mercy. A wealthy and honorable person, on the other hand, sitting high in the government, spends the money that was made of the sweat and blood of the people; hence Heaven will be far more severe in punishing his wrongdoings if he neglects his duty.” When he was a governor, Han Chi received greetings from his aides every morning. Bestowing wine and side dishes on them, he asked: “Was there anything wrong with what I did yesterday?” When his aides replied, “There was none, Your Honor,” he changed his face and said seriously: “There is always a teacher, according to an old saying, in a company of three travelers on the road. How is it possible that you ten people always agree with me in opinion? I want you to speak out. If you say that a thing is good, it will remain as it is. If you say otherwise, we will discuss and try to correct it.” Because he kept asking questions like this every day, his aides held discussions among themselves and prepared their answers in advance. If the answers brought by his aides turned out to be right, Han Chi put aside his opinion and tried to correct the problems, no matter what it took. He always said, “State affairs that affect everyone cannot be carried out by a single person.” The Magistrate Should neither Speak Much nor Abruptly Become Angry. A man of higher rank is always under observation. Every time he moves or stops, and every time he speaks or keeps silent, he is carefully and suspiciously observed and noticed by the people below him. Every move or word that he makes is leaked out, unknown to him, from the room to the gate, from the gate to the town, and from the town in four directions until it spreads throughout the whole province. The superior man should restrain himself from speaking even when he stays home, not to mention while working in his office. Even if his attendant is young and his slave is foolish, like a piece of iron beaten a hundred times, they are all quick and clever in making observations because they have spent many years in the office of the yamen. As soon as they step out the gate of the yamen, they spread every detail of what they heard and saw. I came to know this through my own experience, living in exile for over ten years. The Book of Changes states, “A good word spoken by the superior man in his house draws a response from as far as 1,000 li outside, not to mention from the people close to him. If the words of a man are not good, they will also draw a response from

Self- Discipline

57

as far as 1,000 li, not to mention from the people close to him.” Classic of Poetry says, “Be aware of the things that are unpredictable and watch your language.” Therefore, a man who is above the people cannot help being prudent. Zheng Xuan said, “When a man is appointed magistrate, his body soon becomes a target of attacking arrows; therefore, in his words and actions he must be careful.” He also stated, “With a single word, one can damage the peace of the world, and with one behavior, one can cut himself off from the blessings of his lifetime. He should, therefore, always examine what he does.” When Bao Zheng was metropolitan governor, he scarcely spoke or laughed. People compared his laugh with the chances for the purification of the Yellow River. Magistrates often complain that the people in their districts are not hospitable. One who goes to the western region complains, and another who goes down to the south says the same, and those who go to the east and the north still make the same complaints. If the principle of Heaven was originally good, how can it be possible that the people across the country are all evil and I alone am good? Mencius said, “If a man love others, and no responsive attachment is shown to him, let him turn inwards and examine his own benevolence.” Lu Xiangshan also remarked, “All men are alike in terms of their hearts and principles, whether they live on the West Sea or the East Sea.” How, then, can magistrates say that the people on their lands are prejudiced and evil? Moreover, they are the guests, and the people are their hosts. Suppose that a stranger like themselves singlehandedly jumps on the people of the Chu state, reproaching them for not being genial, is that not the way in which he isolates himself? Since the customs of each region are all different, they will naturally disturb the magistrate when they are alien to him. Nevertheless, if the magistrate becomes angry and chides the residents for that reason, he proves that he is also narrow-minded and eccentric. Suppose that the magistrate runs into a wicked person and rebukes him as follows: “Although the people here are all nice and good-natured, you are the only 20. The I King, Appendix 3, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 16: 361 . My translation. 21. “Greater Odes of the Kingdom,” “Decade of Dang” (25), Book of Odes, in Legge, The Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center). My translation. 22. According to an old saying, the water of the Yellow River, which is always muddy, is said to become clear only once in a thousand years. 23. “Li lau,” in Legge, The Works of Mencius, 294. 24. Lu Xiangshan (1139−1192) was a scholar of the Southern Song dynasty. His name was Jiuyuan, and Xiangshan was his pen name. In contrast with Zhu Xi, his worldview was rather monistic, emphasizing mind. He greatly influenced Wang Yangming’s Neo-Confucian philosophy, which focused on the unity of knowledge and action, as well as intuition. Thus he became the founder of the School of Mind (Xinxue). 25. Th is refers to a man of Qi in Mencius who was hired by a great officer of Chu who tried to make his son learn the speech of Qi. “Tengwengong,” in Legge, Works of Mencius, 275.

58

book II

one who practices evil. Therefore, your crime is more serious.” Those who hear this remark will all be pleased. On the other hand, if in the same situation he says, “It is hardly surprising that you did such an evil thing, because this environment is evil,” those who hear these words will be indignant and offended. Would it be wise for the magistrate to offend the people with improper remarks? Moreover, the things that he condemns as evil mostly have to do with trivial matters related to things like rice and salt, or cucumbers and vegetables. Since serious crimes like exploitation of the people or violations of the laws are hardly the object of his indignation, how can he make the people submit to his authority? In the old days they humanely treated their fellow human beings just as the people of Zhai and Lu had treated the people of Shu. However, the people he deals with now are not like those of Shu, and he should think about this. Lü Benzhong in his Precepts for the Children said, “He who serves in the government should watch his impatience and anger. Since the magistrate has in his hands all power to execute the law of punishments, no one will dare challenge or disobey his orders; therefore, it will surely be a mistake to deal with punishments in an outburst of impatience and anger.” He who has a bad temperament should swear to himself every day and engrave on his lungs and liver these words: “If angry, put the suspect in a holding cell.” If the magistrate feels angry, he should try hard to restrain himself, ordering the suspect to be arrested and imprisoned. If he gives his thought to the case overnight or for a few days, there is little chance that his decision will be unreasonable. A man of quick temper also recovers peace quickly in the same way he is rapidly thrown into anger. The whirling blast does not last all morning, and the rainstorm does not pour down all day long. Since he will return to himself soon, waiting for a moment should not be too hard for him. Furthermore, just by waiting, an innocent man may escape from disaster, and at the same time, he can avoid making a mistake. Is that not nice? Zheng Xuan said, “Since angry words are produced only in the absence of propriety, if you think about them when anger is gone, you will realize that they already reveal everything inside you, all dirty and ugly, to the eyes of other people.” When Han Chi was governor, he never spoke in impatience or anger, and he allowed corporal punishments not more than twice or three times a day. Nevertheless, his provincial yamen was always solemn both inside and outside, and people trembled even at the sound of his footsteps. When he made an inspection 26. According to some historical sources, the people of the Shu state were known to be very tough and wild in their temperament, while the people of the Zhai and Lu states were mild and generous because of their advanced culture. During the reign of Emperor Renzong a rebellion broke out in the Shu region, and General Zhang Fangping was dispatched to put down the rebellion. However, General Zhang treated the people of Shu humanely, just as he dealt with those of Zhai and Lu, and fi nally succeeded in making them submit to his authority.

Self- Discipline

59

tour, the places he visited were so quiet that it appeared that no one was present even though the residents were never told to be quiet. Nevertheless, since his orders were carried out and his prohibitions were observed, the people marveled at the way in which they were accomplished. If the Magistrate Treats His Subordinates with Generosity, the People Will Submit to Him. Therefore, Confucius Said, “High Station without Indulgent Generosity, and Ceremonies Performed without Reverence—What Is There Worth Observing?”  He Also Said, “He Who Is Generous Wins the Hearts of the Multitude.”  People often say, “For those in public office, nothing is more important than honoring gravity and severity.” However, this is only a vulgar opinion. First of all, if the magistrate harbors the word “severity” in his heart, it will first affect his heart in a negative way. What then is it good for? If a man deserves punishment, the magistrate should punish him according to the law. Why then does he have to worship severity in par ticular? Since Classic of Poetry says, “Be reverently careful of your outward demeanor; in all things be mild and content,” benevolent mildness and contentment are most desirable. When I was in the royal court years ago, I observed that the nobles and high ministers always appeared to be benign and happy in their words and complexion. Although people in the present time are not expected to excel their predecessors, it appears that those who are benevolent and happy are more successful and have more followers than others, and those who are coarse and severe often fail in the course of their career. This attests the importance of benevolent mildness and contentment. Classic of Poetry says: How mild and admirable the virtue of Zhong Shanfu is; Good is his deportment; good his look.

Classic of Poetry also says: Zhong Shanfu Does not devour even if a thing is soft and tender Nor does he spit it out even if it is tough; He does not ignore the poor or the widow; He does not fear the strong and oppressive.

27. “Bayi,” in Legge, Confucius, Book 3, 164. 28. “Yanghuo,” in Legge, Confucius, Book 7, 320. 29. “Greater Odes of the Kingdom,” “Decade of Tang,” Book of Odes, in Legge, Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center), 4: 260. The quotation is an adaptation. 30. Ibid. Zhong Shanfu was a man during the reign of King Xuan of the Zhou dynasty. 31. Ibid. My translation.

60

book II

As the poem shows, Zhong Shanfu was certainly not a weak person. Unless he was benevolent and happy in his daily life, as well as moderate and reverent in his words and expression, he could not hold the things that were tough without spitting them out, nor face the people who were tough and violent without being afraid. This is quite obvious in his case. Yang Guishan said, “Since officials these days believe that they may face troubles if they conduct state affairs with generosity, they do not realize that the power in their hands is not supposed to be wielded as they like. Although they see that the common people are not afraid of officials, how come they are blind to the fact that many officials exploit and take advantage of the people?” When Zhang Yong was appointed governor of Yizhou for the second time, he was convinced that the people had faith in him, so he changed his severe attitude into that of benevolence. Nevertheless, there was hardly anyone among the people who was reluctant to follow his orders once they were given. Zhang asked Li Zhou if the people had trust in him. Li answered, “Since the dignity and grace of Your Highness reach every one of your subjects, they all trust and obey you.” Zhang said, “It was not like that the last time I was here. It seems that during this term things have improved a little. It took five years for this single conviction of mine finally to be realized.” When Minister Fan Zhongxuan governed Jizhou, in order to encourage him, someone said, “The way in which Your Honor conducts state affairs is always marked by benevolence. However, in a place like this, you have to be strict and severe because the people of Jizhou are so atrocious and violent that they enjoy stealing and taking away women.” The minister replied, “Benevolence originates from character. Even if I were to try deliberately to rule the people with severity, this newly adopted severity would not last long. If it happens that I am eventually incapable of ruling the wicked people, despite all my severity, I will only make myself a laughingstock.” Since the Dignity of the Government Office Is Maintained through Gravity, No One Should Be Allowed to Stay near the Seat of the Magistrate. Since the office of the magistrate is prestigious and honorable, all the yamen attendants prostrate themselves before him, and the common people are ordered to stand in the courtyard, waiting on him. How can anyone among these people 32. An official of the Song dynasty. He took the state examination because of the encouragement of Zhang Yong and served as prefect of Rongzhou. 33. Fan Chunren (1027–1101), a famous scholar-official of the Song dynasty and the son of Fan Zhongyan, vice grand councilor. His courtesy name was Yaofu, and his posthumous title Zhongxuan.

Self- Discipline

61

dare intrude on his authority? Even if he is visited by his sons or relatives or guests, it is appropriate, according to the rules of propriety, that he should sit alone prominently, keeping at a distance from them. However, it will be acceptable for him to meet with them personally after he withdraws from the hall of state, either during the day or in the evening when he is free from his work. The magistrate who is living with his parents should get up early in the morning and visit their quarters to pay his respects; afterward he receives a courtesy call from his subordinates. If his parents or venerable elders happen to have meals in the inner quarters, he pays them a brief visit to show his respect, after finishing his official duties. However, he should not allow them to sit around him in the hall of state. When Ch’ae Pŏnong was special mayor [yusu] of Hwasŏng, he saw a little boy of his neighbor, wearing mourning clothes, entering the yamen. He punished the guard for allowing the boy to pass through the gate and ordered the boy to be led out to stay at a private place. When Yi Sulwŏn, a member of the Wing Guards [Igwi], became magistrate of Sŏngch’ŏn, his son, dressed in mourning clothes and waiting outside the yamen, asked a clerk to let him in. Yi Sulwŏn said, “He who wears mourning dress should not be allowed to enter either the public gate or the hall of state.” Then he ordered the clerk to make an opening in the wall of the yamen to let his son in and made his son stay in the inner quarters and later met with him personally. I was in Koksan when I heard about this, and I thought that it was admirable. Since the prestige of the hall of administration is paramount, those who wear a mourning dress or a monk’s garment or plain clothes should not be granted access near the hall of state. The officials in the old days all observed this rule. Lü Benzhong in his Precepts for the Children said: “He who holds a position in the government should not associate with the people indiscriminately. Shamans or nuns must be kept away far more strictly.” If a monk is a poet and worthy of his friendship, it is advisable that the magistrate visit the temple in the mountains if he wants to see him instead of inviting him to the yamen. Even if the monk is the chief abbot of a Buddhist temple, he should not be allowed to enter the hall of state except during official occasions of 34. Ch’ae Pŏnong (1720−1799) was an official who served as state councilor during the reign of Chŏngjo and was the leader of the Southerners faction. He was also a patron of Tasan. His name was Ch’ae Chegong. Here Tasan calls him Pŏnong out of respect because the state councilor’s pen name was Pŏnam. 35. Modern Suwŏn, which was originally a royal city designed by King Chŏngjo. 36. An official during the reign of Chŏngjo and Sunjo. He also served as a royal secretary. 37. A security office called Crown Prince Wing Guards (Seja Igwisa) which was established to protect the personal safety of the crown prince.

62

book II

paying respect. If he has some grievances to present, the magistrate should have him submit them in a written report. Record of Koksan states: “It seriously degrades the prestige of the government office to perform exorcisms in the courtyard and hold a shaman ritual with monks and shamans beating drums and cymbals and chanting aloud in the inner quarters of the magistrate. If these weird things take place during the absence of the magistrate, it will indicate that his wife and sons do not follow his orders, and furthermore that there are no rules and no discipline in his family.” Since the Superior Man without Gravity Cannot Have Dignity, He Who Is the Head of the People Must Possess Gravity. Xie An did not stop playing the game of go and Liu Kuan did not show his surprise when soup was spilled on his clothes, and this was only because they had prepared themselves on ordinary days. That is why they were neither embarrassed nor surprised at the time of the accidents. The magistrate should sit down quietly and look into the cause of the accidents in an unhasty manner even if a tiger or a thief is found inside the state building, or flood or fire breaks out, or the fences or roofs fall down, or centipedes or snakes drop down on his bed, or his attendant makes a mistake and spills water or wine on him. Unless he wants to make himself an object of laughter and scorn, he should change neither his words nor his expression even if a secret royal inspector suddenly rushes in or a notice of dismissal arrives. When Pei Du served in the Secretariat, he continued to drink [on the occasion of a meeting] despite a report that one of the official seals was missing. After a while he received a report that the missing seal had been found, but again he did not say anything. Someone asked him about his reason for reacting in this way, and he replied: “The incident most likely happened because one of the clerks stole the seal in order to stamp a document. If the situation was very critical and 38. A state councilor of the Jin dynasty. His courtesy name was Anshi, and his formal title was Duke Wenjing of Luling. Although he was not a military official, he successfully defended the country against the attacks of the former Qin, the rival state of Jin. According to a story handed down, he was playing go with his guest during the fi nal crisis of the war. During the game he received the news of victory; however, he showed no par ticu lar emotion. Only after the game, when he retired to his bedroom, was his excitement evident. Being overjoyed, he failed to see the threshold in his bedroom and broke his wooden sandal without realizing it. 39. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He was famous for generosity. In order to test him, someone spilled soup on his court dress; however, he was neither surprised nor angry. 40. An official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Xianzong. He played a crucial role in suppressing the rebellion of Wu Yuanji and served as Secretariat director.

Self- Discipline

63

pressing, he would throw the seal into either water or fire; however, if he felt that he still had time to handle the situation, I was sure that he would restore the seal to its original place.” People admired his generosity. Liu Gongquan put away wine cups and vessels in a box. Later he discovered that the box was empty, although its packing and seal appeared exactly the same as before. His servants denied any wrongdoing with the box. Liu just laughed and did not argue any further. He said, “The silver cups must have flown away with their wings.” When Han Weigong [Qi] was in Damingfu, he bought a jade wine cup for a great deal of money. It was a fine treasure in a perfect shape both inside and out and had been discovered by a farmer who was plowing his farm near an ancient tomb. One day he invited the transport commissioner for a treat of drinks, but it happened that one of his servants broke the jade wine cup by mistake. However, he did not change his expression at all and said to his guests: “There is a time when things are made, and also a time when they are destroyed.” He also looked at his servant and said, “You just made a mistake. Since you did not do it on purpose, you cannot be blamed.” When Wen Lugong treated his guests by bringing out four pieces of jade wine cups, his official servant broke one of them by mistake. When Wen Lugong intended to punish his servant, Sima Wengong [Guang] asked for a brush and wrote at the bottom of his ordering document: “Propriety forbids a man to wield wine cups made of jade, as one can find in the old records. Beautiful clouds are easily scattered, and the mistake of this person deserves your generosity.” With laughter, Wen Lugong ordered the release of his servant. (The official servant here was an official female entertainer.) Wang Wenzheng never showed his anger throughout his life. If there was something unclean in his food, he just did not eat his food. In order to test his generosity, people in his family deliberately put some motes in his soup and saw that he was eating only the rice. They asked why he did not eat his soup, and he

41. Liu Gongquan (778−865) was a poet and calligrapher of the Tang dynasty. He also served as grand guardian (taibao) of the crown prince and was invested with the title of Lord of Hedong Commandery. 42. A famous grand councilor of the Song dynasty. His name was Yanbo, and his courtesy name Kuanfu. Lugong, which means “Duke of Lu,” was a title granted to him. He served four emperors, including Renzong, Yingzong, Shenzong, and Zhezong consecutively. 43. Sima Guang (1019–1086) was a scholar-official of the Song dynasty during the reigns of Yingzong and Shenzong. Wengong, which means “Duke of Wen,” was a title granted to him. A leader of a conservative faction, he was opposed to the reforming policies of Wang Anshi. His representative work, Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government, was written with imperial support and patronage. 44. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Gan, and Wenzheng was his posthumous title. He was famous for his generosity and tolerance.

64

book II

answered, “I somehow do not feel like eating meat.” One day they put some soot in his rice. Looking at them, he said, “I somehow do not feel like eating rice. Let me have porridge instead.” Lü Zuqian had a bad temper when he was young. If he did not like his food, he would break the dishes. Years later he suffered an illness for a long time, and because of his physical condition he spent his time leisurely reading the Analects every morning and evening, devoting himself to this book alone. However, in the course of reading the book, he unexpectedly experienced awakening and found peace. Thereafter, until the end of his life he never fell into anger. This may indeed be a good way for one to transform his disposition. When Chen Gao toured Shandong to supervise the education administration of the region, he arrived at the official guest house in Jiyang at night. A man in charge of meals set the table but forgot to put out a spoon. Scared that the inspector would be upset and reproach him for the mistake, the magistrate of Jiyang begged that he be allowed to go out and bring the spoon, but the inspector did not allow him to. He said, “Propriety and a meal: which is more important?” Then he took only a few pieces of fruit without touching the meal. When Han Weigong served as magistrate of Dingwu, he ordered an attending soldier standing next to his side to hold a candle while he drafted an official report at night. While looking back, the soldier accidentally burned the beard of the magistrate, but the magistrate kept working on his draft, quickly rubbing his beard with his sleeves. After some time passed, he noticed that the soldier had been replaced by another. Worried that the soldier would be punished, he quickly summoned the head officer and said, “Do not replace him. By now he will know how to hold a candle.” Xia Yuanji had to travel through a province to carry out an order from the court in wintertime. Having arrived at the official guest house, he told a man in the guest house to dry his socks. The man burned one of his socks by mistake and did not dare tell him. Later, when Xia Yuanji looked for his socks, the people around him requested punishment for what had happened. He laughed and said, “Why did you not tell me earlier?” 45. A scholar of the Southern Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Bogong, and his pen name was Donglai. Thus he was called Master Donglai. A friend of Zhu Xi, he coauthored Reflections on Things at Hand (Jinsilu) with Zhu Xi and tried to reconcile Zhu Xi’s speculative philosophy, which was focused on principle, with the more practical and utilitarian philosophy of Lu Xiangshan, which emphasized mind. His philosophy greatly influenced Wang Yangming, a scholar of the Ming period. 46. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as right vice censor in chief and grand coordinator of Huguang. 47. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Weizhe. He served as minister of revenue and was famous for his generosity.

Self- Discipline

65

Jiang Yao was generous by nature. When he governed Yangzhou, it happened that a kite flown by a child fell on his cap while he was walking on the streets. When his aides tried to grab the child and bring it in, he said, “Do not scare the child.” A housewife wet his clothes when she threw water through a window. They arrested her husband and brought him in for punishment. He rebuked his aides and ordered them to release him. When someone showed suspicion about his excessive generosity, he said, “I am not trying to get a reputation for generosity. What the lady did happened by mistake; moreover, what does it have to do with her husband?” The following happened when Zhang Ying served as pacification commissioner of Shandong Province. He toured the region for inspection and arrived in Linqing District, which was his first stop. There it happened that his cap was caught by a banner of the tavern and fell to the ground. The people on the left and right turned pale. The following morning the magistrate of the district bound the owner of the tavern with a rope and brought him in for punishment. Zhang Ying spoke slowly: “From now on, make sure that you hang your banner much higher.” Then he ordered the man to be released right away. When Zhang Ying served in the government, he had to dispatch an urgent report on a criminal case. Thus he sat down and started working on drafting the report by candlelight, urging his clerk to hurry. His report was fi nally completed before the night ended, but a candle happened to fall on it, caught by the sleeves of the clerk. Now the report, being stained, could not be submitted to the royal court. The clerk prostrated himself before him and asked for death. He said, “It was a mistake.” He made the clerk rewrite the report, sitting still and waiting until the morning without retiring to his bed, with a peaceful expression on his face. Being Grave and Dignified as If He Is Performing Ancestral Rites, the Magistrate Should Not Drink, Should Stay Away from Women, and Should Repudiate Songs and Music. He Should Not Dare Throw Himself into Pleasure and Immoral Behavior. Zheng Xuan said: “There is a limit to human intelligence, whereas there is no limit to the things to be done. It is never easy for one individual to stop the trickery of a number of people, no matter how wary he may be. While the magistrate indulges in drinking and womanizing and wastes his time making poems and 48. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Cuiqing, and his posthumous title Gongjing. He served as minister of works. 49. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yanqi, and his posthumous title Zhuangyi. He served as right vice censor in chief and minister of war of Nanjing.

66

book II

playing chess, lawsuits are delayed and postponed until the following year. When right and wrong are reversed, lawsuits increase and thereby cause more confusion and complication in dealing with state affairs. How deplorable this is! When a cock crows in the morning, he should wake up and start working. While he is in duty at the office, he should put aside all personal affairs related to his household. He should not be tired because of drinking and women, nor should he harm himself through reckless pleasure. He should check which papers should be signed or dispatched frequently, which taxes should be levied, and which person should be released. There will be no matters he cannot accomplish unless he chooses to wait until the following day. Besides, he will also have peace of mind.” Fu Sengyou, his son Yan, and Yan’s son Han were all successful in accomplishing outstanding achievements as magistrates. The people in their times used to say, “The Fu family has a book called Secrets of Governing Districts [Zhixuanpu] that is handed down from generation to generation and is available only to its family members.” Liu Xuanming had a great talent for administration and distinguished himself throughout the country when he governed Jiankang and Shanyin districts. Fu Han succeeded him as magistrate of Shanyin. He requested that his predecessor Liu Xuanming relate his experience as the former magistrate of the district. Liu answered, “I have a secret, but it will not be found in your heirloom. Eating only a measure of rice and not to drink wine, that is the best way.” When Mei Zhi was in charge of Shaozhou, he wrote a treatise on the maladies of magistrates: “There are five maladies manifest in those who are in public ser vice. Recklessly collecting taxes from the people below to offer them to those above is the malady of taxes; failing to distinguish between good and evil by recklessly applying strict laws is the malady of punishments; indulging in drinking parties day and night and neglecting state affairs is the malady of food and drink; invading the interests of the common people for the sake of personal gain is the malady of wealth; and selecting numerous girls and enjoying singing and womanizing with them is the malady of pleasure. Even if the magistrate has only one of these five maladies, it will make people resentful and God indignant; hence he who leads a comfortable life will surely get sick, and he who is sick will surely die. Since the magistrates do not understand these maladies and complain only about some endemic diseases, how wrong they are!” Record of Koksan states: “Drinking often originates from bravado. Although the people generally regard it as a refinement, eventually and inevitably drinking will raise a pretentious show of spirit. If a drinking habit is prolonged, it will 50. An official of the Song dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. 51. An official of the Qi dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. 52. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongyi. He served as right grand master of remonstrance.

Self- Discipline

67

make a man so gluttonous and mad that he cannot give it up even if he wants to. How sad! If he drinks, he raises a racket or becomes talkative or falls asleep, but he believes that drinking is fine as long as he behaves. However, the prattle and unnecessary remarks due to his drinking will give his attendants a hard time, and his long sleep can provoke complaints from the people. How, then, can it be said that only shouting like a madman, making an uproar, and ordering excessive punishment and merciless whipping disrupt state affairs? He who is a magistrate should abandon his drinking habit.” Essays of Tasan stated: “If one reads the evaluation reports on the district magistrates across the country, which are submitted to the court by the governor every June and December, he will find comments as follows: ‘Although the problem of excessive taxes was straightened out, he should be warned about drinking.’ ‘It is not that he does not want to govern his district well but that he likes drinking too much.’ These comments are common in these reports. Nevertheless, they still keep on drinking without rectifying their old habits. What do they intend to do?” In the old days there was a district magistrate who failed to perform his duty because of his drinking. The governor in his evaluation of the magistrate made a comment: “He is still drunk even when he awakes from his drinking.” This remark was once widely circulated and made people laugh. Carousing with female entertainers is not a custom established by the three generations of ancient sage kings. Many generations later a barbarian custom gradually began to prevail throughout China and finally reached our country. He who sits above the people as their magistrate should never associate with female entertainers. Once he starts associating with them, every state affair that he executes and every official order that he issues will be subject to suspicion and accusations even if they are all righteous, because people may suspect that they were probably initiated by the request of the entertaining girls he deals with. What a pity this is! In my observation, once a scholar who is simple and ignorant of the world, rarely leaving his house, comes to know an entertaining girl for the first time, he falls more seriously into temptation. Thus he strongly believes the words of the woman secretly whispered in bed, hardly realizing that a woman in such a profession can have no sincere human nature since it was already exhausted in the course of her entertaining career, or that she may have her own lover to whom she can confide the secret information. As a result, a secret whisper spoken during 53. Called kisaeng or kinyeo, these female entertainers were women of low social status who were trained, and often became accomplished, in singing and dancing as well as fi ne arts, poetry, etc., in order to entertain the people, including officials and yangban aristocrats. 54. King Yü of the Xia dynasty, King Tang of the Shang dynasty, and King Wen of the Zhou dynasty.

68

book II

the night starts spreading throughout the town as soon as the day breaks, and by evening everyone in the district knows about it. It is a real pity to see a scholar who is known to be neat and decent throughout his life turning into a fool overnight. Since female entertainers are attractive and tempting, he should not pay attention to them. Except on the occasions of roll call, the first and fifteenth day of every month, they should not be allowed inside the gate of the yamen. The magistrate should strictly prohibit his sons, relatives, and guests from having an intimate relationship with female entertainers. If he pronounces a severe injunction against this, there will not be a serious problem even if the offenses are committed. If he finds a person who has already committed transgressions, it is not advisable to reproach him in public. He had better see him inside his room and rebuke him for what he has done. The following day he provides him with a horse and carriage and makes him depart from his district. The best way to deal with this problem is to preserve peace in his rule by preventing potential disruptions from taking place. When Minister Zhao Qingxian [Bian] governed the Shu region, he saw an entertaining girl wearing a branch of apricots in her hair. He casually teased, “What a pretty apricot flower in your hair!” The woman quickly answered, “What about the fruit at the end of its branch? No one tries to find its match.” When evening approached, he ordered an old soldier to bring the woman in. However, she did not show up, although it was already ten o’clock at night. He sent another to hurry to bring her and started strolling in his room. All of a sudden he screamed aloud, “Zhao Bian, how can you be so rude?” Abruptly he canceled his order. The old soldier came out behind the tent and said, “I did not go because I knew that Your Honor would sober up in a matter of hours.” Zhao Qingxian hung the portraits of his parents on his bed in order to restrain his sexual desire and keep watch on himself. Yu Pongsŏ became case reviewer [pukp’yŏngsa] of Hamgyŏng Province but fell hopelessly in love with an entertaining girl. He hung up the portrait of his father, Chief State Councilor Yu Sangun, and cried, looking at it day and night. (Knowing in advance that his son would be vulnerable to the temptation of women, State Councilor Yu made his son take his own portrait to his post.) However, Yu Pongsŏ failed to observe the instruction of his father and finally died at the place of his assignment. How sad!

55. Female entertainers, whose social status was similar to that of official slaves, normally belonged to the local government and provided their ser vices. So when there was a roll call of personnel in the yamen, they were also required to report to the authorities. 56. A case reviewer (pukp’yŏngsa) was a civil official who served as an aide to the provincial military commander of Hamgyŏng or P’yŏngan Province. 57. Yu Sangun (1636–1707) was chief state councilor during the reign of Sukchong.

Self- Discipline

69

When Zhang Yong governed the Chu region, he had two female servants who did laundry and sewing, and he liked one of them. One night he was so tempted that he rose up and walked around his room, but he gave up eventually, saying only, “Zhang Yong is a man of small stature, a man of small stature.” Zheng Xuan said, “When the bud of desire sprouts up, one will surely regret if he gratifies it; however, if he endures and overcomes it, he will surely be happy. Anger is the same.” Record of Koksan states, “When the magistrate enters and leaves the yamen inside the fortress or passes by the houses of common people, he should not give a glance even when he knows that ladies are watching him over the wall or on the street.” When Zhang Yong governed Yizhou, his subordinates were so afraid of him that none of them dared keep mistresses. Not wishing to sever all human relationships with the people, he bought a female slave and made her his attendant. Then his subordinates began to have mistresses. He spent four years in the Shu region until he was recalled to the royal court. On the day he left, he invited the parents of his female slave and gave them money to be used for marrying their daughter. The slave was still a virgin. When Cheng Yanbin went to Luocheng as an envoy, the people on the left and the right offered him three virgins who were all pretty. He said to the virgins: “You are like my daughters. How can I dare to touch you?” Then he made them stay together in a room and locked their door. The next morning he released them after searching for their parents. They all cried in gratitude. When Han Chi was governor, he always kept a few dozen entertaining girls in a room but never touched them, and that made his aides [pijang] afraid of mixing recklessly with women. One day Han Chi quietly asked them, “Have you ever met with women while far away from your home?” They answered what was in their mind. Han Chi laughed and said: “How can I impose what I forbid to myself on others? My intention is to warn you against obscene behavior. How difficult it is to overcome sexual desire! When I was formerly an assistant to the governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province and stayed in Ch’ŏngju for fifteen days inspecting the land administration, a girl of outstanding beauty named Kangmae was always with me. On the third night, while I was asleep, all of a sudden I felt the skin of a human being in my bed as I stretched my leg. When I asked, it turned out to be Kangmae. Kangmae said, ‘Our magistrate said he would punish me unless you grant me a favor. That is why I sneaked into your room in spite of my shame.’ I said, ‘Now I understand your situation.’ I allowed her to get into my bed. We slept 58. Unknown. 59. Since the aides to the governor (pijang) were selected by the governor and followed him to his post, they in fact lived like travelers, far from their homes.

70

book II

together for thirteen days, but nothing really happened. When I returned, completing my job, I found Kangmae crying. I asked her: ‘Is it because of some affection left in your heart?’ She answered: ‘No affection that I know of. It is only because I was so bored.’ On hearing what had happened, the magistrate teased the girl, saying, ‘Kangmae left a savory rumor lasting ten thousand years, and the Honorable Inspector left his flowery name lasting a hundred generations.’ ” When Cho Unhŭl was the magistrate of Kangnŭng, he earned a reputation for being a clean official that is still intact because he did not enjoy inviting guests and avoided disturbing the people. One day he found a gathering of female entertainers belonging to the district office, who were laughing and teasing each other. He inquired the reason, and one of them answered, “I had a dream of sleeping with Your Honor, and my friends and I were busy interpreting that dream.” He called for a brush and composed a poem on the spot: Although our hearts, like the horn of a sacred water buffalo, are already understood to each other, but to share a silk blanket may not be easy. Should you blame your magistrate for being stingy in his feeling? Know that it was he who first entered the dream of a beautiful lady.

Pak Sin had a reputation even though he was young. When he was governor of Kangwŏn Province, he deeply fell in love with Hongjang, one of the entertaining girls living in Kangnŭng. When he finished his term and was about to return home, Magistrate Cho Unhŭl played a trick on him and said, “Hongjang is already dead.” Pak Sin appeared utterly devastated to hear the news, losing his wits. Magistrate Cho invited Governor Pak to Kyŏngp’odae, one of the scenic spots in Kangnŭng, for a boat ride and at the same time gave a secret order that Hongjang be brought to him in a separate boat, beautifully dressed in fine clothes and made extremely pretty. He also instructed that she be led by an old man in his office disguised as an ancient sage with white eyelashes and beard, dressed in a splendid cap and robe. Then he hung a colorful scroll on her boat and wrote a poem on it: Old An Sang of the glorious age of the Silla kingdom, still missing the thousand years’ sweetness of worldly enjoyment, 60. An official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn dynasties. He served as notary of the Bureau of Military Affairs. 61. The horn of the sacred water buffalo is known to have a hole in the middle section so that both sides are connected through it. 62. A dynasty foundation merit subject (i.e., one who renders a great ser vice to founding a dynasty) of the Chosŏn dynasty. He also served as minister of personnel. 63. It is not clear who An Sang is. The identical name appears in the Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk yusa). An Sang in the book is a close friend of a hwarang (flower of youth) named Puyerang and travels in the Kangwŏn region with his friend.

Self- Discipline

71

carried Hongjang once again in a beautiful barge, hearing the news that the king’s emissary came out for a boat ride in Kyŏngp’odae.

The boat roamed the sea and, rowing slowly, approached the bay, and the sound of music that came out of the boat, clear and round, seemed to be floating in the air. Magistrate Cho said, “This place is often visited by the ancient sages. You can only watch and are not allowed to approach them.” At his words Governor Pak was full of tears. At that moment the boat, gliding on the gentle wind, arrived in no time. Amazed at what he saw, Governor Pak cried out, “They must indeed be the party of ancient sages,” but upon looking closely at them he discovered that it was Hongjang. The people around him laughed aloud, clapping their hands. If one reflects on this episode, Governor Pak was indeed ridiculously absurd and wild. Magistrate Cho also deserves to be criticized for making fun of his superior. When I was in a western district, I ran into a similar situation. I ordered an entertaining girl to pretend that she was ill so that she could be excused from serving my guest, who was the provincial governor. When the party was over, I told him the truth, but the governor was not angry; rather, he apologized to me. When Chŏng Hangang became magistrate of Andong, he found in the yard of the yamen an old flower tree called “entertaining girl.” He ordered it to be cut down. When Kwŏn Ch’ullan asked the reason for giving this order, Magistrate Chŏng answered, “Since there is nothing more bewitching than feminine charms, I hated the name so much that I decided to cut the tree down.” Songs and musical entertainments are the bellows that generate the resentment of the people. Although the heart of the magistrate is joyful, the hearts of those who are around him are not necessarily so. Even though the hearts of those who are around him are excited, the hearts of all the male and female residents in the walled town are not always so, and even if the hearts of all the male and female residents in the walled town are delighted, the hearts of all the people in the whole district are not necessarily so. If any of them happens to be cold and hungry or is in distress or imprisoned, and if there is indeed anyone who is so afflicted that he sees no light in the sky and loses his appetite for life, he will certainly look angry and knit his brows when he hears the songs and music; then he will hurl profanities on the street and curse Heaven. When he who is hungry hears the songs and music, he will regret and resent his hunger more, and he who 64. Koksan, where Tasan once served as magistrate. 65. Chŏng Ku (1543−1620), a famous scholar in the mid-Chosŏn period. Hangang was his pen name. A disciple of Cho Sik (1501–1572) and Yi Hwang (1501–1570), great Neo-Confucian scholars of the mid-Chosŏn period, he was renowned for his studies of classics and rites. 66. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ŏnmae, and his pen name Maegok. He served as magistrate of Ch’ŏngsong.

72

book II

is imprisoned will lament more his state of imprisonment. Therefore, the magistrate needs to think over what Mencius said about the king’s enjoyment of music. Classic of Poetry says, “Their drums and bells are beaten in the palace, and their sound is heard without.” The Book of Changes also says, “There will be evil if the feeling of pleasure and satisfaction is let out of the mouth.” I have observed that the magistrate who has parents [with him in his district] usually holds a banquet to celebrate their birthdays with a great display of songs and music. He may think that this shows fi lial piety, but the people will curse it. If he makes the people curse his parents, it is unfilial, is it not? However, if he invites elderly people in his district to join the birthday party of his parents, people will not curse. On the day on which a writing contest is held to test the literary skill of scholars, the magistrate can allow music to be played for a while when the food table is offered, but it is not necessary to continue the music to the end. Xue Ping of the Tang dynasty served as military commissioner three times in succession; nevertheless, the sound of music was never heard from his house. Observing the way he discharged his duty, Emperor Xianzong recommended him for the position of censor in chief. Yu Kwanhyŏn was frugal in character. When he received a large table of food when he was in government service, he said, “The taste of this food is no better than that of boiled mudfish in my hometown.” When he heard female entertainers singing, he said, “Their songs are no better than those of farmers working in the field.” Since the People Do Not Like Their Magistrate to Indulge in Games and Entertainment, Nothing Is More Desirable Than for Him to Keep His Place, Carrying Himself with Dignity. Zhu Bo served as a district magistrate three times but, being upright and frugal, did not like womanizing and entertainment. Regardless of whether his status 67. Th is refers to the remarks made by Mencius to King Lianghui. Mencius says that the people will be delighted if the king enjoys music with them. On the other hand, they will complain and hate it if the king chooses to enjoy it by himself. So the enjoyment of music and songs depends solely on the king himself. “King Lianghui II,” in Legge, Works of Mencius, 151–153. 68. “Minor Odes of the Kingdom,” “Decade of Durenshi,” Book of Odes, in Legge, Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center), 4: 229. 69. “The Yu Hexagram” (“Yugua”), The Yi King [Book of Changes], in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 16: 91. 70. A military official of the Tang dynasty. Having served as the commander of the Pinglu army, he was invested with the title Duke of Wei. 71. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Yongbin, and his pen name Yangp’a. 72. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziyuan. He served as state councilor.

Self- Discipline

73

was humble or high, he allowed no more than two meat dishes in his meal, and the food on the table did not exceed three bowls altogether. He went to bed late at night and woke up early in the morning, so his wife seldom saw his face. Li Ji governed Hangzhou. Because his character was clean and upright, he disliked the luxurious custom of Qiantang and stayed away from entertainments and banquets. The following happened when Qian Hui of the Tang dynasty became prefect of Jiangzhou. There was in Jiangzhou a fund of as much as 1 million taels for raising cattle [niutian qian], but it had traditionally been used as the prefect’s fund for entertainment. Qian Hui said, “These funds are intended to help farming. How can they be used for other purposes?” Then he ordered the money to be used for the taxes of the poor people. Minister Chŏng Sangsun was the governor of P’yŏngan Province for two years, but over the entire course of those two years he never climbed up to Yŏngwangjŏng Pavilion, so he returned home without ever enjoying [the famous view from there]. Even in ordinary times [when there was no natural disaster or military invasion], there were as many as forty households that depended on him for their daily meals. His brother suffered an ailment because of a tumor on his neck. The doctor instructed him to eat the raw meat of a snake. Minister Chŏng tasted it first before his brother tried it, saying, “It tastes good. You should try it, too.” When Everything That Needed to Be Done Is Done and the People Are Satisfied, There Is Nothing Wrong with Going Out and Enjoying Oneself with the People. That Is What People Did in the Past. When Su Dongpo governed Yuhang, he enjoyed a boat ride on Lake Xihu. On that occasion he ordered his subordinates to come out through Qiantang Gate, 73. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Youji. He served as a palace aide to the censor in chief. 74. Qiantang is the name of the river in Hangzhou. It is famous for a tide-observing festival that is held in the ninth lunar month. 75. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Weizhang. He also served as minister of personnel. 76. Niutian qian: it is not clear what this fund for raising cattle was. The name suggests that the fund was to help those who raised cattle. 77. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was Tonbu. He served as minister of war and defense commander of the Defense Command at the Namhan fort. 78. One of the most famous scenic places located on the Taedong River in P’yŏngyang. 79. Su Shi, a famous poet and official of the Northern Song dynasty. Dongpo was his pen name. His father, Su Xun, and his brother, Su Zhe, were also famous literati. He produced numerous poems and essays, but the best known is The Red Cliffs (Chibifu).

74

book II

and, taking one or two old soldiers with him, he himself came out through Yongjin Gate. Cutting across the lake in a boat, he had his meal at Puan Temple and enjoyed himself between Lingyin and Tianzhu. If there were some official documents to be signed, he had them brought to Lengquan Pavilion, where he quickly and decisively took care of them, leaning on his table. The way he wielded his brush was quick like the wind and rain, and sorting out the lawsuits [by category], he took care of them while he talked and laughed. He drank to his heart’s content with his subordinates and in the twilight of evening returned home on horseback. On both sides of the road people came out to see him, holding lanterns, but he allowed them to watch their magistrate as much as they liked. This scene can be found in the recollections of a monk over ninety years old who lived in the last year of Shaoxing. He used to be a slave of Puan Temple when he was young, and this is what he himself witnessed. From his remarks, one can imagine how gallant and refined Su Dongpo was. When Huang Gan was in charge of Anqing Prefecture, having already achieved accomplishments as a magistrate, he held a lantern parade to celebrate Shangyuan Holiday. Many people joined the festivity in an unending line, giving their arms to the old and holding the hands of the younger children. Among the crowd there was a hundred-year-old lady. Escorted on a sedan chair by her two sons, as well as a number of her grandchildren, she visited the yamen to express her gratitude to the magistrate. Treating her with courtesy, Huang Gan ordered that wine and food, as well as money and silk, be granted to her and spoke words of comfort. The old lady said, “The purpose of my visit is to thank you on behalf of the people in the district, not to expect gifts from Your Honor.” She declined the gifts and returned home. When Cai Jing was the magistrate of Yongxing, he could not enjoy the Shangyuan Holiday for three consecutive days because of the pouring rain. When the rain finally stopped on the seventeenth day of the month, he again wanted to have the lantern festival for two days. His clerk said, “Every year the amount of oil used for holding the lantern festival is enormous. Since the day is too near, it is not possible to prepare the necessary oil.” Then Cai Jing ordered that the emergency oil stored in the government warehouse be used, and 80. Lingyin and Tianzhu: Buddhist temples in Hangzhou. 81. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhiqing, and his pen name Mianzhai Xiansheng. He was Zhu Xi’s disciple and son-in-law. 82. Th is holiday was held on the fi fteenth day of the fi rst lunar month. 83. Cai Jing (1047−1106) was a statesman at the end of the Northern Song dynasty. He served as imperial tutor during the reign of Huizong and chief state councilor. However, he was reputed to be a bad person. In Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan) he is portrayed as the enemy of Song Jiang and the Liangshan heroes. Water Margin, which is attributed to Shi Naian, is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature.

Self- Discipline

75

because of this, he was impeached by the transport commissioner from the royal court. If we reflect on this matter, Cai Jing’s conduct should be made a warning example. When Cai Junmo [Xiang] was the magistrate of Fuzhou, he ordered that everyone in his district should prepare seven lanterns for the festival of the Shangyuan Holiday. Chen Lie made a big lantern and wrote a poem on it: A lantern for rich people is merely a grain in their big warehouse, but the same for the poor is a piece of flesh taken out of their hearts. You magistrate who pursue only elegant amusement, do you realize this or not? You hear the sound of a woodwind instrument and complain that there is not much fine music to play.

There was a magistrate of Kangjin who fell in love with an entertaining girl. When the girl wanted to see the lantern festival, the magistrate gave an order that all the people in the district capital hang their lanterns on the birthday of Buddha, and that those who hung their lanterns on the highest poles be given awards. As soon as his order was known, local civil functionaries and military cadre members went out to the port and grabbed all the masts in the boats. Now the fishermen who had to go out to sea for their livelihood had no choice but to buy their own masts from them, and each boat was required to pay 200 mun. As a result, the sound of their complaints fi lled the sea. That is the reason that the magistrate must be extremely careful in giving his orders or taking actions. Zheng Hanfeng (Zheng Xuan) told this story: “Several officials took a few days off and enjoyed themselves with singers and dancers in the quarters of a Buddhist monk. When they became slightly drunk, they began to recite a poem made by their predecessors: ‘Having a talk with a monk while I pass by the bamboo garden, I gained a half day’s leisure in the middle of restless life.’ Listening to the poem, the monk laughed and said, ‘Although Your Honor gained a half day’s leisure, I have been busy for three days: one day for setting up a tent, another for preparing the feast, and another for cleaning.’ ” If the magistrate holds a party in a Buddhist temple, it will cost the monks almost half their annual budget. Furthermore, those who follow the magistrate will undoubtedly extort wine, rice, tobacco, and shoes. If the magistrate happens to bring female entertainers and acrobatic performers with him to enjoy a stage 84. Cai Xiang, an official of the Song dynasty. Junmo was his courtesy name. Being a renowned calligrapher, he served as secretariat drafter and a Hanlin academician. 85. An official of the Song dynasty. He served as lecturer of the scions of the state (guozi zhijiang). 86. A unit of currency.

76

book II

show, this will surely bring out a large crowd of spectators, both male and female, whom the monks have to feed. How can the monks bear all these expenses? The magistrate sometimes grants money and rice to pay for the expenses he incurred, but the money and rice, even if they are handed out by the magistrate himself, are immediately taken away by his yamen clerks and slaves as soon as he steps out of the gate of the temple. Only when he issues an official receipt to the monks certifying the payment of taxes from their temple is he really paying for the expenses he incurred. Essays of Tasan records: “Last spring I went in a small boat on a picnic to a fishing village in Gau Island. The district magistrate also came there at the same time, enjoying himself at Mandŏk Temple. Arriving at a fishing village, I heard the residents complaining. According to them, when their fishing boats entered the port, yamen clerks and military guards extorted as much as 200 mun from each of their boats; furthermore, they confiscated all the fish in several dozen weirs that were placed in the middle of the sea. The officials justified their stealing as being for their magistrate’s picnic. Alas! How little their magistrate knew about what was going on! When it was already near sunset, I rowed my small boat along the track of reeds and willow trees and looked up at the temple, located on a mountainside. I could see a group of people dressed in red and blue dancing, carried away by the ringing sound of pipes and drums. They were completely unaware that the people down in the village were looking at them resentfully with curses in their mouths. Alas, is it not also difficult to be a chief of the people?” If the Magistrate Reduces the Scale of His Entourage in Meeting with the People, Making Them Feel Comfortable, No One Will Be Displeased. Sŏ Ch’im of the Koryŏ dynasty is known for his benevolent rule when he was the magistrate of Uljin. He used to ride a cow to exhort the farmers to work. When Pak Seryang was the magistrate of Sinch’ang, he was modest and unassuming. While working in the yamen, he did not allow the sound of drum or bugle. When he left his office to go out, he did not bring his servants. He did not take many side dishes unless he was ill, nor did he open a large parasol unless it was extremely hot. During the farming season he allowed his yamen clerks to leave the office to attend to their farming and had only a few remain. If he needed firewood, he sent a young servant to prepare it. When he had spare moments 87. A disciple of Chŏng Mongju (1337–1392). A scholar-official renowned for his loyalty to the Koryŏ dynasty, he was famous for benevolent administration. 88. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as magistrate of Yŏngju and was famous for benevolent administration.

Self- Discipline

77

from his work, he often went out and rambled around, holding a cane and dressed in plain clothes and cap. When he did this, no one recognized him. When Yu Ŭi was the magistrate of Hongju, he toured his district, riding a pony and taking a couple of young servants with him. When on his way he came across ladies who were walking to the fields with meals on their heads, he told them to open their food baskets. If he found that their vegetable side dishes were poor, he rebuked the laziness of the women, and if there were too many side dishes, he reproached their wastefulness. People were very pleased about what he did. If the Sound of Reading a Book Is Heard from the Hall of State, It Indicates That the Magistrate Is a Man of Integrity. Although the king is busy with ten thousand state affairs, he wants to attend the royal lecture because he finds the lecture, reminding him deeply of the wisdom of old sages, useful for ruling the country. Likewise, the magistrate in his spare moments should always read and recite books like Classic of History, the Analects, Doctrine of the Mean, and Great Learning, as well as Sayings and Deeds of the Famous Ministers of the Song Dynasty [Mingchen yanxinglu] and Records for Self-Admonitions. Liu Zhongying always observed propriety in carrying himself. He sat straight, folding his hands in front. He was appointed commander of a large military garrison three times; nevertheless, there were no fine horses in his stable, nor was there the smell of fragrance from his clothes. Retiring from his official duties for the day, he always read books, never taking them from his hand. State Councilor Yi Wŏnik, Great Lord Wanp’yŏng, said: “I like to read on ordinary days, but while in the employment of the government, I pack my books and keep them in the cabinet in order to concentrate on my official duties. People these days tend to take care of both their official duties and reading at the same time, but I lack such talent.” While governing his district, Yi Ŭijŏn never abandoned reading in his spare moments. He said, “If one looks ahead and deals with problems before they actually take place, he will be able to accomplish his goal without much ado. If one becomes learned in the precedents of the old days, he will be able to enlighten others.”

89. Th is work consists of biographical records of famous sayings and deeds of Song scholars and statesmen. It was compiled by Zhu Xi and later supplemented by Li Youwu. 90. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Yumeng. 91. A famous state councilor of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reigns of Sŏnjo and Kwanghaegun. 92. A son of Great Lord Wangp’yŏng Yi Wŏnik.

78

book II

When military official Wŏn Yŏngju became magistrate of Changhŭng, his performance was evaluated by Minister Kwŏn Ŏm, who was then provincial governor. Governor Kwŏn in his report to the king stated, “Magistrate Wŏn reads while he is on duty in the yamen,” and he accorded a high grade to him. The former king [Chŏngjo] ordered his grade to be lowered. Those who are engaged only in reading without attending to official duties deserve downgrading. The point that I want to make is that it is good to generate the humane heart by deeply absorbing one or two pages of sages’ words every now and then. It Is a Great Mistake to Leave State Affairs to the Care of Yamen Clerks, Reciting Poems or Playing Chess. In the reign of King Sŏngjong, Yu Hoin requested that he be allowed to serve his parents. Thus he was appointed magistrate of Sanŭm, which was close to his home. When the governor of the Yŏngnam region came to take his leave of the king, the king said, “My friend Yu Hoin is now in charge of Sanŭm. When you go down, take good care of him.” However, the governor eventually drove him out of office because Yu did not cease reciting poems, neglecting to look after his people. Kim Hyŏnsŏng [Namch’ang] served as a magistrate of prefects and counties several times. He carried out his duty with so much integrity that he always looked like he had just washed his hands. However, because his character was detached and sophisticated, he was not good at handling practical affairs. Although he did not practice corporal punishment, he never stopped reciting poems, sitting still in his office all day long. Thus those who liked making gossip said, “Although Namch’ang loves his people as though they were his children, every man in town complains and laments; although he never touches what belongs to the state, there is hardly anything left in the government warehouse.” When these words spread around, he became a laughingstock for some time. When Tao Kan was prefect of Guangzhou, he sat straight, gathering his knees, and examined various reports related to military affairs without taking a 93. A military official during the reign of Chŏngjo. He also served as case reviewer of Hamgyŏng Province. 94. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongjŏ, and his pen name Yŏpsŏ. He also served as minister of war. 95. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kŭkgi, and his pen name Imgye. 96. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His pen name was Namch’ang. He also served as third deputy director of the Royal House Administration. 97. A renowned general and governor of the Jin dynasty (265−420). His courtesy name was Tuxing, and his pen name Heng.

Self- Discipline

79

break all day long. If he found his aides or subordinate officials carry ing out their work flippantly by either talking or laughing, he ordered that all their wine cups and gambling stuff be thrown into the river. In case a military cadre member or yamen clerk happened to be one of them, he ordered corporal punishment and said, “Chupu is a game that only swineherds or slaves play.” When Ling Hutao recommended Li Yuan for the position of prefect of Hangzhou, the emperor said, “I have heard that there is a line in Yuan’s poem that says, ‘I spend a whole day to finish one chess game.’ How can you entrust him with governing the people?” Ling Hutao answered, “That is just a poem. The man is not necessarily the same.” The emperor said, “Send him for now and let us try.” Chess, however, is not entirely without taste. These days, magistrates spend the night in the hall of state, playing cards and gambling with their subordinates or people like the sons of villagers and servants. Nothing can be more damaging than this to the dignity of magistrate. Alas, what should we do about it? Reducing the Quantity of Work and Establishing Main Priorities in Accordance with the Precedents Are Certainly One of the Ways to Govern Well, but They Are Possible Only When the Customs of the Age Are Clean and Regulated, and the Man in Charge Is Equipped with High Rank and Reputation. Lu Gu stated: “When a superior man governs a district, there is nothing much to do, and there is nothing but silence. The yamen appears as if there is no one in it; the villages near the post station are like this as well. The post station has no runners who hurry through the night for an urgent message, and the villages do not know of the military musters in the middle of the night. The elderly people enjoy tasty food at their home, while young people are busy in their farms.” This statement of Lu Gu, in my observation, was made under the circumstances that the officials, as well as the people, wanted to have rest and peace during the early years of the Han dynasty, which succeeded the cruel tyranny of the Qin dynasty. If an ordinary person imitates what was said in this statement without doing anything, things will become out of control. When Ji An became prefect of Donghai, he liked integrity and purity when he governed the people. He entrusted his subordinates with state affairs and was only concerned about large issues without being rigorous. Because he was sick all 98. A game similar to yut, a traditional Korean board game played with four sticks and tokens called mal. The score is determined by casting sticks and how they turn out. 99. An official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Xuanzong. 100. An official of the early Han dynasty. He assisted Emperor Gao Zu in founding a new dynasty and served as superior grand master of the palace (taizhong dafu). 101. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Changru. He also served as prefect of Huaiyang.

80

book II

the time, he spent most of his days in his room all year long without going out, but there was no problem with his administration. If we reflect on this example, Ji An’s success was made possible because he was a man of dignity and reputation and had an ability to discover the talents of people, as well as how to use them. However, if an ordinary person imitates him, there will be worry and lament in every household. When Lu Xiangxian of the Tang dynasty governed Puzhou, he said, “In the beginning there was nothing much to do under Heaven, but because of foolish people the world became filled with all sorts of things. Therefore, if one can purify and restore reality to its original state, why should one worry about the complication of things?” When Xie Fei of the Southern Song dynasty was in charge of Yixing, he paid little attention to trivial matters, entrusting them to the care of recorders. He said, “All I have to do is to perform the role of prefect.” According to my observations, this is getting a grip on the basics. Only he who is distinguished in dignity and reputation is capable of achieving this task. However, if he who lacks ability tries to imitate it, he will bring disaster instead. C H A P T E R  : I N T E GR I T Y 

Integrity Is the Obligation of the Magistrate, the Fountain of All Goodness, and the Basis of All Virtues. Without Integrity, There Will Be No Magistrate Who Can Discharge His Duty Properly. In our Chosŏn dynasty a total of 110 persons were chosen as pure officials [ch’ŏngbaengni]. Since the time of T’aejo, the founder king, there were 45 ch’ŏngbaengni; since King Chungjong, 37; and since King Injo, 28. After King Kyŏngjong they stopped selecting ch’ŏngbaengni, whose number had been increasingly dwindling, and the country suffered more poverty and the people more hardship. How lamentable! During the span of four hundred years those who worked in the royal court, clad in official robes, amounted to a thousand or ten thousand, but those who were chosen as ch’ŏngbaengni did not exceed these numbers. Is this not also a source of shame for all scholar-officials? Record of Koksan stated as follows: “There are three grades in the degree of the ch’ŏngbaengni’s integrity. The highest grade belongs to the one who does not eat 102. Lu Jingchu (665–736), formally Duke Wenzhen of Yan, was an official of the Tang dynasty during the reigns of Ruizong and Xuanzong. He served in numerous high offices, including joint manager of affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery, which is de facto chancellor in modern terms. 103. An official of the Song dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Jingchong. 104. The word for “integrity” in the source text is ch’ŏngsim, which means “clean heart.”

Self- Discipline

81

anything exceeding his salary, does not bring home anything that is left over after eating, and finally returns home in a humble manner, riding on a single horse on the day of quitting his post. An official like this is a so-called yŏmni [upright official], celebrated in the olden days. The next grade of integrity belongs to the one who, besides his salary, eats only what is morally justifiable and sends home the things left over after eating. A man like this is also yŏmni, admired in the middle age. The lowest grade belongs to the one who eats the things that are allowed by rules and regulations, although they are not justifiable in a higher moral standard. However, he does not take first what is not allowed by rules and regulations, sell the posts of local officials, steal from relief funds or grain, get involved in trafficking in lawsuits or criminal cases, or embezzle money by levying heavier taxes. The upright officials of our times mostly belong to the last category. In the present, however, those who practice all kinds of evil form the mainstream of public servants. The highest grade of integrity in public ser vice is most desirable, but the second-highest grade of integrity will also be acceptable if it is not possible to have the highest. In olden days he who possessed the lowest grade of integrity could receive capital punishment by means of boiling oil.” Yang Bing was upright, frugal, refined, and simple. Despite successively serving as prefect of Yuzhou, Jingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou, he received a stipend after calculating the days of his official duty, and if he found any extra money, he did not take it home. He was so poor that he divided one day’s meal into two days’, but he said, “There are three temptations that I successfully overcame, which are drinking, women, and property.” Shan Yun, Lord Zhongyi, was incomparably upright and honest. He had an old servant named Zheng Lao in the office of the Guangxi Provincial Administration Commission. A man of strong character, Zheng Lao spoke straight without reserve. Shan Yun asked him: “They say that once one becomes a general, people do not blame him even if he becomes greedy. Is it then all right that I should be greedy, too? How would you advise me?” Zheng Lao answered: “When one is first inaugurated, one is like a clean and white robe. If it becomes soiled by a single drop of black ink, it is impossible to wash it away.” Shan Yun asked again: “According to what people say, if you send away the presents brought by the native barbarians, they will certainly suspect and get angry at you. What should I do?” Zheng Lao answered: “There will be a severe punishment from the royal court if you take a bribe while you are in the employment of the government. Is 105. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He also served as royal coachman and chamberlain for ceremonials. He was a son of Yang Zhen, a famous state councilor. 106. A military official of the Ming dynasty. He led the army to conquer the barbarians, serving as right commander in chief. 107. Th is commission was established by the Ming government in the ninth year of Hongwu (1377) in the southeast of China along the border with Vietnam.

82

book II

Your Honor going to be afraid of barbarians instead of the royal court?” Shan Yun laughed and accepted his advice. During the ten years of his rule of the Guangxi region, his integrity never changed until the end. Integrity Is the Most Profitable Deal That One Can Make under Heaven. A Man of Great Ambition Must Be Virtuous. The Reason That a Man Is Deficient in Integrity Is That He Lacks Wisdom. Confucius said, “The virtuous feel comfortable in virtue, whereas the wise regard virtue as advantageous.” Therefore, in my opinion, a man of integrity rests in integrity, and a man of wisdom regards integrity as advantageous. What is the reason? Wealth is something that everyone strongly desires. However, since there is something much greater than wealth, a man either obtains wealth or gives it up. Even though you desire wealth, you must be an official with distinguished integrity. Why is that? In my observation, a man of great family background, as well as talent and prospects for a successful career, is stripped of his office and banished to exile for over ten years with no hope of being recalled to the government. Even if a man can avoid criminal punishment because of his power and good luck, he will still be subject to the judgment of public opinion, and his good reputation will suffer and fall to the ground. If a civil official happens to be like that, he will be deprived of a chance to serve in the Office of Special Counselors or the Office of Royal Decrees; in the case of a military official, he cannot entertain a hope to become commanding general. How many people fall into such mistakes? He who is distinguished in wisdom and discretion becomes an official of integrity because he has great ambition; he who lacks wisdom and discretion becomes a greedy official because his ambition is small. If one thinks of this, there will be almost no one who does not want to practice integrity. A farmer in the time of the Song dynasty discovered a jade while he was plowing his field. He presented it to Zihan, director of the Bureau of Operations [sicheng], but the latter refused to accept it. The farmer said, “This is a treasure for farmers like us. I beg that Your Highness take it.” Zihan answered, “You regard the jade as a treasure, and I regard not accepting it as a treasure. Therefore, if I take the jade, both of us will lose a treasure.” When Gongyi Xiu became grand councilor of the Lu state, someone sent him a fish, but he refused to accept it. The man said, “I heard that Your Highness likes fish. Why do you not take it?” Gongyi Xiu answered: “It is because I like 108. “Le Jin,” in Legge, Confucius, 165. Legge translates the sentences as “The virtuous rest in virtue; the wise desire virtue.” 109. Le Xi, a minister of the Song state during the Spring and Autumn period. He was famous for his integrity. 110. Grand councilor of the state of Lu during the reign of Mugong.

Self- Discipline

83

fish. Since I became grand councilor, I am now capable of buying fish. If I take your fish and lose my office because of it, who will bring me fish? I cannot accept your fish just because of that.” Yang Zhen became magistrate of Zhuo County, and integrity was manifest in his character. Someone advised him to make a fortune for himself, but he refused with this remark: “I would rather have the people of later generations call my children the descendants of a virtuous official. Do you not think that this is a generous inheritance?” Ever since the Old Days, Therefore, a Scholar Who Was Very Wise and Discreet Always Made Integrity His Priority and Tried to Warn Himself against Greed. Pei Xia said, “Integrity is the foundation of public ser vice, and frugality the base of human conduct.” Precepts for Self-Discipline [Lüjizhen] states: “The integrity of a scholar is equivalent to the chastity of a woman. One little spot or blemish can be fatal throughout a whole life. Do not say that your room is dark. The Four certainly know about it. Even though you do not wish to take care of yourself, you cannot deceive the deity in your heart. Even if you have five or six loads of gold and 800 hu of spices, they will not be glory to you in your lifetime; they will last as shame and disgrace even after a thousand years. Oh, you stately superior man living with a crane and zither, how majestic you appear! You are the clean wind a thousand years old.” Lord Bao Zheng left a family precept that read: “Anyone among my descendants who commits irregularities while in the employment of the government should not be allowed to return home nor be buried in the family burial ground. He who disobeys my words is not my descendant.” Then, at the bottom of his precept, he left an instruction that his remark be engraved on stone and placed on the eastern wall of his house so that his posterity could take it to heart. Luo Jinglun said, “If a scholar-official is tempted by a little money, his worth is no more than that little money without a name.” Chen Jianzhai wrote in his 111. An official of the Later Han famous for his integrity. He also served as prefect of Jingzhou. 112. An official of the Northern Zhou dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wen. He served as ordinary grand master in the Ministry of Works. 113. The author is unknown. 114. Heaven, God, you, and I. 115. Th is refers to an old story regarding Yuan Zai, a powerful chancellor during the reign of Daizong (760–770) of the Tang dynasty. Though he was capable as an official, he was treacherous and corrupt. The speaker here is the author of the Precepts for Self-Discipline, who is unknown. 116. A scholar of the Song dynasty. His name was Luo Dajing, and Jinglun was his courtesy name. 117. Chen Yuyi (1090–1138), an official and poet of the Song dynasty. Jianzhai was his pen name. He served as vice grand councilor.

84

book II

poem: “A scholar with a name does not use nameless money.” Yang Baizi [Zhen] said, “If a scholar-official attains integrity, he has already accomplished up to 70 percent.” Feng Youlong said, “The endless stupidity and folly in the world originate from the lack of will to forsake money, and the endless good things in the world are accomplished by abandoning the desire for money.” Zheng Xuan said: “The reason why a greedy person is not satisfied is that he is addicted to luxury. If he knows satisfaction and enjoys peace of mind, why would he seek the wealth of the world that is of no use to him? Obtaining the clean wind and bright moon costs nothing, and maintaining a house made of grass and bamboo fences requires no money. There is no need for money in reading books and talking about the Way [Dao], or in cleaning one’s body and loving the people, although no money will be enough to save the people and bring benefits to the world. If you examine yourself in this way, you will be able to move away from the taste of the world, and then, how can greed be generated in your heart?” Zheng Xuan also said: “There are people who pretend to be men of high education by traveling the countryside with a load of books in their carriage. They try to make fortunes by grabbing local goods produced on every seacoast, laughing at the upright officials who are free from greed despite drinking from the Spring of Greed [Tanquan] or travel in a shabby-looking carriage with a skinny horse. They say: ‘How stupid they are! What is the use of working in the government unless they make a large fortune?’ How sad! I saw many people who succeeded in making a large fortune while they were in the government, but the fortune they made usually did not last more than a few years after their death because of fights among their descendants, or the fortune made the second generation of their descendants dissolute and disabled, acting as the cause of their ruin. What is more strange about these people is that they become very upset when you praise their riches, even though their main interest lies in their personal comfort of being warm and well fed, as well as in stealing or taking away by using their talents. On the other hand, if you say that they are poor and their savings are hardly enough to fill a jar, they will be very pleased. When their descendants ask for the lifetime records of their grandfathers or fathers, they will be angry if you criticize their grandfathers and fathers for being people like

118. “Nameless money” here indicates money that it is either unlawful or inappropriate to use. 119. Yang Baizi here appears to indicate Yang Zhen, the minister of war of the Western Han dynasty, but this is not certain. 120. Feng Menglong (1574–1645), an official of the Ming dynasty. Youlong was his pen name. 121. Th is refers to a spring located in Shanhai County in Guangzhou. According to the local people, he who drinks the water from this spring becomes greedy. Nevertheless, Wu Yinzhi, prefect of Guangzhou during the Jin dynasty, drank the water from it but was not affected by it.

Self- Discipline

85

Ji Sun or Tao Zhu; they will be pleased if you compare them with virtuous men like Gong Yi and Bai Qi. This indicates that they know well that great wealth is surely a matter of shame, and integrity and simplicity are precious. Nevertheless, what they are interested in is not what they esteem as precious, and in what they esteem as precious there are lots of shameful things. Why does this happen?” Zheng Xuan said: “Nowadays scholar-officials seek fame and honor when they go out, and they manage a large property when they stay home. They live in a huge mansion with a thousand rooms, and their fertile lands amount to 10,000 qing. Their male servants resemble an army of ants, and their concubines are crowded like clouds. When they open their mouths, they give elegant discourses on human nature and the principle of the universe, pretending that their hearts are clean and empty. Therefore, never will I believe what they say even if they let out precious lotus flowers of five colors with their tongues.” Zheng Xuan also said: “When a man enters his official career, quickly makes a large fortune, increases his profits, and rises in rank, he is regarded as a man of ability. If a man, being virtuous, is poor and frugal and still holds on to his official post and all other benefits because of his character and integrity, people tend to regard him as a man of inability. His wife and children complain, and his friends mock him, so he cannot rely even on the support of his hometown people. Unless one has a noble character endowed with a gift from Heaven, there will be hardly anyone who will not be tempted toward the direction of the wind.” When Gai Juyuan of the Song dynasty became magistrate, he purchased silk and measured it himself in the hall of state. His female servants watched this through the screen and said in their hate: “It seems that today we unexpectedly have to serve a silk merchant.” With this remark, they requested that they be allowed to resign and leave, and the magistrate could not stop them. In recent years there was a district magistrate who measured cloth in person. Where is the age that does not have a man like Gai Juyuan? 122. “Ji Sun or Tao Zhu”: the former was a most powerful man who ruled the state of Lu, and the latter, named Fan Li, was an advisor of the state of Yue in the Spring and Autumn period. He served King Goujian as an advisor while the latter was a hostage in the state of Wu and helped him take revenge on his former adversary, King Fu Cha. Once he accomplished his goal, however, he left King Goujian, became a businessman, and amassed a large fortune. 123. “Gong Yi and Bai Qi”: the former is Gong Yixiu, the state councilor of the state of Lu during the reign of Mugong; the latter is Yang Zhen, minister of war of the Western Han dynasty. 124. A Chinese unit for measuring area. One qing is equivalent to 6.6 acres. 125. When the Buddha gave a sermon, his words were so grave and beautiful that his audience felt that the Buddha appeared to let out lotus flowers of five colors through his mouth. 126. Unknown.

86

book II

Shi Pu was steadfast in his integrity and uprightness throughout the forty years of his public career. He happened to visit a man from his hometown who returned home after serving as a district jailer. In his house Shi Pu noticed a dozen pieces of silverware and golden wine cups displayed on his desk. He asked, “How many years did you serve in the government?” The man answered, “I did not finish my term.” He asked, “Why did you come home?” The man answered, “I was dismissed because some nasty people reported on my greed.” Shi Pu said, “What a pity! If I had to punish you, you would not be able to come home!” Then he left the house of the man right away. When Tao Houzhong, investigation commissioner of Fujian Province, impeached Governor Xue Dafang for his greed and abuse of power, the latter in turn made a false accusation against the former. However, Xue Dafang’s scheme was exposed when Tao Houzhong came up to the capital city and successfully defended himself against the charge. As a result, Xue Dafang received punishment, and Tao Houzhong was restored to his office. The people of the Min region welcomed this turn of events and said, “Since Commissioner Tao returns once again, it is certain that Heaven has eyes. Unless Governor Xue leaves, nothing will be left on the earth.” Military Commissioner Mi Xin of the Song dynasty was stingy and amassed an enormous fortune by exploiting the people. His son, on the other hand, loved luxury and led the life of a libertine. However, because of his father, he could not spend as much money as he pleased, so he went to rich people and borrowed money from them, paying high interest, and when he borrowed, he wrote on the document, “The said loan will be paid back when one becomes old and dead.” This meant that he would repay the loan, including the principal and interest, as soon as his father died and his funeral was over. In that way he purchased luxurious outfits and saddles and made his personal servants wait on him outside the gate of his house. When he came out of his house, his servants immediately ran to escort him, and they were a kind of people, often found in the capital city, who made their living only with their lips and tongues. As soon as Mi Xin died, his son took off to spend money and squandered almost all the fortune that his father had left. As a result, he fell into a situation in which he had to eke out a living with the help of the jailers and night watchmen who walked around the alleys tinkling bells.

127. An official of the Ming dynasty during the reign of the Yongle Emperor. His courtesy name was Zhongyu. He served as censor, minister of war and left censor in chief of Nanjing. 128. An official of the Ming dynasty. His name was Zhu. He was called by his courtesy name, Houzhong. 129. A military official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Taizong (976–997). Famous for his skill in archery, he rendered a ser vice in repulsing the Khitan army.

Self- Discipline

87

Unless a Magistrate Is Upright, People Will Regard Him as a Thief, So Whenever He Passes through Villages, the People Will Hurl Loud Complaints and Curses. This Is Also a Shame. Zheng Xuan said as follows: “Interrogating a thief, an official told him to confess his crime. Pretending to be ignorant, the thief asked, ‘Who do you mean is a thief?’ The official said, ‘Being a thief, do you not know it? He who opens a chest of another man and steals what is inside is a thief.’ The thief laughed and said: ‘If what you say is true, how can I be a thief? An official like you is a real thief. What does a Confucian student do? Reading his textbook aloud, he dreams day and night of making a big fortune at a single stroke by the use of his political power, instead of studying history and the teachings of the old sages in order to govern the district properly and thereby bring benefits to the people. What his father and teachers teach and what he learns from his friends are also nothing but the skills of stealing. When he is dressed in an official robe and seated in stately fashion on a high chair with a scepter in his hand, his dignity appears to be no less than that of the heavenly emperor when he surveys his subordinates by his side and servants waiting on him below his seat. Government posts originate from profits, and personal administration is decided by bribery. If men like Yuan She and Guo Jie commit murder during broad daylight, what will happen? There is no law to punish them, once a bundle of bribes is presented. Since gold is power, the bright sun loses its light, and the criminals, quickly released, walk on the street as they please. The life of ordinary people living in the villages becomes more miserable because they have to buy justice with their money. The hardship from their poverty is so extreme that their hair is tangled and their skin is all broken. Unable to maintain their household any longer, they come to the point that they have to sell their wives and children. But no one cares about them, whether they drown in the sea or are buried in the pit. Even though God is indignant and people complain, the sacred power of money prevails even in the heavens. Thus he prospers in rank and fame, and his mansion touches the clouds, while the sound of songs and musical performance shakes the earth. His servants are as numerous as bees, and his rooms are filled with women. He who enjoys all these things is none other than a thief. If a man digs a hole in the ground or the roof and steals a little sum of money, you punish him harshly for his crime. The officials, on the other hand, rake in huge sums of money, sitting on high chairs with their arms folded, and yet they never lose the privilege of their government position. Notwithstanding all this, you are now going to punish only small thieves and beggars while ignoring big ones?’ Upon hearing this remonstration, the official immediately released the thief.” 130. Self-styled men of justice who often ignored the law in order to bring justice in their own way. It is not clear who Yuan She is, but Guo Jie, a man of the Han dynasty, appears in the “Biographies of the Wandering Knights” [“Youxia lie zhuan”], in Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian.

88

book II

Na Tŭkhwang of the Koryŏ dynasty collected taxes from the people as if he was peeling their skin and became magistrate of Cheju Island by flattering Ch’oe Hang. Before this Song So, magistrate of Cheju, was dismissed from his office for embezzlement. When Na Tŭkhwang succeeded him, people said, “Cheju formerly had a small thief; now it has acquired a big one.” Yi Ki in his Miscellaneous Talks of Songwa [Songwa chapsŏl] said: “In the early years of our dynasty it was a custom to send military officials to Hamgyŏng Province as magistrates of that region, regardless of their rank, because it was located on the border with the people of Jurchen. Because these officials were very far from the royal court, they felt free to abuse their power and collect taxes in a very cruel manner. Once in a while a civil official was dispatched as a magistrate, but the qualified ones were extremely rare. So when the people saw these officials, they called them ‘daytime thieves.’ A certain man in Hamgyŏng Province visited Seoul for the first time and passed by the National Confucian Academy. He asked his guide, ‘What kind of government office is this?’ The guide answered, ‘It is a rice seedbed of our court, which is created to gather and grow all the daytime thieves.’ Although his remark is too emotional and excessive, he who hears it should also feel ashamed.” Petty Tales by Hanam introduces an episode: “There was a monk of Paengnyŏn Temple who was good at making humorous jokes. He always recited a stanza of a poem that read, ‘Under the shade of parasols so many big bandits; behind the sound of wooden gongs so few real monks.’ ” No One Will Give or Take Bribes Openly, but Bribery Committed Even in the Middle of the Night Is Exposed with the Dawn of the Day. Yamen clerks are generally so frivolous that they come in and say to the magistrate: “Since this is a secret, no one will know it. If it is known, I will be the one who suffers the consequences. Who can dare divulge it?” Deeply trusting these 131. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Wŏnjong. He also served as vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs. 132. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty and a man of power during the reign of Kojong. Inheriting power from his father, Ch’oe U, he led the military regime in the last days of the Koryŏ’s military rule and fought against the Mongols. 133. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Wŏnjong (1259–1274). 134. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Kaŭi, and his pen name Songwaong. He served as censor general and minister of personnel. His book, Miscellaneous Talks of Songwa (Songwa chapsŏl), is a collection of essays related to historical matters and events starting from the early Chosŏn period up to his time. 135. A Buddhist temple in Kangjin, South Chŏlla Province. It is also called Mandŏksa. 136. Those “under the shade of parasols” are officials, and those “behind the sound of wooden gongs” are abbots of the temple or the monks in general.

Self- Discipline

89

words, the magistrate accepts the bribe without much hesitation. But the man starts talking recklessly as soon as he leaves the room with an intention to put down his rivals. Then the words spread wide in a moment to all directions. However, the magistrate, being isolated, is totally unaware of what goes on. What a pity! Besides the Four who were mentioned by Yang Zhen, the magistrate must realize that many more can know about his secret. When Yang Zhen became governor of Jingzhou, Wang Mi, who had passed the maocai state examinations for the civil ser vice, came to see him after receiving the appointment to the office of district magistrate of Changyi. He brought with him 10 catties of gold hidden in his chest and, taking them out, said, “Because it is dark, no one will know it.” Yang Zhen replied, “Heaven knows it, God knows it, I know it, and you know it. How can you say that no one knows it?” Wang Mi was ashamed and withdrew (History of the Later Han). Sun Xin and Huang Bao were schoolmates at National University. Later Huang Bao became censor and went out to inspect Chuzhou. A clerk wanted to bribe Huang Bao through Sun Xin. Sun Xin said, “Do not say a word. If you let me hear it, that is a bribe taken through the ears.” Although It May Not Be Much in Real Value, What Is Sent as a Gift Can Generate a Favorable Feeling, Which Naturally Leads to a Personal Relationship. Yuan Yi, district magistrate of Ge, tried to buy promotion by bribing a high official in the court. Thus he sent 100 catties of thread to Shan Tao. Reluctant to do the favor, Shan Tao just took the thread and put it on the crossbeam. Later, when what Yuan Yi did was discovered, Shan Tao pulled down the bundle of thread from the crossbeam and handed it to his aide. Since many years had already passed, the thread bundle was full of dust and tarnished by yellow or black color, but its seal remained unbroken, just as when it had arrived.

137. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He is famous for secretly attempting to bribe his superior, Yang Zhen, without success. 138. Maocai was one of the civil ser vice examinations in the Han dynasty. It also refers to a person who passed the examination. 139. Also called Book of the Later Han, it is one of the official Chinese historical works compiled by Fan Ye in the fi ft h century. 140. Little is known about these men other than what is stated here. 141. An official of the Jin dynasty (265–420), but little is known about him. 142. An official of the Jin dynasty and one of the Seven Sages of the Bamboo Grove. He served as minister of personnel during the reign of Emperor Wu. (The Seven Sages—Xi Kang, Liu Ling, Ruan Ji, Ruan Xian, Xiang Xiu, Wang Rong and Shan Tao—were Daoist scholars, writers, and musicians who lived in the third century and enjoyed a lifestyle detached from worldly affairs.)

90

book II

When Yang Xu  became prefect of Lujiang, the vice prefect sent him a fish as a gift. Yang Xu took it but hung it without eating it. Later, when the vice prefect sent another fish as a gift , Yang Xu took out the old fish that he had received before and showed it to him. Ashamed, the vice prefect gave up sending gifts. Lord Xiong Taijian never received a gift, maintaining his loft y integrity all his life. When a banquet was held after his inspection tour of the Yunnan region and the successful campaign against the barbarians, he received a gift, which was silk with golden flowers. That made people mystified. The following year, when he had to return to the capital city, he called an official in charge and ordered him to take the silk to the government warehouse. People finally realized that he was truly a superior man and had not wanted to hurt the feelings of other people. If he had not accepted the gift on that occasion, one of his subordinates would have accepted it instead. This is more or less similar to the incident in which Zhang Guaiai accepted a female servant. When Cao Keming was provincial administration commissioner of Huguang, the assistant magistrate presented him a box of medicine. He inadvertently put it away in his cabinet unopened; years later, when he took it out, he found in it 3 taels of alluvial gold. He was distressed and lamented, “Did that man mistake me for someone else?” However, by that time the recorder was already dead, so he sent for his son and returned the gift. When Ye Zongxing was appointed magistrate of Qiantang, Surveillance Commissioner Zhou Xin, who was a man of dignified stature, came to think more highly of Ye Zongxing. One day Zhou Xin sneaked into the room of Ye Zongxing’s house while the latter was out. He wanted to see how Ye Zongxing lived, but he found that there was hardly anything worth money except a bundle of dried silverfish. Deeply distressed, Zhou Xin took a few dried fish out of the bundle and brought them with him. The following day he invited Ye Zongxing to a meal and told him to eat the fish, saying, “This fish is actually yours.” Thus people at that time called Ye Zongxing “One clean leaf of Qiantang” [Qiantang yiye qing]. 143. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Xingzu. He also served as prefect of Nanyang. 144. Unknown. 145. When he governed Yizhou, Zhang Guaiai took a female attendant only for the sake of his subordinates. 146. Cao Keming: a man of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Xiaoqing. He also served as prefect of Dingzhou. 147. An official of the Ming dynasty. His name was Zongren. Zongxing was his courtesy name. 148. An official of the Ming dynasty and a native of Nanhai. He served as surveillance commissioner of Zhejiang Province.

Self- Discipline

91

Su Qiong of the Northern Qi dynasty became prefect of Nanqinghe. His character was so upright and discreet that he refused to take even a single cucumber or piece of fruit as a gift. A man named Zhao Rong in his district presented to him a couple of cucumbers that he had just harvested, but Su Qiong placed them on the crossbeam of his house and did not eat them to the end [of his term]. When Cha Dao of the Song dynasty was inspecting his district, there was a nice-looking jujube tree on the roadside. When his attendants took some of the jujubes from the tree and offered them to him, Cha Dao left the place after calculating the price of the jujubes and hanging the money on the tree. The Reason That a Virtuous Official Is Highly Esteemed Is That He Sheds Clean Light on Every Wood and Spring Water That He Passes By. When Wu Yinzhi became prefect of Guangzhou, there was a spring located six miles away from Shanhai County. People called it “Spring of Greed,” believing that whoever drank its water became greedy. Wu Yinzhi went straight to the spring and drank its water. Then he worked much harder to maintain his unblemished integrity, and when he quit the place, he had nothing in his possession. Later he became a minister and was promoted to the rank of chamberlain, but because he was poor, he had to block the wind with bamboos and wormwood, and his family often had to skip their meals. Nevertheless, he was not disturbed. When Li Bai of the Tang dynasty became magistrate of Yucheng, he found that the old spring water at his quarters was clear but tasted bitter. Dismounting from his carriage, he tasted the water and smiled. He said, “Since I am a man who is clear and bitter, this water suits me fine.” Then he kept using the water without making a change. Later the taste of that spring water turned out to be sweet. Fang Jun dug a spring in the northeast of his quarters, and when his work was finally finished, he dressed himself in an official robe, burned incense, and prayed: “Hear my wishes. If my descendants have a chance to serve in the government, let their integrity be like this spring water.” 149. An official of the Northern Qi dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhenzhi. He also served as chamberlain for law enforcement and prefect of Boling. He was famous for his integrity. 150. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhanran. He also served as an academician of Dragon Diagram Hall (Longtuge), a palace library established between 1008 and 1016 to house official documents. 151. An official of the Eastern Jin dynasty. He was famous for integrity and for being fi lial. He also served as capital commandant. 152. A famous poet of the Tang dynasty. He is regarded as one of the two greatest poets, along with Du Fu, in Chinese literary history. 153. An official of the Song dynasty.

92

book II

When Fang Bao of the Northern Wei dynasty became magistrate of Leling, the drinking water of the place was terrible; because it was located near the sea, the water tasted salty. He ordered that a new spring be excavated and finally found fi ne water. However, when he left the place, the water tasted salty again. Yang Chengzhai [Wanli] composed a poem for the magistrate of Luling that read as follows: So clean is the life of a magistrate, enjoying ice and huangbo tree. Not a grain of rice from Luling you do not choose to chew. Only a sprout of wild green vegetables you scald in clean spring water. Jade Emperor above the heaven will recognize you, an official of heavenly virtue.

Indigenous Products That Are Special and Rare Always Bring Misfortunes to the Districts That Produce Them. Magistrates Who Do Not Take Them Home Truly Deserve to Be Called Virtuous. The baggage of a clean official who returns home after finishing his term never carries the local products. They are, for instance, the ginseng and marten of Kanggye, the hair braids and hemp cloth of Kyŏngbuk, the fans of Namp’yŏng, the paper of Sunch’ang, the color boxes of Tamyang, the paraphernalia for smoking tobacco of Tongnae, the crystals of Kyŏngju, the ink sticks of Haeju, and the inkstones of Namp’o. None of these items should be included in the baggage of the magistrate when he returns home; otherwise his baggage cannot be called clean, befitting that of a scholar. Whenever I see those who return home carry ing rare and precious items and displaying them in front of people, I see the greedy and dirty light coming out of those things, making the people ashamed. Bai Xiangshan once said, “Though I have served as prefect of Suzhou for many years, I never took a piece of rock from Lake Tai.” 154. An official of the Northern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. His courtesy name was Zhonghan. When the Northern Qi dynasty perished, he went into retirement. 155. Huangbo is a tree whose bark is used for medicine. Its botanical name is Cortex pellodendri, and it is commonly called the Amur cork tree in English. 156. A region north of Kyŏngsŏng, Hamgyŏng Province. 157. Bai Juyi (772–846), a renowned poet of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Letian, and his pen names Xiangshan jushi and Zuiyin Xiansheng. Extremely talented in literature, he became presented scholar at the age of twenty-nine and served as Hanlin academician, prefect of Hangzhou, and of Suzhou. Among his numerous poems, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow and The Song of the Pipa Player are most famous. 158. Lake Tai, literally Grand Lake, is one of the main attractions of Suzhou, and the rocks produced in the lake were famous for a decorating material for traditional Chinese gardens.

Self- Discipline

93

In Dali Prefecture of Yunnan, rocks called shiping were produced. Those who served as magistrates of the district always took these rocks home in order to give them to others as a gift, harassing the people and imposing a financial burden on them. Mulling over this misuse of power, a man named Li Bangbai wrote a farewell poem: Although you may miss me, do not send shiping rocks. I would rather have a rock in the south wherein my virtues are engraved.

Henan is a place where mushrooms and joss sticks are produced. Those who served as officials in that district always sent these products to their superiors as a gift. When Lord Yu Sumin conducted an inspection tour of his district, he did not touch any of them and only wrote a poem on them: The mushrooms and joss sticks in the gift wrap were once the assets of the people; now they have become their misfortune. I return to the capital with my sleeves fluttering in the clean wind. There will be no complaints, long or short, from the streets.

Zheng Xuan once said: “How sad! It seems that local products are nothing but a catastrophe for the region that produces them. The land of Hui [Huizhou] is barren, and its ink sticks and dragon-tail ink slabs produced in Tinggui never stop bringing troubles to the land even now. It is worthy of a magistrate to set up a monument in eulogy of his virtuous rule and to return home with his sleeves fi lled with the clean wind.” When Bao Zheng governed Duanzhou, he found that every year his province had sent ink slabs as tribute. His predecessors had collected dozens more of them from the people than they were supposed to in order to send them as their personal gifts to officials of higher rank and influence. However, Bao Zheng ordered the manufacturers of inkstones and ink slabs to produce only as many of their goods as were needed to meet the requirement for their tribute. When his term ended, he did not take any of them with him. Lord Ouyang Wenzhong [Ouyang Xiu] sent a letter to his nephew Tongli: “You said in your letter of yesterday that you would come to buy cinnabar, but I will have nothing to do with it. Because I regard it as your duty to maintain your integrity in the area of my governance, how can you try to buy the goods produced in my district? While I am in the employment of the government, I 159. An official of the Ming dynasty. His name was Qian. Sumin was his posthumous title. He served as pacification commissioner and minister of war. 160. Ouyang Xiu (1007–1072) was a famous poet and official of the Song dynasty. Wenzhong was his posthumous title. He served as Hanlin academician, vice commissioner of military affairs, and vice minister of revenues and assistant chief councilor concurrently. He also served as local magistrate in the districts of Anhui and Shandong provinces.

94

book II

never buy a thing except drinking water. I wish you would follow my example.” When Tang Jie became vice governor of Tanzhou, a merchant running a large business was discovered to possess pearls privately during a search by customs officials. All the officials, including the governor, purchased the pearls at discount prices. Later this incident evolved into a criminal case. Emperor Renzong said to his attendant, “I bet for certain that Tang Jie did not buy the pearls.” His words indeed turned out to be true when the investigation was completed. There are many good reasons to be afraid of local products. Hepu is a place where precious pearls are produced. Magistrates, being avaricious, pressured the people to pick as many as they could for them. The pearls eventually disappeared and gradually moved to the area of Jiaozhi Commandery. As a result, no merchant came to buy the pearls, and the residents lost their livelihood. When Meng Chang became magistrate of Hepu, he eliminated all the irregularities of the past, and in less than a year the pearls that had moved away began to come back, and the streets were crowded with merchants. People in their praise called him a god. Liu Zihou [Zongyuan] in the Record of Restoring Stalactite in Lianling [Lianling furuxueji] stated: “Lianzhou is a place famous for its stalactites. It has been five years since the residents of Lianzhou reported that the stalactites were all exhausted. Thus the magistrates had to find the stalactites from some other place if they wanted to send them as tribute. A month after Lord Cui arrived as a new prefect, the miners of stalactites came to report that the stalactites had revived. The miners had lied to the former prefect because he, being greedy, had exploited them without paying for their labor. They could not stand it any longer. However, realizing that the new prefect was different from his predecessors, was straight and upright in executing the laws, and was fully endowed with the trust of his superiors and deference from his subordinates, they finally told the truth.” When Yu Jing was in charge of Erguang, he prohibited the purchase of the medicines produced in the southern region by strengthening the law and taking control of his personnel. When he returned home to the north, he did not carry in his ship any of the goods produced in Nanhai.

161. An official of the Song dynasty. He served as vice grand councilor. 162. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Bozhou. 163. A famous writer of the Tang dynasty who, along with Han Yu, led the Classical Prose movement. His name was Zongyuan, and his courtesy name was Zihou. Record of Restoring Stalactite in Lianling was written for his friend Cui Junmin, prefect of Lianzhou. 164. A famous censor of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Andao, and his pen name Wuxi. 165. Erguang and Nanhai here are basically the same place in Guangdong Province.

Self- Discipline

95

When Wang Sengre served as prefect of Nanhai, he never took any goods brought in by foreign vessels. He said, “In the old days a man who served as administrator of the state of Shu never took any goods produced in the land of Shu to the end of his life. I hope that my descendants would not dare take any items made in the southern region.” When Zhu Jingze of the Tang dynasty returned home after he had been demoted to prefect of Fuzhou, he took home none of the goods produced in Huainan. Since all he had was a horse he was riding on, his sons followed him on foot. When Dong Shiyi was about to leave for Shuzhou, the place of his appointment, several of his sons pleaded as follows: “Since we are fully aware of your loft y integrity, we will not talk about matters related to livelihood. The only thing about which we are concerned is that since you are now advanced in age, and there is plenty of timber in the Shu region, we hope that you give a thought to what comes later.” He answered, “I will keep that in mind.” When he finished his term and returned home, his sons went out to the river to greet him. They asked him about the request they had made at the time of his departure. He answered, “They say that the timber of cedar trees produced over there is inferior in quality to nut pines.” His sons asked, “Have you, then, prepared nut pines?” He laughed and said, “Here I brought some seeds of nut pines. We will have to sow them.” Since Extreme Actions and Harsh Handling of State Affairs Are Far from Humaneness, the Superior Man Should Avoid or Reject Them. It was too harsh, as far as the handling of state affairs is concerned, that Yang Jizong drove out his wife because she accepted the head of a pig as a gift and that Xu Zi told his son to make himself warm by rolling a stick under his feet, was it not? It was too extreme that Kong Ji threw away silk into the fire and Lord Li Qian hurled the ivories and horns of water buffaloes into the water, was it not? These are not the behaviors of a superior man. Zheng Xuan said, “The reason that scholar-officials suffer damage to their virtue has a great deal to do with their extreme impatience to make their name.”

166. An official of the Liang dynasty. 167. His courtesy name was Shaolian, and his posthumous title Yuan. He participated in compiling a national history. He also served as libationer of the National Confucian Academy and prefect of Zhengzhou. 168. Unknown. 169. An official of the Song dynasty during the Southern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Sida. He served as supervisor of the household of the heir apparent (taizi zhanshi) but was executed later for treason. 170. Unknown.

96

book II

Kudi Shiwen, the son of Kudi Gan of the Northern Qi dynasty, was so extreme in his integrity that he did not even accept the stipend provided by the government. He put his son in prison for eating some food from the kitchen of the yamen. He whipped him two hundred times and imprisoned him for many days, letting him wear a pillory with a sword blade around his neck, and finally sent him home on foot all the way to the capital. He uncovered every little irregularity, including the missing of a few feet of cloth or a bushel of grain, and he reported the offenders to the government with no mercy. Thus he sent as many as a thousand people into exile to the remote region of Lingnan and made them die there of endemic diseases, which caused outcries from their families and relatives. Grabbing these people, Kudi Shiwen whipped them, and the sticks piled high before him. However, the outcries of the people kept on growing. Hearing the report, the emperor fired him with this remark: “The cruelty of Shiwen is much worse than that of a wild beast.” Zheng Xuan said, “According to what elders said in the past, if the head of the people is greedy, there is still a way for the people to survive; however, if he is too upright and severe at the same time, the way of their survival is cut off. The reason that the descendants of upright officials seldom prosper has to do with the lack of humanity in their governance.” He Who Is Upright but Careless in Conducting Business or Spends Money without Being Effective Is Not Worth Mentioning. Record of Koksan states: “A magistrate who is upright but lacks wisdom and discretion can be disastrous. Thus he spends money without knowing how to spend it, wasting the treasury on rewarding entertaining girls and musicians or donating it to the temple. With good intentions he buys cows and distributes them to the poor or makes loans to those who want to make up for their labor ser vice. However, as soon as he leaves the village, his promises come to nothing. The cows and loans promised to the common people fall into the hands of a few powerful local families, and the profits are shared with the yamen clerks, but the loans become the share only of the poor people. The people face bankruptcy because of the goodwill of their magistrate, but their magistrate is ignorant of what goes on. When a new magistrate takes over, the situation becomes even worse. Being avaricious, like a hawk staring at its prey or a tiger clawing the ground, the new magistrate tries to dig and gather more ferociously from the poor people the 171. A member of the Dai people, an ethnic minority of China, during the time of the Sui dynasty. He served as prefect of Juzhou. He was impeached for his severity and died in prison. 172. He served as prefect of Dingzhou and received the title Prince of Zhangwu County in the early years of Tianbao (550–559) of the Northern Qi dynasty. 173. Lingnan refers to Guangdong and the nearby provinces in southeastern China.

Self- Discipline

97

things that have already disappeared. Because his greed has no limit, the original promise of the former magistrate is by now completely obsolete, and this terrible new change even appears to be a reform. This is nothing but a mockery of obligation and wisdom. “What then should be done? If he can raise a great amount of public funds, he should try to reduce the financial burden of the people by establishing a public farmstead. If that is not possible, he should serve the elderly, raise the children, look after the sick, and regulate the rites concerning coming-of-age, marriages, funerals, and ancestor worship. If he personally carries out these obligations, he may be able to have some peace of mind. However, since his official status is uncertain, how can he make plans for the future?” The Price of Goods Set by the Government Is Often Too Low. When the Magistrate Purchases Goods from the People, He Should Pay the Market Price instead of the Standard Price Set by the Government. Hu Dachu states as follows: “The most important things in public ser vice are integrity and diligence. If it happens that these virtues are shaken, there will be serious consequences. There is no magistrate who does not know that he is obligated to uphold integrity, but as time passes, he finds himself trapped and helpless in the middle of complicated matters and urgent crises. He who was born poor is supposed to be easily shaken by the complaints of his family, and he who was born into a rich and noble family needs the money to maintain his lifestyle of fine food and clothes. He who wants to make a name tends to entertain his guests with fine food and send gifts to the people in power and influence in order to procure personal favors. In a much worse case, he sends silk and gold as a marriage gift to the children of his benefactors. So it is not easy to be an official with integrity even if he wants to. “The magistrates who are blind with greed and have no sense of shame certainly deserve none of our sympathy, but there is also a problem with those who are sensitive to public opinions and cautious in their conduct. They say, ‘I am satisfied enough by the fact that I never stole public funds from above nor robbed the people of their property from below. As for the food I purchase, there is an official price for it set by the government, and as for entertaining guests, there is a book wherein the rules and regulations are listed. If I conduct myself according to the law, what is there to be ashamed of ?’ What a shame to make such a remark!” If we reflect on this matter, the official price indicates that there exists a publicly assessed value with regard to goods purchased by the government. But the 174. “Financial burden” here indicates the public depository called mingo. The people were required to pay various taxes to fi ll it because all the local expenses were drawn from it.

98

book II

official price is generally set at the least expensive level or even at a miserly tight one. Even if some official prices are quite generous, this does not help much since the government seldom purchases goods at those prices. How, then, can the yamen clerks [who are in charge of purchasing the goods] cope with this problem? Prices of goods constantly change, but the official prices, once they are decided, never change until they are a hundred years old, so it is natural that the official price is always below the current market price. If the official price is too low, it is hard for the clerks to carry out their work, and if they have a hard time, their troubles and burdens are ultimately transferred to ordinary people. So it is the people, not the clerks, who have to suffer the harm of unfair official prices. Generally speaking, the yamen clerks are the kind of people who move when they are pleased; if they are not, they retreat. If you find that they do not retreat, you will see that there is something that they like. The common people, on the other hand, are those who are stuck in the place where they live, whether they are happy or not. They are so helplessly attached to their land that they appear to be bound by a rope and beaten with sticks. Thus to live in such conditions is itself a pain. During the last few decades the villages [kyebang] whose residents sign up for low-rate ser vice in order to reduce their collective tax burden have continued to increase, with the result that the villages that are exempt from labor ser vice have begun to multiply. Hence the common people have had to suffer because of unfairness in labor-service administration. If a magistrate tries to straighten out this problem, the yamen clerks say, “We will have to run away.” The reason behind their attitude, according to my findings, mainly has to do with two things: one is that all the towns and counties are increasingly anxious to please the governor, and the other is that the official price set by the government is extremely unfair. If the yamen clerks feel that their interests are threatened, they will surely say, “I have no choice but to leave”; if the magistrate wants them to stay, he has to satisfy their demands. Thus the magistrate finds himself in a dilemma. On the one hand, he cannot disregard his self-interest with regard to his relationship with his superior, and on the other hand, he finds it difficult to levy additional taxes on the people. Thus he has no choice but to designate a village as kyebang and give it to the clerks. Nothing is more sly, mean, and contemptible than this. Therefore, although every newly appointed magistrate wants to eliminate the kyebang, he eventually succumbs to reality with quiet resignation once he understands the real situation because he realizes that he himself is the cause of the whole problem. The prices of all goods for official use should be readjusted on the basis of the current price every vernal and autumnal equinox. After a trial of half a year, what is worth preserving should be allowed to remain, and what is not should be revised for the sake of fairness. Book of Rites says: “When the length of day and

Self- Discipline

99

night becomes the same during the time of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, weights and measures, as well as scales, should be standardized by comparing weighing instruments and correcting the balances of scales and the leveling sticks.” What this book says is basically what I am trying to point out. If all the goods bought by the yamen clerks and slaves do not cause any complaints in the process of their procurement, the magistrate will then be able to carry out reforms of problems like the kyebang, which is harmful to the people in general, in the way he wants. All Wrongful Customs Should Be Rectified, but Ones That Are beyond the Power of the Magistrate Should Not Be Touched. The tax for exemption from active military ser vice in the western province [pangbŏnjŏn], the slash-and-burn farm tax paid in cash in the mountain villages, the market tax, and the cloth tax levied on the shamans belong to the examples of wrongful customs, but since the court is aware of their problems, they may be allowed to remain as they are. However, the state-sponsored grain loans in the western province [wahwanch’ae] and the taxes on the unregistered lands in the southern province [ŭngyŏlch’ae] should never be misappropriated, although doing so has been an old custom. The expenditure for the inauguration of a new magistrate should never be collected. Komajŏn, the travel expenses of the judges [ch’ugwan], should not be disbursed unjustly and ineffec tively. (Many districts have what is called komago, the public fund for travel expenses [koma] of local officials. It is a general custom that this public fund pays dozens of taels to the traveling judges. 175. “Proceedings of Government in Different Months” [Yueling], The Li Ki [Li Chi], in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 289. My translation. 176. Th is type of tax was called panggun sup’o. Those who wanted to be exempt from their military duty were allowed to pay taxes for their privilege. 177. The slash-and-burn farm taxes were originally supposed to be paid in grain or cloth, but later, people were required to pay their taxes in currency. 178. Th is tax, called wahwanch’ae, was the state loan provided to needy people. It was loaned or collected in either the early or the late part of the year. However, in the process of administering this loan system, cheating was rampant. The officials in charge often embezzled the tax money by fabricating the documents. 179. In the Chosŏn period there were certain lands that were not registered and were therefore free from taxation. However, local officials levied taxes on these lands and embezzled them without reporting them to the government. 180. In the late Chosŏn period officials used either post-station horses or horses borrowed from civilians for their transportation. The horses that they rented from civilians were called koma, and the expense for employing koma horses was komajŏn. Most counties and districts had bureaus of their own to provide koma to officials.

100

book II

They are supposed to hold the court three times a month, but, in fact, they often skip traveling. Nevertheless, they report that they discharged their duty as scheduled and collect the expenses for their travel.) The taxes on the estates granted to princes and princesses should also never be misappropriated. (The taxes on all the lands or estates belonging to princes and princesses are no more than 11 taels per kyŏl and are administered by the Board of Taxation. However, when the harvest is poor and rice is scarce, the local government levies dozens of taels on these lands, a few times more than what is due, and uses the excess for its own purposes after paying the Board of Taxation.) The collection of various taxes related to the public depository that is carried out under numerous pretexts must be stopped even if it is permitted by custom. Since examples of this kind are too numerous to be listed in detail here , the magistrate should be able to figure out what is required to discharge his duty and never violate the principle of Heaven or the royal law. Although he may fi nd it difficult to rectify all the irregularities because of various obstacles, he should be able to stay away from them. Although it may be impossible for him completely to abolish the taxes for exemption from military ser vice or the slash-and-burn farmstead, which are to be paid only in cash, he should not be illiberal in granting tax relief to impoverished villages that have no means of paying for their military ser vice. Kim Chisŏk  in the Koryŏ dynasty became magistrate of Cheju Island at the end of Kojong’s reign. According to the old custom of Cheju, male residents who were fi fteen years of age or above were required to submit 1 kok  [10 mal] of beans to the government every year, and each of the yamen clerks, who numbered in the hundreds, was also required to submit a horse annually, and this grain and these horses went into the hands of the magistrate and the assistant magistrate. Because of this custom, magistrates of Cheju became rich no matter how poor they had been before they took office. Chŏng Ki and Yi Chŏ made fortunes in this way while they served as magistrates, but they were driven out of their office in the end. Upon his arrival in Cheju Island, Kim Chisŏk abolished the custom of submitting beans and horses. He selected ten men who were reputed to be upright and appointed them yamen clerks of his administration. As a result, state affairs became as clean and transparent as water, and both the people and the clerks admired and obeyed him. Previously there had been a magistrate of Cheju 181. A constant measure of crops from 2.2 to 9.0 acres, depending on the fertility of the land (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 1169). 182. He is introduced in History of Koryŏ (Koryŏsa) as an exemplary official. 183. Unit of measure for grain. One kok is equivalent to 10 tu or mal. 184. Officials of the Chosŏn dynasty, but little is known about them.

Self- Discipline

101

named Kyŏng Sebong who was also famous for his integrity. Thus the people of Cheju used to say, “Last time we had Sebong; this time Chisŏk.” Kwŏn Tan of the Koryŏ dynasty became special mayor [yusu] of Kyŏngju. In the past a public warehouse called kapbang had been established to keep silk gathered from the people. The silk was sent to the government as tribute, but there was always a great deal of surplus even after paying the tribute, so the magistrates had been taking it for personal use. Kwŏn Tan abolished the kapbang warehouse and made the silk gathered for the year meet the quota for three years’ tribute. When Gu Huangzhong became prefect of Shengzhou, he noticed one day that the government storehouse was locked very tightly. When he opened it, he discovered several thousand chests filled with treasures. They were properties belonging to the royal family of Li but were not registered in the record books. Gu Huangzhong made a list of those treasures and submitted it to the royal court. Deeply impressed by the report, the king said, “When he who is greedy and treacherous happens to find treasures of this kind, he will violate the law and will try to steal them even if they are registered, not to mention the ones not registered in the book.” Then the king bestowed on him over 100,000 taels and commended his integrity. He Who Purchases Drapery and Silk Must Have a Warrant Stamped with a Seal. Every county has its own business district. Clerks and slaves [ino] in charge of purchasing goods for the government often try to buy cotton and linen at a low price under the pretext of buying them for official use. Sometimes secretaries [naesa] and bookkeepers [ch’aekbang] try to cut down the price although they are buying the goods for their personal use. In that case purchasing agents should make up for the loss of money, or the merchants lose their profits while doing nothing. All these things are causes of complaint and resentment, but the magistrate is hardly aware of the problem. At the beginning of his term the magistrate should order a yamen clerk who is in charge of the market to inform the merchants of linen and silk fully as follows: “From now on, when the government purchases linen and silk, it will always issue an authorization with an official seal. (The authorization pass is as big as the size of the palm.) If there is no authorization paper, the purchase has nothing to do with the government. At the bottom of the paper, the seller is supposed to 185. Unknown. 186. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Ch’ungsŏn Wang (1308–1313). His courtesy name was Maeji, and his pen name Mongam. 187. An official of the Song dynasty. He also served as vice grand councilor.

102

book II

write down the price at which he sold the items in his own hand, and the buyer, who is a yamen clerk in that case, is required to submit it to the government so that it can be used as evidence in the future.” The form of the authorization paper is as follows: At the top the purchaser writes the date, month, and year. On the second line he enters the items and their quantity, and the third and fourth lines are the same. Finally, on the fifth line he writes his title and name, for instance, Head Officer in Charge of Purchase Dŭkson, and stamps his seal right in the middle. When the purchase is made, the seller should immediately write his name and the price he received on each line of the authorization paper and give it back to the buyer. If the business is conducted in this manner, the merchants will have no complaints even if it happens that the government buyers play a trick to switch the linen and silk they bought. The customs of the whole country are all different. If the custom of yamen clerks is generally good and free from insidious irregularities, this kind of approach may not always be necessary. In the Case of Daily Records of Expenses, It Is Not Really Necessary to Pay Close Attention, Giving People a Hard Time When They Submit Records of Expenses for Your Approval. It is quite necessary to examine closely the account books of the county schools and various public funds [ko]; however, it is better not to pay close attention to the ledgers of those in charge of kitchen and household affairs. In the latter case the magistrate had better give a quick approval and not try to cut down expenses even if they appear to be excessive. Record of Koksan states as follows: “It is the custom of our days to invite an inspector from the outside in order to examine the bookkeeping. If the outside inspector conducts a thorough examination and uncovers problems, the sound of complaints and calumnies will rise like boiling water, and soon a phrase like ‘an outsider’s interference in state affairs’ will appear on the evaluation sheet of the governor in a negative way. If the outside inspector is swayed by his personal feelings and collaborates with corrupt clerks, causing an outburst of scorn and condemnation of the public, it becomes impossible to eliminate the abuses of profit sharing between the inspector and yamen clerks. An idea like translating the documents into the vernacular language and sending them to the magis188. “Public funds” (ko) here are funds such as the public depository (mingo) or the state depository for disaster relief (chinhyulgo). 189. When the governor evaluated the job per formance of a magistrate, he looked into all the complaints and accusations against him. 190. In the Chosŏn dynasty the language used for all official or formal documents was Chinese. Korean script called hangŭl, created in the middle of the fi fteenth century, was popu lar among the

Self- Discipline

103

trate’s secretary [naesa] for approval, and finally comparing the original and translated versions of documents for their details, is against propriety and dignity and therefore is not worth trying. All the supplies that go to the secretary should be arranged to be submitted on the first day of every month according to the rules set down by the magistrate, and special goods brought in on a daily basis should be limited to a couple of items. In this way the magistrate can avoid controversy, and nothing will work better than that. On His Birthday the Magistrate Should Not Accept Any Sumptuous Table of Dishes Even If the Various Offices of Yamen Clerks and Military Officers Try to Present It. The luxurious food and dishes offered by various offices of yamen clerks and military officers originate from the labor of the people, for the expenses for this food are collected from the kyebang villages or the support people [posol]. Under the pretext of raising funds for the magistrate’s birthday, they ruthlessly extort money from the people. Since they take fish from the fishermen, slaughter the dogs of the villages, rob the buckwheat and cooking oil of the Buddhist temples, and bring brass rice bowls and dishes from pottery shops, these things are in fact a collection of resentments. How, then, can the magistrate accept such things? Even if they offer much more modest birthday presents consisting of a set of brassware and a few feet of fine cloth, he should not accept them, not to mention the presents for the birthday of his parents. Hu Dachu said, “All birthday offerings should be rejected. Since he did not seek them, the magistrate will not be ashamed to reproach the yamen clerks if they continue to stick to their old ways.” As to Benefits Rendered to Others, the Magistrate Should Neither Speak of Them nor Reveal Them on His Face nor Talk to Anybody about Them. Furthermore, He Should Not Speak of the Mistakes of His Predecessor. In my observation, he who is upright but pretends to be smart uses property produced from wrongful precedents according to principle and justice or sometimes tries to render ser vice to the people by donating some of his own stipend. What he does is admirable, but his pretense to be upright is not. When he bestows benefits on the people, he speaks aloud, “How can a scholar-official use this kind of common people, including women, who were mostly excluded from the benefits of regular education. 191. Support people (posol) were the civilians who fi nancially supported those who were on active duty instead of serving in the army.

104

book II

stuff ?” When his yamen clerk tries to explain, citing precedents, he tries to demonstrate his integrity by punishing him with sticks. He says aloud, “How can I possibly buy farmland with what is left from my stipend when I return home?” He raises his voice, tries to wear an expression of benefaction, and shows off his integrity whenever he meets with his people and guests. He behaves as if hundreds of taels were a large sum of money but does not realize that the intelligent people around him secretly laugh at him in their hearts. If he really wants to make contributions of his property and sacrifice his stipend, all he has to do is to give an order to his clerk in a few passing words and never talk about it. If anyone wants to know about his contribution, he had better answer, “I was just lucky to give it this time, but I am afraid that I may not be able to make it that much next time,” quickly changing the subject to something else and restraining himself from further talk about the matter. To follow the examples of predecessors is essentially not bad. However, since it is possible that the donation of personal property is motivated by a desire to make a name, it is not quite proper to criticize what others do because of his little charity. This is something that the magistrate must always watch for. Du Yan said: “One of the most important requisites for men in the employment of the government is integrity. However, one must not seek recognition from others. If he does, it is certain that some of his colleagues who are unscrupulous will circulate slander behind his back, and his superiors may also fail to find out the truth, which will lead to his misfortune and ruin. It is thus advisable to keep on doing good work in silence, making sure that there is nothing in his heart to be ashamed of.” Zheng Xuan said: “It is not impossible for scholar-officials to maintain integrity in their public life. To maintain integrity itself is not hard; not to show it off is hard; not to be arrogant and look down on others, being too self-confident, is even harder.” Zheng Xuan also said: “Integrity is the basic obligation of a man in public service; nevertheless, he should not display his integrity nor show his arrogance to those who are not like him. Discretion is indispensable for public ser vice; nevertheless, he should not pay attention only to matters of great importance, overlooking matters of lesser importance. Diligence is the basis of discharging official duty; nevertheless, he must not be diligent at the beginning and slow down in the end.” When Hu Zhi became prefect of Jingzhou, his son Hu Wei came to the capital to pay his respects to him. When his son was about to return home, Hu Zhi 192. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Shichang, and his posthumous title Zhengxian. 193. A military general of the kingdom of Wei during the Th ree Kingdoms period.

Self- Discipline

105

gave him a bolt of silk to be used for decoration. Emperor Wu asked Hu Wei, “How do you compare your integrity with that of your father?” He answered, “Although my father is upright, he is worried that others may know about it; although I am upright, I am worried that others may not know about it. In consideration of this difference, I am far from measuring up to my father.” Yi Annul [pen name Tong’ak] was selected as a pure official. Earlier he said to someone, “How could I be without faults when I served as either magistrate or governor? What happened was that my wife, who was a poor homemaker, made my clothes and food look not pretty in the eyes of other people, and that led the people to believe that I was virtuous. I am ashamed.” The way in which our predecessors were unconcerned about the recognition they deserved and their practicing virtue was like this. (Kongsa kyŏnmunnok by Chŏng Chaeryun.) He Who Is Upright Is Seldom Generous, Which Is a Problem in the Eyes of the People. One Should Be More Severe in Reprimanding Himself than in Reprimanding Others. Unless Requests for Special Favors Continue to Be Made, He Does Not Deserve to Be Called Upright. People like subfunctionaries and slaves, being uneducated and ignorant, have only human desires and do not know the principle of Heaven. If it is the magistrate himself who is supposed to exert himself much harder, how can he afford to blame and reproach others? To discipline himself with propriety and regard others as average human beings is a way not to incur resentment at himself. The law strictly forbids exploiting the people except in only a few cases. Nevertheless, it is advisable not to take advantage of wrongful customs as a means of making a regular income. When Cho Kŭksŏn was a magistrate, a clerk in the yamen lost a hawk that he was in charge of. The poor man bought a hawk with his own money to make up for the lost one and presented it to the magistrate. Magistrate Cho said, “The hawk only flew away on its own; why should you be held responsible?” Then he returned the hawk to the clerk and closed the case. 194. Sima Yan (265–290), the founder of the Jin dynasty. 195. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chamin, and his posthumous title Munhye. He served as minister of rites and deputy director of the Office of Royal Decrees. He was distinguished in poetry and calligraphy. 196. Chŏng Chaeryun (1648–1723) was the son of Chief State Councilor Chŏng T’aehwa and the son-in-law of King Hyojong. Public and Private Records (Kongsa kyŏnmun nok) is a collection of his observations while he frequented the royal court during the reigns of the four kings Hyojong, Hyŏnjong, Sukchong, and Kyŏngjong. 197. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yuje, and his pen name Ch’igok. He also served as section chief of the Board of Taxation and as third inspector.

106

book II

Record of Koksan states: “When the magistrate who is vulgar meets with his old friends or relatives who are financially hard pressed, he produces work for them instead of directly helping them by using his own money. The kind of financial assistance that he provides, in fact, is like helping them by robbing other people in his district of their property. Even if the men he helped praise his generosity when they return home, the magistrate should not grant a personal favor that way.” If the Magistrate Is Known to the World for His Integrity and the Praise of His Name Is on the Lips of the People, This Is Also a Great Honor in His Life. Yun Sŏnjwa of the Koryŏ dynasty became the metropolitan governor of Hanyang [modern Seoul] during the reign of King Ch’ungsuk. One day it happened that the king and the princess came down to visit Yongsan [a district of Seoul], and the king said to the subjects around him: “Governor Yun is a man of integrity and frugality. That is why I made him magistrate of Hanyang. Therefore, make sure that you do not harass him by interfering or making demands beyond his duty.” A year later he started working on the selection of local magistrates, writing their names on a piece of paper, and when he came down to the appointment of magistrate of Kyerim, he stopped a moment, holding a brush in his hand, and said, “Although my royal court is fi lled with people, there is no one like Magistrate Yun.” Then he appointed Yun magistrate of Kyerim. When Chŏn Noksaeng of the Koryŏ dynasty became assistant magistrate [p’angwan] of Kyŏngju, he carried out his duties with integrity. Yi Chehyŏn in one of his poems praised the virtue of Chŏn’s rule as follows: “When Vice Director Chŏn became assistant magistrate of Kyŏngju, the elders of the district admired his clean virtue.” When Lord Wansŏn, Yi Ŭijŏn, served as magistrate of Yanggŭn, Yi Chun happened to pass by the district of Yi Ŭijŏn. Deeply impressed, Yi Chun said, “I feel like I soak in fresh air.”

198. His courtesy name was Sunsu. He also served as governor of Chŏlla Province, metropolitan governor of Hanyang (Seoul) and Kyŏngju, libationer (cheju) of the National Academy, and director (taejehak) of the Office of Royal Decrees. 199. The old name of Kyŏngju, the capital city of the Silla kingdom. 200. His courtesy name was Maenggyŏng, and his pen name Yaŭn. He also served as palace censor and governor of Chŏlla Province. 201. Yi Chehyŏn (1287–1367) was a famous statesman and Neo-Confucian scholar of the Koryŏ dynasty. His courtesy name was Chungsa, and his pen name Ikjae. He served three kings as state councilor and director of the Chancellery. 202. A contemporary of Yi Ŭijŏn. His courtesy name was Sukp’yŏng, and his pen names Ch’angsŏk and Yugye. He raised the Righteous Army to fight against the Japa nese invaders. He was granted a posthumous title, Mungan.

Self- Discipline

107

When Yi Mok  was the magistrate of Sŏch’ŏn, Governor Yi Annul evaluated his job performance with the following remark: “His integrity is clean like a jar of jade, and his benevolence is like the spring breeze.” C H A P T E R : RU L I NG T H E HOUSE HOL D   

To Cultivate the Self First, Then the Household, and Finally the Country Is the Universal Principle of the World. He Who Wants to Rule a District Should First Rule His Household Well. Ruling a district is like ruling a country. Without ruling his household well, how can the magistrate rule a district? There are several essential points on ruling a household well. First, he must observe the law about the limit on household members whom he is allowed to take with him; second, he must make sure that his carriage is humble and modest; third, he must be frugal in consuming food; fourth, the quarters of his spouse must be stern and dignified; fi ft h, solicitations and requests for favors must not be allowed; sixth, he must maintain integrity in purchasing goods. Unless he succeeds in establishing control with regard to these six requirements, the failure of his administration is predictable. According to the Supplement to the National Code, “He among the magistrates who takes with him a number of household members that exceeds the limit stipulated by the law, and he who secretly commits adultery with female slaves belonging to the government, must be searched out and stripped of his office.” If we reflect on this matter, our national law prohibits taking an excessive number of household members; nevertheless, it does not provide any specific number. Therefore, it is necessary to make provisions on the appropriate number of household members to be taken. The family members allowed to accompany the magistrate should consist of his parents and spouse, and only one son among his children. Unmarried children, however, should be allowed to follow their father, regardless of their number. As for slaves, no more than one male and two female slaves should be allowed. Parents, spouse and children, and brothers are generally called “six close relatives” [yukch’in]. If the magistrate takes to his post all his family members, as well as guests and slaves, carry ing his ancestral tablets, his official duties will be obstructed because of the entanglement of his personal affairs and state affairs. 203. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Munbaek, and his pen name Songgyo. He served as inspector general and chief royal secretary. 204. The idea of ruling the self derives from the Great Learning. He who wants to rule the country should cultivate himself fi rst and then harmonize his family. Only when these two steps are successfully taken can he be ready to rule the state.

108

book II

There was a good reason that wise magistrates in the old days did not allow their family to follow them to their posts. If his parents are advanced in age, the magistrate should exert himself to serve them. As to other matters, he should practice simplicity. According to the National Law, If the Magistrate Takes His Mother to His Post to Serve Her, the Government Pays the Expenses; However, in the Case of His Father, It Does Not Pay. There Is a Good Reason for This. If the magistrate’s father resides at the place where his son serves, the friends of his son will call him Ch’unbu, and subfunctionaries and servants will call him Taegam. If he is over sixty years old and depends on the support of his son, he has little choice but to follow his son; otherwise, it is not appropriate for him to follow his son lightly even if his son begs him to. If he indeed has little choice but to follow his son, he should make an arrangement that he will stay in one of the warm rooms of the inner quarters, and it is appropriate that he spend his days quietly, avoiding contact with the people outside. I have observed, however, that there is often an individual who, being ignorant of propriety, comes out to the office of his son in the outside. Taking his seat on the floor, he reproaches yamen clerks and government slaves [kwanno]. He teases entertaining girls, invites his guests, and even tries his hand at settling lawsuits and legal cases related to prison administration for money, creating disorder in state affairs. Thus he arouses complaints and resentment, and the whole district is fi lled with people who curse and swear. If such a situation happens to develop, the magistrate should keep in mind that both parental affection and fi lial piety will be entirely lost, and also both public and private affairs will deteriorate together to the level of sickness. Both Bi Zhongjing and his son served as prefect of Yanzhou in successive generations, and the fact that they did so was regarded as a great honor in their time. Every time his son, Yuan Bin, conducted state affairs, Zhongjing went to the quarters of his son by wooden carriage. He sent his attendant to his son in advance with an instruction that he should neither try to recognize him nor stand up in order to pay respect, and his face began to glow with gladness as he watched his son performing an outstanding job in delivering a good judgment. Such a case as this is admirable. The father who has followed his son to the place of his appointment can even enhance the name of his son. 205. Ch’unbu literally means “spring government office.” It is possible to translate it as “Dear Government Office,” since the word is intended to be endearing to the man to whom it refers. 206. Taegam originally means “director” or “supervisor.” 207. An official of the Later Wei dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period.

Self- Discipline

109

It Is Said That a Man of Integrity Does Not Take His Household with Him When He Goes Out to Serve as Magistrate, and the “Household” [Jialei] Was Meant to Be “Wife and Children.” Officials of repute of the Ming dynasty, such as Yang Jizong, Xie Zixiang, Wang Shu, and Tang Kan, did not take their households to the provinces and districts to which they were appointed. These are honorable examples in the early modern age, although such examples abounded in the Han and Tang dynasties. When Yang Xu was prefect of Nanyang, his wife and son Bi came to see him at his yamen, but he closed the gate and did not allow them in. His wife returned home with her son, and their outfit consisted of only a blanket made of hemp cloth, a set of shabby-looking unlined clothes, some salt, and several pails of barley. This act is too extreme and against humanity; it is not worth imitating. When little children want to follow the magistrate, it is hard to refuse their request because of human nature. However, children who have already come of age and married should be told to come to see him later one by one; it is not right to allow them to accompany him at once. A man in antiquity said: “He who goes out to serve as magistrate is to abandon three things. First, he abandons his house. When he leaves his house empty, it is bound to collapse. Second, he abandons his slaves and servants. If the slaves and servants, having nothing to do, are allowed to be idle, they will certainly become arrogant. Third, he abandons his children. When the children are once used to a life of luxury, they easily give themselves up to dissipation.” I cannot agree more. If Brothers Miss Each Other, They Can Pay a Visit Now and Then; However, It Is Not Appropriate to Stay Together for Long. The magistrate should live apart from his brother for some time, no matter how deep his brotherly love is. To live with a younger brother is understandable; however, to live with an older brother is more embarrassing. I have observed that when an older brother of the magistrate stays at his brother’s yamen office, clerks and slaves call him kwanbaek. This is in fact a joke because kwanbaek is the equivalent of the Japa nese kanpaku who takes care of state affairs on behalf of the emperor. Thus it insinuates the anomaly that the older brother of the magistrate actually conducts official business, while his younger brother only keeps his title without doing anything. Therefore, the older brother should leave the place 208. “Household” ( jialei): the word lei literally means “bind (with a rope).” Jialei, then, suggests that the household or family can be an interference to an official like a magistrate. 209. Kwanbaek or kanpaku indicates the chief advisor to the emperor and de facto ruler of Japan. Hideyoshi (1536–1598), who emerged as the most powerful man in the domestic struggle for power and invaded Chosŏn Korea in 1592, held this title.

110

book II

of his younger brother, shaking his head in refusal, even if his younger brother begs him with tears not to leave. If he decides to stay on, he cannot avoid being called kwanbaek derisively. If kinswomen, such as aunts, sisters-in-law, and sisters, who are either poor or widows want to follow the magistrate, he will feel truly sorry for them. Nevertheless, he must not allow their request since the law strictly prohibits it. Although There Are Many among His Guests Who Want to Follow Him, the Magistrate Should Bid Farewell to Them with Comforting Words. Although He Has Many Slaves and Servants, He Should Select Only the Gentle Ones without Being Swayed by His Personal Feelings. The magistrate should live in harmony with his kinsmen, but that does not mean that he should take them to the place of his appointment. He should treat his guests with hospitality, but he should not invite them to stay with him. Although he may have servants who have served him well, he should not allow them to follow him. In such circumstances he should dissuade them with comforting words, promising to send them presents in the future. They will not be resentful when he convinces them that it is not appropriate to have a crowd of kinsmen in the government office. The following happened when Second State Councilor Chŏng Hongsun was appointed governor of P’yŏngan Province. He had a loyal steward who had served him for many years. Believing that the governor certainly would take him to P’yŏngyang [the provincial capital], this man privately made preparations and waited. However, he soon found that the governor would not allow him to follow. Because he was very disappointed and resentful, he fell sick. After half a year passed, he went up to P’yŏngyang, disregarding propriety. The governor allowed him to stay for three days and made him return home right away, providing only a horse and nothing else. The man again became very disappointed and resentful. When the term of his office was over, the governor returned home, but from that moment his steward stopped visiting him. After a couple of weeks Councilor Chŏng sent for the man and sharply reproached him for his behavior. Then he gave him a bundle of documents. The man returned home, now even more resentful, and threw away the bundle of papers in front of his mother. When she looked at it carefully, she found that it consisted of two official licenses issued to the tribute middlemen who supply the government with goods like charcoal and torches [kiin kongmul]. 210. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Ŭijung, and his pen name Hodong. 211. Kiin kongmul: kiin originally referred to the sons of local officials who lived in Seoul, working as consultants or agents for the local government. During the Chosŏn period, however, the term

Self- Discipline

111

Since it often happens that servants can easily make mistakes, it is inappropriate to take more than one male and two female servants who are honest. If the household is not large, it is enough to take only one female servant. The wife of Di Wulun personally worked in the kitchen, and Wang Shu did not take his servants with him. There must be some reason that they did so. When Lord Fan Wenzheng went out to serve as magistrate, he took three female servants with him. He served in two prefectures until his death but neither increased nor replaced a single person. When the Women Travel, Their Carriage and Outfit Should Be Made Simple and Modest. A carriage drawn by a pair of horses called ssangmagyo [Ch. shuangmajiao] is not an admirable institution. (It is less desirable than t’aep’yŏnggŏ.) However, since it is every woman’s lifelong desire to ride in one, he who serves his mother has little choice but to employ it. However, does he need to do the same for his wife? If this is indeed the lifelong wish of ignorant womenfolk, it is possible to rent the ssangmagyo carriage and let them travel a distance of only one post station (the distance of a post station is up to Kwach’ŏn in the south, Koyang in the west, and P’yŏnggu in the east) or a one-day trip (generally the distance of two post stations) so that they can at least have a taste of it. Would it not be honorable if they arrive at the district in a one-horse carriage with a winglike blue canopy, letting down a blind woven from strings of beads? To ride a ssanmagyo carriage for just one day is enough to fulfi ll their lifelong wish. Why do they have to ride it for ten days to satisfy themselves? Except the carriages used by his mother and wife, no men or horses belonging to the government should be a part of the magistrate’s entourage. It is appropriate that the magistrate use his own servants and horses or find ones for rent. Ignorant Talk of a Country Man [Yain udam] states: “It is said that when Du Huangshang was prefect of Xiangzhou, his wife used only a bamboo sedan chair supported on a carrier’s back. Why should people feel dishonored unless they go simply indicated the agents who supplied tribute goods to the central government. Thus they were also called kongmulin or kongmul chuin, which meant “tribute middlemen.” 212. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Boyu. He served as prefect of Huiji and as minister of works. 213. A regular vehicle used by officials. 214. The three districts here indicate those in the Kyŏnggi and Seoul area. P’yŏnggu is modern Yangju. 215. The author of this work is unknown. 216. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Zunsu. He served as vice director of the Chancellery.

112

book II

out in a ssangmagyo carriage? Before the early days of the middle of our dynasty, even the wives of state councilors used horses when they went out, covering their faces with veils. Since then, our custom has become so extravagant that nowadays there is no limit in mobilizing men and horses. In order to operate a single ssangmagyo carriage, one needs many people on both sides of the carriage to escort it. Sometimes one recruits many people to travel hundreds of miles, making them carry the carriage on their shoulders. The ssangmagyo carriage was originally for the use of the king, but even the king himself does not use the ones carried on men’s shoulders. How presumptuous for the magistrate to hire such a carriage for his wife! In the old days even the wife of the governor rode in a carriage drawn by a single horse; nowadays even a low-class woman rides in a carriage drawn by two horses once her husband becomes a district magistrate. How insolent she is!” The magistrate who is sensible and discreet, in my view, escorts his mother in a t’aep’yŏnggŏ carriage, a regular official transportation vehicle, imitating Chinese officials in the old days. This not only will be regarded as honorable but also will bring about no complaints. When Han Yi became transportation commissioner of the Hebei region, he arranged that his mother be seated on an ordinary t’aep’yŏnggŏ sedan chair with a blind made of reeds, and that his father, Lord Xiansu [Han Yuan], ride on a donkey and follow the vehicle of his wife. Their modesty was like this. Han Yi and Li Ruogu were very poor before they passed their state examinations. When they went up together to the capital city to take the examination, they took the role of a servant by taking turns when they had interviews [with high officials]. Li Ruogu passed the state examination first and was appointed assistant magistrate of Changshe District. When Li traveled to his post, he personally held the reins of the donkey that his wife rode, and Han Yi carried a piece of the baggage on his shoulder for his friend. When they arrived at a place that was only a few miles away from the district, Li Ruogu said to his friend Han Yi, “I am afraid that the people of the district may come out and see us.” Then he gave Han Yi half the money that he had in a box, which was only 600 maces . Dividing the money, they cried and bade farewell to each other. Later Han Yi also passed the state examination, and both of them rose to the rank of vice grand councilor. When Yun Sŏkbo was appointed magistrate of P’unggi, he took only one male and one female servant to his post. (He did not bring his wife and children.) 217. An official of the Northern Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zongwei, and his posthumous title Zhongxian. He served as assistant director of the left during the reign of Renzong. 218. A friend of Han Yi. He served as grand academician of the Hall of Aid in Governance (Zizhengdian). 219. An official of the early Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chaim. He passed the civil ser vice examination in the reign of Sŏngjong but died during the Literati Purge of 1504 (Kapcha sahwa).

Self- Discipline

113

Later, when he became magistrate of Sŏngju, his wife, Lady Pak, was eight months pregnant. Nevertheless, he had his wife ride a horse because he was unable to afford the expense of a carriage. Pak Chunggan, the brother of Lady Pak, paid a visit to them after he became magistrate of Sangju. He found them in an impoverished condition, surviving on meager provisions supplied by the government, so he sent them some salt to help them. Yun immediately returned it as if he had encountered something disgusting. If we think over the matter, in the early period of our dynasty the wives of scholar-officials must have ridden horses, covering their faces with a veil. Every time Lord Hyohŏn, Song Hŭm, was appointed district magistrate, he limited his traveling horses to three: one for himself, and the others for his mother and wife, respectively. Thus the people in his time called him “Three Horses Magistrate” [Samma t’aesu]. Little children should be allowed to ride in a sedan chair without a canopy [ch’ogyo]; however, it is against propriety to make government slaves escort them on both sides. Every young man should be able to learn to ride a horse with a saddle. He who has not yet learned to do so, however, can use a horse with a packsaddle. On the day before her departure, the wife of the magistrate should treat the yamen clerks and government slaves who are scheduled to accompany her with food, including wine and cake. It is not necessary to treat them with food if there is no other traveler than the magistrate himself, because the magistrate is supposed to be strict, and besides, his travel is a part of his official duties. On the other hand, the wife of the magistrate needs to be kind and affectionate; furthermore, her traveling is personal. That is the reason that she has to treat the people accompanying her. Three days after the arrival of his wife, the magistrate should invite the people who escorted his wife and show his appreciation for their hard work with food and drink. Since Luxurious Dresses Are Shunned by Many People and Hated by Ghosts, to Seek Them Is to Diminish One’s Own Blessings. It is extremely rare that one who is the wife of a magistrate understands propriety. The way she thinks is so base that she believes that an armful of wealth and prosperity will descend right away from the heavens when she hears the news that her husband is going to go out as a district magistrate. Anxious to have beautiful ornaments and accessories, she recklessly withdraws money from the district’s capital agent. She calls in peddlers and buys precious silk, fine ramie 220. An official of the early Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Hŭmji, and his pen names Chijidang and Kwansujŏng. He served as seventh state councilor and was selected as a pure official.

114

book II

cloth, exquisite flax, ornamental hairpins engraved with dragons, accessories in the shape of butterflies, and so forth. With these goods she dresses her children, making them look like uncanny creatures, and decorates her female servants as if they were prostitutes. This is her idea of making her family appear very distinguished in the district. If men of intelligence happen to observe this, they will see right away that her husband is not upright. If she wastes her fortunes, diminishes her blessings, and makes her husband lose face, what kind of joy should she expect? When Zhou Xin served as governor of Zhejiang Province, one day one of his subordinates brought a roasted duck as a present. He hung it in his house, and whenever a man wanted to offer him a gift, he used to point at the roasted duck. When there was a banquet for the wives of provincial officials who worked for him, all the ladies showed up in their best dresses except the wife of Governor Zhou Xin, who wore a dress made of coarse cloth and a wooden hairpin. She looked like the wife of a farmer. The ladies who were well dressed were now ashamed of themselves, and thereafter they also dressed in plain clothes. When Lord Heng Yue was in charge of Qingyang, it happened that the wives of his colleagues had a social gathering of their own. The ladies who attended the meeting looked splendid in their golden ornaments and silk dresses. Only the wife of Lord Heng was dressed in clothes made of hemp. After the banquet was over, she appeared to be displeased. Lord Heng asked her, “Where were you seated?” She replied that she was seated at the top. Then he said to her, “You already enjoyed a seat of honor at the top; nevertheless, you wish to distinguish yourself in your dress, too. How can you expect to have both wealth and honor?” This admirable anecdote is still handed down to us. When Xu Tingzhong served as assistant magistrate of Wucheng District, he allowed not a speck of dirt on his performance as a public servant. When he went to work, he wore worn-out clothes and carried a shabby-looking umbrella. One day his kinsmen accidentally made some mild complaints about his appearance. He replied with a laugh, “Tomorrow morning you will certainly see a present arriving in my yard. Have patience and wait.” When the morning came, a security officer from Guian District was waiting for him, prostrate in the yard of his office. Charged with corruption, he had been arrested and sent to the Censorate for investigation. Knowing that Xu Tingzhong was upright and wise, the Censorate in turn asked him to interrogate the man by sending a special official dispatch. People reported the incident to one another, and it became a laudable anecdote.

221. Unknown. 222. Unknown.

Self- Discipline

115

To Indulge in Luxurious Food Is to Court Calamity by Wasting Wealth and Squandering Resources. When Kong Fen  of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Guzang, he served his old mother nice food, but for his wife and children he allowed only green onions and mustard as side dishes. Someone laughed at him and said, “Although he sits on the greasy seat, he does not know how to make himself shine.” When Cho Ŏ was magistrate of Hapch’ŏn, his integrity was incomparable. When his sons, sons-in-law, and servants had to visit the district office, he made them bring their own provisions. His district produced a great deal of silverfish, but he did not allow his wife and children to taste them even if there were too many of them. He would rather have them rot during the summer. Liu Bi, the father of Liu Zan, of the Later Tang dynasty, became a district magistrate. At that time Liu Zan had just started school. His father dressed him in bluish hemp cloth and made him eat only vegetable dishes at a separate table, while he ate meat dishes. He said, “Meat dishes are derived from the stipend granted by the emperor. If you want to eat them, study hard and make sure that you are qualified for the stipend. The food I take, therefore, is not for you.” Prodded by his father, he exerted himself in his studies and passed the literary licentiate examination. When Hu Shouan  was magistrate of Xinfan in the years of the Yongle Emperor, he did not eat meat at all. His son Zihui visited to pay his respects and stayed with him for a month. During that period he boiled and ate two chickens. Finding that out, Hu Shouan said in anger: “People look down on a man who overindulges in food. Although I have been in the employment of the government for over twenty years, I have always cautioned myself against luxury; yet I am fearful that I may not be able to bring my career to a successful conclusion. Indulging in food like that, would you not be troublesome to me?”

223. An official of the Later Han dynasty and a native of Maoling. His courtesy name was Junyu. 224. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sejong. He served as deputy director (chehak) of the Office of Royal Decrees. 225. An official of the Later Tang dynasty. 226. An official of the Later Tang dynasty and a native of Weizhou. He served as vice minister of the Ministry of Justice. 227. An official of the Ming dynasty. He was known to have cultivated a vegetable garden personally for his own consumption.

116

book II

Unless a Woman’s Quarters Are Dignified, a Family Tradition Can Be Thrown into Disorder. If This Is True for a Private Family, What Can You Say about the Government Office? One Must Establish a Law That Is as Strict and Forbidding as Thunder or Frost. In the old days the gate of the inner quarters of the yamen was called “the screen gate” [lianximen]. In the old days a screen was set up so that household slaves and official ones could be separated and not face one another. The purpose of this measure was to draw a strict line between the two groups of people who belonged to the inside and the outside. However, these days, this law is hardly kept. Since household slaves go out through this gate as they please, and government slaves also enter the same gate without observing order, the screen is raised, and seats are removed from their proper place. Moreover, they transmit orders by whispering into the ears of others, and as a result, orders are given from various sources, and because of this, all kinds of abuses take place. This is really a shame. Installing a marking stone outside the screen gate, the magistrate should make an announcement of the rules as follows: “Every morning a kitchen slave [chuno] and a garden slave [wŏnno] must lay the offerings on the stone. Standing at a distance of thirty paces from the stone (a waiting line should be marked on the ground), they will ring the bell to let their counterpart know it. (The bell is the one belonging to the inner quarters.) Hearing the sound of the bell, a household slave goes to the gate to bring in the offerings laid outside. After emptying the container of the offerings, he will put it back on the marking stone, its original place. Some time after the household slave is gone, the government slaves should retrieve their containers. If anyone among these two groups of slaves dares to talk to another, he will be severely punished regardless of his affiliation.” If the food that is brought in is too bad to be eaten, the magistrate should go inside and personally look at it on the day it arrives. If he finds that it deserves forgiveness, he will forgive it. If it is hard to forgive, he will inform the chief clerk so that the latter can take care of the problem from the outside. The household slaves of the magistrate should never be allowed to speak a word on this matter. The wife of the magistrate also should not be allowed to give orders, nor should houseguests (including children and kinsmen) interfere at all. If there is an urgent need for certain goods and their supply is delayed, the magistrate should send a memorandum to the administration hall through his attendant. The administration hall should then call the chief clerk and have him 228. “Government slaves” here indicates a kitchen slave and a gardening slave. 229. Th is means that problems with food or other items supplied to the magistrate’s household should be handled by the chief clerk, not by the members of the magistrate’s household. It is inappropriate for them to chide or to correct those problems on their own.

Self- Discipline

117

take care of the matter quickly. Nonofficials should never be allowed to address yamen underlings directly. No matter how trivial a matter may be, orders must not be issued from several directions. If the magistrate establishes the rules in this manner, the chief clerk, being ill at ease, will become stricter in urging and cautioning his subordinates, and in a few days the magistrate will certainly see signs of improvement. When Kwŏn Il was appointed a district magistrate, his mother, Lady An, admonished him: “I want you to treat the people with generosity so that your old mother may not be ashamed of receiving your ser vice. Neglecting supervision of the trafficking between your personal slaves and official ones will lead to the road of bribery. Therefore, you must be extremely careful.” Official entertaining women and female servants should not be allowed to frequent the inner quarters of the magistrate. All petty and trifling talk originates from the mouths of such groups of people. If there is needlework to be done by a female servant [ch’imbi], it should be arranged that the administration hall gives an order to the head slave to take the work to her. The female servant in charge of supplying water [kŭpsubi] must pour the water into a water pipe that is installed next to the screen gate by making a hole in the fence in order that the water can be brought in to the inside. The wife of the chief clerk should not be allowed to enter the inner quarters. A man like the chief clerk often tries to make a favorable impression on the wife of the magistrate by offering tasty food or fine gifts like fabric, silk, utensils, and so forth during the absence of the magistrate. Because of this, the magistrate feels constrained and treats him as if he were his personal servant, and as a result, serious damage is done to state affairs. When the magistrate holds a memorial ser vice for his ancestors, he should always distribute the food evenly to everyone. In the old days benefits were bestowed equally even on lowborn people like the makers of leather outfits, members of music bands, and gate guards. Therefore, Book of Rites says, “If the benefits are distributed equally, governing the state runs smoothly.” The benefits must be dispensed evenly not only to the yamen clerks of the six offices but also to personal slaves, attendants, and all those who worked for the memorial ser vice. Hu Dachu said: “The magistrate’s sons and guests should not be allowed to associate with yamen runners, and the yamen clerks and womenfolk of civilians must not frequent the magistrate’s private quarters, buying and selling goods. When this kind of traffic takes place, and if those people league together and pledge to cooperate in secret, calamities will arise from no other place than his 230. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. He served as magistrate of Ch’ŏngdo.

118

book II

house. How, then, can he stop them? If the problem has to do with the inner quarters, it is not even easy to explain.” Family Precepts of Osŏng [Osŏng kagye] said: “The sons, kinsmen, and guests of the magistrate should stay in their quarters quietly; they should not meet with or speak to the yamen runners, the heads of villages, and government slaves. (Previously my father also admonished me in the same way when he ruled the districts.) His sons should rise up early in the morning, wash their faces, comb their hair, and visit the quarters of their father to pay their respects. However, when the time comes for the officials to pay their courtesies to the magistrate, they should withdraw to their rooms; they should not watch the ceremony while they stand beside their father. It is allowable, once in a while, that they visit their father in the administration hall and have some pleasant conversation when no one is around; however, they should quickly leave the place when commoners come in to present their lawsuits or when offenders are punished with sticks. They should not watch their father pronouncing a verdict and handling the culprits while they stand beside him.” When the magistrate’s sons travel to Seoul to return to their home or take a pleasure trip to neighboring districts, they should use their own servants and horses. It often happens that when they go out, they make use of official horses and enjoy the escort of government slaves on their left and right as if they themselves were government officials, making spectators embarrassed. When the magistrate’s sons are in their study room, they always have a little boy to attend them. Unless they have one, they feel helpless; hence providing a young servant to them is unavoidable. However, the boy should be young enough to smell milk in his mouth. The magistrate should admonish his sons to love and care for the errand boy, teaching him how to read, and not to reproach him with a loud voice even if he makes mistakes at times. When the magistrate’s sons go out to a mountain temple for pleasure, it is advisable for them to walk quietly, taking an errand boy with them. They should pay generously for the food they eat at the Buddhist temple. They should inquire about the hardships that the temple might have and, if they find any, report to their father when they come home. They may meet with monks who are learned in poetry or classics, but they should not invite them to the yamen. If the youths in the district ask for a meeting with the magistrate’s sons, the sons should decline their request. If the youths make a visit abruptly without notice and try to address them, they should decline politely with a mild expres231. The author of this work is unknown. The book is presumed to belong to the Chŏng clan of Yŏnil. Osŏng or Och’ŏn is the old name of Yŏnil, a district in P’ohang in North Kyŏngsang Province.

Self- Discipline

119

sion: “Because the precept of our family is very strict, we cannot dare to welcome you. Please understand and forgive us.” With this remark they should rise and leave the place right away. If Requests for Favors Are Not Made and Bribes Are Blocked from Entering, the Ruling of the Household Is Accomplished. When I rise in rank and status, it can happen that I become a man whom even my wife and children try to mislead and abandon. There is no wife who does not respect her husband, and there is no son who does not love his father. Why does a wife then mislead and abandon her husband, and a son his father? The reason is that there are very few who know the proper way of conduct. Hence, either swayed by acquaintance or tempted by wealth, they allow requests for personal favors. This is so-called women’s benevolence. Thus it happens that the magistrate’s wife requests that a certain yamen clerk be dismissed, making a false but poignant accusation, or she tries to recommend a man whose credentials are dubious. She also appeals the magistrate’s decision on individual A, citing sympathetic public opinion, or complains that the magistrate’s sentence in the criminal case concerning individual B is unfair. Since the underlings, well experienced in cunning and trickery, are engaged in all kinds of manipulations for their purposes, the innocent wife and children of the magistrate easily fall into their trap. They may believe that they are speaking the truth, but, in fact, they work only for the interests of those who deceive them. This is mostly what I have witnessed. When the magistrate listens to the words of others, he should first think them over before he trusts them. If the words are well intentioned, he should just take appropriate measures quietly without revealing his thoughts on his face. If the words are suspicious, originating from the trickery of cunning people, he should launch a thorough investigation of the matters implicated in those words, which also include the offense of making wrongful requests. He should establish a clear example and let the people know that such matters will not be passed over without the scrutiny of the law. If he trusts the words of his wife simply because he believes that she is the one who loves him, he is quite mistaken. If he cannot trust the words of his wife for this reason, he can determine how he has to take the words of other people. When Yang Jizong governed Jiaxing, a keeper of horses brought a pig’s head as a gift, and his wife accepted it. Returning home, Yang Jizong ate it, and after the meal he asked his wife where she had found the pig’s head. When she told him, he lamented what he had done and, beating a drum, immediately summoned all the yamen clerks and runners. He made a confession: “I failed to rule my household properly by allowing my wife to accept a bribe and let my body fall

120

book II

into injustice.” After this remark he took a medicine to make him vomit the food that he had eaten and made his wife return home. If we reflect on this incident, the measure taken by Magistrate Yang seems a little too extreme. It would have been more appropriate that he pay for the pig’s head generously and at the same time quietly admonish his household members against taking bribes. If they continued to disregard his instructions, he then should have sent them home quietly and gradually. Humility is one of the highest virtues, but when it is displayed to the outside, it loses its moral goodness. Likewise, although integrity is an honorable behavior, it can become hypocrisy if it is advertised. Examining the records of virtuous scholars, one finds that many of their actions are far from humane; they look suspicious because they appear to have been motivated by the desire to make a name. Therefore, they cannot serve as examples for the superior man. Yu Ŭnggyu of the Koryŏ dynasty was upright and steadfast in his conduct. When he was assistant magistrate of Namgyŏng (modern Yangju), he respected integrity and uprightness in conducting state affairs. After delivering a baby, his wife suffered from serious mastitis and was not able to eat anything except some vegetable soup. A yamen clerk secretly brought her a pheasant for her use. She said to him, “My lord always makes it his rule not to accept gifts from others. How can I dare to tarnish the clean virtue of my lord for the sake of my mouth and stomach?” Deeply ashamed, the yamen clerk withdrew. Kim Sanghŏn was clean and upright in his public life. When he found an official who was worried about his wife, who was criticized for taking bribes, he advised the man: “The criticism will stop if you stop listening to her requests.” Deeply impressed, the official followed his advice. So his wife always complained and cursed Kim Sanghŏn: “Why does that oldster make my life miserable by making others follow his example? Is it not good enough for him to be a pure official?” (Ingyerok by Chŏng Chaeryun). 232. Th is medicine is called zaojiawan and is made of ingredients from honey locust trees. It is used as an emetic. 233. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Myŏngjong (1131–1175). His courtesy name was Pinok. A son of Minister Yu P’il (?–1155), he was granted the privilege of serving in the government without taking the civil ser vice examination. 234. Kim Sanghŏn (1570–1652) was a famous scholar-official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sukdo. He served as chief royal secretary, censor general, inspector general, and minister of war, personnel, and rites. When Manchus grew in power and threatened to invade Korea, he opposed making peace with them. When the Chosŏn government fi nally surrendered to the invading Qing forces in 1636, Kim, who was then sixty-six years old, was taken to China and held in confi nement in a Manchu prison for three years. 235. Ingyerok (Incidents and Their Causes) is a collection of various anecdotes related to officials, written by Chŏng Chaeryun. It is a sequel to another work by him, Public and Private Records, which is a collection of his observations while he frequented the royal court.

Self- Discipline

121

The following happened when Yi Annul was governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. His ancestral burial mountain was located in Myŏnch’ŏn, and his son Yu died in that district. He heard that his wife was on the way to mourn the death of her son. He sent a man to his wife and persuaded her to return home. He remarked, “Since I am in charge of governing a province, the womenfolk in my family should not violate the border of this province.” The degree of his integrity was this severe. The Inner Quarters of the Magistrate Will Be Held in Respect If They Purchase Merchandise without Arguing the Price and Handle the People without Coercion. Record of Koksan states: “The magistrate’s household that lacks the rule of conduct, as I have observed, always allows people like the chief clerk, the kitchen director (churi; also called kwanch’ŏngsaek), the head slave [suno], and the storage slave (kongno; also called konggojik) to stand outside the screen gate and send in the packs and bundles of merchandise, including linen, hemp cloth, cotton, unbleached cambric, and so forth, so that the magistrate’s wife can choose the items she likes. Then tough slaves, taking orders from their mistress and communicating with her, find fault with the quality of the fabric and argue the price, forcing the merchants to sell their finest products at lower prices. (They try to buy the goods of finest quality for a cheap price.) Thus the sound of noisy haggling is leaked through the wind, and their shallow intentions become exposed to the eyes of many spectators. As a result, the merchants leave the place, taking the fabric in their arms, and spread their grievances and evil slander wherever they go, and this is a great shame. The magistrate should make a pledge that the right to purchase fabric and silk is entrusted to the head slave. (Since the chief clerk is also high in rank, it is not appropriate to have him deal with such a trivial job.) The head slave should stamp his seal on the invoice and present it to the bookkeeper [ch’aekbang], and the bookkeeper in turn should send it to the inner quarters of the magistrate without taking a look at it. If the inner quarters accept it without a word of complaint, even if the strands of fabric are too sparse and its price is twice as expensive as it should be, the rule of the household will be kept, and no scandalous words will spread to the outside.” Record of Koksan also states: “Womenfolk who lack discernment treat official female servants as if they were their own, either physically abusing them by whipping or oppressing them with their power. They allow them little time to finish their job and often severely punish them, making themselves a target of resentment and a center of slanderous rumor. Should this be allowed to happen? Not a single word should be allowed to go out from the inside.” The clothes for the household of the magistrate should not be made by official female slaves and entertainers. If it is necessary to have the help of others to prepare them, the inner quarters should call a needlewoman to take the work to a

122

book II

dress shop and should pay for the cost of having the clothes made. (Every district has reputable dress shops.) Some wives of magistrates, as I have observed, often give a bundle of fabric to a needlewoman to make their dresses, and then the needlewoman must sell her own hairpins, bracelets, cooking kettles, and so on in order to pay the cost of making those dresses. This will cause the sound of complaints to reach the sky, because things like hairpins, bracelets, and cooking kettles were gained at the expense of selling her body. If the magistrate makes official uniforms and sacrificial robes in that way and covers the body inherited from his parents, how can he say that he serves the king, respects his ancestors, and preserves the body that he received from his parents? This is too shameful even to mention. In the case of the dresses that are given to poor guests in the yamen, however, it is advisable to have a needlewoman handle the job without using the labor of other people, even if the quality of her work may not be refined. If the Magistrate Keeps a Concubine in His House, This Will Naturally Make His Wife Jealous, and If a Wrongful Mistake Is Once Made, It Will Cause Rumors to Spread Wide. To Restrain Evil Desires Is to Prevent Regrets in the Future. It is very rare to find a woman without jealousy. If the magistrate fails to restrain his conduct and falls in love with an entertaining girl, he will awake a roaring lion in Hedong; he will make a man in Jiangzuo rush home wielding a duster in his hand; it will happen that a woman will not be cured of her jealousy even with a medicine made of heron’s meat; and a mistress will suffer the shame of her eyebrows being shaved. The magistrate’s misconduct, in a small range, brings about turmoil in his household and, in a larger range, raises a scandal that is loud enough to be heard from the outside. If the governor happens to hear about it, he will 236. Lady Liu, the wife of Chen Zao of the Song dynasty, was extremely jealous. One day her husband held a banquet and entertained his friends. On that occasion he sat next to an entertaining woman and enjoyed himself. Finding her husband beside an entertaining woman, Lady Liu started beating the wall of her room. Surprised by the noise, the guests rose and disappeared. Later the poet Su Shi composed a poem referring to this anecdote. The words “a roaring lion” derive from his poem. Hedong is a place name of a district in Shanxi Province. 237. Jiangzuo is modern Jiangsu Province and the old capital during the time of the Six Dynasties. It happened one day that Wang Dao’s concubines had a fistfight. Hearing the news, Wang took a carriage and rushed home. The duster was an instrument often carried by Chinese officials. 238. Emperor Wu of the Liang kingdom happened to fall in love with one of his attending ladies. Because of this, his wife became sick after suffering jealousy. Someone said that she could be cured of her jealousy if she took a medicine made of heron’s meat. She tried the advice, and after that her jealousy was reduced by almost half. 239. Lady Cui, the wife of Fang Rufu of the Tang dynasty, was so jealous that she shaved the eyebrows of her female servants in her house.

Self- Discipline

123

write in his evaluation report: “Although he intended to discharge his duty honorably, he instead produced weird rumors about himself.” Is there any disgrace in the world worse than this? Thinking over this matter, the magistrate should be careful not to bring disgrace on himself. His misconduct is not just a misfortune related to his family; it is a matter prohibited by national law. When Xie Miao of the Jin dynasty was magistrate of Wuxing District, he took a concubine because the jealousy of his wife Lady Qie was too extreme. Because she was very bitter and resentful, Lady Qie sent her husband a letter informing him that she was severing her relations with him. Suspecting his student Chou Xuanda of draft ing the letter on behalf of his wife, Xie Miao drove out Chou Xuanda. The latter ran to Sun En for help and eventually ruined Xie Miao. If the Magistrate’s Mother Has Discernment, and His Wife and Children Observe His Instructions, a House like His Can Be Called the House with the Law. The People Will Try to Imitate Him. Cao Zan was the son of Cao Bin. When Cao Zan became governor, one day his mother discovered several thousand bundles of coins on strings in his warehouse. She summoned her son and, pointing to the coins, said, “Your late father served the government both in the capital and in the provinces for many years, but I have never seen so much money piled as this. I can see that you are far inferior to your father.” When Yang Dongshan served as magistrate in the state of Wu, his mother, Lady Luoda, planted ramie in the field and wove her own garments. Dongshan served her with his stipend, but she unexpectedly fell sick. After she recovered from her illness, she handed back all the stipend money that she had received from her son. She said, “I was not happy while I was accumulating the money you gave me, and that is why I became sick. I will be all right if I send the money to the doctor for his ser vices.” The following happened when Zheng Shanguo was governor of Jingzhou. His mother, Lady Cui, who was well acquainted with state affairs, used to sit on a 240. Xie Miao was known to be a man of strong character and intelligence. While serving as magistrate of Wuxing, he was captured by Sun En, a leader of a Daoist rebellion (399–402) during the last decades of the Eastern Jin dynasty, and killed. 241. An official of the Song dynasty. He was good at archery and learned in military science. He rendered a ser vice in repelling the Khitans. 242. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Changru, and Dongshan was his pen name. He also served as pacification commissioner of Fujian Province. 243. An official of the Tang dynasty. Reputed to be a pure official, he also served as minister of justice and prefect of Qizhou.

124

book II

chair behind a screen and sneak a look at her son when he dealt with litigation. If the decisions made by her son were reasonable, she allowed him to sit with her, enjoying talk and laughter. If he made wrongful decisions or unreasonably displayed his anger and uttered reproaches, she went directly back to her room. She cried all day long, covering her face with her sleeves, and never touched her meals. Because of her, her son Zheng Shanguo was able to earn the title of pure official. C H A P T E R  : R EJ E C T I NG PE R S ONA L R E QU E S T S OR FAVOR S

There Should Be No Private Secretary in the Yamen; It Is Necessary Only to Keep a Clerk Who Can Simultaneously Take Care of Both the Magistrate’s Personal Affairs and Public Ones. Nowadays it is the custom to employ a private secretary [ch’aekgaek] to supervise the bookkeeping (the ledgers of rice, salt, and other items that are consumed daily), but this is against the law. The bookkeeping of the yamen is supposed to include all expenditures, both official and private, as well as matters concerning all the personnel in the yamen, including clerks and servants. Nevertheless, a private person who has neither position nor qualifications exercises authority to supervise the work of clerks and officials, saying that a certain thing is too much or too little, or not true or true. Is this appropriate? If the private secretary hired by the magistrate does an outstanding job of discovering the deceptions and irregularities of yamen clerks and government slaves, the complaints eventually return to the magistrate himself. If he decides to go easy on his findings and conceals the corruption, it is also the magistrate himself who has to suffer the consequences. So what good is it to hire such a private secretary? It is not worthwhile to scrutinize every detail of expenditures. If the magistrate is indeed wise, yamen clerks cannot dare to deceive him. Even if they commit some petty thievery, yearly losses will not exceed 500 taels, whereas the annual cost to employ a private accountant will be at least 1,500 to 2,000 taels. Hence what is gained cannot make up for the loss, and this brings only trouble to the magistrate. A private secretary is like a skin tumor that must be removed. I have observed that the magistrate who is stingy repeatedly urges his secretary to check the details of the ledgers thoroughly. His man, however, makes a secret promise to yamen clerks, saying as follows: “I am in distress because our magistrate, by his character, likes to cut down expenditures. Why do you not inflate the amounts of your expenditures so that I can cut them down? If you used 5 hop of oil, you write 7 hop. Then I will cut down the figure to 5 hop. This way, neither you nor the magistrate has anything to lose, and I also can avoid

Self- Discipline

125

being blamed and reprimanded. What would you say to that?” The yamen clerks will be glad to accept his proposal and make a deal with him. They will secretly send local products to the magistrate’s secretary as a bribe, and the secretary in his turn will overlook the abuses of the yamen clerks and divide the profits with them. After the magistrate returns home, finishing his term, all the yamen clerks will get together and talk about what happened. They will laugh and clap their hands. They will make the magistrate a fool and his private secretary a cunning fellow, and the reputation of these two men will turn ugly. The magistrate should keep this in mind. As for all the goods used in the government, there is always an established budget on a monthly basis. If there is a monthly budget, why does one have to scrutinize the ledgers in detail? The private secretary, however, cannot be eliminated. The magistrate needs a man who can manage his domestic affairs, serving as a connection between above and below and between inside and outside. If the magistrate has to take care of trivial matters in person, this will damage his personal dignity, and if he lets his children do the job, it will look contemptible. Therefore, it is essential for the magistrate to have a private secretary. As for the handling of goods related to ancestral rites and the wrapping and marking of gift items, as well as handling and controlling household goods, work like this should be entrusted to the private secretary; however, he should not be allowed to give orders or make comments. He can be allowed only to make reports to the magistrate, finding an appropriate time, and to take orders from him. As for the handling of letters and personal correspondence, the magistrate can ask his children; however, if he has no children who can handle the job, he must employ a man who is capable of handling this matter. That is the reason that this kind of man is called “record keeper” [kisil]. As for the extra expenses besides the monthly budget, the private secretary should be told to keep a separate record, and at the end of the month, when the accounting is finished and all the documents related to expenditures are gathered, he should privately audit the regular expenses and extra ones to find potential abuses. If a discrepancy is found, the private secretary should be ordered to report to the magistrate. The magistrate then calls the chief clerk to rectify the problem but must not allow his secretary to sit down with the clerks and government slaves, reviewing the figures and marking them with a red dot or erasing them with black ink. 244. “Record keeper” (kisil): originally a low clerical official on the staff of the Han’s central government dignitaries called the Three Dukes (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 133). Chosŏn Korea, on the other hand, had no such office. So kisil here is simply a record keeper.

126

book II

The Magistrate Should Not Invite the Residents of His District, as Well as Those of Neighboring Districts, as His Guests. The Inside of the Yamen Must Be Kept Solemn and Dignified. In our current custom the newly appointed magistrate pays a courtesy call to the prominent people in his district. Because the local powers and craft y individuals are in league with the high officials in the court, the high officials in the court usually ask a magistrate to pay courtesy calls, as well as to provide protection to their acquaintances in the district, when the magistrate visits them after his appointment. Many years ago, when Second Minister Yu Ŭi became magistrate of Hongju, he did not carry out any of the requests to pay courtesy calls. When I pointed out his lack of flexibility, he replied: “Since His Majesty has already entrusted me with the welfare and protection of his people in Hongju, how can I disregard his command, although the requests of high officials are important? If I one-sidedly choose only one individual and pay him a courtesy call with the promise of protection, it will amount to serving a private commission, defying the order of the king. How can I dare to do that?” Deeply impressed, I had nothing to say. Therefore, one must be careful in carrying out requests to pay courtesy calls. If the magistrate is in a situation that really requires him to carry out such requests, he may do this after observing the conduct of the individuals for three months. If they are found to be innocent of any oppressive or craft y act in their dealings with the people, paying them a courtesy call is possible. However, he should write at the bottom of his gift card [yedan]: “Returning courtesy with gifts is absolutely declined.” The clerks in charge of guests and visitors must be strictly admonished as follows: “No one should be allowed to see me if his visit is personal, even if he is the master of the provincial school or a person who has recently received a courtesy call from the magistrate. If you disregard my instruction, you will suffer the consequences.” Those who have retired from ser vice in the government should be given first priority in paying a courtesy call, even if they are privileged officials [ŭmgwan] or military officials. This is called honoring those who are honorable. If any of these men come to visit you, they should not be turned away. The magistrate meets with them and makes a promise as follows: “It is not that I am reluctant, but propriety forces me to observe the limit. I would like to make a promise to you. If there is anything that needs your counsel, I will come to visit you. If there is a meeting that needs your participation, I will invite you. Since this is the way 245. “Gift card” (yedan): yedan actually means a gift list. 246. Military officials in the Chosŏn dynasty received less respect than the civil officials who were their counterparts.

Self- Discipline

127

this situation is supposed to be handled, Danda Mieming did not visit Yan Yan except on public business, and Pang Gong never entered the yamen of the prefecture. You may be a little disappointed about what I have to say, but I hope that you understand my good intention to preserve a long-lasting relationship between us.” Then the magistrate admonishes the clerk in charge of guests and visitors and lets him know about this promise. In every district there are always so-called literati who, under the pretext of having taken civil service examinations together in the fields of poetry and odes, try to take advantage of their relationship with the magistrate for personal purposes. The magistrate must not allow them in and grant an interview. Furthermore, he should avoid associating with people who practice all sorts of weird and wicked arts, like geomancy, physiognomy, divination, fortune-telling, and letter reading, unless he wants to throw state affairs, as well as himself, into chaos and calamity. He must stay away even from the shadows of these people, throwing them out of his district. The only one who should be allowed in is a physician. Since the magistrate knows little about medicine, it is inevitable to send for a physician from time to time. However, he must be careful and cautious. He should reward the doctor generously but not allow him to ask a favor. When Yin Wenggui became magistrate of Dongyang, he made a courtesy call to Yu Dingguo. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the latter decided to ask him a favor for two Confucian students in the district. Thus, having made the students wait in the separate house in the rear, Yu spent the whole day talking with Magistrate Yin; however, he did not send for the Confucian students to introduce them to the magistrate. After Magistrate Yin returned, Yu Dingguo said to them, “Finding him a good magistrate, I was unable to ask a personal favor.” Xue Wenqing in Essays on Reading [Dushulu] stated: “Although scholars should be treated with propriety, some of them try to gain access to the magistrate on the pretext of their literary work or calligraphy. Hence, if the magistrate once treats them nicely, he can fall into a trap set by them. If he can distinguish 247. Danda Mieming was a man of the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period. He is mentioned in the conversation between Confucius and his disciple Ziyu in the chapter “Yongya” of the Analects. He never visited Yan Yan (pen name Ziyu), the governor and his superior, except on official business. Yan Yan was a disciple of Confucius and served as governor of Wucheng. 248. Also called Pang Degong, he was a man of the Later Han dynasty. When he lived in the south of Xianchuan, he never visited the yamen of the prefecture, although Liu Biao, governor of Jing Province, invited him many times. Respected by talented people like Pang Tong and Zhuge Liang, brilliant military strategists of the Th ree Kingdoms period, he nicknamed Pang Tong “Young Phoenix” and Zhuge Liang “Sleeping Dragon.” Whenever Zhuge Liang visited him, he prostrated himself in front of his bed and showed his utmost respect to him. 249. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zikuang. 250. The grand councilor of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Manqing, and his posthumous title An.

128

book II

the good ones from the bad and distance himself from the bad ones, it will be a great help in keeping his mind clean, as well as in reducing his work.” Zheng Hanfeng said: “When you are in the employment of the government, you had better stay away from those who belong to an uncommon type of people. People like fortune-tellers and shamans, as well as craftsmen, should be allowed to stay with you only when they are needed; they should be told to leave as soon as their work is finished. If you make friends with these people to a degree of intimacy, they may mislead you in finding out the facts or play tricks that will hinder you from making sound judgments. When Fang Guan served as grand councilor, he allowed Huang Tinglan, who was only a mere craftsman of musical instruments, to frequent his house and secretly commit wrongdoings, which became a blemish on his lifelong achievements. How can you ignore things like this carelessly?” If the Magistrate Has Many Relatives and Friends in His District, He Should Make Sure That They Are Careful in Their Conduct in Order to Avoid Suspicion and Denunciation from the Residents. That Is the Way He Can Preserve a Good Relationship with Them. If relatives and friends of the magistrate are residing in his district or the next one, it is appropriate that the magistrate invite them at least once to his quarters or go out to visit them. Also, sending them gifts from time to time, along with promises, he will say as follows: “Although I am anxious to see you as often as possible, I am bound by propriety. So I must ask you not to make a visit unless I send you an invitation. Sending personal letters can also bring about suspicion and criticism from others. If there is something to be communicated through a letter, such as sickness or troubles, you jot down a few words and openly give the note to the clerk in charge of rites without sealing the envelope of your letter.” I have observed that the magistrate often loses the support of the people because of frequent requests for personal favors made by his relatives. The magistrate, like the water of the river, is bound to leave his district, but the local officials who worked under him remain, like the rocks in the flowing water. Then the anger of those who remain will break out, and the magistrate will be in danger of losing what he has accomplished. How can he not be afraid of things like this? Zhang Zhenzhou of the Tang dynasty became commander in chief of Shuzhou, which was his hometown. Arriving in Shuzhou, he invited his relatives to his old family house, preparing food and wine to entertain them. For ten days he 251. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Cilü. He served as minister of personnel, manager of affairs, and as minister of justice during the reign of Xuanzong. 252. An official of the Tang dynasty and a native of Shuzhou. He also served as commander in chief of Shouzhou.

Self- Discipline

129

spent time together with them, thoroughly enjoying the party. During this time, because his hair was loose and his legs were stretched carelessly, he looked like he had in his younger days when he had lived in the village. When the time for his departure finally arrived, he gave money and silk to his relatives and said with tears in his eyes: “The Zhang Zhenzhou of today was able to enjoy drinking with his relatives to his heart’s content. However, starting from tomorrow, he has to be the commander in chief of Shuzhou, whose duty is to govern the people. Since the officials and the people are supposed to act differently, as propriety dictates, we will never be able to get together as before.” Thereafter, when his relatives or friends violated the laws, he never forgave them, and his state court was fi lled with dignity. He adopted the way of Su Ruwen in treating his friends. Bao Zheng was a man from Hefei. Although he governed his hometown district, he did not bend the law in treating the people whom he knew. Hence the people said, “A straight fir tree becomes a roof beam, and a strong stick of a scale cannot be made into a rake.” (When Bao Zheng was appointed magistrate of Luzhou, his hometown, his relatives often caused trouble, counting on their connection to Bao Zheng. When one of his distant cousins committed a crime, Bao Zheng punished him by flogging, and after the incident, his relatives became afraid of the law.) When Yi Hyŏnbo was magistrate of Andong, his district was filled with relatives and friends. Because he tried to treat them with propriety, he had a hard time discharging his official duties. Nevertheless, he overcame the difficulty without allowing anything personal to interfere in his duties. Hence no one dared to criticize what he did. Hu Dachu said: “When guests and friends come to visit the magistrate and spend time together, the residents of his district say to each other, ‘Certain men frequently visit the magistrate, and others stay long, engaging in friendly talk with the magistrate. They must be very close to the magistrate.’ Then they go out to search for those men and eventually find a way to approach the magistrate for their personal interest. A frequent visitor of the magistrate, in the worst case, takes money from both man A and man B to help them win a lawsuit and goes to see the magistrate. However, he makes no request even though he spends quite 253. A high official during the Later Han period. When he was prefect of Jizhou, he invited a friend who was magistrate of Qihe, a district in his domain. When Su Ruwen treated him with food and wine, his friend was so happy that he said, “Other people have only one Heaven, but I have two.” Su Ruwen then said, “It is a personal favor that Su Ruwen has wine with his friend this evening. However, it is the public law that the prefect of Jizhou carry out his duties.” He fi nally ordered his friend to be arrested and punished him according to the law. 254. Yi Hyŏnbo (1467–1555) was a renowned sijo poet of the mid-Chosŏn period. He served as magistrate of various districts, including Miryang and Andong, and as governor of Kyŏngsang Province. He composed a poem called “Song of a Fisherman” (“Ŏbuga”) and left Collected Works of Nongam (Nongam munjip).

130

book II

some time with the magistrate. Then he pretends to withdraw in a hurry and says to his clients, ‘I have already talked to the magistrate in detail with regard to your request.’ However, in fact, he did not even open his mouth, intending to wait and see, since he knows that one of his clients will win the judgment when the magistrate finally judges the case. Then he takes the money as agreed to, saying that he will give it to the magistrate to express his gratitude. Now, what did the magistrate do, and why does he have to suffer this kind of indignity?” Hu Dachu also said: “When the magistrate has visitors, he should meet with them only in the yamen office. Since the yamen attendants and people watch them together, he will be safe from suspicion. If the magistrate pays more attention to propriety and treats his guests accordingly, no one will blame him for arrogance.” The ways in which people conduct themselves and in which the world runs are still the same as in the old days, and there is little difference no matter where you go, whether it be the east or the west. A Magistrate Must Not Comply with Personal Requests from High Officials in the Royal Court That Are Sent in a Private Letter. Zhi Du was magistrate of Jinan. Because he was a man of integrity and fairness, he neither sent personal letters nor accepted gifts for inquiring about health nor granted any requests for personal favors. He often said, “Since I have already abandoned my parents and have chosen the life of a public servant, I have to discharge my duty to the best of my ability and maintain my integrity until death.” He indeed did not take care of his family to the end of his public career. When Sima Zhi of the Wei dynasty became magistrate of Henan, he suppressed the strong and supported the weak; hence no personal favors were allowed. There was a eunuch who wanted to ask a personal favor from Sima Zhi but could not dare to say what was on his mind; thus he tried to convey his wish through Dong Zhao, the uncle of Sima Zhi’s wife. However, Dong Zhao could not do it either because he also was afraid of Sima Zhi. 255. The word for “magistrate” here in the source text is the “hall of zither” (kŭmdang). Th is derived from Fu Zijian, a disciple of Confucius, who served as chief minister of Shanfu. His name was Buqi, and Zijian was his courtesy name. He governed his district well, although he oft en played the zither while working. The story about him can be found in The Annals of Lü Buwei. 256. An official of the Han dynasty. He also served as leader of court gentleman (zhonglangjiang) and prefect of Yanmen. 257. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Th ree Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Zihua. He also served as minister of revenue. 258. An official of the Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongren, and his posthumous title Ding. He served as minister of education during the reign of Emperor Ming and was invested with the title of Marquis of Leping.

Self- Discipline

131

When Chen Tai became prefect of Bingzhou, high officials in the court often sent him letters asking for personal favors. Chen Tai, however, hung them all on the wall without even opening them. When he was recalled by the emperor and became a minister, he returned all those letters to those who had sent them. When Zhao Yan was appointed prefect of Qingzhou, those in influential positions in the court requested personal favors through their letters. Zhao threw the letters into the water without even bothering to know who had sent them. When Bao Zheng was in charge of Kaifeng, people could not ask personal favors from him because of his firm and strict character. The people in the capital said, “There are only two for whom personal requests have no effect: Great King of Death and Justice Bao.” When Wang Xian ruled Jizhou, he neither sent personal letters nor acknowledged the privilege of powerful families in his district. As a result, they gave him the nickname Wangduzuo [Lone King on His Throne]. When Ma Zun was in charge of Kaifeng, he had a hard time ruling his district because of incessant requests for personal favors from men of power, as well as powerful local families. When they paid a visit and asked for favors, he did not refuse their requests and treated them well as his guests. However, when his guests left, he always discharged his duty according to the law. As time passed, people realized that it was no use to ask personal favors from him, and finally they stopped making personal requests. The ways in which Zhi Du and Chen Tai handled personal requests are likely to incur resentment from the people, so it seems advisable to follow the example of Ma Zun. When Chen Xiang became assistant magistrate of Pucheng District, there were so many powerful families in the district that the magistrates both in the past and the present had been unable to control them. Those powerful families had no scruples about covering up what they had done and requesting personal favors. Chen Xiang went to bed late and rose early, thinking hard about ways to solve these irregularities, and finally came up with the idea of holding a hearing in the presence of witnesses. When lawsuits were presented by people who were scholars in social status, he did not hurry to make a decision on their cases. Instead, he invited other people to sit around him, and that naturally prevented 259. An official of the Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Xuanbo, and his posthumous title Mu. He also served as ju nior vice director of the Imperial Secretariat. 260. An official of the Later Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Shuqi. He also served as aide (changshi) to the king of Huainan. 261. Unknown. 262. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongtu. He served as minister of personnel during the reign of Renzong. 263. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Shugu, and his pen name Guling Xiansheng. He also served as prefect of Hangzhou and Chenzhou.

132

book II

favor seekers from accomplishing their work. Because of this measure, the powerful families realized that they no longer could seek personal favors, and the cunning schemers and old petty functionaries became scared and helpless. When Second Minister Yu Ŭi was magistrate of Hongju, I was chief of Kŭmjŏng Post Station. I sent him a letter in order to discuss state affairs; however, he did not answer. Some time later I paid a visit to him and asked, “Why did you not reply to my letter?” He answered, “I make it a rule not to open letters as long as I serve as magistrate.” Then he ordered his attendant to bring a box filled with unopened letters. They were all from high officials in the court. I said, “I fully understand what you are doing, but what I said in my letter had to do with public affairs. How could you not open it?” He replied, “If your letter was about public affairs, why did you not send it through an official channel?” I said, “I did not do so because the letter contained some classified information.” He asked, “If your letter had some classified material, why did you not send it secretly as an official dispatch?” I had nothing further to say. This was the way in which he dealt with personal requests. When Friends and Relatives Who Are Poor and Destitute Come to Visit the Magistrate from Afar, He Should Go Out Immediately to Welcome Them with Warm Hospitality Before He Sends Them Home. My late father once said, “It is very difficult to treat friends and relatives who are poor and impoverished well. Those who are really upright and virtuous will be very reluctant to visit you at the yamen, however hard pressed they may be. Those who come to visit you are most likely those who are indiscreet, foolish, impoverished, and contemptible. Their faces look detestable, their words are uninteresting, and they never stop requesting or demanding things that are impossible. Some of them are shabby looking, with worn-out shoes, and are full of vermin. They are the ones who paid little attention or sympathy when you were in poverty or met with misfortune. When they find that your situation has improved, they come to you for help, and you can easily see through their minds. Since the way they carry themselves is so shameless, it is very hard for you to treat them with warm hospitality.” Treating a man is like working on a composition. If the subject given for the composition is good, one can produce a good piece of writing without much 264. Kŭmjŏng Post Station was located in Hongsŏng County, South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. In 1795 Tasan was implicated in an incident related to Catholicism, so the king temporarily relegated Tasan, his favorite subject, to the post of chief of Kŭmjŏng Post Station to avoid controversy for the time being.

Self- Discipline

133

difficulty. In that case he may not fully deserve credit for his artistry. However, if he is supposed to write about a difficult subject and yet, deep in meditation, fi nally succeeds in making his words and sentences rise and fall, shine and sound, he will deserve praise for his skill and talent. Therefore, if you happen to deal with those kinds of people who come to see you for help, you should take pity on them and treat them with warm welcome and hospitality. Your face should look pleasant, and your laughter and words should be warm. You should not forget to provide them not only with a comfortable room but also with enough food and new clothes. When they fi nally return home, you had better fi ll their purses so that they may not suffer during their journey home. In the olden days when Second Minister Yi Kiyang was magistrate of Ŭiju, he became famous for treating his guests well. He treated them with such warm hospitality that everyone praised him within a month or so. When he fell into misfortune later, there were many people who shed tears for him. Treating friends and relatives who seek your help well, therefore, is a matter that should not be dismissed lightly. Only if guests arrive while the magistrate is receiving a courtesy call from his staff, or yamen attendants and people are still in the courtyard, should he arrange for them to go in and wait in the guest room. After people have left the court, the magistrate personally visits his guests if they are older than he. If not, he makes them come to see him at his office and promise to follow his instruction: “From now until you leave, you stay in the guest room and do not come out to the administration hall.” If it is late at night and the court is closed, however, he can invite his guests to the administration hall and entertain them, as well as enjoying himself, warming up wine and roasting meat. If virtuous scholars and noble friends accidentally happen to visit the magistrates at the yamen, they generally treat their guests well with hospitality, and therefore, it is not necessary to give par ticular emphasis to this matter. Lord Fan Wenzheng once said to his children: “In Wuzhong there are a great number of kinsmen. From the standpoint of our ancestors, they are all just their children. If I alone enjoy wealth and prosperity without taking care of these people, how can I see our ancestors when I go down to the underworld, and how can I enter the family shrine without shame?” Zheng Xuan said, “Since even a wealthy and noble family always has poor relatives, one should try to maintain a good relationship by exchanging visits as often as he can.” 265. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His pen name was Pogam. He served as vice minister of war, censor general, and vice minister of rites. He was very close to Tasan but was exiled to Tanch’ŏn during the Persecution of 1801 and died in exile.

134

book II

Prohibiting the Admission of Outsiders Should Be Enforced Strictly. These days, people tend to believe that having the inner gate of the yamen wide open is a virtue. This may appear to be virtuous, but it also indicates ignorance of conducting state affairs. The duty of the magistrate is to govern the people, not to entertain guests. How can he meet all of those whom he has never seen in his life? He should tell the gate guards as follows: “When guests arrive outside the gate, you have them wait there with kind words and at the same time quietly make a report and obtain an instruction from the inside.” According to the National Code, “Those who frequent the government office for personal purposes shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick. The only exceptions are the father, son, son-in-law, and elder or younger brother of the magistrate.” Since this is the prohibition in the national law, a scholar who cultivates himself and works hard to improve his moral conduct should not violate this law. C H A P T E R : F RUG A L I T Y

He Who Wants to Do an Outstanding Job as Magistrate Must Be Benevolent, and He Who Wants to Be Benevolent Must Be Upright, and He Who Wants to Be Upright Must Be Frugal. Frugality Is the Foremost Duty of a Magistrate. He who is foolish and ignorant becomes arrogant and insolent as soon as he is appointed magistrate of a district. Having acquired a taste for luxury and not knowing discipline, he wastes money as he pleases. Then, when his debt increases, he becomes greedy, and if he becomes greedy, he calls in the yamen clerks to devise a scheme to pay off his debts. If this happens, he has to share the profits with them, and if he divides his profits with them, the sweat and blood of the people will be squeezed out until they are dry. Therefore, frugality is the first priority in love of the people. An Sunam [Chŏngbok] said: “The wasteful behavior of a magistrate has always to do with the following: taking his wife and concubine to the place of his appointment, allowing his children to frequent the yamen, associating with men in power for conspiracy and profiteering, manufacturing goods and instruments, and collecting precious treasures.” If the magistrate indeed does not take his wife and concubine to his district nor allow his children to visit him at the yamen, and if he does not serve the men in power nor employ artisans and carpenters nor collect precious treasures, he does not have to worry about lack of finances even in poor districts like Yŏngi and Chinjam. 266. Essentials for Local Magistrates (Imgwan chŏng’yo). 267. Districts located in Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. They were known to be very poor.

Self- Discipline

135

To Practice Frugality Is to Restrain Oneself by Setting a Limit, and in Order to Set a Limit, There Must Be a Rule. The Rule Is the Foundation of Frugality. According to the Office of Grand Councilor in Rites of Zhou [Zhouli], there are nine rules for practicing frugality. Even the emperor, who possessed enormous wealth, tried to save by first establishing the rules of thrift. How can a magistrate of a small district fail to have rules and neglect saving? The rules, therefore, must be established. After looking into the size of the district and the amount of the stipend allowed to the magistrate, the rules must be made and observed permanently. Liu Yuancheng said to Ma Yongqing, “Since your stipend is meager, you should consider your income before you spend.” As for Clothes and Food, Thrift and Simplicity Should Be the Essential Guidelines in Making a Rule. If One Exceeds This Rule Even a Little, He Loses Control of His Spending. The clothes that the magistrate wears should be crude and plain. The food for his breakfast and dinner should consist of no more than a bowl of rice, a bowl of soup, a dish of kimchi, and a dish of bean paste, and he should try not to exceed this limit. The so-called four dishes indicate the diet of the old days called “two dou and two bian,” that is, a dish of grilled meat, a dish of dry meat, a dish of pickled vegetables, and a dish of salted fish. This is the limit, and the limit should be kept as it is. Nowadays it appears that magistrates try to follow the old custom especially with regard to food, while they ignore other things and lose their dignity. Having white and red rice prepared for every meal on large and small tables, and preparing precious dishes from both land and sea for themselves, as well as their wives, they think that these foods are necessary to maintain the dignity of their magistracy. If there are any leftovers, they go to their slaves and entertainers. Neglecting their duty, they do not understand that they are unworthy even of bad food. If one considers the way they become greedy for food while they disregard their duties, how contemptible they are! If they keep on spending recklessly, they cannot avoid financial problems, and if they run into financial troubles, they have no choice but to exploit the people. What they see is only their slaves and entertainers, not the people. Seeing only the cows, they forget the sheep. If they work for their entertainers rather than their people, what good are they? 268. Liu Yuancheng and Ma Yongqing were officials of the Song dynasty. 269. Mencius says, “You saw the ox, and had not seen the sheep.” Th is means that a man sees only what is in front of him and fails to see the things that are absent from his eyesight (“King Hui of Liang, Part I,” in Legge, Works of Mencius, 140–141).

136

book II

In some other cases magistrates in their folly try to display a high spirit when they are newly appointed, but after a few months they reduce their spending on food, fi nally realizing that things are different from what they see. Then the people, as well as clerks, will talk about their magistrates and laugh at them for their change of heart. What a shame for the magistrates! In his discourse on vegetables, Zhen Xishan said, “The people should not wear green on their faces even for a day, and scholar-officials should not pass a day without tasting vegetables.” Zheng Xuan said, “The reason that the people look green on their faces is that the great officers do not know the taste of vegetables. If all the officials from the bottom to the high state councilors at the top know how to chew the roots of green vegetables, they will surely know the nature of their duty, and the people will have no reason to worry about the shade of green on their faces.” He Xu of the Song dynasty became magistrate of the district of Anhan. When he departed from his post at the end of his term, there was famine in the state of Ba. He sent an attendant to bring some taros from the field for his meal and left money where the taros were when he departed. When Liu Huaiwei of the Qi dynasty became prefect of Qi Commandery, a man brought him 10 dou of new rice. He showed his meal made of barley to the man who had brought the rice and said, “Since I have enough to eat, I am fortunate that my situation does not require a favor from you.” In the Later Zhou dynasty Pei Xia served as magistrate of Hebei. Because he was always frugal and thrift y, all his meals consisted only of beans, barley, salt, and vegetables. One day Pei Xia with other magistrates went to pay respect to Emperor Wen. The emperor told Pei Xia to stand aside from his colleagues and said, “Pei Xia is the most outstanding person in integrity and uprightness throughout the whole kingdom. If there is anyone whose virtue is as excellent as his, come out and stand next to him.” The people who were gathered could not say a word and called Pei Xia “Magistrate Who Stands Alone.” Dong Shiyi acquired a robe made of hemp and a pair of leather shoes after serving more than ten years as magistrate of Shuzhou. Liu Gongren, magistrate of Xichang, went to the court to see the emperor along with Magistrate Yan something of Gaoan. At that time Yang Pu was in

270. When people are malnourished, their faces look green. 271. Unknown. 272. An official of the Southern Qi dynasty [Nanqi]. His real name was Wenwei, and his courtesy name Yantai. 273. An official of the Ming dynasty. 274. During the reign of Yingzong he wielded great power with Yang Shiqi and Yang Ying. Thus he was referred to as one of the Th ree Yangs (Sanyang).

Self- Discipline

137

charge of state affairs, and he had sent a man to observe these two magistrates secretly. Then he received the following report: “Yan has wealth that befits his position in the government; however, Liu is leading the life of a pauper, having only a straw mat, a cotton blanket, a few pieces of pottery, and a dark kitchen.” Yang Pu remembered Liu Gongren deep in his heart. Yan first visited Yang Pu with gold and silk, but the latter refused to accept the gifts. Later, Liu Gongren also paid a visit to Yang Pu, but with only a bag of tea and a jar of honey. However, Yang Pu welcomed him and some time later selected him as censor in chief. When Xuan Ni was governor of Zhejiang Province, he never took anything except his stipend. He wore only one blue coat made of cotton all year long, regardless of the change of seasons, and if it was torn, he sewed it, and he was not unwilling to take rice mixed with vegetables. He made a promise to his colleagues to exchange his rice for a little meat they brought every three days; however, even this small amount of meat was too much for him to consume. When one of his parents died unexpectedly, he left the following day, but his subordinate officials did not know it. At first, he started his career as an official in charge of transporting salt and gained a reputation for outstanding integrity. One day when he was sitting on the edge of the water, a youth came to him and said, “The cleanness of the water cannot equal the cleanness of your person.” Surveillance Commissioner Wang Ji maintained integrity while he was in the employment of the government. When his clothes were worn out, he sewed them with paper. When Wang Shu was on an inspection tour of the Yunnan region, he did not bring an attendant for errands; he carried only cooking utensils, a lunch box made of bamboo, a cake of bean curd for each day, a bundle of vegetables, bean paste, and vinegar. Water was the only thing he borrowed from the house in which he stayed. Fang Keqin was a good official. Making his lifestyle as simple as possible, he wore a cotton coat for ten years without changing it and did not eat meat twice a day. When Xao Xide was appointed magistrate of Jingjiang, he found the interior of his office decorated with silk. He said, “Having been born and having grown up in the house of a scholar, I am not used to silk like this. What am I to do with it?” Then he gave an order that the silk drapery be replaced with one made of cotton, and he ate only vegetables every day.

275. An official of the Ming dynasty. 276. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Shiying. The surveillance commissioner was one of the delegates dispatched from the central government to provincial circuits. 277. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Qujin. He served as prefect of Jining. 278. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Fengyuan. He was famous for loyalty and integrity.

138

book II

Ki Kŏn of the Koryŏ dynasty, who served as the pacification commissioner of Cheju Island, was a man of strong character with integrity and discretion. Because Cheju was famous for producing abalones, the local products became a source of trouble for the residents. Ki Kŏn said, “Since the people are suffering so much because of abalones, how can I eat them?” After this remark he never ate abalones, and the people were deeply moved by his integrity. Lord Ch’ungjŏng [Chŏng Ŭngdu] became governor of P’yŏngan Province for the second time after having held the governorship of seven provinces. However, he never sat down on a mat woven with flower designs while inspecting his districts. The way he saved his blessings and his taste for simplicity were like this. Governor Chŏng Ok  was a descendant of Yakp’o [Chŏng T’ak]. When he served as governor of Hwanghae Province, his conduct was marked by integrity. During his inspection tour of the villages in his district, he had only two side dishes for his meal, and if anyone tried to exceed this limit, he punished the person in charge. When I was magistrate of Koksan, I saw a district magistrate in the vicinity having two separate dinner tables prepared for himself and his wife every time he ate, and when the time came for him to quit his post, he had overspent 800 taels. Because of this the chief clerk of the district went bankrupt. Yu Chŏngwŏn  served as magistrate of various districts, but when he returned home at the end of his term, he departed with only a whip in his hand, and his clothes and other belongings never increased in quantity. While he was staying at home after having completed his transfer of power to his successor in Chain, his son, who had remained in the yamen, sent an old cabinet home. Worried that the cabinet might be damaged, he stuffed it with straw. When the cabinet arrived, the wives of the village went out to see what was in the cabinet. They expected to see something precious since Yu had served as magistrate and had returned home. However, when they found out that the cabinet was fi lled 279. Ki Kŏn (?–1460) was an official of the Chosŏn dynasty, not the Koryŏ. His pen name was Pokjae. He served as governor of Chŏlla Province, inspector general, magistrate of Kaesŏng, and fi nally second minister without portfolio. 280. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reign of Sŏnjo. His courtesy name was Ch’ugyŏng, and his posthumous title Ch’ungjŏng. He served as fourth state councilor and second minister without portfolio. 281. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chasŏng, and his pen name Uch’ŏn. He was a fi ft h-generation descendant of Chŏng T’ak (1526–1605), who served as second state councilor during the reign of Sŏnjo. Yakp’o was the pen name of Chŏng T’ak. 282. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Sunbaek, and his pen name Samsan. He also served as censor general.

Self- Discipline

139

with straw, they laughed and went on their way (Collected Works of Yi Sangch’ŏng). Although Sacrificial Rites and Entertainment of Guests Belong to the Area of Personal Matters, They Should Be Performed in Accordance with Certain Rules. Impoverished Districts Must Reduce the Scale of Ceremonies Much More than That Stipulated by the Rules. The ancestral rites publicly performed by the magistrate must follow the official rules. (See The Ceremonies of Five Rites.) The ancestral rites of the magistrate’s own family must observe ancient precedents. The officials above rank 3 (above t’ongjŏng taebu) should use the dishes of xiaolao, and the officials below rank 3 (below t’onghun taebu) the dishes of tesheng. However, adding more to the ritual dishes and increasing the items of offerings depend on the circumstances of each individual. The so-called dishes of xiaolao consist of three goblets of wine, four ritual vessels (rice, pan-fried foods, and two kinds of rice cakes), three dishes contained in the ritual receptacles called xing, five dishes in other ritual utensils called zu, six wet dishes (e.g., kimchi, rice nectar, and so on), and six dry dishes (e.g., dried fish, fruits, chestnuts, and so on). One can add more wet dishes to the table but cannot exceed a limit of two dishes, and the additional ones may consist of fish boiled in soy sauce and cow’s liver or omasum. If one wants to expand fruit dishes, he again should not exceed two items, and they may be something like lotus roots and fruits preserved in honey or chestnut cakes. Since the stipend of district magistrates is usually larger than that of officials in the court, it is acceptable to add some more ritual dishes, both wet and dry. What are discussed above are the side dishes used for ceremonies of ancestral rites and death anniversaries that are held both seasonally and annually. On the days of the vernal and autumnal equinoxes, seasonal rites are held, and on the days of the winter and summer solstices rites are also performed to offer seasonal specialties to the ancestors. The officials of the upper end of the hall should observe the 283. Collected Works of Taesan (Taesanjip): Taesan was the pen name of Yi Sangch’ŏng (1710– 1781), a Neo-Confucian phi losopher of the Chosŏn dynasty. 284. A book on the five major ceremonies and rites, such as auspicious ceremonies, matrimonial or various royal ceremonies, entertaining guests, military rites, and funerals and mourning. It was initially compiled by a royal order of Sejong but was finally completed in the fifth year of Sŏngjong (1474). 285. Both t’ongjŏng taebu and t’onghun taebu are civil officials belonging to rank 3, but the former are called “officials of the upper hall” (tangsanggwan) and the latter “officials of the lower hall” (tanghagwan). 286. Both xiaolao and tesheng indicate the sacrificial animals used for ancestor worship.

140

book II

rule of t’ŭkdon samjŏng (1 xian, 2 lian, 1 xing, 3 zu, 2 dou, and 2 bian). Those who belong to the lower end of the hall should not exceed the limit of t’ŭkdon iljŏng (1 xian, 1 zu, 2 dou, and 2 bian). The rites of ancestor worship performed on the first day of the lunar month, in the case of great officers, should follow the rule of t’ŭkdon iljŏng, and in the case of those in the lower end of the hall, only one dried meat [p’o] and pickled fish [hae] (1 xian, 1 dou, and 1 bian). In the Clear and Bright Festival [Ch’ŏngmyŏng] and the Cold Dew Festival [Hallo] the rites of ancestor worship are held at the tombs, and the foods used by both great officers and civil servants [sa] are t’ŭkdon samjŏng. These rules of ritual foods for ancestor worship based on the rank and status of officials are basically my own idea, which I attempted to make tentatively. Every family has its own rules in holding ancestor worship, and those rules are not the ones made by the government. Hence it is important to follow the rules handed down in the family. In treating official guests, the magistrate must observe official rules. (See The Ceremonies of Five Rites.) All the food for personal guests must be divided into two grades. Four dishes are to be served to senior guests who are more advanced in age than the magistrate, and two dishes to guests who are younger than the magistrate. The degree of generosity in treating guests with food should depend on the financial situation of the individual district. Sima Wengong [Guang] once said: “My late father served as assistant magistrate of various districts, and he always treated his guests with wine whenever they visited him. The wine was passed round three or five times, but he never allowed it to exceed the seventh round. He bought wine from the market and served fruits that consisted only of pears, chestnuts, jujubes, and persimmons. He offered only dried meat, salted fish, and vegetable soup as side dishes for wine; furthermore, he served them in plain containers and lacquerware. Since scholars in his time were all like that, people did not regard this as improper. Although a meeting was often held, propriety was observed without fail, and although food was meager, friendship was sincere.” 287. The meaning of t’ŭkdon samjŏng is unclear; its literal meaning is one sacrificial pig and three cauldron vessels. However, this does not correspond to the names of the vessels provided by the author in the source text. 288. The words xian, lian, xing, zu, dou, and bian are the names of ritual vessels used for ancestor worship. They were all of different kinds and were used for different types of foods, such as rice, soup, cake, and wet or dried foods, as well as wine. 289. The Clear and Bright Festival (Ch’ŏngmyŏng) is a traditional Korean and Chinese festival that starts around April 5 of the Gregorian calendar. The Cold Dew Festival (Hallo) refers to the days that usually begin around October 8 and end around October 23 in the Gregorian calendar.

Self- Discipline

141

All Supplies Used by the Inner Quarters of the Magistrate Must Be Procured Pursuant to the Rules, and Goods for Monthly Use Should Be Purchased on the First Day of the Month. When the female members of the magistrate’s family arrive, the yamen kitchen [kwanju] should provide them with the supplies they need on a daily basis and should add up the daily expenditures every ten days. Then it should multiply this figure by three (because a month consists of three periods of ten days) so that the total expenditures during this period can serve as the basis for ordering monthly supplies, which is to be done on the first day of the month. The orders of the government had better be clear and simple. The inner quarters of the magistrate look for little things like rice and salt ten times a day. Then a slave of the inner quarters calls his counterpart outside, and the outside slave calls a gatekeeper, and the gatekeeper calls a slave in the kitchen, and the slave reports to his superior. Much noise and commotion are made in this process as the people shout, “Too slow,” “They do not bring,” “We have,” “We have not,” “Too much,” “Too little,” and so on. Next morning the magistrate’s private secretary examines the daily records, and in the process he calls the slaves and cross-examines yamen clerks in order to verify all the details, and he makes up for what is lacking or cuts down what is considered extravagant. Thus they who are involved in this business waste their energy and generate resentment by looking into matters of little importance. On the day of examining the bookkeeping (which is the second day of the month) the magistrate’s private secretary summons the people once again to make sure that the accounting record is free from errors, which again causes lots of foot traffic among the men involved, as well as much suspicion and many complaints. Because the way they handle the matter is in such disorder, some suspect that the secretary steals money by collaborating with the clerks, or the men in charge of the kitchen put money in their pockets by collaborating with the secretary. Thus they become angry and charge others with trivial offenses, incurring derision and accusations. What can be more unwise than this? When the magistrate’s wife was a private person and stayed in her house, her wine bottle and rice chest, as well as cupboards and cabinets, were all empty. Because she was poor, she often had to sell her ornamental hairpins and take her clothes to the pawnshop to buy dried meats at the market, but she did not think that her life was miserable. Now she lives in a far larger house, and the first day of every month she is provided with all the necessities from the various merchants who bow down to show their respect to her. Can she not be satisfied with all this wealth and prosperity, which she was fortunate enough to acquire in a day? Why does she have to call for the clerk in charge of the kitchen and give orders to check little details related to her supplies? 290. The yamen kitchen was where the food for the magistrate was prepared.

142

book II

Mok Taehŭm was intelligent and had an outstanding memory. When he was magistrate of Yŏnan, he remembered all the details concerning items for his daily use even without making a record of them; thus his yamen clerks could not dare to deceive him. He once ordered that several hundred crabs be salted in a large jar and put two of them on his dinner table every morning and evening. One day the man in charge of the kitchen reported that the pickled crabs had run out, and he said, “There are still two of them left.” When the man quickly withdrew and looked into the jar, there were indeed two little crabs at the bottom. After this incident trickery disappeared from the records, whether they were private or official. When a man named Yi something ruled the district of Kangjin, he was arrested for some sort of wrongdoing and was released later on probation after being transferred to Seoul. After his release from prison, he always ate peaches for dessert for nine days, which were provided by his yamen clerk. The yamen clerk paid 1 mace for two peaches, and one was big and the other small. The magistrate ate only the big one and left the other, which his servant took to eat. He returned to his district and found that the yamen clerk had recorded 9 maces for payment for the peaches. He called the clerk and said, “How did you figure the cost of the peaches? I ate only half of them, and as for the rest, that is none of my concern. Therefore, reduce the amount to 5 maces.” The clerk then called the servant and said, “Since you ate half the peaches, you are responsible for the amount of 4 maces. The servant said, “If I had known that I had to pay for them, I certainly would not have eaten them.” Then the clerk said to him, “You should not complain, since everyone is equal before the law. As a matter of fact, the magistrate gave a favor because he paid more than half the money.” The servant replied, “It is still not fair. I ate only the small ones, and if you take this into account, it should be more than half the money.” Then he took the money out of his pocket and threw it on the ground after spitting on it. This type of thrift is even worse than waste. Entertainment of Official Guests Should Also Follow the Rules. The Goods That Are Needed for This Purpose Should Be Provided in Advance to the Clerk Who Is in Charge of Rites, and Even If There Are Some Leftovers, the Magistrate Should Not Ask Him to Return Them. The rules on entertaining guests have already been discussed in the section on rites. The food served to the governor must be prepared according to old precedents. If it is somewhat inconvenient to follow them, the precedents of the district will do, especially the ones during the last ten years. However, rules that are 291. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was T’anggyŏng, and his pen names Tasan and Chugo. He also served as third minister of rites.

Self- Discipline

143

too extravagant or too frugal should be avoided, and moderate ones between the two extremes should be adopted and made a permanent guide for the entertainment of guests in the future. The Magistrate Should Be Even More Thrifty in the Case of Goods Provided by Yamen Clerks and Slaves, Especially When It Is Not Required to Record Them in the Accounting Book. All goods used in the government originate from the efforts of the people, and therefore, things that are not recorded can bring great harm to the people if they are wasted. Since goods are not like rain falling from the sky or spring water rushing from the ground, saving them from waste is a way to help the people. Goods like vegetables, cucumbers, and gourds are presented by the slaves in charge of the garden. When they do a good job, they are usually promoted to work in the state granary. They recklessly gather grain from the people in order to make up for the loss after they present the grain to the magistrate. Therefore, unless they stop extorting grain at will, it is inevitable that the people will suffer. However, if they are strictly ordered to stop their old practice of extortion without warning, they will go bankrupt. Consequently, the best way to prevent the abuses committed by those at the bottom is to make the source of the spring clean. When Ch’oe Yundŏk  was magistrate of Anju, he made a little garden in the empty space behind his office and personally planted cucumbers, clearing weeds with a hoe. A man who was bringing a lawsuit thought him someone else and asked him, “Where is the magistrate?” Without revealing his identity, the magistrate said, “He is at such-and-such a place.” Then he entered the office, and after changing his clothes, he rendered his judgment on the lawsuit that the man had brought. When Provincial Military Commander Yi Tŭkjun was magistrate of Kangjin, he made a large vegetable garden around his quarters and ordered the slaves of the inner quarters to manure and weed the garden. The vegetables grew so luxuriously all year long that Yi soon had more than he needed. As a result, he reduced the amount of vegetables that the slaves were supposed to present and at the same time distributed the surplus vegetables to the people close to him. Even 292. A military official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn dynasties. His courtesy name was Paeksu, and his pen name Imgok. He rose to the rank of second state councilor after subjugating the Jurchens and the island of Tsushima. 293. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. He also served as magistrate of Hamyang.

144

book II

today people praise his virtue and generosity, and his story is handed down as a laudable anecdote. When Ba Zhi of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Yangzhou, he did not take his family to his post. Moreover, he did not burn the candles supplied by the government when he met with his guests during the night, although it was dark. (According to a different version of the story, he did not burn the candles when he made a bet on wine with his guests.) Zheng Xuan introduces a story: “A long time ago there was a district magistrate who was famous for his integrity and virtue. One day a messenger from the capital arrived with an official letter. The magistrate opened the letter and read it using an official candle, but he also found a personal letter from his family inside the envelope. He immediately ordered the official candle to be replaced with one of his own and read the letter. When he finally finished reading his private letter, he again kindled the official candle. Although he was extreme in his effort to straighten out his mistake, his conduct provides a good precedent for the proper conduct of an official.” Most People Are Capable of Saving Things That Belong to Them; However, Those Who Save Public Goods Are Hard to Find. A Wise Magistrate Is One Who Saves Public Goods as If They Were His Own. Every district has its own budget, as well as depositories [ko] for public purposes. At first, the public depositories were established for official purposes, but as time passed, they gradually became privatized with the increase in wrongful practices and undisciplined waste. Although they were originally public depositories, the magistrate fails to supervise them properly [for the reason that abuses have been committed for too long], and the men in charge of them, such as yamen clerks and slaves, practice all sorts of trickery and deceptions, trying only to steal from what they are supposed to protect. As soon as the stocks of goods run out, they try to collect more to make up for the loss, and this irregularity is a phenomenon that is not confined to only one district. Chŏng Manhwa served as governor several times, and wherever he went, he could save plenty of goods. At first, what he saved was not much, but later it became so great that he lamented, “It is only a year since I prevented stealing and trickery, and the amount that I saved is amazing. Saving is indeed the foundation of the love of people.”

294. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ilun, and his pen name Igam. He served as governor of Hwanghae, Kyŏngsang, Chŏlla, and P’yŏngan provinces, as well as censor general.

Self- Discipline

145

The Reason That Heaven and Earth Gave Birth to Materials Is to Make Them Useful to Mankind. When Waste of Materials Is Completely Stopped, It Can Be Said That a Man Knows How to Use His Wealth. When Tao Kan ruled Jingzhou, he ordered the officials in charge of shipbuilding to save the sawdust so that it could be used to cover muddy streets after the snow thawed; he also told them to lay away all the bottom pieces of bamboos, which soon formed a pile like a mountain. Some years later they were used as nails to repair Duke Huan’s battleships when he launched an expedition to the kingdom of Shu. When Bei Heng was magistrate of Donga, he tried to save whatever he could for the sake of the people. He gathered and saved all the little items like metal pieces, useless leather, worn-out ropes, and old papers that came from buildings that were constructed or repaired. When his artisans had little to do, he ordered them to boil down old leather so that it could be made into glue, to melt metal to be made into pestles, and to grind paper and ropes to be made into straw garments and stored in a warehouse. That time, the emperor was on his inspection tour of Beijing, and the court officials pressed Magistrate Bei Heng to construct a podium quickly for the emperor. Then he took out what he had saved from the warehouse and used it for the emergency. As a result, he could save the people from extra expenditures. When Yun Hyŏn became minister of taxation, he ordered that all old and useless mats and clothes with blue lines [ch’ŏngyŏnp’o] be stored in a warehouse, and people laughed at him. Later he sent the worn-out mats to the paper mills so that they could be ground and made into paper. The quality of the paper thus made turned out to be very excellent. As for the old clothes, he sent them to the Ministry of Rites so that they could be made into belts to be worn by the Jurchens. C H A P T E R : E N JOY M E N T OF BE S T OW I NG BE N E F I T S

Extreme Frugality Can Alienate Kinsmen. Charity Carried Out with Willingness of Heart Is the Root of Virtue. The reason that water is held in a pond is to release it in the future so that it can wet the fields. He who saves, therefore, can be able to help, and he who does not cannot. When I made observations of the magistrates during my exile, those who sympathized with and helped me were always frugal, wearing plain clothes; those with greasy faces, wearing extravagant clothes and enjoying womanizing, neglected me. 295. Huan Wen (312–373), a general of the Jin dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuanzi. 296. An official of the Ming dynasty. 297. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chayong, and his pen name Kukgan. He also served as director of the Royal House Administration and was selected as a pure official.

146

book II

The Magistrate Must Help His Poor Friends and Impoverished Relatives as Much as He Can. Although close kinsmen like brothers, uncles, and nephews cannot be brought to the magistrate’s post, the magistrate should provide assistance to them if they have no means of livelihood. He should help them on a monthly basis, taking the number of their family members into account. When Fang Yanqian was magistrate of Jingyang, he spent all of his stipend on helping his friends and relatives because he had a family business over many generations, and even when he fell short in his daily provisions, he was happy all the time. He once said to his son Xuanling, “People become rich by receiving stipends; however, I became poor because I have served in the government. The only thing worth bequeathing to one’s children is integrity.” When Luo Weide was magistrate of Ningguo, he looked happy one day when he met with Liu Yin. He said, “I feel good about something that happened to me today.” Asked about the reason, Luo answered, “These days I have had more than ten relatives who, being impoverished, came to ask for my help. I gave them all my money saved from my stipend; however, my family, including my father, never raised any objection to what I did, and I am very pleased about it.” Yun P’alsong [Hwang] treated his relatives well with all his heart whenever he met with them in the district he ruled. Always mindful of their difficult situation, he often reduced expenses for his food and clothes to help them. He said, “Our family has been in decline, and I am the only one who receives a stipend from the government. Even if I gain a reputation for integrity and frugality, what good is it? I am afraid that I may fail to please the hearts of my ancestors when I disregard their plight. Besides, if my charity is not intended for my personal interest, I have no reason to be ashamed of myself.” When Governor Yi Ch’angjŏng was magistrate of Sunch’ŏn, there was a man who had the same name and rank as his own. This man had a friend, a poor scholar, who came to ask the governor a favor because of the marriage of his 298. An official of the Sui dynasty. His courtesy name was Xiaochong. He also served as prefect of Jizhou. 299. An official of the Ming dynasty. His name was Rufang, and his courtesy name was Weide. He also served as administration vice commissioner of the Provincial Administration Commission. 300. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Jingfu. He served as circuit censor (daoyushi). 301. Yun Hwang, an official of the mid-Chosŏn period. P’alsong was his pen name. His courtesy name was Tŏgyo, and his posthumous title Munjŏng. He served as sixth royal secretary and third minister of personnel. 302. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chungbŏn, and his pen names Hwaŭm and Muguong. He also served as governor of Hamgyŏng Province.

Self- Discipline

147

daughter. However, when he met with Yi Ch’angjŏng, he was disappointed to find that the governor was a different person. Governor Yi offered the man a seat and learned why he was disappointed. Laughing, Governor Yi said, “Well, it can happen.” Then he treated his guest generously and prepared all the articles necessary for the marriage of his daughter. In gratitude, the man said, “The bridal trousseau could not be more generous than this even if my friend prepared it.” When the Magistrate’s Stipend Is Sufficient for His Use, He Can Help Others. It Is Not Right to Practice Private Charity with the Public Funds of the Government. If the district is faced with a serious deficit, the magistrate should make this known to his relatives and friends so that they can wait on their requests for help until the situation takes a turn for the better. If he squanders the public treasury to maintain his little generosity, the clerks and slaves of the yamen, unable to bear their burden, will either hang themselves or run away, and his charity, no longer a virtue, will cause serious harm to the whole district. My friend Yun Woesim had a brother who was magistrate of Haenam. His brother once sent him goods for the rite of ancestor worship even though his district was in debt. My friend refused to accept them, saying, “I cannot serve my ancestors with goods stolen from the common people.” How right he was! If a man acts this way in the case of his ancestor worship, it will be clear how he will conduct himself in other matters. Zheng Xuan said, “If you intend to help others only after your situation improves, you may not see the days in which you will be capable of helping them; if you intend to read books only after waiting for spare time, you will not find the time in which you will be able to read.” Although saving is very important, the magistrate should not be too obsessed with it because when there is an urgent need for help, he has no time to think about it regardless of his capability. If the Magistrate Can Save His Stipend and Make It Return to the People of His District, and If He Helps His Relatives with the Harvest from His Own Lands, He Will Hear No Complaints. People always say, “What is the benefit of being in government ser vice? It is that you can save money.” This indicates that he who is in office can save money and increase his property by not spending the produce of his own farm; furthermore, he can sell his surplus crops and purchase more land with them. According to the art of war, military provisions should be secured from the enemy, while provisions 303. Yun Yŏnghŭi, an official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. Woesim is his courtesy name.

148

book II

for our forces are saved. A strategy like this is used because it regards the people as an enemy. Would it not be more appropriate, then, for the magistrate to distribute his property to his relatives while he saves the property of the government? Yi Chip served as district magistrate several times. When he was in office, he made his stepbrother Ku take charge of his household affairs. Whenever there was a poor harvest, he sent his brother a letter and said, “Distribute what we have saved, first to our relatives and then to our servants and neighbors if there are still some leftovers.” Someone advised him to expand his farm by taking advantage of a poor harvest; however, he answered, “How can I make innocent people starve for my own interest?” When he returned home from Hayang, the district that he had governed, he burned the loan documents prepared by his servant and punished him by flogging. Whenever he governed districts, Yi Kwan said, “I am well satisfied that my family can make a living with the stipend I receive.” He used his stipend to pay for his daily meals and provided his clothes and other necessities on his own. When his friends and relatives who were poor came to visit him for help, he let them take away what they needed, saying, “Because I had meals at the yamen, I was able to save some provisions at home. These provisions also are due to my employment in the government.” Yi Mubang of the Koryŏ dynasty governed Sunch’ang in the early years of King Kongmin. When there was a man who wanted to have local products, Yi gave him personal belongings like brush cases or belts that he had with him, saying, “Since my friend personally makes a request, how can I refuse it? Take this and exchange it for the goods he wants.” The one who made a request was ashamed and left. When a Man in Exile Suffers from Poverty in a Strange Land, the Magistrate Should Take Pity on Him and Provide Him with Help. When Fang Keqin governed Jining, the Ming emperor Taizu was so strict in applying the rules and laws that many scholar-officials were sent into exile. Whenever those exiles passed by his district, Fang Keqin provided them with help. Even when the people thought it dangerous, Fang never stopped providing his help. 304. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He served as magistrate of P’yŏngch’ang. 305. He was the ninth illegitimate son of King Sŏngjong. Known as Prince Isŏng, he played an important role in the enthronement of Myŏngjong by impeaching Yun Im (1487–1545), the maternal uncle of King Injong, who fought against those who tried to make Myŏngjong, Injong’s younger brother, Crown Prince; but Yun was eventually defeated and executed due to the premature death of Injong. 306. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty who served as acting director of the Chancellery. His courtesy name was Sŏk, and his posthumous title Mungan. He was invested with Great Lord Kwangyang.

Self- Discipline

149

When Kim Yŏnggu became assistant magistrate of Chŏnju, there was an order from the court that those who were under sentence of exile but whose sentence was light enough that they were detained only in their designated areas of exile be given a chance to purchase their freedom with money. Kim Su, second minister without portfolio, who was in exile in Mangyŏng [at that time], being poor, was not able to raise the money. Since his family had had a good relationship with that of Kim Su for generations, Kim Yŏnggu raised the money by selling seven slaves of his own and some paddy fields along the Han River without imposing any financial burden on his district. When the Country Is in a State of Disarray during a War, a Man of Benevolence Should Help and Protect the People Who Struggle to Survive by Relying on the Assistance of Others. When Kang Sugon became magistrate of Koch’ang in the middle of the war, famine was so severe that it drove hungry people almost to devour one another. Making plans and preparations in advance, he saved the starving people. There were more than a thousand refugees from Ch’ungch’ŏng and Chŏlla provinces, and the number of people who came down from the north, including his relatives and friends, amounted to a thousand a day. Leading a life of frugality, Kang provided help to those who needed his help, and he saved more than a thousand people. When Hong Iil became assistant magistrate of Taegu, the Manchu invasion of 1636 [Pyŏngja horan] took place. Because the regions below Choryŏng [Bird’s Peak] were free from the harms of the invasion, a large number of scholarofficials escaped to his district for their safety. Hong tried to help these people as far as he could, and they were all pleased and gratified. Hong said, “When I am faced with a time like this, how can I keep the wealth of a district only to myself, pretending not to look at the sufferings of others while I enjoy a life of comfort,

307. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period, but little is known about him. 308. Th is form of punishment was regarded as light because the person in exile was at least allowed to live within the designated area. 309. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He served as governor of Kyŏngsang Province at the time of the Japa nese invasion in 1592 and later as minister of taxation and fi rst minister without portfolio. 310. Mangyŏng here seems to indicate the Mangyŏng River area, which is located in North Chŏlla Province. 311. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yŏjin. He also served as vice section chief in the Board of Works. 312. “The war” here indicates the Japa nese invasion in 1592. 313. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Hyŏngo. He also served as section chief of the Board of Taxation.

150

book II

especially when scholar-officials who have no place to go wander from place to place?” One day the governor said to him in jest, “It is admirable to help others while you are in the employment of the government, but do you not think that it could affect the interests of your children?” In response, Hong laughed and said, “In my conduct I am satisfied with myself if I can keep on preserving the heart I have now and leave it to my children. What more can they ask for?” One Should Not Be Too Extravagant in Serving Men in Power. The magistrate should not be too extravagant in sending gifts to men in power. He can send gifts on appropriate occasions to those to whom he is personally close or indebted. However, those gifts should be limited to a few kinds of food; things that are precious or expensive, like fur, ginseng, and silk, should never be sent. High officials of good judgment and integrity will not accept them; furthermore, they will regard him with contempt, believing that he is a flatterer or a man of low principle; even worse, they will make a report to the king about what he did and ask the king to punish him. Since he loses both wealth and dignity because of his gifts, this is a pretty risky business. Even if a high official is pleased to accept his bribe and promotes him in rank, he will not last very long in his office, and because of his relationship with the high official, he may be drawn into his indictment. If this does not happen, he will at least encounter a serious problem in the advancement of his civil ser vice career. In either case, sending extravagant gifts brings only harm and trouble. Why should he do such a thing? In the Kapin year [1674] during the reign of Hyŏnjong, Third State Councilor Kim Suhang said to the king, “When there is a death in the family of a scholarofficial, the code of rites allows relatives and friends to show their condolences by presenting money; however, there is never a rule that allows one to express his condolences when a child under the age of ten dies. Last winter my little son died, and Provincial Army Commander Pak Chinhan sent me fift y bolts of linen to express his condolences. He did it, I suppose, because I was corrupt enough to accept his bribe; otherwise, he must have wanted to test my integrity. Although I immediately sent them back to him, I cannot pass the incident over as if nothing had happened. Why do you not then order the officials to punish him according to the law?” The king granted his request. In the winter of Pyŏngja year [1696] during the reign of Sukchong, an old yamen attendant returned home from his visit to the royal palace and said to his wife, “Nowadays high officials in the court often get together and spend the 314. He served as chief state councilor during the reign of Sukchong. Affi liated with the Westerners faction and involved in factional fights with the Southerners faction, he was ordered to kill himself by taking poison.

Self- Discipline

151

whole day talking. Their talk, however, is not about state affairs or their concern for the people; it is only about the quantity and quality of the bribes and gifts sent by local magistrates throughout the country. If officials of high reputation enjoy talking about gifts and bribes, there is no doubt that the burden on the people will increase. How can this country survive?” With these words he shed tears. When Chŏng Pung became magistrate of Ch’ŏngsong, Sŏng Hŭian, a state councilor at the time, asked him to send some pine nuts and honey. Chŏng answered, “Pine nuts are on top of mountains, and honey is in the beehives of residents. How can a magistrate get hold of them?” Sŏng Hŭian was ashamed of himself and apologized for making such a request. 315. A disciple of Kim Koengp’il (1454−1504), a major figure in the development of Chosŏn NeoConfucianism. His courtesy name was Unjŏng, and his pen name Sindang. He served as fi ft h counselor (kyori) and magistrate of Ch’ŏngsong. 316. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Uong, and his pen name Injae. He served as chief state councilor and was granted a posthumous title, Ch’ungjŏng.

III

Public Ser vice

C H A P T E R  : E DI F IC AT ION OF T H E PE OPL E

The Duty of the Local Magistrates in Charge of Counties and Districts Is to Let the King’s Grace Reach Out to the People and Edify Them with Benevolence. Nevertheless, Nowadays They Tend to Believe That This Is Mainly the Responsibility of the Governor. This Is Wrong. Dong Zhongshu in his proposal on inviting men of talent stated as follows: “Local magistrates of counties and districts in our days are the teachers, as well as the leaders, of the people; hence they are responsible for letting the king’s grace reach out to the people and edifying them with benevolence. Therefore, unless they are wise, the virtue of the king cannot be promoted, and his benevolence cannot reach far. The magistrates at the moment, as the subjects of their sovereign, fail to remember this fact; some of them do not respect the law made by the king, treat the people in a cruel manner, and deal with conniving 1. Dong Zhongshu (179–104 B.C.) was a scholar of the Han dynasty who contributed to the promotion of Confucianism as the official ideology of the imperial state. One of his major works, the Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu fanlu), followed the tradition of the Gongyang Commentary in interpreting the Spring and Autumn Annals, which was extremely important for his political and metaphysical ideas. The Gongyang Commentary, along with the Guliang Commentary and the Commentary of Zuo, is one of the most important commentaries on the text of Spring and Autumn Annals. It was named after its author, Gongyang Gao. 2. The word for letting the king’s grace reach out to the people is sŭngnyu, which means “letting the stream continue to flow.”

152

Public Ser vice

153

men. Those who are poor and helpless suffer injustice and lose their livelihood, and this goes against the will of the king. Because of this, yin and yang are entangled, and the flow of energy is disrupted and blocked, and consequently all creatures on the earth are hampered in growing properly, and the people are made incapable of prospering. All these things have to do with the failure of magistrates.” If one looks at the problem in this way, tasks like letting the king’s grace reach out to the people and edifying the people with benevolence are obviously the responsibility of local magistrates; nevertheless, a hanging board inscribed with the phrase “Hall of Edification” [“Sŏnhwadang”] is found only in the yamen of the governor. The local magistrates who see it tend to believe that edification of the people is not in the domain of their duty; they should be concerned only to avoid reprimands of their superior by collecting taxes on time. How sad! How depressing! When a Royal Edict Arrives, the Magistrate Must Gather the People in His District, Personally Read It, and Explain Its Import to Them So That They May Appreciate the King’s Benevolence toward the People. A royal edict [yunŭm] is an admonition of the king to his people, which is similar to that of parents given to their children. The people, being foolish and ignorant, do not know how to read. Unless you teach them by talking into their ears or face-to-face, you cannot admonish them. Whenever a royal edict arrives, the magistrate must read it in person in front of the palatial shrine with the tablet of the king [p’aejŏn] and explain its message to the people so that they appreciate the benevolence of the king. When I was in exile in Yŏngnam, I found that all the districts, no matter how small and poor they were, had a shrine of royal edicts of their own. It was a building made of one room, and they set up a long board across the wall facing the north where royal edicts were posted. When a new royal edict arrived, the elders of the district, standing in a row, paid their respects by bowing down to it. When there were special occasions in the country, either happy or sad, or calls for a general meeting, they gathered in front of the shrine of royal edicts. During the occasion of national mourning they performed the rite of mourning toward the palace in Seoul. This is one of the most beautiful customs under Heaven, and it should be promoted throughout the whole country.

3. The palatial shrine here indicates a small pavilion in the local yamen that enshrines the tablet that symbolically stands for the presence and authority of the king.

154

book III

When a Royal Admonition or Amnesty Arrives in the District, the Magistrate Should Extract the Central Points and Explain Them to the People So That Every One of Them Can Understand the Message of Their Sovereign. When there are joyous occasions in the country, a royal edict is issued. When the king has recovered his health, or the crown prince is born, or the king enjoys longevity, or a royal wedding takes place, a royal edict is proclaimed along with an amnesty of criminals. Since people are incapable of understanding sophisticated literary style and phraseology, the magistrate should try to make them accessible to the people by making the royal message easy to understand and sharing the joy of the occasion together. During the National Memorial Day the Magistrate Is Not Supposed to Work or Carry Out Torture of Convicts or Enjoy the Per formance of Music, in Accordance with the Code of Conduct. Magistrates nowadays hold a banquet and play music even during the National Memorial Day. Although the district is shaken by complaints from yamen clerks and residents, they do not hear them. Their indiscreet behavior must be stopped. The following happened when Cho Kŭksŏn was magistrate of Onyang. When King Injo passed away, he had gruel for his meal, slept on a coarse straw mat, and cried every morning and evening. He ordered his house, as well as his office, to remove wine and meat from the kitchen, and because of that, no one, including women and children, dared to taste meat. He also sent a notice to the subdistricts of his domain, stating, “What is called pangsang means that the death of the sovereign is as equally important as that of parents. The people of our district, from now on, should stay away from holding banquets, drinking wine, and performing wedding ceremonies; they should not sing and dance or catch fish and go out hunting. Make sure that no one violates the rules of propriety.” As a result, the residents in his district, without exception, were afraid and cautious in their behavior; they did not sell wine, and farmers in the field did not sing. When the People Are Unhappy and Reluctant to Follow the Royal Edict, the Magistrate Should Resign from His Office under the Pretext of Illness. A few months after Jiang Qian was appointed magistrate of Chenliu, the royal decree on the Green Sprout Act [Qingmiao fa] came down. Jiang Qian ordered 4. An official of the Song dynasty. He was learned in the Spring and Autumn Annals.

Public Ser vice

155

that the new law be posted on the gate of the yamen, as well as in the offices of the subdistricts. However, even when three days had passed since he had ordered that the law be posted, no one came to inquire about the new law. At last, Jiang Qian pulled down the notice and gave it to a yamen clerk. He said, “People do not want this.” Soon he quit his post with the excuse that he was in poor health. On the other hand, Chen Shunyu, magistrate of Shanin, submitted a memorial to the emperor protesting the problems of the New Policies [Xin fa]. Because of this, he was relegated to the position of a superintendent overseeing the taxes on salt and liquor of the Nankang military prefecture. When this happened, Chen changed his position and submitted another memorial. He said, “Even though the new law is convenient, being ignorant, I failed to realize its advantage at first.” Men of intelligence laughed at him. When the King’s Commendation with a Royal Seal Comes down to the District, It Is an Honor to the Magistrate. A Royal Reprimand, on the Other Hand, Is a Terror to the Magistrate. The reason that the court commends a magistrate by sending a royal edict is not to elevate the magistrate himself; the reason that the court reproaches a magistrate is not that it dislikes him; both acts are for the sake of the people. Whether the magistrate receives praise or reprimand from the court, he should not hide it from the people in his district; he should make the people know the good intention of the royal court. Emperor Taizong of the Song dynasty ordered that stone tablets of admonition (according to Ouyang Xiu’s Collection of Ancient Records, the practice of erecting stone tablets of royal admonition started from Emperor Ming of the Tang dynasty) be established in all the districts of the country, which read, “Your stipend is the fat and blood of the people. It is easy to mistreat the people below but hard to deceive Heaven above.”

5. An official of the Song dynasty. He also served as vice director of military colonies. 6. The New Policies (Xin fa) were a series of reform policies instituted by Wang Anshi. They advocated strong state intervention in commerce, industry, and agriculture in order to improve the living condition of the common people. Among the many features of his reforms, the Green Sprout Act, the baojia system of orga nizing households for security, and increasing the minting of copper coins are the most famous. The baojia system was based on a unit called bao (watch), which consisted of ten to thirty families. The system made the families in each unit constantly watch over one another so that the government could effectively monitor and control its people. 7. A collection of epigraphs and inscriptions on buildings and monuments compiled by Ouyang Xiu, who provided explanations.

156

book III

C H A P T E R : OB SE RV I NG T H E L AW

The Law Is the Order of the King. Not to Observe the Law Is to Disregard His Order. How Can He Who Is a Subject Dare to Disregard It? The magistrate should always keep a copy of The Great Ming Code and a copy of the Comprehensive National Code on his table and be familiar with their provisions and precedents. In this way he can observe the laws, execute orders, and judge cases. He must not do anything that clearly goes against the national law even if it may be sanctioned by the local customs of the district. If the Magistrate, Being Resolute in Keeping What Should Be Kept, Is Neither Shaken in His Heart nor Diverted from His Principles, Base Desires Will Soon Withdraw, and the Law of Nature Will Flow and Prevail. When State Councilor Hŏ Cho served as assistant magistrate of Chŏnju, he carried out his duty most excellently by keeping his integrity clean. Earlier he had made a vow to himself and had placed a hanging board in the office of the yamen that said, “One who violates the law in carry ing out his duties will be punished by Heaven.” The Magistrate Must Be Extremely Cautious When He Deals with Matters That Are Prohibited by the National Laws or Included in the Provisions on Punishments. He Should Not Dare to Take the Law into His Own Hands. Every time he discharges his duty, the magistrate must be mindful of the national law and must never do things that transgress the law. If he finds that a mistake was made by his predecessor, he should find a way to correct it by sending him a letter. If his predecessor makes little effort to redress the problem, he should report it to higher authority; he should not allow it to remain as it is. When the law is executed too strictly, it can inadvertently cause inconvenience. The magistrate should sometimes be allowed to be flexible to a certain extent for the sake of the people, and precedents for this among his predecessors will not be lacking. If his intention is indeed honorable, there is no reason that he should necessarily be restricted by the law. However, if he is motivated by selfinterest, the law should never be violated under any circumstance. Flexibility in the execution of the law can be justified to an extent if what the magistrate has done was for the interests and welfare of the people and the magistrate himself 8. An official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn dynasties. His courtesy name was Chungt’ong, and his pen name Kyŏngam. He served as minister of personnel, minister of rites, and second state councilor. He was famous for his integrity and strong character.

Public Ser vice

157

is not ashamed of himself, even though he receives punishment for violating the law. The Magistrate Should Neither Be Tempted by Self-Interest nor Succumb to Power, and This Is the Way to Fulfill His Duty. Even if His Superior Exerts Pressure, He Should Be Able to Resist It. The following happened when Yi Myŏngjun was chief of Kosan Post Station. Because the post station was located on the main road, it was always crowded with officials who wanted to use post horses. Furthermore, their demands often exceeded the limit set by the law to such a degree that the personnel working at the post station could not accommodate them. However, Yi Myŏngjun carried out his duty according to the law without bowing to the pressure. Even when the governor asked for more horses, he supplied only the permitted number of them. When the governor continued his demands without listening to his explanation, Yi finally made a report to the royal court to solve the crisis. The court sent a response that Yi was right and the governor was wrong. As a result, the old abuses were straightened out; however, Yi Myŏngjun resigned from his office and returned to his home. The Law Must Be Kept without Change Unless It Is Problematic; Precedents Should Also Be Preserved If They Are Deemed Reasonable. Master Cheng said: “It would not be quite righteous if a man complains about the current laws. When he discusses state affairs, he should do or manage them within the limit of the current laws, and it will be more appropriate. If he can discharge his duty properly only after changing the laws, how can there be righteousness?” (See Reflections on Things at Hand.) Zhu Xi stated, “Unless you have some serious problems in discharging your official duty properly, you do not need to discuss changing the laws. Once you start talking about changing the laws, you will certainly encounter controversy, which will continue to grow, even before you accomplish your objective.” When Cho Kŭksŏn was magistrate, he always got up early in the morning and started working fully dressed in his official uniform. He did not like changing the rules and regulations and causing commotions. He said, “When you want to 9. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ch’anggi, and his pen names Chamwa and Chinsajae. He also served as censor general and vice minister of war. He was known to be a man of strong character. 10. “Master Cheng” (Cheng Zi) indicates one of the Cheng brothers who profoundly influenced Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian philosophy; however, it is not clear which one it refers to. Master Cheng here is probably Cheng Hao, who taught Zhu Xi.

158

book III

accomplish your goal, you have to work on it gradually. If you eliminate all the irregularities from the old system as soon as you are appointed and fail to maintain your reform all the way through as you originally intended, your work will look like it has only a start but no end. It is advisable, therefore, that you try to eliminate only the irregularities that are too extreme and gradually work on the rest of the problems until you eliminate them completely.” Since Local Ordinances Are the Laws of a District, Those among Them That Are Unreasonable Should Be Rectified and Observed. Each district has so-called ordinances, which are customs handed down from old times. They may have been problematic even when they were first instituted, but they have been made worse because the magistrates have often revised them as they pleased, adding or eliminating statutes according to their own self-interest and exploiting the people. Therefore, laws of this kind, being too crude, obsolete, and arbitrary, cannot be enforced unless they are changed. Under the pretext of changing this anomaly, the magistrate abolishes the old ordinances and replaces them with new ones as he pleases. As a result, the laws that are abusive and exploitative increase month by month and year by year. Thus the people cannot live in peace. When a few months have passed since his inauguration, the magistrate should look into the ordinances of various depositories and find out if they are good or bad. Inquiring about each of them, he keeps what is good while discarding what is unreasonable. If goods used to be cheap in the past but have become expensive now, the magistrate should raise the price after discussing the matter with his aides; if goods used to be expensive but have become cheap now, he should be generous and let the price remain as it is. If the households in the villages used to prosper in the old days but have declined lately, he should reduce their burden of taxes; if their number was low years ago but has increased now, he should divert their burden to other areas. Ordinances that are unreasonable and good only for the interest of the magistrate should be abolished. Collecting taxes that are not authorized by the law should be limited by establishing a guideline. C H A P T E R : PROPE R M A N N E R S T OWA R D S U PE R IOR S A N D S U B OR DI NAT E S

Since Proprieties Are Regarded as Important by All Men of Virtue, One Can Avoid Shame If He Harmonizes His Modesty with Proprieties. It is a principle of the old days that in human society there are high and low ranks and statuses. Differentiation of colors and decorations in making carriages, costumes, and banners is intended to observe that principle. A man low in official rank must serve his superior by being mindful of his rank. One must not dis-

Public Ser vice

159

criminate against military officials, taking pride in being a civil official; nor treat people with arrogance because he has an advantage in power; nor call the people foolish because he is smart; nor think of those who are younger than he immature because he is advanced in age. If he carries himself with gravity, modesty, humility, and gentleness without losing manners and tries to bring peace and harmony and thereby remove the obstacles from social relationships, his efforts will be reciprocated and rewarded by others. Kim Sŏngil had a reputation for being extremely firm and straightforward. However, when he became magistrate, he went out to the gate and waited for his superior, fully dressed in his official uniform, as soon as he heard that his superior was close to his yamen. When Local Officials Greet Officials Dispatched from the Royal Court, They Should Follow the Rule of Propriety Provided by the National Code. In the early years of King Yŏngjo a man who was proud and arrogant became governor and made a precedent for the first time that local magistrates, regardless of their rank and status, exchange greetings while sitting down. The magistrates lower in rank bowed their heads as the governor ordered them to because they feared that otherwise they would lose their position. When this incident was handed down, it became established as a precedent. It has already been almost a hundred years since this precedent was first made, and thus it is no longer possible to change it. Unless high officials in the court make a proposal to the king and rectify the problem through a royal edict, subordinate officials have no choice but to follow the convention. Since the problem originated from those above, what can I say about it? It Is Not the Practice of Antiquity That the Magistrate Visit the Provincial Yamen to Pay Respect to the Newly Appointed Governor. The so-called rite of greeting the governor [yŏnmyŏng] is that the local magistrate pays respect to the governor in the yard of the palatial shrine, politely receiving a royal edict from him when the governor arrives in his district for his first-time inspection. The royal edict must be handled with great respect. Therefore, unless the governor visits his district, it is appropriate that the magistrate not perform the rite 11. Kim Sŏngil (1538–1593) was an official of the mid-Chosŏn period. In 1591, a year before the Japa nese invasion, he visited Japan as vice envoy. During the war he served as provincial military commander of Right Kyŏngsang Province and recruiting officer (ch’oyusa). He died in battle defending Chinju.

160

book III

of yŏnmyŏng according to the rules of antiquity. Even in the early years of King Yŏngjo this old practice was still alive. However, as customs grew vulgar and the spirit and morale of scholar-officials deteriorated little by little, it happened that the magistrates hurried to pay respect to the new governor, running to his office within less than ten days from the inauguration of the governor. This is certainly not yŏnmyŏng; it is flattery. This is not paying respect to the royal court but flattering a superior, which is reprehensible. A governor who lacks knowledge of propriety is likely to be displeased and tries to find fault with the magistrates who fail to pay respect to him. This is also wrong, is it not? Nowadays the rite of yŏnmyŏng has already been established. Hence it may not be necessary to go back to the old days, rejecting the current practice. However, the magistrate need not make himself a fool by rushing to the new governor. He had better wait for twenty or thirty days and perform the rite rather reluctantly. Since the Governor Is a Public Official Who Executes the Law, the Magistrate Should Not Expect Any Special Favor from Him Even If He Is Personally Close to Him. When Su Zhang became prefect of Jizhou, he found that one of his friends was magistrate of Qinghe. Su Zhang conducted an inspection of the district governed by his friend and dealt with the irregularities that he found during his inspection. First, he gave a party for his friend and had a great time with him. His friend, the magistrate of the district, was pleased and said, “I have two heavens, while others have only one.” Then Su Zhang replied, “To have a drink with an old friend of mine tonight is a personal affair; to deal with the irregularities as prefect of Jizhou tomorrow is my official duty.” Finally, when he disclosed the wrongdoings of his friend and handled them according to the law, the people of the district were deeply impressed. When Sim Chiwŏn was magistrate of Hongju, Minister Im Tam became governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province and visited Hongju for inspection. They had known each other as friends, and therefore, Magistrate Sim entertained the governor in a very simplified manner with little formality. Then the governor summoned the chief yamen clerk of Hongju and punished him by flogging. He said, “Although your superior and I are close friends, the dignity of a higher official 12. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Ruwen. 13. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Wŏnji, and his pen name Mansa. He served as chief state councilor during the reign of Hyojong. 14. He served as governor of Kyŏngsang and Ch’ungch’ŏng provinces, as well as censor general and minister of personnel.

Public Ser vice

161

must be strictly observed. Since your superior made a mistake, you have to bear the consequences on behalf of your superior.” Sim Chiwŏn always said to his children: “If I had first lost my temper and gotten angry with my friend’s action, it would have amounted to disregarding the law. Therefore, I did not intervene to the end. There is indeed a lot that I learned from Minister Im.” The Administrative Assistant to the Provincial Governor [Yŏngha p’angwan] Must Serve His Superior with Sincerity and Respect, Neglecting Nothing. When Cheng Bozi [Cheng Hao] became administrative assistant of Zhenning, the governor whom he was to serve was so strict, severe, and jealous that the officials below the rank of assistant prefect did not dare to discuss state affairs with the governor. At first, the governor thought that Cheng Bozi, who had served as censor, would not do his best in carry ing out his duty. He was also concerned that Cheng would look down on him. However, as time passed, the governor found that Cheng served him with the utmost civility, paid attention even to trivial details in managing the warehouses in various districts, and brought to his attention problematic issues so that they could be resolved after consultation with him. Thus the governor always approved what Cheng did, and the two men were on good terms with each other. Working together closely, they saved the lives of several dozen innocent people by carefully reviewing their cases. State Councilor O Yungyŏm, who served in the Office of Special Counselor, was appointed administrative assistant of Kyŏngsŏng. At that time Lord Kyerim, Yi Suil, was provincial military commander. Earlier, Commander Yi had been displeased with the arrogance of the former administrative assistant, who took pride in being a man of letters. O Yungyŏm, however, paid his respects to Commander Yi as soon as he arrived and served him with all due courtesy. Deeply impressed, Commander Yi reciprocated the courtesy toward the new administrative assistant, ordering his aides not to harass his office. Thus peace prevailed in both the provincial military headquarters and the district of Kyŏngsŏng. 15. Yŏngha p’angwan: when the governor or provincial military commander concurrently governed a district where the provincial yamen or headquarters was located, administrative affairs of the district were normally carried out by an administrative assistant called p’angwan. 16. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as magistrate of Anju and Tongnae and governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng and Kangwŏn provinces. In 1617 he visited Japan as an envoy and brought back 150 Korean captives who had been taken to Japan during the Imjin War (1592–1598). 17. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. During the Imjin War he served as provincial military commander of the right in Kyŏngsang Province and during the reign of Kwanghaegun as provincial military commander of Hamgyŏng Province as many as three times. During the reign of Injo he also rendered a ser vice in suppressing the rebellion of Yi Kwal and was awarded the title of Lord Kyerim. He retired after serving as minister of justice.

162

book III

When Cho Sŏgyun was magistrate of Chinju, he inquired about the health of the provincial military commander early every morning with the following remark: “The reason that I do this is that I respect the royal orders of the king.” He never stopped visiting the commander [while he was in office]. When Min Yujung became administrative assistant of Kyŏngsŏng, he paid his respects to the provincial military commander every day just as Cho Sŏgyun had done (Tongp’yŏng kyŏnmunnok). Minister Kwŏn Taejae was simple in his conduct and upright and frugal when he was in the employment of the government. When he became administrative assistant of Kongju at the beginning of his career, he tried to save all the governmental supplies, including the ones belonging to the governor. Then it happened that the clerks in the yamen conspired and stole the firewood that was supposed to go to the governor, so the governor’s room was always cold. The governor asked them why his room was cold, and the clerks answered, “We are short of firewood.” The governor summoned Assistant Kwŏn and reproached him. Kwŏn answered, “I will go and check myself.” That day he supervised heating the room, and when he used all the firewood allotted to the governor, the room was so warm that the governor was unable to stand it. Then the governor sent a man to Kwŏn and apologized, “It was my fault, my fault.” Kwŏn finally left for home. If the Superior Interrogates Yamen Clerks and Military Officers, It Is Advisable That the Magistrate Refrain from Raising an Objection Even If the Interrogation Is Unfair. It is natural that the superior officer conduct an investigation when there are wrongdoings in the district; hence there is no need to discuss this. However, if the superior officer for no reason tries to find fault with the personnel of the magistrate, bringing a false accusation, the magistrate still has no choice but to accept this because he is his subordinate. If the accusation of his superior is a simple mistake, not derived from an evil intention, it is his duty to submit a statement of facts and seek his generosity so that his clerks and military officers may not suffer injustice from a wrongful decision. Nevertheless, if the superior officer really intends to harm them and therefore the magistrate finds that his efforts to

18. An official in the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as censor general, inspector general, and director (taejehak) of both the Office of Special Councilors and the Office of Royal Decrees. 19. He was the father-in-law of King Sukchong and father of Queen Inhyŏn, King Sukchong’s second wife. He served as minister of taxation. 20. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chungch’a, and his pen names Soch’ŏn, Tonganjae, and Yongmun. He served as minister of taxation. 21. “The superior officer” here means the governor.

Public Ser vice

163

protect his personnel are futile, he should submit not only legal reports on those who are convicted but also his own resignation. (In his resignation he states, “I am no longer able to discharge my duty because of an unexpected problem with my health.”) If the governor apologizes, the magistrate will continue to stay in office even though he may not be satisfied; if the governor continues to insist on his way, the magistrate should make his final decision for departure after submitting his resignation up to three times [unless the governor accepted his resignation]. If the Governor Orders the Magistrate to Punish His Clerks and Military Officers Even Though It Was the Magistrate Himself Who Committed Wrongdoings, the Magistrate Should Request That Those Who Are Indicted Be Transferred to Another District for Their Trial. The reason that the clerks in the yamen commit crimes is that the magistrate fails to supervise and take control of them. If the governor intends to investigate and punish their crimes, the magistrate should have the offenders transferred to the neighboring district for their trial. If their crimes happened because of simple mistakes, they should be generously forgiven on the basis of an understanding between the magistrates. However, if the governor orders the magistrate to punish his subordinates personally, the magistrate will lose face because he has to order them to be flogged in the court of the yamen. Therefore, no matter how small the case may be, the magistrate must request from the governor that the trial of his subordinates be transferred to the neighboring district. If the Governor’s Order Is against the Law and Harmful to the Welfare of the People, the Magistrate Should Resist It Resolutely and Avoid Making a Mistake by Compromising Himself. When Ren Yan of the Han dynasty became magistrate of Wuwei, Emperor Guangwu personally called him in and admonished him, “Try to serve your superior well so that you do not lose your honor.” Ren Yan replied, “According to what I have heard, a loyal subject is not bound by his personal feeling, and the subject who is bound by his personal feeling is not loyal. To do the right thing and thereby serve one’s superior is the duty of a loyal subject; just to get along with my superior for my self-interest is not good for the interests of Your Majesty. So I can hardly accept your admonition to serve my superior well.” The emperor sighed and said, “You are right.” 22. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Changsun. He also served as magistrate of Yingchuan.

164

book III

The following happened when Zhang Zonglian was relegated to the position of prefect of Changzhou. Royal Inspector Li Li, who was in charge of reorganizing the military register of the Jiangnan region, sent an order to Zhang Zonglian to accompany him on an inspection tour. Because Li Li grabbed a large number of common people and forced them to enlist in the army, Zhang Zonglian had arguments with Li several times, making a protest against the injustice of his action. When Li Li became angry, Zhang Zonglian all of a sudden lay down on the ground, asking for the punishment of flogging. He pleaded, “Allow me to die on behalf of poor people.” Because of Zhang’s protest, many people were able to be saved from unjust requisitions. One Cannot Observe Propriety without Being Humble and Achieve Justice without Being Upright. The Superior Man Is the One Who Can Harmonize Propriety and Justice and Thereby Elevate Them to the Level of Dao [Way]. The way for a scholar-official to serve in the government is that he always makes himself prepared to quit his office, attaching the character qi [meaning “abandon”] on the wall and looking at it every morning and evening. He should be able to quit his post if he cannot perform his duty properly because of some interference or is bothered with something in his heart, or if his superior treats him rudely or ignores his work. Only when the governor realizes that the magistrate is not the kind of person with whom he can deal lightly can the magistrate perform his duty properly. If the magistrate is too much afraid of the governor and shows fear on his face, shaking before the governor, the governor will look down on him and keep pushing him to do the work as he pleases. Then the magistrate cannot preserve his position for long. This is all inevitable. However, the hierarchy of official rank should be duly observed. Even if it happens that the magistrate forsakes his official seal and returns home, his language and manner should be polite and modest, revealing hardly any signs of resentment, and that is true propriety. When Zhang Jiucheng was notary of the administrative assistant of the Zhendong military prefecture, soldiers and residents violated the law prohibiting the production of salt for private purposes, and the incident escalated to the neighboring districts. Zhang in his report to the governor said, “There are only a few who are responsible for breaking the law, and the rest of the people are all innocent.” The governor became indignant and reproached him for making such a 23. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongqi. He also served as an aide to the chamberlain of law enforcement of Nanjing. 24. An official of the Ming dynasty and a native of Nanfeng. He served as vice surveillance commissioner.

Public Ser vice

165

report. Then Zhang said, “Since there is nothing that I can do, how can I stay any longer?” He threw away his appointment letter and returned home. If the Magistrate Maintains a Good Relationship with His Counterpart in the Neighboring District, Treating Him with Propriety, There Will Be Little to Regret. Since There Is a Fraternal Love between the Magistrates of Two Neighboring Districts, It Should Not Be Allowed to Break Down Even if One Side Makes a Mistake. A troublesome relationship between the magistrates of neighboring districts usually originates in the following situations. When a magistrate tries to find a crime suspect who escaped to the neighboring district and his efforts to arrest him are frustrated because of protection provided by the other district to the man, a feud between the two districts is inevitable. A feud also arises in case each district tries to shift the responsibility of carry ing out extra duties to the other. The magistrate who dislikes losing in competition and wants to become a winner, no matter what it takes, often displays extreme sensitivity and makes much ado over trivial matters. If the other district indeed inflicts harm on his people only for personal purposes, it will be his duty to protect his own people as their magistrate. However, if the argument of his opponent is motivated by a good intention to bring about justice, and if his people are so wild and cunning that they try to use him as the woods for hiding themselves, he should be indignant, just like his neighbor, about their crime and bring them to justice. Therefore, it is not right to protect criminals simply because they are the residents of his own district; personal feeling should have no role in this case. It is indeed repugnant to see that his neighbor, making excuses, tries to escape the burden of extra duties and to shift his responsibility to others. However, if it turns out to be true that the parent of his neighbor is really sick or he himself is not well, it is proper that the magistrate should take the responsibility on behalf of his fellow magistrate. How can he risk ruining the good relationship with his neighbor just because of this little thing? The following happened when Song Jiu, great officer of the Liang dynasty, served as magistrate. His district was on the border of the state of Chu. The people on both sides planted cucumbers, but the ones on the side of the Liang dynasty grew well, while those on the side of Chu did not. This was because the people of Liang were diligent and very often watered their cucumbers. On the other hand, the people of Chu were lazy and neglected watering their crops, and consequently their cucumbers became dry and withered until they died. A magistrate of Chu did not like what he saw. Therefore, he sent his men during the night to 25. An official of the Liang dynasty during the Warring States period (476–221 B.C.).

166

book III

scratch the cucumbers on the side of Liang, and, as a result, some of the cucumbers on the side of Liang withered and died for the first time. A village head of Liang wanted to take revenge by damaging the cucumbers on the other side, but Song Jiu stopped him, saying, “Your way is nothing more than sharing the disaster with your opponent.” Then he ordered his men to cross the border and water the cucumbers during the night. The village heads of Chu found that their cucumbers were already well watered every morning and growing strong day by day. Later they discovered that this was the work of the village head of Liang. The magistrate of Chu was delighted and made a report to his king. The king of Chu was also pleased with the report and sent gifts to Liang, and this soon led to the alliance of the two countries. Since Collegiality Exists between Predecessor and Successor, the Magistrate Should Be Careful Not to Do What His Successor Would Complain About and Resent. Since the magistrate is supposed to have collegiality with his predecessor, people in the old days treated their predecessors with generosity, trying to cover their wrongdoings as much as they could while they were engaged in rectifying them quietly. If the new magistrate carries out his duty in a swift and gallant way to establish his own image, radically changing the general practice of the previous administration and pretending that spring has come at last after a long, hard winter, his virtue is shallow, and his way of discharging his duty is deficient in tact and skill. If the departure of his predecessor’s family is delayed and they still remain in his district, the new magistrate should provide them with help for their moving as if their business were his own. If some frivolous clerks in the yamen show insolence toward their former superior, the new magistrate should admonish them with all sincerity not to behave that way, and if they still continue to show an outrageous attitude toward their old magistrate, he should punish them severely. If His Predecessor Made a Mistake, the New Magistrate Should Try to Protect Him by Covering It Up; If His Mistake Is Serious, the New Magistrate Should Help Him within His Power So That His Predecessor Can Overcome His Crisis. If his predecessor embezzled public funds and stole grain from the state granary or created false documents, the new magistrate should not try to expose them right away. He should first set a time period in which his predecessor can make up for the loss. If he is not able to meet the deadline for restoration, the new magistrate will have to consult his superior.

Public Ser vice

167

If his predecessor happened to be a member of a powerful family or the local gentry and was therefore reckless and insolent in discharging his duty and dealing with people, relying on his background and giving little thought to the consequences of his actions, the new magistrate should be firm and resolute in conducting himself toward a man like that. Even if he experiences reprisals and has to suffer consequences for the rest of his life because of his action, he should not hesitate to take action. When Fu Yaoyu became magistrate of Xuzhou, he found that his predecessor had appropriated some of the provisions for the army. Fu Yaoyu tried to make up for the loss of the provisions but was dismissed from his office before he made full reparation. Nevertheless, Fu Yaoyu gave neither an explanation nor excuses. Shao Kangjie praised Fu Yaoyu: “O Qinzhi! You are clear and yet not shining, upright and yet not extreme, and courageous and yet courteous! What an achievement you made!” The following happened when Lu Bang governed Yuezhou. Some time earlier a big piece of timber floated down the river in his district. Not knowing that it was to be used for the construction of an imperial palace, his predecessor had sent it to the Department of Construction in his district. The imperial agent in charge of construction tried to accuse Lu Bang. However, Lu Bang did not make any excuse. Someone asked Lu to defend himself, but Lu answered, “If I tell the truth, my predecessor will receive punishment. I would rather take the blame and go home.” Many years later the whole truth was discovered. When State Councilor Chŏng Chihwa became magistrate of Kwangju, it happened that his predecessor was imprisoned and investigated for embezzling public funds. The task of investigation fell on Chŏng Chihwa, and he personally checked all the records related to the case. He was extremely pleased if he discovered anything that could help his predecessor, saying, “The bond between the predecessor and his successor is like that of brothers. I wish that what I found could be of assistance to save his life.” Finally, on the basis of the evidence that he found, he defended his predecessor before the governor, which resulted in commuting the sentence from death to a penalty of lesser degree. 26. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Qinzhi, and his pen name Xiaoyouji. He also served as vice director of the Secretariat. 27. Sha Yong, a scholar of the Song dynasty. Kangjie was his posthumous title. 28. Qinzhi was the courtesy name of Fu Yaoyu. 29. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Xiuqing. He also served as right assistant censor in chief. 30. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Yegyŏng, and his pen names Namgok and Kokgu. He also served as governor of Chŏlla, Hamgyŏng, and P’yŏngan provinces, as well as minister of taxation, minister of rites, and second and third state councilor.

168

book III

Generally Speaking, Experiences in Governing like Generosity and Severity in Conducting State Affairs and the Advantages and Disadvantages in Executing the Laws Should Be Either Handed Down or Communicated So That Problems, If There Are Any, Can Be Rectified. The following happened when Han Yanshou became prefect of Yingchuan. Earlier, his predecessor, Zhao Guanghan, had ordered officials and citizens to report to the government anything that was related to factionalism because he had found that his district was too much divided by factionalism, and he was proud of his achievements while he was in office. Because of his new policy, however, many people in his district made enemies. Han Yanshou, on the other hand, tried to teach the people in his district with propriety and humility. Worried that the people would not follow him, Han invited dozens of leading citizens one by one and personally entertained them with food and wine. He inquired about their customs and tried to listen to their grievances. Then he told them how to get along with each other, resolving all the resentments of the past and forgiving their enemies. Very impressed by the magistrate’s exhortations, all the elders wanted to take action right away. C H A P T E R : M A K I NG OF F IC I A L R E P ORT S

Official Reports Should Be Drafted by the Magistrate Himself with Extreme Care; They Cannot Be Trusted to the Hands of His Attendants. The Duke of Weiguo [Han Qi] was so diligent in carry ing out his administrative duties that he personally checked and examined all the records and documents. People said, “Your Honor is high in rank and status and also advanced in age. That is why the government sent you to a local district so that you could have some respite. You do not need to exhaust yourself by attending personally to little things.” Han replied, “If I dislike working hard, the officials in the yamen, as well as the people in the district, will suffer the consequences of my idleness. Furthermore, my stipend is as much as 10,000 maces per day. How can I feel comfortable without working?” When Han Chi served as magistrate or governor, he said, “State affairs cannot be carried out by one man alone.” Every time he drafted his official report, he first showed it to his subordinates, from his aides down to military officers. He submitted it after he made sure that everyone had approved it.

31. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zidu. He served as metropolitan governor.

Public Ser vice

169

The Magistrate Who Is Appointed for the First Time Is Often Embarrassed Because the Rules and Phrases Used in Drafting Official Documents Are Different from Those Found in the School Textbooks. When the Duke of Weiguo worked in the yamen, an official named Lu Zheng approached the table where Han was sitting and submitted an official document related to his duty in which his signature was missing. Upon noticing this, Han immediately covered the document with his sleeve, continuing to talk with him as if nothing had happened. When he finished talking with him, Han quietly rolled the document and returned it to Lu Zheng. Lu Zheng both was ashamed of his mistake and at the same time deeply admired the generosity of Han, saying, “His virtue is unsurpassed on the earth.” In his days in China a man who violated the rules and proprieties in drafting official documents was to be punished very severely. That is why Lu Zheng said that the Duke of Weiguo was a man of the greatest virtue. Record of Koksan stated: “Those who are appointed to the districts in the western provinces should familiarize themselves with the forms of Chinese official documents. In the last year of Qianlong, a Chinese military commander in charge of Fenghuang Fortress sent an official document to the magistrate of Ŭiju, informing him of the reason for the delay of a Chinese envoy to Korea. Until the document reached Hwangju, there was no one, including the governor, who could read the document. Therefore, they were unable to make a report to the government in Seoul concerning the document, and this almost caused a diplomatic disaster. If the magistrates or governors in ordinary times had familiarized themselves with the documents issued by the Court of Interpreters [Sayŏgwŏn] and the Board of Rites, they could have avoided such an embarrassment. The document sent by the Chinese was written in standard Chinese mixed with Manchu. Our scholar-officials were helpless because they neglected studying the language commonly used in China.” The Official Reports on the Payment of Taxes, Dispatches of Personnel, the Distribution of Royal Edicts, and Keeping Records of Orders from Superiors Can Be Entrusted to the Care of the Clerks in the Yamen Since They Are Supposed to Be Handled According to the Precedents. The payment of taxes such as tribute to the royal court, the cloth tax, the military tax, and the cloth tax for military ser vice within a designated time is called 32. Unknown. 33. Hwanghae and Pyŏngan provinces. 34. Qianlong is the reign name of Gaozong, the fourth emperor (1739–1796) of the Qing dynasty. 35. Fenghuang Fortress: probably modern Fengcheng in Liaodong China. It is on the way to Ŭiju in North Korea.

170

book III

“payment to those above” [sangnap]. The dispatch of personnel, including artisans, enlisted soldiers, convicts, and yamen clerks, is called “raising and sending” [kisong]. The proclamation of royal edicts and admonitions without delay is called “letting the people know” [chihoe]. Keeping records of official orders from the superior office is called “record of arrivals” [tobu]. Documents like these can be entrusted to the care of yamen clerks, and there will be no problem. However, if there is a possibility that the superior office may reject the sangnap payment, it is advisable to attach an explanation of the potential problems of irregularity at the end of the document. When I was magistrate of Koksan, I wrote as follows whenever I sent honey as a tribute to the royal court: “The officials in charge of tribute usually say that white honey and yellow honey are different in quality and demand that the white honey be replaced by yellow honey. Since the people have to suffer great damage because of this, I personally examined all these products, following the instructions. Therefore, I would appreciate it if you would tell the men in charge not to reject and send back the items I presented to you.” The governor read my statement and, after praising it, told his officers to accept the tribute I sent. It Is Essential That Official Reports Concerning Irregularities in Administering Sangnap Payments, Requests for Relief or Assistance, Statements about Disobeying an Order from the Superior Office, or Self-Defense against an Accusation Be Able to Demonstrate Convincing Logic, as Well as Sincerity and Integrity; Otherwise They Cannot Persuade the Reader. When there are serious maladies in the district that need to be rectified, the report on those problems should describe them as accurately as possible; otherwise, it cannot persuade the reader. In case the magistrate makes a request for the transport of grain, or financial relief, or reduction or deferment or exemption of taxes, his reports should show fully and clearly the reason that his request should be accepted. If it happens that the magistrate is opposed to the orders of his superior, his language and expression should be humble enough to avoid his displeasure. When his superior reproaches him and he tries to defend himself, his statement should be sincere; in that way he can dispel the suspicions. When the Magistrate Deals with a Legal Document in Which a Man’s Life Is at Stake, He Should Be Careful in Erasing or Revising Its Contents. When He Deals with Documents Concerning Thieves, It Is Important to Make Sure That They Are Sealed Tight. In cases of homicide the governor [on the basis of his review of the case that he received from the magistrate] writes his judgment [hoeje] on the list of con36. If the magistrate reports on a certain case, the governor makes his judgment on it and returns it to the magistrate. Th is is called hoeje, which indicates the governor’s reply on the reported

Public Ser vice

171

tents, which is exposed to the manipulation of yamen clerks. Those who take bribes often erase or revise crucial words in the documents, and if that happens, there is no way for the magistrate to find that out. When I was in exile in Changgi, it happened that a yamen clerk committed murder. Several yamen clerks conspired and radically changed the autopsy report. After a while the document carrying the sentence in the murder case arrived from the governor’s office, and the magistrate who read it was utterly surprised and could not comprehend it. Unable to uncover the conspiracy, the magistrate eventually had to release the suspect. What the magistrate saw must have been the list of contents. If the reply of the governor disagrees with his own, the magistrate must check the original copy of the document when he visits the provincial yamen; he should not close the case if he has any suspicion in his heart. Reports on the Agricultural Situation and the Water Level of the Reservoirs Are Generally of Two Kinds, That Is, Those That Are Urgent and Those That Are Less Urgent. However, It Will Be Advisable for the Magistrate to Submit Them All before the Deadline. If rain came down after a severe drought, the report on that will no doubt be very urgent. The regular reports that are supposed to be made every five or ten days are simply formal. A border district located far from the provincial capital can be allowed to send its report through its neighboring district. If the distance between the district and the capital is as much as several hundred li, the expense of sending the reports will not be insignificant. Since it is natural that the border district wants to reduce expenses for sending reports, there is no reason not to allow these reports to be sent together. In a case like this the report should be made one day before the dispatch. That way one cannot miss the deadline. What Is Important in Balancing Accounts Is to Rectify Wrongful Practices, and in Levying Taxes It Is Essential to Examine Potential Loopholes. Reports on the collection of loaned grain should show the amount of the remaining balance after the payment of all expenditures, the remainder from the previous year, and the amount of mogok for the current year, which is extra grain case. The reason that the reply is included in the list of contents is that it is very brief when it is written in Chinese. 37. A small sea town in North Kyŏngsang Province. Tasan was exiled here briefly before he was transferred to Kangjin. 38. Waste surcharge or extra grain collected by the government (to make up for grain lost during transportation or from mice, impurities, etc.). Th is was, in fact, a form of interest and was normally 10 percent of the principal payment on the grain loan.

172

book III

collected to make up for potential loss expected in the process of collecting the principal grain loan. These reports should be clearly written so that the inspectors may not be allowed to get suspicious. What is essential in the report on levying taxes actually consists of eight or nine lines. It concerns the grade of the farmland, the amount of taxes levied based on the grade of the farmland, and finding out how much rice or grain is collected per kyŏl of land. This is the crucial matter to which the magistrate should pay attention, and nothing suspicious should be allowed. Nonessential Items in the Monthly Report Had Better Be Eliminated after Consultation with the Superior Officer. Monthly reports are mostly formal. Nevertheless, some of the items may deserve to be kept at least in their titles. However, a case like the arrest warrant of Hwang Chingi is of little use. It is ninety years since Hwang Chingi, royal messenger of King Yŏngjo, rose in rebellion in the Musin year [1728] and defected. He must have been dead long since. How, then, can you arrest him? There are many cases like this in the monthly reports. Therefore, they should be eliminated after consulting the superior. When Reports Are Delayed, a Reprimand by the Superior Is Inevitable. This Is Not the Way to Serve in the Government. It often happens that a yamen clerk in charge of sending reports spends quickly all the rice assigned for his traveling expenses and, since he has nothing left to carry out his duties, he gathers the reports and tries to send them together at one time or asks a messenger of his neighboring district to carry his own. Th is is the reason that the reports are often delayed. When the magistrate learns that the reports were not delivered on time, the man in charge will either make preposterous lies or blame the carrier of the reports or the liaison agent for being sick or forgetting his duty. How can you believe them? If the problem appears to be not very serious, you can show the clerk your generosity by allowing him to handle the report in the way he wants to. If the report is urgent, however, you should give a stern warning to the chief clerk that he will be responsible along with his man if something goes wrong. Then there will be no delay. I have observed that the governor evaluates the job performance of magistrates in his district, marking “below” or “average” with comments such as these: 39. In the fourth year of Yŏngjo’s reign (1728) he participated in a rebellion and disappeared when he failed. Because he was never found, he was believed to have defected to China.

Public Ser vice

173

“There were some mistakes in his reports,” “His reports arrived late,” and so on. How can you afford not to be careful? All Reports, Either Submitted to Superiors or Sent Down to the People, Should Be Collected and Made a Separate Book for the Sake of Reference in the Future. Items like Monthly Reports Should Also Be Set Aside and Made a Separate Record. The reports submitted to the superior should be made into a book, and the instructions and notices sent down to the people should also be made into a separate book for reference. It may not be necessary, however, to keep a record of documents like regular monthly reports and other papers that are of little importance. The official dispatches sent by the superior usually set a time limit for the accomplishment of the orders. Since the yamen clerks tend to neglect observing the time limit, the magistrate should make a separate book for orders and instructions from above and oversee the clerks’ work on them. If he finds any negligence on their part, he should punish them without forgiveness. Otherwise the clerks will repeat the same mistakes, trusting their good luck, and the magistrate will receive a reprimand from his superior for his failure to control his men. In Case the Magistrate Who Is in Charge of the National Border Has to Submit a Report, He Should Familiarize Himself with the Standard Form of Reporting with the Utmost Caution and Discretion. The typical courtesy greetings adorning the start of reports [for instance, “Being a man of little talent, I have been worried day and night that I might not be able to fulfi ll my duty”] should be avoided, and the report should state the message directly with clarity and sincerity. A fine model for this kind of report can be found in the works of Lu Xuangong [Lu Zhi]. His style shows a fine example of clarity and sincerity. One can also learn from the model of logic and fluency set by Wang Yangming. (The literary styles of the two men show parallelism and 40. Lu Zhi (754–805), a famous minister of the Tang dynasty. Xuangong was his posthumous title. He was famous for producing outstanding memorials to the emperor, and the collection of his memorials was handed down as the model for memorials. His book, published under the title Selected Memorials of Liu (Liuzou luexuan), was also popu lar in Korea. 41. Wang Yangming (1472–1529) was an idealist Neo-Confucian phi losopher and official of Ming China who opposed the rational dualism and orthodox philosophy of Zhu Xi. His name was Shouren, and his courtesy name was Boan, but he was often referred to as Wangming Shensheng or Wangming Zi. He founded the Yaojiang school or Yangming School of Mind, which became one of the dominant Confucian schools in the mid- and late Ming period. He also served as governor of Jiangxi.

174

book III

symmetry characteristic of pianliwen style.) However, what is crucial to convincing the reader is good intention and sincerity. C H A P T E R : C OL L E C T I NG TA X E S A N D T R I BU T E

Taxes Originate from the People, and the Duty of the Magistrate Is to Collect and Deliver Them to the Government. If the Magistrate Effectively Oversees the Irregularities of His Subordinates, There Will Be No Harm Even If He Shows Generosity to the People [in Collecting Taxes]. However, If He Fails to Oversee the Irregularities of His Subordinates, He Will Accomplish Nothing Even If He Is Strict in Dealing with Them. I have observed that a foolish magistrate who is rumored to take care of his people always fails to observe the deadline for delivering collected taxes to the government, and one who is known to be devoted to his duty often robs the people of their property, generating serious resentment. The truly wise magistrate is the one who tries to observe the deadline while he maintains an attitude of generosity in his rule. Otherwise he will face complaints from both above and below, and it is not too hard to realize this. Precepts for Governing [Zhengzhen] states as follows: Rigorous pressure on tax collecting is never to be shaken because it is a way of helping the people, and administering law and justice must allow no mistake because it can be an instrument of educating people. The magistrate should save the people suffering from poverty in the springtime as if they were his own children; however, he should be reluctant to collect taxes from them, hating it as if it were his enemy. To promote one benefit is no better than to remove one abuse, and to start a new business can be worse than to reduce the load of present work. The dignity of the magistrate arises from integrity, and good administration results from diligence. Cheng Mingdao wrote, “Regard the people as if they were wounded,” and placed his statement in calligraphic script on a scroll and kept it by the place where he sat when he conducted official business, and Li Wenjing repeated a phrase all his life, “To be frugal is to love people.” 42. A literary style that focused on parallelism and ornate language. It was popu lar in the Wei and Jin dynasties and the Northern and Southern dynasties. 43. Cheng Mingdao (1032–1085) was a precursor of Neo-Confucian philosophy and a major influence on Zhu Xi, the architect of Chinese Neo-Confucianism. He was also called Cheng Hao and was famous along with his brother, Cheng Yichuan (Cheng Yi). He was known to have studied briefly under Zhou Dunyi, but Zhou’s direct influence on Cheng’s philosophy is somewhat tenuous. His philosophy advocated the integration of man and Heaven, rejecting such dualisms as subject and object. He also advocated state education based on Chinese classics and Confucian moral values. 44. Li Dong, a scholar of the Song dynasty. Wenjing was his posthumous title. He was also called Master Yanping. Zhu Xi respected him as his teacher.

Public Ser vice

175

When Yang Cheng was prefect of Daozhou, he failed to meet the deadline for delivering taxes, and the governor often put pressure on him. Being aware of his failure, Yang Cheng submitted a report in which he evaluated his job performance as follows: “Although I worked hard and made myself exhausted to take care of people, I have accomplished little on collecting taxes. So I grade my accomplishment as ‘the lowest.’ ” The governor sent his assistant to put pressure on Yang Cheng. The governor’s representative arrived in the district of Yang Cheng, but the latter did not show up to greet him. He thought this very strange and asked one of the yamen clerks of the district. The clerk answered, “Our magistrate is now in jail, believing that he committed a crime.” Quite shocked, the governor’s representative rushed to the jail and said to Yang Cheng, “Why are you here, and what was the crime that you committed?” Nevertheless, Yang Cheng, with all his family, slept outside his official residence, waiting for the representative’s decision. The governor’s man immediately left. Land Taxes and Cloth Taxes Are Indispensable to the National Revenue. The Collection of These Taxes Should Start from Affluent Households. That Way One Can Eliminate the Chances for Potential Embezzlement by Yamen Clerks and Meet the Deadline for the Delivery of Taxes to the Provincial Treasury. The current state of the national revenue is declining day by day to the degree that the stipends of public officials and the reimbursements paid to government agents are always in arrears every year. Despite this, the fertile land of affluent households falls into the hands of yamen clerks, and the grain taxes fail to arrive on time every year. As a result, magistrates are arrested, interrogated, and dismissed one after another. However, they still do not realize what they are up to. How lamentable! In the Kapsul year [1814] there was a severe famine in the southern Chŏlla region. Residing in a seacoast village at that time, I witnessed these things [irregularities, corruption, exploitation, and so on] with my own eyes. If we look at the matter this way, what is most precious for a magistrate who governs the people is the letter ming, which signifies “alertness.” Almost all the districts had more or less the same problems; the only exception was Haenam, the district of Yi Poksu. Magistrate Yi fi rst collected taxes from affluent households in the autumn and used them to satisfy the quota set by the government. After that he gave the following orders: “As for the taxes that I administered, yamen 45. An official of the Tang dynasty. 46. “A seacoast village” indicates Kyuldong in Kangjin, where Tasan resided in the early years of his exile. 47. Unknown.

176

book III

clerks cannot touch them, and people will also be prohibited from paying taxes privately.” In the following year he opened the granary and collected the rest of the taxes within a month, so he was able to send a ship loaded with the grain tax, sounding a drum. Deeply resentful of the way their magistrate handled collecting taxes, yamen clerks conspired and falsely accused him of misconduct. As a result, he was dismissed from his office by a secret royal inspector. How sad! When Left Chamberlain for the Capital [zuoneishi] Ni Kuan served as magistrate, many people in his district were delinquent in paying their taxes because he often took their difficult situation into consideration. Because of the high delinquency rate of tax payments, he faced the danger of dismissal from his office. Upon hearing about this problem, the people in his district were afraid of losing him, so they voluntarily paid taxes, large households using their oxcarts and small households carrying the load on their backs, and they continued to work on paying taxes until their magistrate received the highest grade in the evaluation of his job performance. If the magistrate loves his people like this, he can accomplish his goal of collecting taxes even without putting pressure on his people. When Cho Kŭksŏn was magistrate, he had the people themselves measure the grain they brought in when they paid their taxes. The people in his district, pleased with the integrity and fairness of their magistrate, voluntarily paid their taxes within the deadline. When Wei Ao of the Tang dynasty was metropolitan governor, Zheng Guang, the emperor’s maternal uncle, did not pay his taxes for many years because the chief steward in charge of his farm was very arrogant. Wei Ao arrested him and stated in his memorial to the emperor, “Your Majesty made me your representative. How, then, can I apply the laws only to poor people?” The emperor went to the empress dowager and said, “Wei Ao cannot be persuaded.” Then the empress dowager paid taxes for the steward, and the man was released. Wang Hae of the Koryŏ dynasty was surveillance commissioner of Kyŏngsang Province, and the people were afraid of him and obeyed him. Manjong and 48. In 1816, the sixteenth year of the reign of Sunjo, Secret Royal Inspector Cho Manyŏng dismissed Yi Poksu, magistrate of Haenam, for failing to administer his district properly. 49. An official of the Han dynasty. He also served as censor in chief. 50. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Zifei, and his posthumous title Zhen. He served as Hanlin academician and provincial military commander. Men of power and influence were afraid of him because of his strong character. 51. Brother of Empress Dowager Xiaoming, the mother of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. He served as provincial military commander and grand guardian of the heir apparent. 52. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong (1213–1259). He also served as magistrate of Chinju and as special mayor of Tonggyŏng (Kyŏngju).

Public Ser vice

177

Manjŏn, Buddhist monks and sons of Ch’oe I, loaned 50,000 sŏk of rice at a high interest rate and exploited people ruthlessly by sending their men [to collect payments on the loans]. Therefore, the people who paid their debts to them were often unable to pay their taxes. To solve this problem, Wang Hae gave the following order: “Those who pressure the people to pay their private loans before the people pay their taxes will be punished.” Because of this injunction, Manjong and Manjŏn and their followers could not dare to act as they pleased, and taxes could be collected on time. The Superior Yamen Always Puts Pressure on the District for Military Taxes Paid in Currency or Cloth. The Magistrate Should Carefully Oversee the Collection of These Taxes, Avoiding the Mistake of Levying Them Twice and Prohibiting the Practice of Rejecting the Cloth; Otherwise, He Will Face Complaints from the People. Years ago a yamen clerk of Koksan tried to collect military cloth taxes recklessly. He levied 900 maces on one bolt of cloth for the artillery unit, and the price was so outrageously high that it almost caused riots among the people. Upon arriving in the district and assuming office, I gave this order: “Those who pay the military cloth tax should come to the yamen and pay it in person.” After a few months a commoner brought a roll of cloth to pay for his military tax, and a yamen clerk submitted a ruler to measure the cloth. When I looked at it, the ruler had official seals on both ends. I asked the clerk, “Where did you get this ruler?” He answered, “I got it from the provincial office.” I said, “Why is it so long?” Then I called an official slave and had him bring The Ceremonies of Five Rites that stipulated the standards of measurements, including the ruler. When I compared the two rulers, the one with the official seals was longer than the standard one by 2 ch’on. I ordered the clerk to kneel down in the yard of the yamen and interrogated him. I asked him where he had found his ruler with an official seal, and he finally confessed that it had been made in our district. The magistrate is a person who deals directly with common people. The king is so high in his station that he cannot attend to the affairs of the people in his own person. Thus he delegates his duty to local officials like the magistrate, and therefore, the magistrate has to take care of all affairs on behalf of the king. 53. Ch’oe I (?–1249) was a leader of the military regime of the late Koryŏ dynasty. His original name was U. Inheriting the power of his father, Ch’oe Ch’unghŏn, he carried out state affairs, including the fight against the invasion of the Mongols. 54. The military cloth tax levied on those who supported the soldiers of the artillery unit was called p’obo’po.

178

book III

However, the magistrates of our days, being proud of themselves, pay attention only to general matters, relegating the work of collecting taxes to the hands of yamen clerks. As a result, all sorts of exploitation take place, but the magistrate pretends not to know about it. How can he say that he does his job? Tribute and Local Products Are Allocated by the Superior Yamen. One Must Observe the Existing Tradition and at the Same Time Resist Additional Demands in Order to Eliminate Evil Practices. When Yang Cheng was prefect of Daozhou, his district had a large pygmy population, so his district was required to send some of them to the court every year. Observing that these poor people had to be separated from their families and saddened by their predicament, Yang Cheng submitted a memorial to the king and requested that this inhumane practice be stopped. He said, “The people in our district are all so extremely small that I do not know which ones to send.” His petition was accepted, and the evil practice finally ceased. Very grateful and happy, the people in his district named their sons Yang, the surname of Yang Cheng, when they were born. When Song Ze was in charge of Ye District, the Ministry of Revenue through the Supervisorate [Tijusi] levied ox bezoars on his district and applied pressure to collect them as fast as it could. People [of other districts] started killing their oxen in order to procure bezoars, but Song Ze submitted a report to the Supervisorate in which he stated as follows: “Ox bezoars are produced by sick oxen when contagious diseases are rampant. However, we are now living in the reign of peace, and our district is filled with that august energy. Our oxen are naturally healthy and fat, and therefore, we are unable to secure ox bezoars.” The authorities of the Supervisorate were unable to reprimand the magistrate, and his district was exempted from the levies of ox bezoars. The following is found in the Records of Tasan [Tasannok]. “Abalone is produced in Cheju Island, and its size is as big as a mud turtle. The abalone is preserved in ashes and, pierced by bamboo sticks, dried under the sun, but since no mark for piercing is shown in the abalone, it is called muhyŏlbok [abalone without holes]. In recent years the governor has demanded abalones to the extent that they have increasingly become a burden on the local people. In the Kangjin and Haenam regions there are trees called saengdalja. They are green even in wintertime, looking like the trees of tea growing in the mountains. Oil was extracted out of these trees, and it was used as a medicine for tumors and boils. In the last 55. An official of the Qing dynasty. His courtesy name was Liqing. 56. Th is is presumed to be Tasan’s own work, although it is not a major one. It has not survived.

Public Ser vice

179

few years the governor has demanded this oil, and it has become a burden on the people.” The magistrate should never accept an abusive practice like this. Miscellaneous Taxes and Tribute Are a Great Burden on Poor People. Unless They Can Be Procured Easily, They Should Not Be Levied. That Way the Magistrate Can Save Himself from Making an Error. One summer day when State Councilor Yi Kyŏngyŏ was magistrate of Ch’ungwŏn during the reign of Kwanghaegun, he ordered the people of his district to dig out arrowroots. People had no idea why their magistrate gave this order. The following spring the Directorate of Construction [Yŏnggŏn Togam] levied thousands of bundles of arrowroots on the districts across the country, and the price of arrowroots rose so much that it almost equaled that of ginseng. However, the people of Magistrate Yi’s district did not have to worry because they already had enough of them. Besides, they were able to sell their surplus arrowroots at a good price to the neighboring districts that urgently needed them to meet their quota, and the sale of their extra arrowroots helped alleviate their tax burdens. The government also levied thousands of pieces of timber on the districts. Having observed tall trees growing in the northern mountains years earlier, Magistrate Yi had either prohibited or restricted logging of those trees. When the government order came down to send up the timber, he called in the merchants of his district and said, “If anyone among you can cut down those trees and transport them to the government, I will award him half their price.” The merchants responded to his call enthusiastically. Although the people in other districts were busy preparing their quota of timber, those in Magistrate Yi’s district enjoyed life as usual. If the Superior Yamen Unreasonably Allocates an Assignment to a District, the Magistrate of the District Should Try to Make an Appeal So That the Unreasonable Order May Not Be Carried Out. Assignments forcibly imposed on a district are mostly those that are difficult to carry out. If the assigned corvée ser vices are excessive, or the tribute that the government demands is difficult to find, or the authorities reject the tribute 57. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chikbu, and his pen name Paekgang. He also served as governor of Kyŏngsang Province, minister of justice, and third state councilor. 58. A temporary government agency created to construct or repair royal shrines, tombs, palaces, and the like.

180

book III

goods and demand different ones, require that the district pay dearly for goods that are cheap, or call on people in distant districts for labor duty when people are available in nearby districts, the magistrate should definitely make an appeal, pointing out the unreasonableness of such orders. If his appeal is not accepted, and even if he is in danger of dismissal from his post, he should not yield to the pressure. When Jiang Yao was in charge of Yangzhou, Jiang Bin (the favorite minister of the emperor) ordered him to report on the large households of Yangzhou under the pretext of a royal order. Jiang Yao reported as follows: “The large households in my district are only four: first, the Salt Distribution Commission [Yanyunsi] of Lianghuai; second, the prefecture of Yangzhou; third, the customhouse of Yangzhou; and fourth, the district of Jiangdu. The people of Yangzhou are so poor that they have no large households.” Jiang Bin, using the excuse of a royal order, also demanded, “The royal court wants to have three ladies good at embroidery.” Jiang Yao replied, “In Yangzhou there are only three women who fit that description.” Jiang Bin asked, “Where are they?” Jiang Yao answered, “You cannot fi nd them among the commoners. I have three daughters, and if the court really needs them, I am ready to offer them.” Jiang Bin did not know what to say, and the order was finally withdrawn. Payments to the Palace Supply Bureau [Naesusa] and the Palace Estates [Kungbang] Should Not Be Overlooked Because There Will Be Great Trouble Unless the Deadline Is Met. When State Councilor Hŏ Chŏk was governor of Chŏlla Province, a servant of Lady Cho, a royal concubine, arrived at the yamen and asked for a special favor from the governor. The governor told the man that his request was unreasonable and reproached him. Then the servant replied, “Without granting my request, do you expect to get promotion for a better position?” The governor ordered his guards to flog the man until he died. Upon hearing the news, the royal concubine cautioned the men in her household not to say a word about the matter. She said, “If His Majesty happens to learn that my servant was killed while he was behaving outrageously, he will reproach me for the incident.” (This is from Chŏng Chaeryun’s Kongsa kyŏnmunnok.) 59. An official of the Ming dynasty. Because he was a favorite of Emperor Wuzong, he wielded great power; however, when the emperor died, he was cruelly executed along with his four sons. 60. A government agency in the royal palace during the Chosŏn dynasty that took charge of various royal supplies, including rice and grain, cloth, miscellaneous goods, and slaves. 61. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Yŏch’a, and his pen names Mukjae and Hyuong. He served as minister of taxation, minister of justice, and minister of war and finally as chief state councilor.

Public Ser vice

181

C H A P T E R : R E SP ON DI NG TO A R E QU I SI T ION OR DE R FOR SE R V IC E

If the Superior Yamen Requisitions Service from the Magistrate, He Should Obey the Order. Trying to Make Excuses for Some Accident or Illness to Maintain His Comfort Is Not the Right Way for the Superior Man to Choose. If the superior yamen requisitions ser vice from the magistrate and the magistrate tries to avoid it, the burden is likely to be transferred to some other person. Then that person will be resentful. The things that he is reluctant to do should not be imposed on others. If there is no irregularity in the requisition, he must follow the order and carry it out with no mistake. If he receives an order and is dispatched to a new task, he has to do his best without showing displeasure. If the Magistrate Is Selected as a Member of a Delegation Carrying an Official Report of His Superior to Seoul, He Must Not Decline This. If the magistrate is engaged in attending to such important business as collecting late grain taxes or surveying unplowed lands or discharging some other urgent matter and is therefore unable to leave his district, he must report on his situation so that he can be exempted from his assignment. When he pays tribute taxes like ginseng or timber, he should also select people who can carry them to Seoul. If the Magistrate Is Selected and Appointed Chief Presiding Officer for the Ancestral Rite at the Royal Palace and Confucian Shrine, He Should Purify Himself by Taking a Bath and Perform the Rite with a Sincere Heart. These days, officials presiding over the ancestral rite enjoy the company of entertaining girls near the altar or shrine or go out for a picnic carry ing wine. This is against propriety. The one who is in charge of the rite should not neglect purifying himself nor be careless in his movements when he walks up and down before the altar, bends himself, or prostrates himself on the floor. Furthermore, he should not use either unclean or damaged vessels or sacrificial meat and wine that are spoiled and sour. Wherever it stays, the heart of the superior man spares no effort to accomplish things.

182

book III

If the Magistrate Is Selected as a Supervisor of the State Civil Service Examination and Conducts the Examination along with the Officials in Seoul, He Should Endeavor to Discharge His Duty with the Utmost Impartiality. If the Examiners in Seoul Unfairly Try to Show Favor to an Individual, He Must Stop This, Arguing against the Injustice of Their Favoritism. If a magistrate is selected as an examiner [of the state civil ser vice examination], the applicants of his district often try to bribe him to gain an advantage. If it happens that a few men succeed in accomplishing their designs, the people in the rest of the districts will not hide their resentment. A man of good judgment, therefore, will not do such a thing. It is also not right for the magistrate who is now supervisor of the examination to discharge his duty by looking on with folded arms or taking no action no matter what happens during the examination. He should not forget that he has to join others in signing the list of successful applicants before the list is submitted to the king. If the examiners in Seoul, therefore, committed any wrongdoing, he is supposed to share the result with them. Once he is appointed examiner, he has to do his job. That means that if other examiners attempt to recommend a composition of low quality, he should be able to argue with them. If they try to disregard an outstanding work, he should protest, and if there is a suspicion of bribery or personal favor, he should argue until justice is done to all the participants in the examination. The selection of successful candidates must be based on the principle of justice, and there should not be a single exception. Only then will people praise the examiner. If the capacity and talent of the magistrate are small, his name will be known only within his district; however, if they are great, his name will fill the whole province, and that is a true indication of his greatness. If There Is a Criminal Case Involving a Human Life, the Magistrate Is Required to Assume the Role of Coroner by the Law. Therefore, He Should Not Try to Avoid That Role and Violate the Law Unless He Wants to Be Punished. If the magistrate who became an examiner or a coroner encounters a difficult case, he should select a man of integrity and good judgment among his sons or relatives and send him to the place where the criminal act took place so that his man can conduct a secret investigation. When progress is made on the investigation, the magistrate either goes to the place and meets his agent during the night or can correspond with him by letter and eventually uncover the evil crime. That is the best way to avoid a wrongful decision on the case. I have observed that the magistrate who works as an examiner or a coroner usually does not send his agent secretly; instead, he takes with him a yamen clerk for his investigation, but being easily bought off by bribes, his clerk intervenes and obstructs justice in the case.

Public Ser vice

183

Thus it often happens that the first decision on a homicide case, although it was free from any error, is reversed later, in the second trial. Manipulating the case to make it more complicated, the yamen clerk [who works as an aide to the magistrate for investigation] permanently puts an innocent person in a trap. Since a wrongful decision like this can cause additional crimes in his district or make the magistrate of his neighboring district, who participated in the investigation of the same case, subject to the danger of a reprimand, it is truly deplorable. In the Olden Days It Never Happened That the Magistrate Submitted False Reports to his Superior for the Sake of His Personal Convenience. In the olden days rendering judgments and their execution rarely extended past the end of a year. Therefore, three times a month the magistrate conducted trials along with his counterparts in the neighboring districts, trying to comprehend the real situation as quickly as he could. Nowadays we no longer find this kind of rigor and discipline in administering justice. Thus even a case like homicide is prolonged, exceeding the limit of a year, and the criminal becomes old while he is in prison. Naturally the practice of magistrates’ joint investigation of criminal cases has also been abolished. They just meet together once for the initial hearing and after that three times a month only to make reports on the cases to their superior. Their superior also knows about this and condones their practice of administering justice. So trials continue to be delayed, and the chances for reviewing the cases are remote despite the years of waiting. This is certainly not the original intention of the law. If the Magistrate Supervises the Activity of Transporting Grain to the State Granary, Eliminating the Evil Practice of Collecting Miscellaneous Fees and Various Other Forms of Exploitation, the Streets Will Be Filled with Praise of the Magistrate. The state granaries are located in various places across the land. In Kyŏngsang Province there are Masan Granary of Ch’angwŏn, Kasan Granary of Chinju, and Samnang Granary of Miryang; in Chŏlla Province, Yŏngsan Granary of Naju, Pŏpsŏng Granary of Yŏnggwang, and Tŏksŏng Granary of Hamnyŏl; and in Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, Kongse Granary of Asan. The people living inland come to the granaries carry ing the grain to pay their taxes on either coolie racks or vehicles. When they finally arrive at their destination after passing over the mountains and rivers, rapacious agents and cunning clerks working at the granaries conspire and cheat on the weight of the grain. The exploitation of yamen clerks is even more vicious. Whipped and kicked, 62. Racks shaped like the letter A carried on the shoulder.

184

book III

people cry out, and the sound of their outcries fills the street. Nevertheless, the magistrate who is to supervise the activities at the granary pretends not to hear the noise while he enjoys music with entertaining girls. Is this the right way to discharge his duty? When he visits the granary, he should first secretly dispatch a man of good judgment to the place so that he can discover the real situation there. In that way he can prevent the evil gang from doing harm and save poor people from their sufferings. This measure, which is absolutely necessary, should be put into practice right away. Some granaries use rivers for transporting grain. Kahŭng Granary in Ch’ungju and Hŭngwŏn Granary in Wŏnju are examples. I have often observed that when a ship loaded with grain is about to sail, runners of the shipyard and the chief of the garrison harbor try to detain the merchant ship under the pretext of escorting the ship. They make it stay in the river for as long as several days by confiscating the key and oars of the ship. Thus the bribe for taking the ship back amounts to hundreds of p’un. The magistrate supervising the shipment of the grain should pay close attention to this kind of irregularity and prohibit any wrongdoing. If a Ship Carrying Grain Is Shipwrecked within the Boundary of His District, the Magistrate Must Rush to Retrieve the Rice from the Water and Dry It as if He Were Snatching It out of the Fire. When a boat carry ing grain is shipwrecked, the rice salvaged from the shipwreck is distributed to the residents of the district, but this practice has become a real disaster for the people. The rice salvaged from the sunken ship is in most cases impossible to cook; it cannot be made into either gruel or wine or sauce, and no charity under Heaven can be worse than that. One sŏk of rice soaked in water increases in quantity to almost 7 tu, and when it is cooked and dried, its quantity decreases by almost 6 tu. The government, however, makes the people pay for rice bloated in quantity with rice shrunk in quantity, and this is the cause of their grievances. Furthermore, the sea of the districts where the shipwrecks take place is dangerous, with high waves, and naturally the people in those districts are always exposed to such accidents, as well as suffering because of the bad rice. How sad their situation is! If the magistrate happens to encounter such a case, he should separate damaged rice by examining its quality. If the rice is too bad to be made into gruel, he should not distribute it to the people but should count the rice as rotten. (The law 63. The lowest unit of the old currency, worth 1/100 tael. 64. According to the source text, the exact amount is 6 tu, 7 sŭng, and 5 hop. One sŏk of rice is equivalent to 15 or 20 tu (or mal). 65. According to the source text, the exact amount is 5 tu, 8 sŭng, and 5 hop.

Public Ser vice

185

prohibits distributing rotten rice to the people.) Only the rice still edible should be distributed at a reasonable rate of interest. Shipwrecks of grain ships are caused deliberately in many cases. However, unless the suspicion is verified by clear evidence, it is a custom handed down from old times that the magistrate deal with a suspect leniently. The magistrate should not try to extract a confession from the suspect by the use of physical coercion or any other forcible means when the evidence of the crime is not clear. If he performs injustice in that way, he will face the retribution of Heaven. If the Magistrate Is Appointed Escort Commissioner and Is Charged with Escorting Foreign Envoys When They Arrive or Leave, He Ought to Be Extremely Careful in Observing Protocol So That There Will Be No Controversy. The magistrate is often appointed escort commissioner on a temporary basis, and he is given titles like hohaeng ch’asa or taegang ch’asa. What is important about this mission is not to make mistakes and thereby cause a controversy. I have observed that the controversies are the work of escort commissioners themselves. When problems occur, they blame one another or argue among themselves, and it is truly embarrassing. The roadways taken by foreign envoys for their travel are supposed to be lit by torches during the night. Runners and military officers are called from various districts to light the road, and they harass the people under the pretext of carry ing out their job. Even though the magistrate passes by the road only once as an escort commissioner, he should strictly prohibit such harassment and severely punish those who practice it. Since Investigations of Shipwrecked Vessels of Foreign Nationality on Our Soil Are Urgent but Difficult to Carry Out, the Magistrate Should Hurry to Visit the Place of the Accident without Delay. There are five things that the magistrate must keep in mind when he conducts investigations of foreign vessels shipwrecked on our soil. 1. Courtesy toward foreigners must be observed. I have observed that the people of our country treat foreigners with disrespect after seeing their shaved heads and the narrow sleeves of their clothes. Consequently, they lose their dignity in the eyes of foreigners when they make inquiries and engage in dialogue with them, and their lack of manners is known throughout the world. This is the first thing we have to watch out for. When we deal with 66. Hohaeng ch’asa or taegang ch’asa: the former indicates an official selected to escort foreign envoys for their safety; the latter is one selected to escort foreign envoys by means of a palanquin.

186

book III

foreigners under these circumstances, we must treat them with all due courtesy, as if they are important guests. 2. Our law stipulates that books in shipwrecked foreign vessels, whether they are printed or copied, should be copied and submitted to the government. Years ago it happened that a ship carrying a hundred thousand books was shipwrecked on the sea off the shore of Mujang. The officials investigating the accident held a discussion and said, “To make copies of all these books and submit them to the court is more or less like a bird trying to carry dirt from the land with its beak to fill up the sea. If, however, we decide to select only a few among these piles of books and submit a report on them, we will certainly be punished some day.” Then they dug out the sand and buried thousands of books. The shipwrecked sailors were very bitter when they saw what was happening, but there was nothing they could do about it. When my friend Yi Yusu became magistrate of Mujang, he discovered several books in the sand, such as Annotations on the Three Rites [Sanli yishu] and Anthology of Ten Great Writers [Shidaijia wenchao], and found that those books still showed traces of salt water. When I arrived at Kangjin, I happened to obtain a book called Annotated Dictionary of Quotations [Yuanjian leihan]. Noticing that the book was already seriously damaged, I asked if the book came from Mujang. The man who had the book appeared to be quite shocked at the unexpected question. If a man cannot accomplish what he is ordered to do only because the given assignment is beyond his power, he cannot be blamed for failing in his duty. If the government orders a man to cross the sea carrying the land under his arms and the man replies that he cannot do it, how can the government blame him for his attitude? Therefore, the investigators who discovered the books on the wrecked ship should have spread out all the books in order and at least written down their titles, counting their number. When they made a report to the government, they could say, “Unable to copy the countless books we have within a limited time, we tried only to record their titles in our report.” Even if they were reprimanded because of this, they should have 67. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty and a close friend of Tasan. His courtesy name was Chusin, and his pen name Kŭmni. He also served as third inspector and magistrate of Yŏnghae. 68. The three rites (sanli) here are Rites of Zhou, Etiquette and Ceremonials, and Book of Rites. Annotations was compiled during the Qing dynasty. 69. The ten great writers included in the book are Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan, Ouyang Xiu, Su Xun, Su Shi, Su Zhe, Wang Anshi, Zeng Gong, Li Ao, and Sun Qiao. 70. A book compiled by Zhang Ying and others in 1710. It is mainly a collection of precepts with annotations. 71. The source text actually states, “A load of books that are heavy enough to make an ox pulling a cart sweat a lot.”

Public Ser vice

187

been able to accept the punishment with a smile on their faces. However, if they discarded those precious books as thieves do in dealing with their stolen goods, how would foreigners think of us? If the magistrate performs his duty on the basis of principle and is unafraid of losing his job no matter what he encounters, things like this will not happen. 3. Investigations of the drifting vessels of foreign countries always take place in islands. The residents of the islands are people who have no means of reporting their grievances to the outside world. When the investigators arrive in the island, the yamen clerks accompanying the investigators exploit the residents by taking away everything, including ovens and vessels, at their will, making the excuse that they are serving their superior. Therefore, once a shipwreck occurs, several islands are virtually ruined, and because of this problem, the islanders draw their swords and aim their arrows, making the foreign sailors run away as soon as they discover them. Furthermore, even if the foreign sailors in danger cry out for help when they are facing strong winds and dangerous rocks, the islanders only watch them from a distance and let them drown. When the ship is sunk and the men on board are dead, they conspire and eliminate the traces of the accident by burning the ship and its cargo. Ten years or so ago things like this took place in the islands of the Naju region on several occasions. At that time the number of goatskins that the islanders burned amounted to twenty to thirty thousand, and the bags containing licorice root were countless. Since there were still some leftovers even after the burning, I was able to see them with my own eyes. Why do the islanders commit such outrages? It is mainly because magistrates fail to control their subordinates and allow them to do as they please. Thus the people act that way while shedding tears. If overseas countries happen to hear of this, what would they think of us? In their eyes we may look like cannibals who eat human flesh. Therefore, officials who conduct investigations of shipwrecks should open their eyes and closely watch their men, strictly prohibiting them from exploiting the people. 4. The shipbuilding of foreign countries is very advanced at the moment, and the ships they make are easy to sail. On the other hand, our ships are simple and old-fashioned even though our land is surrounded by the sea. When the magistrate conducts investigations of foreign vessels that are shipwrecked, he should write down in detail the design and structure of the ship: for instance, the quality of the timber, the number of wooden panels on the gunwale, the length and width and height of the ship, the design and angle of the bow, the construction of the main sail, masts, rush mats, the connection of cables, the shape of paddles, poles, rudder, and so forth. In addition, he should examine the quality of the tar used to repair holes in the boat, the technology to make the keel of the ship more efficient to navigate, and other features so that his

188

book III

record may be used in manufacturing the same kind of ship in the future. Nevertheless, when a shipwrecked boat lands on the coast, people at once try to destroy it with a large axe, setting it on fire. How thoughtless they are! If an official who is intelligent is given the task of dealing with an accident like this, he must keep this in mind. 5. When the magistrate talks to foreigners, he should show his sympathy and provide them with fresh food and other things they need. When our goodwill and hospitality are evident in our expression, they will be impressed and speak well of us when they return home.

If the Magistrate Is Appointed Supervisor in Charge of Repairing Dams and Fortresses, He Cannot Fully Accomplish His Mission Unless He Tries to Comfort the People and Win Their Hearts. From the olden days work like the construction of waterways and fortresses has been imposed on the residents of local districts, and in our country constructing an artificial lake or building fortresses has been done with labor mobilized from local residents. This is an opportunity for the magistrate to demonstrate his good leadership, gaining the hearts of the people and spreading his fame across the land. If he allows the old and sick to be exempt from the work and to return to their homes; treats equally the poor and the rich, distributing the work according to their circumstances; encourages the people to work hard, providing them with tobacco and wine; and rewards the virtue of diligence and warns against laziness, there will be no one who is not happy about the accomplishment of his work. When Cheng Baizi was magistrate and was appointed supervisor of construction work, he did not wear his fur coat even when the weather was extremely cold or carry a parasol even when it was unbearably hot. Hence the people working on the site could not tell when he was among them and watching them. As a result, they always did their best and finished their work ahead of the deadline.

IV

Love of People

How can the magistrate’s duty be limited only to the seven affairs? Nowadays people ranging from high officials to their subordinates pay attention only to the seven affairs in giving or carry ing out orders as if there was nothing else to do. As a result, even those who are disposed to benevolence and charity often fail to understand what needs to be done. How lamentable! Since the six benevolent administrations of the grand minister of education recorded in Rites of Zhou are in fact the fi rst priority of the magistrate, I will attempt to convey their general purport in my book by drawing up the six articles on the love of people. C H A P T E R  : C A R I NG FOR T H E E L DE R LY 

Filial Piety Has Been Declining among the People Since the Practice of Nourishing the Aged Was Abolished. Therefore, the Magistrate Must Revive the Old Practice to Serve the Elderly. Book of Rites says, “In the spring the government holds a banquet for orphans and in the autumn provides food to the elderly.” “Proceedings of Government in

1. The six benevolent administrations (baoxi liuzheng) are love of children (or fostering orphans), taking care of the elderly, providing relief, saving the poor, looking after the sick, and providing security and prosperity. 2. Caring for the elderly (yangno) originally meant benevolent treatment of elderly people. However, it indicates here that the magistrate invites elderly people to the ritual banquets held in the yamen.

189

190

book IV

Different Months” [Yueling] in the same book also states, “In the spring the government raises children and in the autumn serves the elderly.” Therefore, the rites of serving the elderly should be performed before it becomes cold after the harvest. (The days of Frost Descent will be appropriate.) Master Sŏngho  said as follows: “It happens that a fi lial person is not on good terms with his brother; however, no one who maintains a good relationship with his brother fails to be fi lial. Therefore, in the old system of sage kings, brotherly love was made a key element to connect all those in the villages and streets, as well as armies. Edification through brotherly love, in this sense, derives from respect for the elderly. If there are too many elderly people to be invited, the magistrate invites only the oldest among them or invites them by rotating the villages. (Th is indicates that he invites the elderly from the eastern village in the spring and those from the southern village in the summer.) There is no reason that the job should be too hard to accomplish. If he makes the rites of the ceremony simple and through them pays his respects, making the affectionate feelings of those who are younger be conveyed to those who are older, there will be a lot to gain.” Sima Guang also said, “Send invitations as often as you can, but do your best in showing your respect. Even though the food that you prepared may be scanty, the affection and sincerity shown to your guests must be plenty.” So it is advisable to invite the elderly after designating a certain date for each season. If the Treasury of the District Is Not Sufficient, the Range of Invitations Should Not Be Extended Too Much. Only Those Who Are Aged over Eighty Should Be Invited. In the banquet for the elderly, only those who are aged over eighty are invited, and they are served four side dishes (besides rice cakes and soup); those who are over ninety, six side dishes. According to the tradition of the rites, “The number of side dishes is to be provided as follows: three for those above sixty; four for those above seventy; five for those above eighty; and six for those above ninety.” (This is the rule of the local wine-drinking rite.) What I have proposed here is based on the old rules but with some modifications.

3. One of the twenty-four seasonal periods. It usually falls on October 21 or 22 in the Gregorian calendar. 4. Yi Ik (1681–1763), one of the greatest Sirhak scholars of the late Chosŏn dynasty. Sŏngho was his pen name. 5. Respect for the elderly is related to being fi lial. 6. According to Book of Rites, people in the olden days had a drinking rite and used the occasion to teach the young people to respect the elders.

Love of People

191

For those who cannot come to the banquet because they are weak or sick, food will be sent to their houses. If there is a person who is a hundred years old, the magistrate is supposed to order the chief of the local yangban association to visit him or her in person on that day, carry ing eight side dishes. In Poems on Chosŏn [Chaoxianfu] Dong Yue said, “If there are those whose age is above eighty, a banquet is held in their honor regardless of whether they are men or women so that the grace of the king may be known to them.” Then he added a comment: “Every late autumn the king invites men, and the queen invites women, whose age is above eighty, and they provide them with banquets in their royal palace.” Since the local drinking rite was practiced every year in the early years of our dynasty, Dong Yue referred to it in his poem. Since the Banquet for the Elderly Always Includes a Procedure Called Begging for Words from the Guests [Kŏrŏn], the Magistrate Must Inquire about Their Hardships and Health Problems, Observing the Old Custom. When Zhang Hengqu [Zai] was magistrate of Yunyan, he invited the elderly in his district to the yamen on the first day of every month, preparing food and wine. He personally offered wine to them, and he did this to educate the residents of his district on respecting and serving the old. Thus he inquired about the hardships of the people and sought advice from them about the proper way of educating children. What he did, as I see it, exactly matched the ancient custom of looking after the elderly and begging for words of wisdom. When Chang Hyŏngwang was magistrate of Poŭn, he met with the elders of his district on the first and fifteenth days of every month. He asked them to speak out about their hardships, as well as their grievances, so that he could rectify them. With their help he was able to promote filial piety and brotherly love among the residents and finally eliminate evil customs by instilling a sense of honor and respect for virtuous conduct. I have observed that this corresponds to the example set by Zhang Hengqu.

7. In 1488, during the reign of Sŏngjong, Dong Yue, an envoy of the Ming dynasty, visited Korea and published a poem after he returned to China. He served as minister of works. 8. An official and phi losopher of the Song dynasty. His name was Zai, and his courtesy name Zihou. Hengqu was actually the name of the province he was born in, but it became his byname. A Confucianist, he also studied Buddhism and Daoism, and his cosmology and metaphysical thought, largely based on Classic of Changes, greatly influenced Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian philosophy later. 9. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Tŏngmae, and his pen name Yŏhŏn. He served as inspector general and vice minister of works and was posthumously promoted to chief state councilor.

192

book IV

The Practice of Serving the Elderly Is Already Established as a Custom, Since Outstanding Magistrates in the Old Days Cultivated It, and Their Legacy Is Still Palpable. The following happened when Master Chŏng Ildu was magistrate of Anŭm. When he was free from his work, he selected talented children in his district and taught them personally. He built a small school building in which he made them reside, reading and reciting the books every day. The students who heard about it came from afar to receive his instruction. He also held banquets to serve the elderly in his district every spring and autumn, establishing halls separately for male and female guests. Dressed in his official uniform, he treated them until his guests became full in the stomach and drunk. He was happy to see that all those who were invited, being so satisfied, were singing and dancing, heartily enjoying themselves. The residents were all satisfied with the way their magistrate ruled, so they made promises to each other that they should not do anything like cheating or betraying their magistrate. If the Magistrate Shows Benevolence and Treats the Elderly with Respect, the Residents of His District Will Follow Him and Learn to Respect Their Elders. Record of Koksan states: “Among the elderly in my district I selected twenty-one men and fifteen women who were over eighty years old. For these people I bought thirty-six wool hats, purple ones for the men and black ones for the women. I had the yamen distribute them on the Onset of Winter [Ipdong] according to the lunar calendar, and the people who received the presents looked very happy. However, the whole cost of the hats amounted to only 1 kwan (the equivalent of 10 taels).” I gave an order to make 36 catties of gluten, mixing cinnamon and ginger, and keep it in oiled paper and distribute it to the residents on the winter solstice. Although the cost turned out to be no more than 10 taels, they were very happy to take it. Th is gluten is good for softening phlegm and relieving cough, as well as for palliating parasites and reducing agitation. So the gluten is useful for the elderly in the winter. Food Is to Be Distributed to the Elderly Two Days before New Year’s Eve. The magistrate should send greetings to each of the elderly people who are more than eighty years old, presenting 1 mal of rice and 2 catties of meat along with a 10. Chŏng Yŏch’ang (1450–1504), a scholar of the early Chosŏn period. Ildu was his pen name. He was regarded as one of the five sages in the early Chosŏn dynasty. A disciple of Kim Chongjik, he was implicated in the Literati Purge of 1498 (muo sahwa) and was exiled to Chongsŏng, North Hamgyŏng Province. He died in exile. 11. The nineteenth of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around November 8.

Love of People

193

gift, and to those whose age is over ninety, he should add two extra dishes of special foods. (The extra dishes include rice cakes, fried cakes made of wheat flour, and dried pheasant meat.) Let us think this way. Even if the district is large, the elderly aged above eighty are more or less twenty to thirty, and the ones aged over ninety only a few. Then the rice to be distributed to them will not exceed a couple of sŏk (30 mal), and the meat needed for the same purpose will amount to only 60 catties. An expenditure like this is hardly exorbitant. There are many who waste a large sum of money enjoying a night with entertaining girls and performers. Such immoral behavior antagonizes scholars, as well as the people, and generates intense hatred. The magistrate who dares to act in this way wastes his wealth while gaining wrath and resentment. If the governor hears about it, he will make a negative report in his evaluation of the magistrate, and his children will be ashamed of it, not recording it in his biography after his death. So there is nothing more wasteful and harmful than this. Would that the magistrate separate only half the money he wastes in seeking pleasure and use it to serve the elderly in his district!

C H A P T E R  : F O S T E R I NG OR PH A N S

The Love of Children Used to Be One of the Important State Affairs of All the Sage Kings. Throughout History They Cultivated and Developed It until It Was Established as the Law. What is called “the love of children” [chayu] means fostering orphans. In every county and district of the Song dynasty there was a public orphanage run by the government. Those who were not able to raise their children on their own because they were extremely poor were allowed to bring them to the orphanage. Then the orphanage raised them, recording their date of birth, and let people who were childless adopt those children if they wanted to. As a result, there were no abandoned children on the street even in years with a poor harvest. A bureau of social ser vice in the Song dynasty called Deshengshe stated in its report on abandoned children: “Because of the damage from the drought following the flood, people are continually dying of hunger and wandering all over the place. From bad to worse, epidemic diseases are so contagious that husbands and wives or parents and children are separated and scattered in all directions. The most miserable scene among what is happening is the abandoned children on the street crying aloud until they are out of breath. What can a traveler do about it except sigh and lament even though he feels very sorry about them? What is more terrible is to see a dead mother hugging in her arms her child still alive, which

194

book IV

reminds one of the ghost child of the Lu family. When a hungry father is holding a starving child in his arms, one suspects that he intends to sacrifice his child to save his old mother, as a farmer named Guo did. The children have mouths but do not know how to speak; they have legs but are unable to walk. Hence they are helpless. The situation of these miserable children is really urgent.” Those Who Are in Extreme Poverty Are Incapable of Raising Their Children Even If They Have Them. What the Magistrate Should Do Is to Persuade the Parents Not to Abandon Their Children, Protecting Them as If They Were His Own. When Jia Biao was magistrate of Xinxi, the people of his district were so poor that many of them did not raise their children. To rectify this anomaly, he made the law much stricter, dealing with abandonment of children as homicide. There were two cases that needed to be dealt with. One was a homicide committed by a thief, which happened in the south of the district; the other was the murder of a child by its mother, which happened in the north of the district. When Jia Biao went out to execute the law in these cases, his yamen attendant tried to escort him to the south. Showing indignation, Jia Biao said, “It often happens that a thief harms the people; however, it is defying the way of Heaven and violating humanity that a mother and her children kill each other.” Then he drove his carriage to the north and chastised the suspect according to the law. When this happened, the thief [in the south] voluntarily surrendered himself to the authorities, binding his hands with a rope. When Jia Biao continued to govern his district in this manner, the number of children that parents had raised reached as many as a thousand. The people said, “These children could be saved only because of Honorable Magistrate Jia,” and they all named their children Jia. In his letter to Prefect Zhu  of Ezhou, Su Shi said: “The rural people of Ezhou usually raise two sons and one daughter, and if an additional child is born, they kill it right away. The moment the child is born, they quickly put it into cold water. However, unable to face the baby, they close their eyes, turning their heads sideways, and drown it in the pail of water. The baby at first cries hard but dies in a moment. The following happened to a man named Qin Guangheng in that 12. A man named Lu Chong in the Han dynasty arrived at the tomb of a lady named Cui Shaofu while he was hunting. Then the ghost of the lady appeared, and they married and had a child. After raising her child for three years, the ghost lady returned it to the Lu family. 13. In the Han dynasty a man named Guo who was very poor had a hard time serving his old mother. When his young child, being hungry, kept stealing the food for his old mother, he dug a hole in the ground to kill and bury him, but to his surprise he found gold. 14. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Weijie. He served as director of the Imperial Secretariat. 15. Unknown.

Love of People

195

district—who has passed the state examination for civil ser vice by now—when he was still in the stomach of his mother. Chen Zun, his maternal uncle, had a dream in which a baby pulled him by his sleeve as if it had something to say. He had the same dream the following day, and it appeared that something urgent was happening. While he was thinking about his dream, it happened that his sister was pregnant and about to give birth to a child. He rushed to her house and found a baby already in the water jar. So he immediately pulled the baby out of the water and saved its life. According to the law, the intentional killing of one’s own child is subject to two years of penal servitude, and the law in such a case is supposed to be carried out by the magistrate. So I appeal to Your Honor that if you make your people well informed about the law with appropriate admonition and punish those who violate the law, this terrible custom will be corrected.” According to Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns [Kukcho pogam], it happened in the seventh year [1681] of King Sukchong that a beggar, a resident of Myŏngch’ŏn, tried to kill his child, and Governor Yun Kye reported this to the royal court. The Board of Punishments received the report and reported to the king that the penalty for the man’s crime was sixty strokes of beating with a heavy stick plus one year of penal servitude. However, the king ordered the penalty to be raised to the highest level. Chief State Councilor Kim Suhang said, “Since the statute labor imposed on the people of Hamgyŏng Province is so severe that both parents and children cannot preserve themselves, such a crime deserves pity, not hatred. Besides, this man did not actually kill his child; therefore, his situation is different from a crime that was actually committed. So I would like to appeal to Your Majesty to reduce his penalty to the next level.” The king granted his request. Since in a Year with a Poor Harvest Children Are Discarded As If They Were Little Things, the Magistrate Should Gather and Raise Them, Assuming the Role of Their Parents. When Liu Yi governed Qianzhou, there was a famine in the Jiangxi region, and many people discarded their children on the roads. Liu Yi posted a notice on the main street and made the people take care of the abandoned babies, daily

16. A chronicle of the kings of the Chosŏn dynasty highlighting their main achievements, which was written with the purpose of guiding their successors. From its initial appearance in 1458, it continued to be compiled throughout the dynasty. 17. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was T’aesŭng, and his pen name Hagok. He also served as minister of taxation and sixth state councilor.

196

book IV

distributing to volunteers two quarts of rice that was taken from Guanghui Granary. He ordered them to bring the babies to the yamen once a day so that he could check them. The poor people found it profitable to look after the abandoned babies and did their best to raise them. As a result, unnatural deaths of babies disappeared from the district. When Ye Mengde governed Xuchang, there was a great flood. He succeeded in saving the lives of more than a hundred thousand people; however, he did not know what to do with the orphans abandoned by their parents. One day he asked his aides, “Why do childless people not take them and raise them as their own?” They answered, “They in fact want to. However, they are worried that their children will be taken away in the future by their real parents when they find them.” When Magistrate Ye reviewed the law, he found that parents who abandoned their children during natural disasters were not allowed to claim them back. Magistrate Ye thought that the legislator of that law was a benevolent man because his intention was honorable. The law seemed to imply that “once parents abandon their children, the grace of parental love for their children is also abandoned. Unless someone else takes care of their children, how can they survive?” Finally, Magistrate Ye made thousands of official documents without individual names on them for the residents of his district who wanted to adopt abandoned children. He gave prizes and compensation to those who adopted many children and helped the poor by distributing the remaining grain stored in the Ever-Normal Granary [Changping cang]. After the whole process was completed, the magistrate checked the records and issued the documents to the residents, and the result was that as many as 3,800 babies were rescued out of mud and wrapped in swaddling clothes. Our Law Also Allows One Who Raises an Abandoned Child to Make It His Heir or Slave. The Provisions on This Case Are Very Detailed and Elaborate. In the third year [1548] of Myŏngjong’s reign the government reaffirmed the old law through a royal decree that he who gathers a child abandoned by its poor parents and raises it is entitled to the custody of the child permanently. In the fourth lunar month of the summer, in the twelfth year [1671] of Hyŏnjong’s reign, the government established a law concerning the raising of abandoned children. The law stipulated that one who raised an abandoned child must report to the office of the Hansŏng metropolitan government in order to 18. A charity institute established during the Song dynasty to save the poor and sick, as well as the young and old who had no means of livelihood. 19. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Shaoyun, and his pen name Shilin. He served as Hanlin academician and minister of war. 20. A public granary established to control the price of grain.

Love of People

197

receive an authorization. Then the person could do whatever he pleased with the child he raised, whether he made it his son and heir or a slave. Years ago, when I was secret inspector of Kyŏnggi Province, the former king  gave audience to me at Yŏngch’un Hall. The king expressed his deep concern about abandoned children, and I was deeply impressed by his sincerity. Then I toured all the districts in the province, secretly making observations, and found that no one tried to uphold the instructions of the king. This indicates that for a very long time the magistrates in charge of the people had neglected carry ing out their duty. The Supplement to the National Code states as follows: “The law permits strangers to raise abandoned children during a poor harvest and make them their heirs or slaves. The age limit of those children and the length of time in which the people raise them are to be decided according to the regulations set by the government on a temporary basis.” “The age of an abandoned child to be raised is limited to less than three years. However, if there are poor harvests repeatedly or if a poor harvest is extremely severe, the age limit can be raised to eight or nine or fifteen, depending on the mutual agreements between the two parties [natural parents and foster parents]. If an abandoned child is to be made a slave, the terms are decided through negotiation. The child can be made to serve as a slave only during his lifetime, or his status can be inherited by his offspring, or the time of ser vice as a slave can be set at a certain number of years. All these terms and conditions can vary according to the degree of severity of the poor harvest and the length of ser vice as a slave, as well as the regulations of the times in which the negotiation takes place. “If the natural parents or relatives want to reclaim a child they abandoned within three months, they are allowed to take back their child only after they pay for the ser vice of raising it with grain. However, if they make a claim after that time limit, their claim is invalid. “If one who was saved dislikes or avoids his benefactor, he is charged under the law of betrayal; one who takes an abandoned child back by the use of power or force is charged with a violation of the law.” (Th is refers to the government or individuals who own public or private slaves.) If It Happens That a Child Is Abandoned Even Though There Is No Famine, the Local Government Must Find a Person to Look After the Child by Supplying Provisions. During a year with a poor harvest, food is usually provided by the government organization in charge of famine relief. However, during a normal year a person 21. King Chŏngjo. 22. One of the palace buildings in Ch’anggyŏng Palace.

198

book IV

is usually found among the common people to raise an abandoned child. If a poor woman volunteers to raise an abandoned child but has no means of raising it on her own, the magistrate should provide support to her by sending 2 tu of rice every month, and during the summer 4 tu of barley, for two consecutive years. Besides abandonment of children during a famine year, it sometimes happens that children, most of whom are born illegitimate, are abandoned in the streams inside the walls of Seoul. However, since Heaven and Earth, which give birth to everything in the world, do not allow the sin of parents to reach their children, people should be allowed to gather abandoned children to make them their children or slaves. C H A P T E R : SAV I NG T H E P O OR

Widowers, Widows, Orphans, and Childless Old People Are Called Sagung [Four Kinds of Poor People]. Because They Are Helpless, These People Cannot Survive without Support from Others. To Survive Originally Means “Rise.” King Wen in administering benevolence always gave priority to saving the four kinds of poor people [sagung], and the six benevolent rules [baoxi liuzheng] of the grand minister of education also make saving the poor the third of the rules. However, Classic of Poetry sings, “The festivity of the month will be well for the rich, but certainly not so for the old and lonely.” Those who are poor and have no one to depend on are called sagung [Ch. siqiong]. Those who do not have six closest relatives [liuqin] but possess property of their own cannot be regarded as belonging to the sagung, the four types of the poor. Zhu Xi said, “Those who are old and sick and disabled, as well as widowers and widows who are withered and socially isolated, are the people who have no one to depend on, but they should be regarded as the brothers and sisters of the magistrate himself. The administration of the superior man should concentrate on helping the people like them (Reflections on Things at Hand).” Kong Huan of the Liang dynasty was a man of integrity. When he became prefect of Jinling, he helped orphans and widows from his stipend, and people called him “Divine Prince” [Shenjun]. When Cheng Baizi became magistrate of Jincheng, he made relatives and neighbors of all the helpless people who were lonely and sick take care of them so that they might not lose their livelihood, and if travelers happened to fall sick while passing through his district, he treated them to save their lives. 23. The six closest relatives (liuqin) are father, mother, elder brothers, younger brothers, spouse, and children. 24. His courtesy name was Xiuwen. He served as minister of personnel.

Love of People

199

If There Are Those Who Are Unable to Find a Spouse Because They Have Passed Marriageable Age, the Government Should Help Them. King Goujian of the Yue kingdom stated in his decree: “If a woman aged seventeen years and a man aged twenty still remain unmarried, the responsibility [for finding a spouse] lies with their parents.” When Ren Yan became prefect of Jiuzhen, the people of that region had no custom of marriage. Because women had no spouses of their own, they could not tell the name of their children [i.e., did not know who the father was] even if they had children. Ren Yan arranged marriages between the males who were aged fifteen to fifty years and the females aged fifteen to forty years according to their age. As for those who were too poor to marry, he ordered the district magistrates [in his domain] to help them with their own salary and find them spouses. As a result, the number of households that found spouses exceeded two thousand. That year the wind and rain were mild, and they had a good harvest (Book of the Later Han). When Yong Tai of Xianning was salt-control censor [xunyan yushi] in the Lianghuai region, there were nearly two thousand men working in the salt field. Living alone, they were poor and without spouses. The inspector found spouses for most of them within two years of his stay. After Yong Tai left their district, the people of Lianghuai sang a song like this: Although in the bag of the censor there is no ink slab, In the houses of the people in the sea village there are wives and children.

They continued to sing: Fulfi lling the wishes of four thousand men and women, Honorable censor returned to the court on a boat with a sail lifted by the spring breeze.

When Yang Jizong was in charge of Xiuzhou, a man of property came to see him. This man told him that he would cancel the marriage of his daughter because he was worried that his son-in-law was too poor. Yang reproached the man and allowed him to choose another son-in-law on condition that he pay 2,000 taels of gold for his change of mind. He met the man after some time passed and said, “I gave the money to your [original] son-in-law so that he could have a family, and now you have acquired an outstanding husband for your daughter.” That day he ordered the marriage to take place. When Li Kun [pen name Donggang] inspected the Gansu region to pacify the people, the custom of the region was so barbarous that men without property 25. An official of the Ming dynasty. In the early years of Zhengde (1505–1521) he served as minister of taxation of Nanjing. 26. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as vice minister of war.

200

book IV

were unable to marry. He found that there were over a thousand soldiers in the army who were too poor to marry, so he provided them with silver and cloth to find them spouses. Later, when he departed from the place, people came out and saw him off with tears, and they were mostly those whom he had helped find spouses years earlier. Since Encouraging Marriage Is a Legacy of Kings throughout History, the Magistrate Should Try to Preserve the Legacy with a Sincere Heart. The National Code stipulated: “In all cases where a girl from a literati family is too poor to marry despite being almost thirty years old, the Board of Rites shall report the case to the king and provide the necessities for her marriage, and the head of her family shall be punished.” In the second lunar month of Sinhae year [1791], the fifteenth year of his reign, King Chŏngjo took pity on the people among the scholars and commoners who had passed their marriageable age and issued a royal decree to the five departments [pu] of Seoul. In his decree the king ordered officials to encourage marriage of the unmarried or expedite the marriage of a couple who had already been engaged if their marriage was delayed, providing them with 5 taels and two bolts of fabric, and he had them report to him every month. At that time the daughter of Sin Tŏkbin, who lived in the western part of Seoul, was twenty-one, and Kim Hijip was twenty-eight years old, and both of them were passing the suitable age for marriage. On the second day of the sixth lunar month the king said, “I arranged marriages for several hundred unmarried people living in the five departments of the capital, including widowers and old maids, after encouraging them to marry. However, since there are only two people in the western section of Seoul who still remain unmarried, how can I lead the harmony of Heaven and Earth and let the people submit to the original nature of all creatures? It is important to have a good start along with careful preparation in order to accomplish an objective, and the finish is equally crucial, especially in carrying out state affairs. So let Tŏkbin’s daughter and Hijip be persuaded to expedite their marriage and accomplish the good work.” When their marriage was decided, the king was pleased and said, “A man and a woman finally found their place. Kim and Sin, the new couple, accidentally met to become a husband and wife. Nothing will be more delightful and mysterious than this.” (See Collected Works of Ajŏng by Yi Tŏngmu.) 27. “Laws on Rites” [Yejŏn], article titled “Hyehyuljo,” 291. 28. Yi Tŏngmu (1741–1793) was a scholar of the late Chosŏn period. His pen name was Ajŏng. Although he was learned in the classics and talented in literature, he failed to attain a high position in the government because he was an illegitimate son. However, King Chŏngjo exceptionally employed him, along with other scholars of similar status, in a position in his royal library. Th us he

Love of People

201

Every Year in January the Magistrate Should Check the Unmarried People Who Have Passed Marriageable Age and Make Them Get Married in the Following Month. The magistrate should check males aged over twenty-five and females over twenty who are unmarried so that they may hurry to get married. People who have parents and relatives, as well as property, should especially be made to expedite their marriage, and if they show negligence in this matter, they deserve to be punished. As for those who have neither relatives nor property, the magistrate should select a respectable person in the village who can serve as a matchmaker. The magistrate should ask him to find a marriage partner, while he provides the married couple with some money or linen and cotton, as well as lending a marriage costume, including a coat, a belt, shoes, a silk-covered lantern, and a bridal wedding gown. If the marriage takes place between rich and poor families, or between two poor families, the encouragement of the magistrate will weigh much more than that of ordinary people. How, then, can he not do a charitable work by sparing a word? The State Affair of Tying Lonely People Together Is Worth Trying. Tying lonely people together [hapdok] is also part of benevolent administration. I have observed that a widow of a rural village who is not humble in her social status hesitates to remarry because she feels ashamed and fearful. Discovering her vulnerability, an old and sly peddler devises a secret plot to abduct her during the night, gathering the rascals of the village, which causes conflicts and fights among the villagers and undermines the custom of their society. Or it happens that the widow pretends that she was forced to lose her chastity, being acquainted with a stranger without the permission of her parents, which prevents her from having a better future. This is vastly different from the way in which the magistrate persuades her and her potential spouse with propriety, leading them to their union. C H A P T E R  : C OM M I S E R AT ION A N D S U PP ORT F OR T H E FA M I L I E S OF T H E DE A D

It Is the Custom of the Old Days to Exempt a Man Who Has a Death in His Family from Corvée Services. If There Is Anything within His Power That Can Be Exempted, the Magistrate Had Better Grant It. Discourses of the Yue [Yueyu] states, “King Goujian made a promise to the people: ‘If an heir of the family dies, members of the deceased will be exempt from served as reviewer (kŏmsŏgwan) in Kyujanggak all his life, compiling and editing numerous texts. Ajŏngjip is a collection of his poems and essays. 29. A section of a history book titled Discourses of the States (Gouyu), which is attributed to Zuo Qiuming, a court writer of the state of Lu and a contemporary of Confucius.

202

book IV

their official duty for three years, and if a son other than an heir dies, they will be exempt from their official duty for three months.’ ” According to Gardens of Persuasions [Shuoyuan] of Liu Xiang,  “No one is allowed to call out from the gate [to summon him for corvée labor] a man whose parent has died; no one is allowed to impose corvée ser vices on a man who is in mourning for his grandparents or his mother, which lasts one to three years; a man mourning the death of relatively distant relatives, including great-grandparents on his mother’s side, is exempt from corvée ser vices until the funeral is over.” The magistrate in our times should establish the rule of law for those suffering from a death in their family. If there is one who has lost his parents, it would be appropriate to exempt him generously from all kinds of corvée ser vices for a hundred days, taking the ancient custom into account. However, since lying and cheating are rampant, and it is hard to differentiate the real from the unreal, the magistrate must be extremely careful. If a Dead Person Who Was Extremely Poor Is Likely to Be Thrown into the Pit without Washing and Dressing, the Magistrate Should Raise Money to Provide a Decent Burial. Classic of Poetry says, “A traveler buries a man lying dead on the street.” If a traveler can do such charity, the magistrate can do much more. The magistrate should always let the people know his generous intention concerning the dead among the poor: “If one sees that a dead person who was poor cannot afford a proper burial, he must report to me right away. If there are neighbors and relatives who can help bury the dead, have them do the work without reporting it to me. However, those who neither help nor report should expect punishment from me.” When a report is made, the yamen should raise the funds necessary to bury the dead and should also ask the neighbors and relatives of the dead to lend a hand and carry out the burial, placing the body in the casket. When Yun Hyŏngnae, magistrate of Hoein, was sitting in his office, he heard people wailing aloud, passing by the front of the yamen gate. When he asked who was making the sound, someone answered, “A commoner died yesterday, and people are now going to bury him.” The magistrate asked again, “Did they wash and clothe the corpse?” The man answered, “Because they were very poor, they could not.” The magistrate instantly gave money to the man with an order to buy a casket for the dead. 30. Written by Liu Xiang, this book is a collection of biographies and anecdotes of famous people from the time of the Spring and Autumn period down to the early Han dynasty. 31. Unknown.

Love of People

203

When People Continue to Die of Both Famine and Disease, Burying the Dead Should Be Carried Out together with Famine Relief. In the winter of Jiaqing year [1798] a sudden bad influenza spread. At that time I was in charge of Koksan, Hwanghae Province, and I started burying the dead first. My attendant said, “Since we did not receive an order from the royal court, our work will not be appreciated.” I answered, “I am sure that an order will come down sooner or later.” On the fi ft h day of the fift h lunar month I made a list of the dead, and when the dead had no relatives, I had them buried at public expense. A month after I started working on burying the victims, an order from the court finally arrived, and the pressure to report the death roll from the governor became unbearable. All the other districts frantically prepared their reports, and some of them received reprimands for their failure. However, I quickly submitted the reports, which in fact had already been prepared, and spent the days as if nothing had happened. The yamen clerks were also really delighted. If the Magistrate Happens to Witness a Tragic Situation That Compels His Sympathy, He Should Immediately Stretch Out His Helping Hand without Hesitation. When Minister Fan Wenzheng became prefect of Binzhou, he held a small drinking party on a pavilion along with his subordinates, intending to enjoy his spare time. When he was about to drink his wine, he happened to notice a few men in mourning dress preparing for a funeral. He immediately sent his man to inquire what was happening, and according to them, a scholar in their village had died, and they were trying to bury him temporarily in their neighborhood; however, [lacking the funds], they were having difficulty in preparing a funeral for the scholar. Not one of the four essentials for a decent funeral, that is, the gift to the family of the dead [feng], washing and clothing the corpse [lian], an inner coffi n [guan], and an outer coffi n [guo], was prepared. The magistrate immediately canceled his party and contributed generously to the funeral expenses, and the people who were with him were deeply moved, and some of them even shed tears. Zheng Xuan stated as follows: “When one who is averse to charity sees others helping the dead, he often says that helping the living is more important; when he sees people helping strangers, he says that helping impoverished relatives should take priority. If what he says is right, should things like treating a relative as a relative and practicing humanity be carried out one by one according to a certain order? When one sees a man in trouble, he should help him as the situation allows. Certain things may be relatively easy to help; if so, one should try to help as much as he can. Since it is the nature of the human heart to react to what it feels, pursuing the possibility of the choices it makes, one who is in the habit

204

book IV

of criticizing others is not the kind of person who wants to help others with a sincere heart.” If It Happens That the Hearse of a Dead Official Who Served in a Strange Land Passes through His District, the Magistrate Should Try to Do His Best to Assist Transportation, as Well as Providing Financial Support. Yi Kyŏngyŏ became governor of Kyŏngsang Province in the fourth lunar month of Chŏngch’uk year [1637]. Since that was right after the Qing army had left, the new governor worked hard to normalize the situation, reducing the number of foods on his table and rejecting music and entertainers, and he even did not use the palanquin and parasol. He exerted himself only to mourn the dead, visit orphans, and comfort the people so that their lives could be restored as soon as possible. He saw that many people, still suffering from the aftermath of the war, were sick and starving. He made inspections of the districts in his domain, supervising and instructing the people. He tried to provide temporary shelters to the people while he fed them, repeatedly releasing a thousand bags of grain from the provincial granary. If there were people who had died but could not be buried in their hometown, he sent down an order to the local districts to provide transportation, and if the dead were too poor to afford a proper burial, he provided them with caskets and shrouds. At the same time the governor compensated the districts for transporting the hearses by reducing the quota of their tribute taxes. Because of this measure, the dead could be buried in their hometown, and those who survived could start their lives again. The people who were saved in this way were countless. When Cho Yŏnggyŏng was magistrate of Hwangju, I was with him, sitting in the main hall of the yamen office in the capacity of escort commissioner [yŏngjosa]. Then there came the sound of a dirge made by pallbearers of a funeral bier passing by. When Magistrate Cho asked who had died, they answered, “Some magistrate of a district on the border died, and his hearse is now returning to his hometown.” Magistrate Cho all of a sudden called his attendant and ordered him to carry his words of condolence to the family of the dead. He also told him to provide rice and gruel to the people carry ing the hearse, as well as 30 taels of condolence money. However, he did not go out to express his sympathy. I asked him why he chose not to, and he answered, “It is the old custom to provide food and send condolence money when a hearse from another region passes through one’s district. However, the dead person is not my acquaintance, and I do not know the principal mourner. So it is not appropriate for me to go out and express my condolences.” 32. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. He also served as the magistrate of Ch’ŏngp’ung and Kŭmsan.

Love of People

205

When the Magistrate’s Aides, Yamen Clerks, and Military Officers of the District Either Die or Have a Death in Their Family, the Magistrate Should Show Them His Gracious Affection by Expressing Sympathy and Offering Condolence Money. In the olden days, when an official in the royal court died, the king visited the mourner and expressed his sympathy, personally watching the process of preparing the corpse for burial from start to finish, including washing and wrapping the corpse and placing it in the casket. He also provided shrouds and gifts for the funeral. If one thinks over this precedent established by the king, it is necessary for the magistrate to treat his subordinates in the same way under the same circumstances. If a person who once served in the government, was on the list of recommendation for his talent and fi lial piety, was a student of the National Confucian Academy [Sŏnggyun’gwan], or was talented in arts and literature has died, or if such a person has a death in his family, the magistrate must express his sympathy and provide support with propriety. C H A P T E R : GE N E ROUS T R E AT M E N T OF T H E SIC K

Disabled Persons and Seriously Ill Patients Are Supposed to Be Exempt from Compulsory Labor, and This Is Called Kwanjil [Generous Treatment of the Sick]. Magistrates nowadays are harsh and far from being benevolent. A farmer’s wife in the countryside visits the yamen to make a plea, holding a baby in her arms. She says, “This child of mine was seriously burned and disabled in a fire accident and therefore is unable to use its hands and feet. So I would like to beg for your mercy, asking Your Honor to exempt my son from his military ser vice.” Then the magistrate rejects the request, replying, “It is still better than a scarecrow in the field, is it not?” How sad! How can a man who is a magistrate treat the people like that? Disabled people like the blind, the deaf, lame persons, and ones with underdeveloped sexual organs should not be registered for military ser vice nor summoned for miscellaneous labor requirements. Hunchbacks or Invalids for Life Who Are Incapable of Living on Their Own Should Be Provided with Shelter and Looked After. People who are blind, crippled, physically disabled, or suffering from leprosy are despised and detested. Rootless people without parents and relatives wander from place to place. The government should protect them, providing shelter and persuading their clans to accept them. As to those who have no one to depend on, having not a single relative, the magistrate should select a man of virtue in the village and have him take care of them by reducing the load of his various compulsory labors.

206

book IV

When Yu Chonggui was prefect of Jiangzhou, there was a severe snowstorm. Braving the stormy weather, he went to a pavilion on the riverside and looked after the refugees, distributing money and rice. He also provided the beggars with blankets made from mulberry paper, and he treated and accommodated the sick by repairing a local sanatorium. Soldiers Exhausted by Cold and Hunger Should Be Provided Clothes and Food So That They May Not Lose Their Lives. The following happened when Liu Hong of the Jin dynasty governed Jingzhou. He was awakened in the middle of the night by a painful sound, which came from a man standing guard on top of the wall. When he called him in and looked at him closely, the soldier was a sick, old man without even a jacket. Liu Hong gave him a coat made of leather and a cap with thick padding. The following happened when Zhang Lun was vice supply commissioner of Jianghuai. Discovering many laborers lying dead on the streets because of cold and hunger, he lamented, “This is nothing but my own fault, resulting from my failure to imitate the benevolence of the emperor.” Then, with his own money, he purchased a thousand padded jackets from the market and clothed the people who were suffering most. When There Is an Epidemic, People Are Naturally Scared and Try to Keep Away from the Victims. However, the Magistrate Should Make Them Not Be Afraid by Comforting and Looking After the Patients. When Xin Gongyi  of the Sui dynasty became prefect of Minzhou, the residents were so scared of the epidemic that they quickly abandoned patients even though they were members of their family. As a result, most of the victims who were left alone died. Xin Gongyi gave an order that all the patients be carried to the office of the yamen, so the floor of his yamen during the summertime was fi lled with the patients. Placing his seat on the floor, Xin Gongyi looked after

33. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Jingwang. He also served as vice minister of war. 34. He was of noble birth, descended from the imperial family of the Eastern Han dynasty. He served as commander in chief of Jingzhou and chariot and horse general (maqi jiangjun). 35. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongxin. He had a reputation as a benevolent administrator. 36. The story of Xin’s humane treatment of the sick during the epidemic is included in Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government by Sima Guang.

Love of People

207

the patients day and night with medicines he purchased out of his stipend. When the patients fi nally regained their health, he summoned their families and relatives and said, “The life of a man depends on the fate he is born with. If the epidemic is fatal, as you believe, I should have died by now.” They were all ashamed of what they had done and returned home after thanking their magistrate. All epidemic diseases spread from person to person through breathing unhealthy vapors. Therefore, the best way to avoid such diseases is not to breathe those unhealthy vapors by keeping a distance from the patients. When you pay a visit to a patient, it is advisable to stand with your back turned against the wind. (If you observe smoke, you can see the direction of the wind.) The reason that Xin Gongyi could survive the danger of the contagious epidemic disease was that he possessed a good deal of sound energy. When State Councilor Hŏ Chŏk was director of the Bureau of Famine Relief [Chinhyulch’ŏng], he personally visited the camp of lepers, inspecting the patients and supervising the burial of the dead. General Yu Hyŏgyŏn also was not afraid of epidemic diseases. A family who lived near Sŏji died of an epidemic disease, but there was no one who dared to bury the dead. Yu Hyŏgyŏn personally washed and clothed the corpses and buried them. When People Are at Risk of Dying Prematurely Because of Natural Calamities like Typhoid Fever, Smallpox, and Other Diseases, It Is the Duty of the Government to Save Them. The National Code stipulated: “When a patient is too poor to buy medicine, the government shall provide it. In the case of the local government, the district yamen should provide the same ser vice.” When Yi Kiyang was magistrate of Munŭi, typhoid fever spread rampantly. He made a medicine called sŏngsanja [Ch. shengsanzi] and distributed it to the residents of his district, as well as the residents of Ch’ŏngju and Okch’ŏn, which were the neighboring districts. Because of this medicine, countless people survived the epidemic. In 1809 and 1814, when I was in Kangjin, there was a serious famine, and in the spring of the following year typhoid fever spread rampantly. I distributed prescriptions of this medicine, which saved numerous people. 37. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Hoei, and his pen name Yadang. Having passed the military examination during the reign of Injo, he rose to the position of commander in charge of military training. However, he was executed by poison when the Southerners faction was ousted from power.

208

book IV

When an Epidemic Is Rampant, the Death Toll Also Increases. The District Should Report to the Court the Names of Those Who Treat and Bury the Victims of the Disease. In the winter of 1798 influenza broke out suddenly and took the lives of countless people. The court ordered the rich to carry out the task of relief, treatment, and burying the dead, promising to confer official titles of rank 2 and 3 on them. When I was in charge of Koksan, I conveyed the royal decree, and five people responded and volunteered to undertake the task. After their job was completed, I submitted the list of their names to my superior. However, my superior refused to report it and said, “I cannot submit the names to the court because no district except yours carried out the royal decree.” I immediately sent a report to the Royal Secretariat in which I stated as follows: “From now on the people will not trust the words of our sovereign. Since this is not a trivial matter, your office must mention it to His Majesty during the royal lecture. Otherwise, I will go up to visit the capital and submit a report to the king.” When the Royal Secretariat finally reported the matter, the king was greatly surprised, granted the official titles to those five people as he had promised, and reprimanded the governor by ordering a second-degree reduction in salary. C H A P T E R : SAV I NG T H E V IC T I M S OF NAT U R A L DI SA S T E R S

Since the Victims of Disasters like Floods and Fires Are to Receive Special Privileges Granted by the Government, the Magistrate Should Carry Out His Duty to the Best of His Ability. Furthermore, He Should Try to Find a Way to Help the Victims on His Own in Addition to Discharging His Official Duty. Government subsidies for the victims of natural disasters are usually provided by a grain loan [hwansangmi]. However, this grain is often nothing but empty husks. Therefore, when the grain loans are distributed, the magistrate personally should supervise the quality of the grain, watching the process of milling and winnowing the rice. If he does that, he will find that the quantity of the rice substantially decreases in that process. Then he has to add 3 mal to each sŏk of rice, and in case 1 sŏk is less than 12 mal, he should order the clerk in charge of the granary to make up for the loss. In addition to releasing the grain loan for relief to the victims of natural disasters, the magistrate should personally go out to some of the privately owned mountains in the neighborhood and cut down timber. Taking the value of the timber into account, he should set the price, and instead of paying it directly, he should exempt the owner from his compulsory labor according to the timber’s worth. The length of the exemption period must be observed, and the grant of

Love of People

209

the privilege should stop as soon as the owner is fully compensated. If the amount of the lumber is insignificant, granting the privilege is not necessary. If Natural Disasters and Misfortunes Occur, the Magistrate Must Hurry to Rescue the Victims from Fire or Water as If He Himself Were in Danger. No Delay Must Be Allowed. When Liu Kun became magistrate of Jiangling, a fire broke out in his district. When he bowed his head toward the fire, the wind changed its direction, and the fire finally died away. If one reflects on this incident, it was really an accident. At that time Liu Kun was so ner vous and worried about the tragedy that his sorrow and prayer must have reached Heaven, and the residents of Jiangling gave credit to Liu Kun for this miracle. If Liu Kun had merely bowed his head, displaying little emotion and sincerity, people would not have talked about him in such a manner. When Song Shibei was in charge of Suining, a riverbank in his district was flooded and in danger of collapsing because of the rising water. When the water kept undermining the bottom of the bank, Song took an armchair to the bank to stay there. The people around him urged him to leave the place for his safety, but he refused to. When the water level finally went down with the passing of time, the people of his time compared him with Wang Zun. When Chen Xiliang was in charge of the land of Hua, the river was flooded over the fisheries, and the bank also collapsed. He mobilized soldiers to fight the flood and established his own tent where the bank had broken down. His attendants, as well as the residents, all crying, begged him to leave the place, but he did not follow their request or leave his tent. When the flood finally subsided, the people compared him with Wang Zun. When Hwang Chin became magistrate of Tongbok, there was a great flood. When people were being either swept away or drowned in the water, he personally rescued an old woman in danger of drowning. As soon as the woman was out of danger, she cried out, “Please save my dipper, too.” 38. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Huangong. He served as chamberlain for attendants and commandant of cavalry. 39. Unknown. 40. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zigan. He also served as prefect of Xuzhou and magistrate of Dongjun. 41. An official of the Song dynasty. He also served as vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Sacrifices. 42. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Myŏngbo, and his pen name Asuldang. He served as provincial military commander of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province at the start of the Imjin War and died in battle in Chinju.

210

book IV

Preventing Disasters in Advance Is Better than Practicing Benevolence After Disasters Happen. It is better to detach chimneys from a house and separate fi rewood from fi re in advance than to suffer the pain of singed hair and a burned face. Villages located in valleys and near water should be warned and relocated during ordinary times. If the villages are too large to be relocated, it is necessary to prepare boats in the summer. Large villages should also be admonished to dig the ground to secure a reservoir of water or prepare large jars for emergency water supplies. Lian Fan became prefect of Shu Commandery. Earlier there had been a great fire in Shujun, and as a preventive measure, the local government had prohibited people from burning fires during the night. However, [changing the law], Lian Fan ordered them only to save water for an emergency. People were overjoyed and sang as follows: “Why was Prefect Lian so late to arrive? Since he does not prohibit the use of fi re, the life of the people has become much easier. Previously we had not even a jacket; now we have as many as five pants.” When Lord Wenjian Cheng Lin governed Yizhou, yamen attendants joined the residents, enjoying themselves under hanging lanterns on New Year’s Day. Previously he had ordered the yamen attendants to make preparations for a fire accident. He had told them to extinguish any fire immediately if it broke out by mistake, without disrupting the festivity. Finally, a great banquet was held at Five Gates [Wumen], and it happened that a fire broke out. The yamen attendants acted quickly to put out the fire, but the rest of the people were unaware of what had happened until the banquet was over. When Yi Myŏngjun was magistrate of Sŏwŏn, a large flock of waterfowl gathered in the waters of the district, which was a sign of a flood disaster. One evening the birds started gathering in the premises of the yamen. The magistrate said, “Th is must be a sign of flood.” Then he immediately ordered his yamen clerks and residents to make preparations in advance. In a little while a great flood broke out, destroying the houses within the walls of the fortress. However, because of their preparations, all the residents were able to save their lives.

43. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Shudu. He also served as prefect of Yunzhong. 44. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Tianqiu, and his posthumous title Wenjian. He also served as vice grand counselor, grand academician, and joint manager of affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery. 45. Modern Ch’ŏngju.

Love of People

211

Preventing Floods and Using Water by Constructing Reservoirs and Reinforcing Dykes Are Doubly Advantageous. Because my house is located along the Han River, I see houses drifting down the river every summer and autumn when there are great floods, which look like floating ice. On some of the floating houses chickens cry, and clothes are hanging on a doorframe. Since the same scenes recur year after year, this is nothing but the failure of the magistrates who are incapable of doing their job. If his district is located near a large river, the magistrate should go out to inspect the villages close to the river, relocating those in danger of flood to higher ground; he should also construct a long wall to protect the houses and people on the mountain slope against torrential rains and rapid streams of water. Things like this should never be neglected. Once a Natural Disaster Has Subsided, the Magistrate Should Comfort the People and Have Them Live Together Peacefully. This Is Also Part of His Benevolent Rule. In the olden days when Second Drafter [kyori] in the Office of Diplomatic Correspondence Kim Hich’ae was in charge of Changryŏn District, there was a landslide on Mt. Kuwŏl because of great floods. As a result, an extensive area ranging as far as 30 li was buried by dirt, people were killed, and the damage to the farms was beyond calculation. When he went out to inspect the damage, people cried aloud. Dismounting from his horse, he also cried aloud, holding the hands of the people. Much impressed and moved by the sympathy that the magistrate showed, people said, “We have no regret even if we have to die now.” When the people calmed down a little, the magistrate asked about what they wanted [from the government] and immediately went down the mountain to see the governor. He asked the governor to make a report to the court on the requests of the people, but when he found that the governor was reluctant, he argued with the governor all day long, continuing his demands. The governor, who was incensed and exasperated by now, finally made a report to the court in which he asked the court to replace the magistrate with someone else. In his report the governor said, “The magistrate is incompetent, although he may be benevolent.” As a result, the board of personnel allowed Magistrate Kim to exchange his position with the magistrate of Anhyŏp District. When he intended to resign and retire to his home instead of taking his new appointment, the people blocked his way, holding the bridle of his horse. Because a large crowd surrounded him thick 46. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. He also served as fourth censor.

212

book IV

and fast, he had no choice but to stay in the house of a resident for about ten days and finally left the place as if he were running away when the people became less watchful. When he was gone, the people cried like a child who has lost its mother. If one reflects on this incident, the secret of governing lies in a benevolent heart, not only in administrative talent. When Minister Yi Sŏgu became governor of P’yŏngyang, there was a great fire in which almost all the houses, public and private alike, were burned and destroyed. However, being competent and well organized, the governor speedily rebuilt several dozen public buildings plus over ten thousand private houses, and none of the residents were scattered. People still praise him, remembering his benevolence. If the Magistrate Saves the People from the Evils of Harmful Insects by Killing Them or Praying, He Will Be Praised for His Benevolence. When Kim Am of the Silla kingdom was garrison commander of the Taedong River, a multitude of harmful insects arising in the west crossed the border of the Taedong River and covered the fields, making people scared. Kim Am went up to the top of a mountain and prayed, burning incense. Then a gust of strong wind and rain arose, and all the insects were gone. I have observed that our dynasty has suffered no damage of harmful insects from the beginning. I have lived for sixty years and have never yet seen insects like that. However, such a disaster happened in the period of the Silla kingdom. 47. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Naksŏ, and his pen names Ch’ŏkjae and Kangsan. He served as governor of P’yŏngan Province and minister of justice. Talented in literature and interested in Practical Learning, he associated with Sirhak scholars like Pak Chiwŏn and Hong Taeyong. 48. A military official of the Silla kingdom. He was a descendant of Kim Yusin, a famous general of the Silla kingdom who played a crucial role in unifying the three kingdoms of Korea, and he served as magistrate of various places, including Yangju, Kangju, and Hanju.

V

Personnel Administration

C H A P T E R  : TA K I NG C ON T ROL OF YA M E N C L E R K S

The Fundamental Principle in Governing Yamen Clerks Lies in Governing One’s Own Conduct. If the Conduct of the Magistrate Is Straight, Things Can Be Accomplished without Giving Orders; Otherwise Things Cannot Be Accomplished despite Giving Orders. Whereas people take the land for their farms, yamen clerks take the people for their farms. The way yamen clerks farm their lands is to exploit the people, stripping off their skins and sucking the marrow of their brains; the way they harvest the crop is to bring in the people from everywhere and squeeze them for their personal gain. Since these irregularities, being old, are taken for granted, the magistrate cannot govern the people unless he takes control of the yamen clerks. It is the law of Heaven that one can reproach others only when he is free from faults of his own. If the magistrate tries only to take control of the yamen clerks while his conduct fails to impress them, it will happen that his orders will not always be carried out, his restrictions will not be observed, his dignity will not be esteemed, and the law will not be able to stand. It is absurd to say, “The custom of yamen clerks is wicked,” while the magistrate himself behaves just like them. In the Koryŏ dynasty there were men named Kŭm Yu and Ok Ko. They both served as magistrate of Taegu. Pae Sŏl, a yamen clerk of Taegu, was so clever and cunning that he manipulated official documents as he pleased, making the magistrates depend heavily on him. Later, in his old age, Pae Sŏl said, “I have had all 1. Unknown.

213

214

book V

the magistrates under my control. However, as for Kŭm Yu and Ok Ko, I served them.” The following happened when Second Minister Yu Ŭi was magistrate of Hongju. The yamen clerks of Hongju were notorious for being most cunning and wicked among the districts of Right Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. However, Magistrate Yu carried himself with integrity and frugality, looking after the people with a sincere heart. Much impressed and moved by the magistrate’s love of the people, none of the yamen clerks dared to violate the law. Looking at this, I am convinced that governing oneself properly is the root of taking control of yamen clerks. Only after Trying to Rectify Wrongdoings through Propriety and Benevolence Should the Magistrate Resort to the Law in Governing Yamen Clerks. If He Holds Them in Contempt and Tramples on Their Personal Dignity, Recklessly Giving Orders and Using Tricks on Them, They Will Not Submit to Him. It is hard to tell when the custom that yamen clerks make obeisance to their magistrate started. I have wondered why the yamen clerks in the local districts bend their bodies, whereas their counterparts in the capital only bow their heads to show their respect to their superior, and I finally learned the reason only after I moved to live in the south. The custom of bending bodies toward the magistrate, originating from the profound wisdom of ancient people, is now impossible to change. Yamen clerks are those who are arrogant and presumptuous, ordering people to work by arrogantly gesturing with their chins and behaving as if there were no superior above them. Unless there is the custom of bending their bodies for courtesy, their arrogance will increase to such a degree that no one can take control of them. However, it would be too extreme and outrageous to hang a rock on their necks that forces their bodies to bend down until they touch the ground; it is certainly not appropriate for the conduct of the superior man. If there is anyone among the yamen clerks who unfortunately has a parent suddenly struck with illness or other disasters, the magistrate should comfort and support him, sending condolence money in case of death. When there is an occasion for congratulation, he should also send money as a gift. After treating the yamen clerks in this manner, if the magistrate proceeds to prevent or punish irregularities such as stealing from the public treasury and robbing the common people of their property, there will be no yamen clerks who will violate the law. Although the yamen clerks recoil like measuring worms and crawl like ants, they are nimble like running water when they deal with people. The magistrate who trusts his little talent and shallow ideas may believe that he can take control of them at will, looking down on them as if they were worms. However, the yamen clerks, like the seasoned owners of inns for travelers in handling their guests and strangers, shrewdly detect the strengths and weaknesses, as well as the moral

Personnel Administration

215

character, of their magistrate. Although they make obeisance to their magistrate in the yard of the yamen, standing side by side, they secretly exchange glances with each other and giggle together, and when they step outside the yamen, they laugh at their magistrate in all kinds of ways, but the magistrate does not know it. Ancient Sages Admonished That If One Who Is in a Superior Position Is Benevolent without Being Loose and Kindhearted without Appearing Weak, It Will Not Happen That Things Go Wrong. Yang Guishan [Yang Shi] said: “Although Confucius said, ‘One must take control of his men, but with benevolence,’ the authority and order of the yamen can be undermined by the trickery and manipulations of the yamen clerks if the magistrate tries only to be benevolent without holding the reins of state affairs. The magistrate must make sure that he is always in charge, never allowing power and authority to originate from other sources. Then the benevolence of the magistrate, even if it is excessive, will not bring about any problem.” Zhu Xi stated, “One who serves as magistrate should make yamen clerks always busy while he tries to be as leisurely as possible. If he makes himself too busy, immersed in his work, totally unaware of what goes on around him, the yamen clerks will start doing evil things, trying to take advantage of the situation” (Wuzi jinsilu). Tao Nanlin said, “If a man enjoys the love and affection of the ladies, preferring to stay home, his friends are likely to laugh at him. If the magistrate in the employment of the government becomes popular among the yamen clerks, there will no doubt be words of resentment from the people.” The following is from Selected Sayings of Sajae [Sajae ch’ŏgŏn]: “Yi Sejŏng was learned in the classics and diligent in teaching, so that the state councilors at one time were all his students, including our brothers. However, he had no talent in running the government. When he was magistrate of Ch’ŏngyang, Ch’oe Suksaeng became governor. Asking a favor for their master, the magistrate of Ch’ŏngyang, the former students of Yi Sejŏng said, ‘Since our master is a distin2. A Neo-Confucian anthology that includes the philosophical statements of five masters (wuzi): Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhang Hengqu, and Zhu Xi. It is an expanded version of Reflections on Things at Hand (Jinsilu), which includes only four masters. 3. Unknown. 4. A work by Kim Chŏngguk, a scholar-official of the mid-Chosŏn period, whose pen name was Sajae. It is mainly a collection of essays and anecdotes for general readers. He was regarded as a sage in his time. 5. A scholar of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sŏngjong. 6. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chajin, and his pen name Ch’ungjae. He also served as fi ft h state councilor.

216

book V

guished scholar with integrity, do not dare to disparage him in your evaluation of his job performance.’ Quickly granting their request, Ch’oe Suksaeng left for the province of his appointment, but he dismissed Yi Sejŏng from his office by giving him the lowest grade in his evaluation. When Governor Ch’oe returned to Seoul after finishing his term, several ministers who were the disciples of Yi Sejŏng visited him and said in protest, ‘How come you gave our master the lowest grade while there was no lack of cunning magistrates in the Hosŏ region?’ Ch’oe Suksaeng replied, ‘Although the magistrates of other districts were cunning, they were no more than one thief in their own districts, and therefore, people could endure their wrongdoings. On the other hand, the magistrate of Ch’ŏngyang raised six thieves under him even though he himself was upright, so the people were not able to endure his rule.’ ” If one thinks over this matter, a man who is incapable of governing yamen clerks is unqualified to become magistrate, no matter how learned and upright he may be. Yamen Clerks Are Also Human Beings like Everyone Else. If They Are Guided in the Right Way with Persuasion and Encouragement, They Will Straighten Themselves Out with No Exception. It Is Not Advisable, Therefore, That the Magistrate Always Resort to Using His Authority in Dealing with Them. When Han Yanshou was prefect of Yingchuan, he treated yamen clerks with benevolence and never failed to keep his word. If one of the yamen clerks happened to cheat or betray him, Magistrate Han reproached himself, saying, “How can he do things like that?” Having overheard what the magistrate said, the yamen clerks repented, deeply ashamed of what they had done. While he served in Dong Commandery for three years, his orders were carried out, his prohibitions were observed, and crimes decreased significantly, so he received the highest grade in his job performance. When Zhong Liyi was magistrate of Xiaqiu, one of the yamen clerks stole money from the public treasury. Being a benevolent person, the magistrate only dismissed him from his office without punishing him. The father of the yamen clerk said to his son, “The magistrate is a man of justice but too generous in punishing a criminal like you,” and told him to commit suicide by drinking poison. When Chŏng Ungyŏng of the Koryŏ dynasty was appointed assistant district magistrate of Andong, a yamen clerk named Kwŏn Wŏn, who was Chŏng’s 7. “Six thieves” indicates the yamen clerks of the six bureaus in the office of the magistrate. 8. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zia. He served as imperial secretary. 9. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kongmin. He was the father of Chŏng Tojŏn (1342−1398), a famous scholar-official who rendered great ser vice in founding the Chosŏn dynasty.

Personnel Administration

217

old friend at the county school, asked for an interview, bringing wine and food with him. Chŏng Ungyŏng called him in and drank wine with him. Then he said, “I drink with you because you are my old friend. However, if you violate the law tomorrow, perhaps this magistrate will not forgive you.” One Who Refuses to Recognize or Correct His Wrongdoings and Persists in His Wicked Ways despite Admonitions and Instructions, Expanding His Power, Must Be Punished. When Liu Gongchuo became military commissioner of Shandong and inspected the district of Deng, he found that two yamen clerks had committed irregularities. One had taken bribes, and the other had forged documents. People thought that the military commissioner would definitely kill the one who took bribes. However, the commissioner killed the one who forged official documents. In his sentence he said, “The law still exists even if it is violated; however, if the law is thrown into disorder, it will disappear eventually.” In the Tang dynasty there lived a yamen clerk named Hua Nanjin in the district of Zhenyuan. He was so powerful and arrogant that the residents all said, “What comes from Hua Nanjin’s mouth is as good as what comes from the hand of the government.” When Zhang Xun became magistrate, he killed the man right away. In the years of Xuande, Kuang Zhong governed Suzhou. Since the district had lots of work to do and was known to be difficult to govern, the court particularly dispatched Kuang Zhong to rule it as he felt necessary, giving him a letter of appointment with the emperor’s seal and providing him with post horses. When Kuang Zhong started his work, he pretended to be stiff and foolish when yamen clerks brought documents to be signed, and he gave his approval without asking about the propriety or impropriety of matters while he kept their 10. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Kuan. He also served as minister of war. 11. The sentence in the source text consists of six Chinese characters: ༞㔘ཾ ᪺ᗋᡥ. Literally translated, “Hua Nanjin is a mouth, and the local government [magistrate] a hand.” Translated this way, it implies that the hand makes or gathers food, and the mouth eats what is brought by the hand. Therefore, the yamen clerk, described as the mouth, is superior to the government or magistrate, described as the hand. 12. A general of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Xuanzong. While serving at Zhenyuan County, the rebellion of General An Lushan broke out, and Zhang Xun bravely fought against the rebel armies. Loyal to the Tang dynasty, he kept fighting and repulsing the rebel forces until he was fi nally captured and executed by his enemy. 13. The reign name of Emperor Xuanzong (1398–1435) of the Ming dynasty. 14. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Bolü. He served as director (langzhong) in the Ministry of Rites and as prefect of Suzhou.

218

book V

evil practices in his memory. A chief yamen clerk named Zhao Chen, who was arrogant and presumptuous, made light of Kuang Zhong. However, Kuang Zhong allowed Zhao Chen to have his way without complaints. One morning a month after he took office, he ordered his attendants to bring in incense, candles, and a desk to his office and at the same time send for the officials in charge of rites and ceremonies. As a result, all the staff, including the yamen clerks, gathered together. Kuang Zhong said, “I brought with me an order from the emperor. Since I have not had a chance to declare it, I intend to declare it now.” Then he read the decree of the emperor, and it contained a statement that the magistrate could punish anyone among the yamen clerks at will if the person was found guilty of wrongdoing. That made the yamen clerks quite scared. When he finished reading the decree, the magistrate stepped down [from his seat in the hall] to the yard of the yamen and said to the elders of the villages, “I have heard that some residents of our district are so cunning that they often harm innocent people. I know how to vindicate the good while I rule the bad. Although I lack the talent of Bao Zheng, the famed judge, I will separate the good from the evil. So I would like to ask you to make a report quickly after separating the two groups of people here with us. I will treat the good people nicely as my guests, inviting them to the local wine-drinking rites. However, I will kill the evil ones for the sake of the common people. I will wait for you, preparing two kinds of records for your participation.” He also ordered all the yamen clerks of his district to come out to the front and said to them in a loud voice, “You, a man named so-and-so, carried out a certain affair in a certain way. That indicates that you committed theft. Am I mistaken? Furthermore, on a certain day another man named so-and-so dared to do things like so-and-so.” Quite surprised and shocked by what the magistrate said, the yamen clerks could not dare to defend themselves against the charges he brought against them. Ordering them to be taken out, Kuang Zhong said, “I have no patience for cumbersome delay in dealing with matters like this.” Then he ordered a yamen clerk suspected of crimes to be stripped of his clothes and had four men among his servants who were physically strong toss the yamen clerk into the air so that he could be killed when he hit the ground. At first the servants tried to throw the man only a little, which made Kuang Zhong more indignant. He said, “I am determined to kill a thief for the sake of the common people, but do you miserable men, who are no better than dogs and rats, force me to show a ruthless dignity? Throw the criminal much higher into the air; otherwise I will kill you all.” Very scared, his servants threw the criminal high into the air as they were told to, and the six yamen clerks were killed in that way right on the spot. Kuang Zhong ordered butchers to drag the dead by the hair to the market to show them to the people, and he banished ten more yamen clerks who were avaricious and cruel or foolish and incompetent. Because of this incident the yamen clerks, as well as the common people, became afraid of their magistrate and

Personnel Administration

219

obeyed his commands, changing their attitude. Later the people of Suzhou called their magistrate Kuang Qingtian. (See Huangming tongji.) When Minister Yi Noik  was governor of Chŏlla Province, there was a man named Ch’oe Ch’ibong who was the head of all the cunning and cruel yamen clerks throughout the province. Each of the fift y-three districts had two or three cunning yamen clerks, and they allied themselves with Ch’oe Ch’ibong, making him their leader. Every year Ch’oe Ch’ibong distributed several hundred thousand taels of money to the yamen clerks of all the districts, which was to be used as the capital to buy grain for moneylending, and the damage from their practice of usury was very serious. Every time the governor secretly sent out his yamen clerks and military officers to discover the wrongdoings of the magistrates in his province, the information was passed to Ch’oe Ch’ibong first, and the reports of their secret missions were also shown to Ch’oe Ch’ibong first before they were presented to the governor. These yamen clerks conspired to make slanderous reports on hardworking magistrates who carried out their duty with integrity. Furthermore, they removed from the list of investigations the names of magistrates and yamen clerks who were wicked and cunning and practiced all sorts of irregularities. Even worse, Ch’oe Ch’ibong sent revised copies of the final reports to the concerned individuals so that they could appreciate the favors that they had received from him. While Ch’oe had been building his authority and power in this manner, the people in the province had been resentful for a long time. About ten days after he was inaugurated as the new governor, Minister Yi Noik ordered that Ch’oe Ch’ibong be arrested and flogged to death, saying, “You deserve death for what you have done.” Despite flogging, however, he did not die easily, so the governor ordered that he be imprisoned in the jails of several districts for a while, transferring the prisoner from one to another. When the governor pressured the district of Koch’ang to expedite the execution of the prisoner, Ch’oe Ch’ibong begged for the delay of his execution until noon of the following day. However, Ch’oe finally died when the magistrate of Koch’ang refused his request. (Since Ch’oe Ch’ibong had connections with high officials in the court, he tried to send his sons to ask for their help. He thought that he had a good chance to survive if he could prolong the process of execution until noon of the following day.) At that time I was in Kangjin, and I saw several yamen clerks who were quite worried and scared because of the incident and lost so much weight that their bones were seen

15. Qingtian means “clear sky.” It implies that Kuang’s personality was so much like the clear sky that no one could deceive him. 16. A history compiled by Chen Jian, a scholar of the Ming dynasty. It is about the rise and fall of successive dynasties throughout history. 17. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kyŏmsu, and his pen name T’anch’o. He served as inspector general and minister of rites.

220

book V

through their skin, and only after several months did they seem to be relieved. This was the influence of eliminating the leader of the evil practices. The Name of the Leader of Wicked People Should Be Inscribed on the Stone Tablet Erected outside the Yamen So That He Can Never Regain His Old Job. Because Lu Huan achieved great results in successfully governing large districts one after another, people were afraid of him as if he were a god. In ruling on the wicked, he first ruled on their crimes and then had the details of their crimes inscribed on the stone tablet at the gate. If they repeated their crimes, he never failed to put their names on the list for execution, and he called the stone tablet on which the names of serious criminals were inscribed “a memorial stone of the wicked” [jiebei]. I have observed that these days the secret royal inspector or the governor still punishes and banishes wicked yamen clerks no less severely than before, but the irregularities persist. This is because the influence of those yamen clerks used to be so great in ordinary times that they can take a break at their home, even if they suffer temporary setbacks, and resume their evil practices as before, regaining their old jobs sooner or later while most people are unaware, but there is no one who makes a protest against what has happened. In my opinion, if the secret royal inspector or the governor once discovers the wrongdoings of local yamen clerks, he should order that the crimes of those people be inscribed on the stone tablet right outside the yamen. Unless the stone turns into dust and disappears, they will not be able to regain their old positions and thus will be prevented from committing further crimes. If a scholar-official is involved in the crime of taking bribes, he cannot escape from it all his life. However, the crimes of local yamen clerks are easily forgiven and forgotten in a short while, so they naturally make light of the law. How careless we are on this matter! Yamen Clerks Always Cater to What Their Magistrate Wishes. If They Find Out That Their Magistrate Is Interested in Making Money, They Will Seduce Him with Profits, and Once the Magistrate Falls into Their Trap, There Is No Way for Him to Escape, Not to Mention the Clerks Themselves. I have observed that when a new magistrate takes office, the way he gives out orders and discharges his duty is worth noticing. However, a few months after his inauguration he falls into the trap of his yamen clerks and becomes virtually silent, his tongue being tied, which makes even a rotten rat laugh hard. 18. An official of the Tang dynasty. He served as the prefect of Nanhai and as assistant director of the right in the Imperial Secretariat.

Personnel Administration

221

If the magistrate steals 10 kyŏl from disaster relief, he cannot prevent the yamen clerks from stealing 1,000 kyŏl, and if the magistrate collects 1 kyŏl, he cannot prevent the yamen clerks from collecting 100 kyŏl, and if the magistrate manipulates 100 sŏk of grain, he cannot prevent the yamen clerks from manipulating 10,000 sŏk of grain. Since this is the situation we are in, how lamentable! If the Magistrate Shows One-Sidedness in His Character and Conduct, Yamen Clerks Try to Take Advantage of That Vulnerability by Driving Him to Act Impulsively, and That Is Another Trap for the Magistrate. Bao Zheng earned a reputation as a good judge when he served as metropolitan governor. It happened that an ordinary man violated the law and deserved the penalty of flogging. The man bribed a yamen clerk, and the latter said, “The magistrate will certainly order me to execute punishment on you. Then you cry out aloud, trying to defend yourself.” At last the trial took place, and the man did as he was told to, and the yamen clerk reproached him, saying, “How dare you make excuses? Flogging is only what you deserve.” Bao Zheng now had the yamen clerk flogged, suspecting that the yamen clerk wielded more power than he was supposed to. Thus he generously treated the offender, hardly aware that he was deceived by them. This shows how hard it is to prevent the trickery of inferior men [xiaoren] like them. If the Magistrate Pretends to Know Everything and Discharges His Duty with Alacrity, He Is in Danger of Falling into the Trap of Yamen Clerks. Since the civil officials of our country read poetry in their early years and the military officials practiced archery, aside from these skills, they know nothing except drinking with entertaining girls or gambling. Although some of them are distinguished in natural philosophy or divination based on the Book of Changes, these things have little value. Archery may be practical in some ways, but it is of little use for administrative work and governing the district. When a man is appointed magistrate, he must abruptly leave his home to carry out his official duties and sit alone above the yamen clerks and residents of his district. Although it is natural that the magistrate is ignorant of state affairs, the magistrate, ashamed of his ignorance, often pretends to know everything. Thus he issues orders and approves matters without making inquiry, secretly taking pride in his style, swift like running water. It is due to his own actions that the magistrate falls into the trap. 19. The expression for “with alacrity” in the source text is acting or working like “running water.”

222

book V

I have often heard about what goes on, living in the district capital for a long time. If the new magistrate keeps on asking questions about matters that are brought up for his approval, old and craft y yamen clerks whisper to each other, “This is not a good sign for us.” If the magistrate quickly approves matters without raising questions, the yamen clerks laugh with each other, saying, “It will be easy.” Here lies the secret of ruling the yamen clerks. Since Begging by Yamen Clerks Is a Form of Harassment of the Common People, the Magistrate Must Prohibit Them from Doing Wicked Things. Zhuo Mao, magistrate of the Mi region, looked after the people as if they were his own children. He never spoke harsh words, and therefore, people could not dare to deceive him. One day an ordinary man came to see him and reported that a chief of a commune [tingchang] had received the rice and meat that he had offered to him. Zhuo Mao asked him, “Did the chief demand these things from you, or did you ask him to take them for a favor, or did you simply give them to pay for favors you had received from him on ordinary days?” The man replied, “I offered them of my own accord.” The magistrate asked again, “If you offered them of your own accord, what do you complain about?” The man said, “I heard that a wise magistrate does not make his people fear yamen clerks, prohibiting the latter from exploiting the people. The reason I offered a gift to the guard was because I was afraid of him, and I make this report because he received it.” Zhuo Mao said, “You are a bad person. A yamen clerk should only not make demands on the people, using his position. Since the chief is a fine yamen clerk, offering a gift for holidays is nothing more than paying your courtesy.” The man protested, “If that is the case, why does the law prohibit officials from taking presents from people?” Zhuo Mao replied, laughing, “The law you are talking about concerns only something larger and more significant, and the courtesy I am talking about belongs to the domain of humaneness. If I decide to govern you by the law only, can you be safe here? Go home and think it over.” Zhuo Mao was a man of little stature living in a countryside. When an ordinary man accuses a yamen clerk of wrongdoing, the magistrate must realize that the man still has a lot more to say. If he has heard only one-quarter of the charges, the magistrate should be able to understand the remaining three-quarters; otherwise he cannot comprehend the true state of the case. Nevertheless, Zhuo Mao found fault only with the hard-heartedness of the popu lar feeling, without suspecting the tyranny of yamen clerks. Does this not indicate that he was ignorant of what was going on? If the ordinary man had been pleased to offer his gift, he would not have brought such an accusation; if he had offered the gift unwill20. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He also served as palace attendant.

Personnel Administration

223

ingly, there must have been some reason behind his act. If so, how could the magistrate say that the ordinary man who had brought the charges was hardhearted? The ordinary people, who are powerless, are like children. They are unable to express their grievances on their own, and even if they finally speak out what they have to, they are incapable of presenting their cases clearly. How lamentable! If the Number of Yamen Clerks Is Relatively Small, None of Them Will Be Allowed to Enjoy Leisure, and Their Extortions and Exploitations Will Not Be Serious. In our system there are too many yamen clerks, both in the central government and in the local governments, contrary to the example of the government in ancient days. Although the departments in the central government have a fi xed ceiling for the quota of yamen clerks, local governments have no limit at all in employing yamen clerks, so the number of yamen clerks, at the largest, reaches several hundred, and even at the smallest it never goes below sixty. They hang around, forming cliques and damaging customs by contending with one another. Their conduct is really infamous. Furthermore, the number of key positions in large districts is limited to ten, and to only five or six in small districts. If yamen clerks happen to win their competition and finally succeed in gaining one of those key positions, they clap their hands in excitement, rolling up their sleeves, believing that they have already made a good fortune. The way in which they extort and exploit the people is no less cruel than cutting off the flesh and sucking up the blood of the people; their crimes have no limit. It has been many years since the idea of reducing the number of local yamen clerks was proposed. The late General Yi Hanp’ung raised it in the royal lectures several times, and there was also a report from Secret Royal Inspector Yi Myŏnsŭng on the same issue. However, high officials in the court, as well as local governors, did not take them seriously; they did not take any measures and let the issue die out. This is really lamentable. State Councilor Nam Kuman  cut down the number of yamen clerks by almost one hundred when he was in charge of the Board of War. Citing this 21. A military official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kyehŭng. He was a descendant of Yi Sunsin, a famous admiral and the hero of the Imjin War. He served as royal secretary and provincial military commander. 22. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Irae. He also served as magistrate of Anju, governor of Hwanghae Province, royal secretary, inspector general, headmaster of the National Confucian Academy, minister of works, and minister of punishments. 23. A famous state councilor of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. Learned in the classics and history, as well as cartography and military affairs, and talented in literature and calligraphy, he left a number of books, including Collected Works of Yakch’ŏn (Yakch’ŏnjip).

224

book V

precedent, Uam submitted a memorial to the king: “Since yamen clerks are indeed dangerous moths undermining the country, there is nothing to be done except to reduce their number. Although there has been a good deal of criticism and opposition ever since the Board of War cut almost a hundred yamen clerks, the benefits of that measure already have proved to be not small. So, prostrating myself, I beseech Your Majesty to give an order that all the other boards follow the example of the Board of War and reduce the number of yamen clerks.” Connected to State Councilors and Conspiring with the Governor, Yamen Clerks These Days Look Down on Their Magistrate Who Is above Them While They Harass the Common People Who Are below Them. A Magistrate Who Can Withstand Their Pressures Is a Good One. Before the Imjin War the tyranny of yamen clerks was not really serious; however, after the war scholar-officials became poor when their stipends were reduced because most of the national revenue went to rebuilding the armies of the Five Military Divisions [Ogunmun]. As a result, signs of corruption began to emerge, and yamen clerks soon joined the trend of corrupt practices, which have been increasingly out of control over the last few decades. Residing among the common people, I had a chance to observe the original causes of the corruption, and they are mainly as follows: one is that high officials in the royal court take bribes, another is that the governor illegally makes a fortune on his own, and another is that the magistrate divides profits with his men. There are three ways for yamen clerks to make connections to high officials. The first way is to make a relationship with high officials while the latter are living in exile; the second is to establish connections with royal families in Seoul; and the third is to pretend to be loyal to the former magistrate. How can yamen clerks establish connections with high officials? When high officials in the court are banished and come to live in exile in their district, smart and craft y yamen clerks provide them with all kinds of help, lamenting the bad times that the good have to suffer and pretending that they are men deeply attached to the values of noble spirit and loyalty. The high officials, shrunk in fear 24. Song Siyŏl (1607–1689), a famous scholar-official of the Chosŏn dynasty and leader of the Old Doctrine (subfaction of the Westerners faction). Uam was his pen name. 25. The Five Army Garrisons, also called Ogunyŏng, consisted of the Military Training Command (Hullyŏn togam), the Anti-Manchu Division (Ch’ongyungch’ŏng), the Defense Command of the Namhan Fort (Suŏch’ŏng), the Capital Garrison (Kŭmwiyŏng), and the Royal Guards Command (Ŏyŏngch’ŏng). Originally derived from the Five Commands that existed in the early Chosŏn period, these five army garrisons were reorga nized during the Japa nese invasions and later were permanently established in Sukchong’s reign (1674−1720).

Personnel Administration

225

and scared of their first exile, are naturally glad and grateful for this unexpected help from the yamen clerks. When they are able to send letters and enjoy wine and meat, which are strictly forbidden during their exile, the high officials are very grateful and want to reward their benefactors in the future, if not in the nether world. While this goes on, the political situation is reversed, and the high officials in exile are restored to power. If this happens, the yamen officials also rise in power. Besides, even if high officials are in exile, it is possible that their faction in the court is still in power. Therefore, requests that high officials in exile make to the yamen clerks are fulfi lled in no time, and the yamen clerks are able to enjoy the benefits even before the high officials are released from their exile. This is why the yamen clerks pretend to behave like those committed to righteousness. Once an intimate relationship is established, yamen clerks send high officials famous local products, including special wines, fine linen, rare dried fish, and large abalones. Therefore, when a newly appointed magistrate makes a courtesy call before his departure, high officials first ask him to look after certain yamen clerks, and even while at the farewell party having a drink with a governor who is leaving for his new post, they mention the names of yamen clerks for special consideration. As a result, on the morning of his inauguration the magistrate calls in certain yamen clerks and shows a special interest in them, and the governor bestows food on them when he tours the districts on inspections. Once they quit the presence of their superior, however, the yamen clerks never stop doing evil things, and this is so-called making acquaintance with an exiled official [chŏkgyo]. The farms owned by royal families are mostly located in the distant countryside, and many of these royal families are very powerful. They generally employ yamen clerks as managers of their lands, and because of this, the yamen clerks are able to exercise power for their own purposes, committing crimes in the way already mentioned. This is so-called making connections with royal families [kunggyo]. The so-called yuri (a clerk in charge of drafting a statement concerning the causes of the departure of the former magistrate) continues or discontinues his relationship with the departing magistrate, carefully weighing the prospects for his political future. The departing magistrate takes presents from the yamen clerk, which are in fact bribes; he believes in the man’s loyalty, not realizing that it is based on his calculation, not on his heart. Therefore, when the yamen clerk seeks a favor from him, he mistakes the request for begging and tries to help him, solidifying their mutual relationship. The ways in which these yamen clerks exercise their power and commit irregularities are much the same as those already mentioned, and this is so-called making alliance with former magistrates [yugyo].

226

book V

Since the Position of Chief Yamen Clerk Is Critical, He Should Be Neither Overly Trusted with Important Assignments nor Summoned Too Frequently. If He Commits Wrongdoings, the Magistrate Must Punish Him without Fail So That the Common People Harbor No Suspicion about His Integrity. Hu Dachu said, “If the magistrate happens to trust a chief yamen clerk excessively, this can make him arrogant. The man will say, ‘Since I am in charge of all affairs, whether large or small, or right or wrong, I can help you with what you are up to if you borrow some money from me.’ (‘To borrow some money from me’ here means ‘to allow me to raise some money.’) If this finally happens, infamous rumors about the magistrate will spread throughout the whole district even before the avarice of the yamen clerk is satisfied.” I have observed that a foolish magistrate secretly calls in the chief clerk in the middle of the night and seeks the latter’s opinion on various matters because the magistrate believes that he is his trusted servant. The only things the clerk can do to make the magistrate happy are playing tricks with land taxes, making money by selling the grain in the state granary, and taking bribes for influencing decisions in lawsuits. If the magistrate takes one, the clerk will steal a hundred. However, when their crimes are discovered, only the magistrate should take responsibility. Is this not sad? When Yamen Clerks Pay Courtesy Calls to Their Magistrate, They Should Be Prohibited from Wearing White Robes and White Belts. When the magistrate receives courtesy calls from yamen clerks, he is dressed in a formal uniform with a black hat. How, then, can the clerks dare to enter the yamen wearing white robes and belts? The clerks working in the capital city usually wear red uniforms, in accordance with the rules. Only those who are working during a period of mourning are allowed to wear black hats and belts. (Those in mourning should not be allowed to pay courtesy calls to the magistrate; instead, they should make reports, staying in the yamen.) Since the Feasts and Parties That Yamen Clerks Enjoy Can Hurt the Common People, They Must Be Strictly Forbidden by Strong Admonitions So That There Will Be No Merrymaking Marked by Teasing and Jesting. The law originally prohibited officials from having a party, drinking with entertaining girls. In my observation, these days the magistrate often ignores the way in which yamen clerks enjoy themselves, climbing mountains or boating on the river while singing and dancing. The common people who observe their behavior hate them as if they were their enemies. Since it is the yamen clerks who enjoy these activities, but it is the magistrate himself who must take the blame for the

Personnel Administration

227

improper conduct of the clerks, is this not absurd? The magistrate, therefore, must restrain them strictly. If peace continues to prevail and the district is lucky to have a good harvest, it is not a bad idea to have a picnic, choosing a fine day either in the spring or autumn when there is not much to do in the yamen. Preparing white rice and vegetable dishes, the officials, including the magistrate and the yamen clerks, can enjoy mountain climbing or boat riding in a simple way. Flogging in the Office of Personnel Should Also Be Strictly Prohibited. It is not really necessary to prohibit yamen clerks and servants from privately warning and admonishing each other. However, if corporal punishment should exceed ten lashes, it must be reported to the magistrate first before it is carried out. Since it is not permitted to punish common people who do not officially belong to the yamen privately, whether they are residents of towns or villages, the magistrate must make yamen clerks promise in advance not to take the law into their own hands. A Few Months after His Inauguration the Magistrate Should Make a Chart of the Career Histories of the Yamen Clerks and Place It on His Desk. The following chart carries the career histories of ten yamen clerks for a period of ten years. If the magistrate wants to have more accurate career histories, the length of the period should be expanded from ten to twenty years. If one looks at the chart, one will find that a certain person has held an important position several times while others have remained in minor roles, or a certain person, being talented, must be craft y, while another, lacking wisdom, is incapable of discharging his duty even if one entrusts him with assignments. If a man who has spent many years in the local government is good enough to carry out his duty but has had no chance to demonstrate his ability because he is too modest, he should be given a more prominent position at the beginning of the new year when official duties are redistributed to each of the yamen clerks. Behind the Evil Scheming of Yamen Clerks There Is Always a Scribe [Shi]. If the Magistrate Wants to Prevent the Scheming of Yamen Clerks, He Should Make the Scribe Afraid of Him, and If He Intends to Investigate the Scheming of the Yamen Clerks, He Should Interrogate the Scribe Who Is Their Ringleader. “Scribe” [shi] here indicates the clerk in charge of records. If the grain in the granary is in disarray because of scheming, it is the scribe who knows the exact 26. The source text provides a sample chart of ten clerks that is omitted here.

228

book V

situation in detail. If the land taxes have been stolen and hidden, it is the scribe who knows their exact amount. The yamen clerks, being coarse and rough, know only the general outline of what goes on; on the other hand, the scribe, who is trained to be precise, distinguishes every little item. If the magistrate, upon arriving, first intimidates the scribe by his strictness and personal dignity, interrogating his trickery through other channels and at the same time showing a possibility of forgiveness, the blind spots of irregularities will be exposed unexpectedly. C H A P T E R  : S U B OR DI NAT I NG PE T T Y F U NC T IONA R I E S A N D U N DE R L I NG S

The Only Good Way to Command Subordinates Is Dignity and Trust. Since Dignity Is Born of Integrity and Trust Results from Sincerity, the Magistrate Cannot Make Them Obey Him Unless He Shows His Integrity and Sincerity. When Xie Shangcai was magistrate of Yingcheng, Hu Wending visited him at the yamen. When he was about to enter the gate, he noticed that the yamen underlings were standing in the yard as if they were figures made of either earth or wood. This was because they were struck with admiration for the personal dignity and sincerity of Xie Shangcai. Xue Jingxuan [Xuan] said, “One must not have partiality in the slightest degree. If one shows partiality, his subordinates will surely despise him because they are aware of being treated unfairly. I used to have a servant years ago. Finding him a smart fellow, I frequently employed him in various missions, and other servants were reluctant to deal with him. Finally I had to dismiss him. Although this is a little thing, it gives us a lesson that one who is a magistrate must treat his men without any preference at all.” Military Officers [Kungyo] Enforcing the Law Are Rough and Violent. The Tyrannical Behavior of These Men Must Be Strictly Restrained. Those who are born in town and neither have education nor hope to become good men, indulging in rough and wicked behavior, usually take a military

27. Xie Liangzuo (1050–1103), a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Northern Song dynasty and a native of Shangcai, which is modern Anhui Province. He took the name of his hometown as his pen name. A disciple of two Chengs (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi), he developed a doctrine that attempted to unite mind and heart and influenced the early phase of Zhu Xi’s philosophy. 28. Hu Anguo (1074–1138), a scholar of the Northern Song dynasty. Wending was his posthumous title. His courtesy name was Kanghou, and his pen names Wuyi Xiansheng and Caoan Jushi. He served as academician of the Hall for Treasuring Culture (Baowenge).

Personnel Administration

229

career. They drink with entertaining girls and take away property of the people by force. Their profession can be classified into three categories: first, guard officers, who include regiment commander [ch’ŏnch’ong], battalion commander [p’ach’ong], and so forth; second, military officer [kungwan] or director of the military affairs section [pyŏngbang changmu]; and third, sheriff [p’ogyo] or lawenforcement officer [t’op’odojang]. Gate guards harass people for their own purposes. However, if their tactics do not work, they designate people as either company commander [ch’ogwan] or banner-unit leader [kip’aegwan] so that they have a hard time. If those selected for such assignments try to evade the command, the gate guards grab them and ask for bribes or force them to stand duty during the busy agricultural season. Hence the magistrate must investigate these abuses. If law-enforcement officials are appointed marshals or agents on a mission [ch’asa] to represent the magistrate, they demand bribes and collect money from the people as if they have gained powerful positions. So wherever they visit, people treat them with wine and noodles, butchering chickens and pigs. Knowing these problems in advance, the magistrate should not dispatch marshals lightly unless there is an emergency like treason. I have observed that the magistrate who is incompetent in handling his job often dispatches marshals from the beginning for the purpose of collecting taxes and grain, and these marshals are called “superintendent” [kŏmdok]. They take away calves and pull out cauldrons, binding the people, including the old, and slapping them on the face. Consequently, wherever the marshals pass by, doors are smashed and villages are destroyed. The magistrate, therefore, should not unleash these tigers to devour the people and accumulate his wrongdoings; it would be much better for him to receive the lowest grade in the evaluation of his job performance for failing to collect taxes on time. Law-enforcement officers [p’odo kungwan] are generally big bandits, whether they live in the capital or in the countryside. They have a secret connection with thieves and divide stolen goods with them. Sometimes they free the thieves to steal, providing them with information. If the magistrate tries to capture the thieves, the officers secretly notify them so that they can escape the danger. If the magistrate intends to execute the thieves, the officers secretly instigate the jailers to release them purposely. Their ways of committing irregularities are countless and hard to list. The most atrocious evil they practice has to do with their inspection of the market. The job of inspecting the market is usually assigned to lawenforcement officers, and their inspection is hardly different from sending thieves into the market to steal the merchandise in it. Although they are fully aware of what goes on, the merchants cannot complain even if their rice and cotton are taken away, because they are more afraid of the law-enforcement officers than of tigers. For this reason merchandise is kept away from the market, and commerce

230

book V

is halted. Therefore, the magistrate cannot afford to neglect overseeing the conduct of these law-enforcement officers. So-Called Gatekeepers [Munjol] Are Slaves of the Old Days Hired by the Yamen. They Are the Ones among the Yamen Underlings Who Are the Most Difficult to Amend. Gatekeepers are also called by various names, such as guards of the day [ilsu] or runners [saryŏng] or patrols [najang]. Originally rootless wanderers, these people used to be clowns or stage performers, so they are the ones most difficult to change by attempts to edify them. Nevertheless, they have as many as five powers in their hands: first, the power to guard the gates [hon’gwŏn]; second, the power to execute physical punishments [changgwŏn]; third, the power to imprison people [okgwŏn]; fourth, the power to collect various fees [chŏgwŏn]; and fi ft h, the power to arrest [p’ogwŏn]. Because they are granted these five privileges, the common people are afraid of them as if they were hyenas. Nevertheless, the magistrate overlooks their atrocious behavior, and the people suffer greatly. The power to guard the gates is something like this. When people bring lawsuits to the yamen, these gatekeepers block them if they find that the lawsuits are related to grievances against subofficial functionaries who are their colleagues. Then the complainants return home in tears after wasting a few days wandering around. The magistrate, therefore, must make sure, repeatedly admonishing and instructing his subordinates, that the common people are made to feel as comfortable as if they entered their mothers’ houses when they visit the yamen. If his subordinates still continue to violate the law, he must chastise their crimes with the maximum penalty. The power to execute physical punishments is basically like this. If flogging is done lightly despite the intensity of the magistrate’s indignation, one must suspect that there was bribery. On the contrary, if flogging is too severe when there was no sign from the magistrate for such harsh treatment, it is possible that the flogging was carried out in personal resentment. It is allowable to a certain extent to forgive a mock flogging secretly even if it was done for bribes. You can laugh about it in secret. (Since the convict has already paid for his crime by offering bribes, spending money out of his own property, it is not necessary to try to wound the man seriously by heavy flogging.) However, it is certainly not right only to watch a guard who, motivated by his personal malice, is severely flogging a convict. The magistrate should immediately restrain the guard from punishing the convict too severely and at the same time investigate secretly if there is anything concealed. If any wrongdoing is found, it must be dealt with strictly.

Personnel Administration

231

The power of imprisonment indicates fastening or unfastening the cangue around the neck of a convict. This will be discussed in detail in the section on punishments. The power to collect taxes [wielded by the gatekeepers] is the sorest burden on the people. According to the law, the local government land [kwandunjŏn] is supposed to be cultivated by subofficials and official slaves, and the size of the land varies from 20 to 16 or 12 kyŏl depending on the size of the district. The rice produced from this land originally belonged to the gatekeepers. However, as the law and morality of the country deteriorated, the magistrate became the landlord of this land, and the gatekeepers were relegated to being his managers. So the people have no choice but to entertain them, serving food that costs as much as 50 p’un for each table, and they pay hundreds of p’un for the delivery of the magistrate’s order. During the harvest season of barley, rice, cotton, and other crops, the gatekeepers send out old men and women to beg for money for their purposes. This harassment, which is called tongnyŏng or chogon or nagase, is routine for avaricious gatekeepers who are used to exploiting the people. The power to arrest works as follows. If the magistrate summons commoners, who can dare to defy his order? When it occurs that a commoner or a soldier makes a false accusation, the magistrate in good faith quickly sends out marshals [ch’asa] for investigation. When a red-colored warrant called hongch’ŏp issued by the magistrate (which is stamped with an official seal) arrives in the village, there is a so-called courtesy fee [yejŏn] that amounts to 500 p’un in the case of the rich and 200 p’un in the case of the poor. Because the red ropes in the hands of the marshals make the people scared, the whole village makes a fuss, preparing wine and butchering pigs in order to entertain the marshals. This is the reason that the magistrate should not dispatch marshals lightly unless bandits come out to attack the village. The Scheming of Government Slaves Can Take Place Only in the Granary. However, Since Yamen Clerks Are Also Working in the Granary, the Magistrate Should Treat the Slaves with Benevolence Unless Their Stealing Is Serious, Preventing Them from Committing Further Wrongdoings. Among all the subfunctionaries, the job of government slaves is the hardest one. Attending slaves (sino or kŭpch’ang) have to stand in the yard of the yamen all day long with no break; a head slave [suno] takes charge of supplies; artisan slaves [kongno] are busy making articles and appliances; stable slaves (kuno or kujong) raise horses and hold parasols; room slaves (pangno or pangja) heat the rooms and clean the toilets. However, regardless of their assignments, these slaves have to follow the magistrate when he travels. Despite the hard work that they perform, only the kitchen slaves who are in charge of the meat supply or the storage room, who are called p’ono and chuno, respectively, and granary slaves [ch’angno]

232

book V

are paid for their ser vice. The payments they receive, however, are not more than a few sŏk of rice that fell on the ground in processing. Is this not pitiful? Granary slaves usually take charge of both granary jobs and gardening. When they become gardeners [wŏnjŏng], they have to work day and night to grow vegetables but have to borrow money to provide required supplies for the use of the yamen. By the time they are appointed granary slaves, they are completely exhausted. Fully aware of this situation, the magistrate should treat the government slaves with compassion and benevolence, and that is the best way of governing them. The only thing about which the magistrate should be careful is paying attention to the granary slaves, preventing them from practicing trickery. Since the circumstances of individual districts are all different, the magistrate should be more wary and strict in preventing the trickery of government slaves if the slaves of his district are unusually powerful and abusive. An attending slave who is abusive and manipulative raises his voice and sharply reprimands the commoners who brought lawsuits to the yamen, while the magistrate keeps silent; he shouts aloud, whereas the magistrate talks gently; he keeps on complaining, while the magistrate speaks little; he also reveals information that his boss is still ignorant of; and he orders a man to be flogged even without the magistrate’s permission. As a result, slaves like him provoke resentment in the people and damage the dignity of the magistrate. The head slave goes out to the market to purchase goods for the office but actually takes them away from the merchants by paying the minimum price under the pretext of buying for the government. I have already mentioned this, as well as the ways of preventing it. Skilled slaves supervise the manufacture of such articles as ropes, straw shoes, bamboo containers, wooden chests, earthenware, and iron vessels, but because they are unrestrained in using these goods, they always ask for more of them from the manufacturers. This is one of the reasons that Buddhist temples are decayed and impoverished, and the mining villages are destroyed. When there are sacrifices or banquets [in the yamen], leftover food should be equally distributed to government slaves. When there is one who suffers extremely from hunger and cold, the magistrate should provide him with food and clothes and look after him as if the man were his household slave. Then he will deserve to be called a good magistrate. Since government slaves serve the magistrate as their superior, although it is for a limited time, the magistrate cannot help treating them with benevolence. There are sometimes undesirable items of property in the yamen, which raise a moral dilemma for the magistrate. If he uses them, he puts his integrity in danger. Not using them, however, is tantamount to wasting them. Under these circumstances it is advisable to distribute such things to government slaves, who are always underpaid despite their hard work. Fines for illegal slaughtering of

Personnel Administration

233

cattle and violating the prohibition of private brewing of wine, or confiscated timber, or the skins, tendons, and horns of cows, or stolen goods that have no owner belong to the so-called undesirable items of property. As for official female slaves [kwanbi], there are two kinds. One is entertaining girls [kisaeng], who are also called chut’ang. The other is female slaves [pija], who are also called sugŭp. Although entertaining girls are poor, they normally have patrons who help them. Therefore, it is not appropriate for the magistrate to support them. The only thing he can do for the entertaining girls is not to ask them to sew his clothes with their dirty hands. The ones who most deserve his sympathy are female government slaves with ugly faces. In the cold winter they wear dresses made of hemp, and in the hot summer they wear cotton clothes. With hair all entangled, they are busy day and night, drawing water and preparing meals. If the magistrate pays attention to the plight of these female slaves, comforting them with kind words, providing clothes and grain, and granting their wishes (things like exempting their husbands from military ser vice) after asking about their husbands, would this not be nice? An outstanding magistrate who is competent in governing cannot avoid having complaints from his subordinates. However, if three groups of petty clerks and subfunctionaries all show resentment toward their magistrate, would it not be distressing? The magistrate who is resented by the strong and admired by the weak for his generosity is truly benevolent. I often hear that the magistrate of a neighboring district enjoys himself with singing and dancing, spending fortunes for entertaining girls who take the money for granted. If he spends half the money for his entertainment on those poor female government slaves, they will never forget his benevolence throughout their lives. If the magistrate can establish his good reputation while others are provoking the spread of dirty rumors about themselves, what benefit could be greater than that? On the day when he returns home, if the entertaining girls are delighted to see his departure, talking and laughing at the south gate of the wall, and the female government slaves are very sad about his departure, all crying, he deserves to be called a good magistrate. Han Kwangjŏn, former magistrate of Yean, governed various districts over the years. He particularly looked after male and female government slaves with benevolence and love. Whenever he departed from a district, those slaves cried aloud. Making adulterous women into government slaves is not allowed not only by our law but also by The Great Ming Code. In olden days, if a lewd woman committed adultery and her husband really wanted to make her an official slave, it was allowed. This law, however, is now often ignored and abused by the magistrate. 29. The “three groups” are personnel clerks, law-enforcement officials, and government slaves. 30. A contemporary of Tasan. The details of his life and career are not known.

234

book V

When a commoner who initially reported that his wife ran away with a man expresses his desire to retain her after she has been found and caught, the magistrate ignores his request and makes the woman an official slave. Furthermore, he orders official female slaves and entertaining girls in his yamen secretly to discover women engaging in adultery and later makes them government slaves against their will. In cases like this, facts and lies are often confused, and thus injustice is done to those women. Once a woman is made an official slave and registered in the official documents, her children are supposed to inherit her social status and become slaves. Therefore, the magistrate whose rule is based on benevolence must not take this matter lightly. If the original husband of the woman who is to be made an official slave really wants to have his wife back, or unless a lewd woman volunteers to become an official slave, the magistrate should not coerce a woman to become an official slave. The Magistrate Should Look After the Pages [Sidong] Who Are Born Physically Weak and Reduce Their Penalty if They Do Commit Wrongdoings. However, Once They Become of Age, He Should Treat Them in the Same Way as He Deals with Other Yamen Attendants. A page is a boy servant [t’ongin], and he is also called chiin. The tricks of the pages are as follows: They stamp forged documents or steal examination certificates during the preliminary local examination or a test paper for writing contests. They closely observe the movements of the magistrate and spread rumors to the outside, fabricating words and accusations, and this is not a trivial matter to be ignored. However, in the case of a young page, only beating with a light stick [t’aehyŏng] is appropriate. People nowadays prefer to use the punishment of beating with a heavy stick, which is certainly not right. C H A P T E R : E M PL OY I NG T H E PE OPL E F OR T H E L O C A L G OV E R N M E N T

Since Governing the State Depends on the Use of Its People, the Principle of Using Human Resources in the Local Government Is Not Different from the Case of the Central Government, Although the Scale of Hiring Is Smaller. One who governs the state must give the foremost priority to employing men of benevolence. Since a principle applies to all matters regardless of their scale, one can butcher chickens with a knife for cows. From the magistrate’s aides, lawenforcement officials, and yamen clerks to village representatives and heads of the community compact, the magistrate should not neglect anything in securing men of ability.

Personnel Administration

235

When Mi Zijian governed Chanfu, he had one whom he respected as his teacher, friends whom he associated with, and subordinates whom he commanded. He enjoyed playing the zither without stepping down from the floor of the yamen [that is, during business hours]; nevertheless, he had no problem in governing his district. Wu Maqi also governed the same district, but he got up early in the morning and worked until late in the evening. He kept working day and night, personally carry ing out most state affairs, and thus he was able to govern the district successfully. Wu Maqi asked Mi Zijian why he had to work so hard while the latter did not. Mi Zijian replied, “I trusted others, while you trusted your own efforts. The work is tough if you entrust it to your efforts; it is easy if you entrust it to men.” Since the Role of the Aides of the Magistrate [Hyangsŭng] Is to Assist the Magistrate, They Must Be Chosen from the Most Benevolent Men in the District. Master Sŏngho [Yi Ik] said, “Nowadays there are the offices that assist the magistrate, and they are held by the chief of the local yangban association and his assistants, and the place in which these people operate is called the local yangban association [hyangso]. When this system was originally created, it served its intended purpose well. In addition to the local yangban association, there was also in olden days the capital liaison office [kyŏngso], which was run by a man residing in Seoul whose family originally belonged to a certain local district. Stationed in Seoul, he acted as an agent for the interests of his old hometown. The name “capital liaison office” is found in Diary of Miam [Miam ilgi]. Since the office of magistrate is directly related to the lives of the people, the people have to suffer if the magistrate is engaged in tyranny. Therefore, it was stipulated by law that the governor should watch him closely; the inspector, who is an assistant [tosa] to the governor, should supervise him; men of reputation should stay in the local yangban association; and high officials should serve in the capital liaison office, so that they all might work together to prevent misrule by the local magistrate.

31. Mi Buqi, an official of the state of Lu and a disciple of Confucius. Zijian was his courtesy name. 32. An official of the state of Chen and a disciple of Confucius. His name was actually Mashi, and his courtesy name was Ziqi. 33. A work of Yu Hŭich’un (1513–1577), a scholar of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Injung, and his pen name Miam. He served as headmaster of the National Confucian Academy and as second minister of personnel. His diary consists of both personal and public records over the period 1568 to 1577. It was known to be one of the longest of its kind throughout the Chosŏn dynasty.

236

book V

The Chief of the Local Gentry Is the One Who Leads the Local Yangban Association. Unless the Right Person Is Found for This Job, the District Cannot Be Governed Properly. When about a month has passed since his inauguration, the magistrate should decide on the selection of a new chief of the local gentry. If he believes that the incumbent deserves to keep his job, he will allow him to stay on. Otherwise, he has to replace him after consulting the opinion of the local community. The magistrate will issue an order to the chief of the local yangban association as follows: “Those who have been active as members of the local yangban association but have never served as chief should attend the meeting tomorrow.” When the people gather, the magistrate meets with them at the main hall, saying, “I intend to select a new chief from those who have previously served as chief, so I would like to request that you not talk or ask questions. What you have to do is to keep quiet and choose the candidate of your choice by marking his name.” Then he writes on a piece of paper the names of those who previously served as chief of the local yangban association and lets the participants mark the name of their choice one by one. (Each member is allowed to choose only one candidate.) The one who receives the most votes will be made chief, and the person who receives the second-largest number of votes will be made assistant to the chief. When Yi Wŏnik, Lord Wanp’yŏng, served as magistrate of Anju, he received the highest score for his job performance. When people asked about the secret of his success, he replied, “I found a man of ability for the job of chief of the local yangban association and always consulted him, whatever I did. So all I did was to give my approval to the paperwork.” The Left and Right Assistants Are Next to the Chief of the Local Yangban Association in Rank. The Magistrate, Therefore, Must Find Men with Good Qualifications and Discuss All State Affairs with Them. According to the Essentials of Magistracy, “The chief of the local yangban association supervises the sections of personnel and military ser vice; the left assistant the sections of taxation and rites; the right assistant the sections of punishments and works.” In my observation this is a general practice followed by all the local districts. Some large districts in Hwanghae and P’yŏngan provinces have as many as ten supervising assistants. They supervise the sections of rites and military ser vice, as well as the granary and the treasury. However, it is appropriate that six persons 34. Th is indicates making a little circle underneath the name of his choice. 35. Left and right here mean fi rst and second, respectively.

Personnel Administration

237

supervise the six sections. The magistrate should make the chief of the local yangban association take charge of personnel; the supervisor of the granary, the section of taxation; the left assistant, the section of rites; the supervisor of the military warehouse, the section of military ser vice; the right assistant, the section of punishments [or jail]; and the supervisor of the treasury, the section of works. If the magistrate has the official documents of the six sections signed by these supervisors so that the responsibilities can be shared when there are wrongdoings, the confusions and disorderliness of the present time will not take place. Record of Koksan states: “When there is an accident in a subdistrict, it usually results in a petition jointly submitted by the residents. If the magistrate closely observes those who visit to present the petition, he can find a man of ability. If he memorizes their faces while listening to their opinions, writing down their names and weighing the sincerity and craftiness in their words, and inquiring further and gathering opinions of the heads of the local yangban association and the county school, he will be able to learn about their personalities, as well as their abilities. If he hires men through this process and appoints them to appropriate positions as soon as they are available, he can hire as many as several people within a month, and in less than a year the positions of officers of the local yangban association, military officers, village representatives, and supervisors of the land will be fi lled with outstanding men trusted by local residents.” When Han Huang was in charge of Liangzhe District, he never failed to find men of ability because he hired them according to their talents. One day the son of an old friend visited him to look for a job. When he looked at him closely, he could not find anything special in him. Nevertheless, he held a banquet for the young man and found that his guest did not look around until the banquet was over. So he appointed him a gatekeeper of the granary. Because he guarded the gate all day long, sitting straight, the subfunctionaries of the yamen could not dare to frequent the granary as they had previously done. There is nothing to be thrown away if one knows how to use the unique strength of all things. This is the best way of hiring the right people. Unless There Is a Qualified Person, the Magistrate Should Only Fill the Post without Entrusting State Affairs [to the Person with Whom He Only Fills the Post]. When Huang Ba governed Yingchuan, he worked hard to run an efficient administration and maintain stability. When Chief Clerk Xu Cheng became deaf, 36. An official of the Tang dynasty. A man of strong character and talented in local administration, he served as provincial military commander of Zhenhai and transport commissioner of Jianghuai. 37. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuan. His courtesy name was Cigong, and his posthumous title Ding. He rose to the position of grand councilor.

238

book V

as well as old and sick, an aide asked the magistrate to dismiss him. Huang Ba said, “Xu Cheng is a clerk with integrity. Although he is old, he is still able to deal with visitors and guests according to propriety. Why should his deafness be a problem? I want you to take care of him well for now.” Someone asked about his decision, and Huang Ba replied, “If you change chief clerks frequently, it will cost money to send out the old one and take in his replacement. Besides, craft y clerks can eliminate record books or steal from the public treasury by taking advantage of the opportunity. So there will be a good deal of waste in public and private expenditures. Moreover, there is no assurance that the new clerk will be better than the old one; in fact, the new one could be worse than his predecessor. Therefore, the principle of governing is eliminating only the things that are extreme and excessive.” One Who Is Good at Flattering Is Not Loyal; One Who Likes Arguing and Demanding Does Not Betray. If the Magistrate Understands This, He Will Make Fewer Mistakes. Tong Hui was a native of the Langyegumu region. When he was young, he served in a local government. Having heard that Tong Hui was fair-minded and virtuous in carry ing out the law, Minister of Education Yang Ci hired him. When Yang Ci was impeached and dismissed, all his clerks abandoned him, but Tong Hui alone went to the royal court to save his superior, defending him against the charges, and his argument was finally accepted and Yang Ci was able to retain his position. Now the clerks who had abandoned Yang Ci earlier returned to the yamen, but Tong Hui departed, holding a walking stick in his hand. People were moved to see him leave that way. The Chief of the Local Yangban Association Is Responsible for Recommending Village Representatives and Heads of the Community Compact. Therefore, Unless the Right People Are Selected, the Chief Should Be Dismissed. Since bribery is rampant in the recommendations handled by the local yangban association, those who try to buy their recommendations are no doubt men of cunning. They are the people who gave up farming, making drinking their profession; they frequent the district capital, having behaved lawlessly for so long that they have made themselves harmful like clothes moths to the common 38. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Hanzong. After serving as a petty clerk, he became prefect of Danyang. 39. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Boxian, and his posthumous title Wenlie. He also served as palace attendant, commander-in-chief, and minister of works.

Personnel Administration

239

people. When village representatives and heads of the community compact are appointed, the magistrate should warn the chief of the local yangban association as follows: “You must work hard to find the right people; if you fail to do this, you will be stripped of your office.” If the wrong person is still chosen despite his warning, the magistrate should take action as he promised. If the magistrate nullifies the appointment of new village representatives and heads of the community compact but does not take away the power of the chief of the local yangban association, the chief will not give back the bribes he had taken [from the village representatives and heads of the community compact]. Furthermore, the magistrate will not be able to find the right people despite the strictness of his order. Therefore, revoking the power of the chief of the local yangban association is an excellent way of finding the right people. The Military Officers and Commanders Who Stand in the File of Military Officials Must Be All Tough and Strong Enough to Give the Impression That They Are Capable of Repelling the Enemy. Since the way in which the chief of law enforcement takes bribes from military officers and commanders is no different from the case of the chief of the local yangban association, the magistrate must do the same in issuing warnings and revoking the appointment of the chief of law enforcement if he wants to find the right people. One of the ways to judge a man is to observe his dignity and deportment, and therefore, good countenance and appearance are particularly essential for military men. If the man is short like a dwarf and shabby looking like a farmer, or if his face appears like a mixture of a fish’s mouth and a dog’s forehead, looking grotesque, the magistrate cannot take such a man with him when he visits the common people. Suppose that an emergency situation arises. If the magistrate is not on good terms with the distinguished military officers in the yamen, how can he successfully deal with such an emergency in the future? Even though the times in which the magistrate lives may be peaceful for now, and his district is poor, the magistrate must do his best to secure talented people. When Han Chi governed counties and districts, he never physically punished military personnel for no reason. He said, “Although we have enjoyed peace for a long time, I am still young and therefore someday may receive an order to defend the national border. Unless I establish good relations with the military personnel under my jurisdiction with benevolence and sincerity in times of peace, it will be hard to secure their support when a disturbance actually breaks out. It is my intention, therefore, to plant my sincerity in their hearts and let them know that because they are members of the same community, they cannot abandon their district during a crisis.”

240

book V

The Magistrate Who Is Entitled to Keep an Attendant Officer [Pijang] Must Select a Man Primarily on the Basis of Loyalty and Reliability; Next, Talent and Wisdom. The magistrates of Ŭiju, Kanggye, and Cheju, as well as all the magistrates who concurrently hold the office of defense commander [pang’ŏsa], are entitled to keep an attendant officer just like governors or provincial military commanders. Since the sense of honor and the prestige of scholar-officials have declined day by day, agents of a licensed store selling silk and linen [myŏnjŏn] or merchants working in the firewood market who have been connected with the magistrate in business dealings are appointed attendant officers. Mixed with the sons of concubines of military men or high officials, and indulging in entertaining girls and conspiring with yamen clerks, these attendant officers cheat their magistrate and exploit the common people, causing shame and scandal that cannot be erased. Fully aware of this problem, the magistrate must select a man of high integrity and administrative skill as his attendant officer. When Ch’ae Chegong [Pŏnam] became governor of Hamgyŏng Province, he appointed Chŏng Togil his attendant officer. According to old precedents, the residents of the Six Garrison Forts [Yukchin] were required to pay their taxes with fine-textured linen, but the linen they submitted had to be so fine textured that one entire bolt could fit inside one brass rice bowl, so people called such linen palnaep’o [bowl-fitting fine cloth]. However, when he arrived in one of the villages along the border, Chŏng Togil did not allow the people to present palnaep’o for their taxes, saying, “The magistrate ordered me to bring the less fine-textured linen.” Then he took only the less fine-textured cloth after close examination. Entertaining girls, clerks, and law-enforcement officials in the yamen were shocked to see what had happened and said in disbelief, “We never saw such coarse cloth in our lives.” So controversy arose both inside and outside the yamen. Although he liked what Chŏng Togil had done, Ch’ae Chegong said to him, “It seems that you have made yourself a laughingstock by taking lowquality linen. How come you are ignorant of the world like that?” Chŏng Togil replied, “I may be ignorant of the world, but not ignorant enough not to know the palnaep’o. I assume that the reason Your Honor dispatched me was to spread your benevolence by not collecting the linen as it had been collected before. If you believe that I did wrong, I will accept your reprimand and resign.” Ch’ae Chegong tried to comfort Chŏng Togil, holding his hands: “Even though I am 40. One of the six licensed stores (yugŭijŏn) in Seoul, which sold silk and linen. 41. Military settlements in North Hamgyŏng Province, established by Kim Chŏngsŏ, a military general during the reign of Sejong. They were built to defend the territory of the Tumen River against the invasion of the Jurchens.

Personnel Administration

241

not equal to Meng Changjun in talent and wisdom, why should you not be my Feng Huan?”  The people in the yamen could not dare to complain any further. C H A P T E R : R E C OM M E N DI NG V I RT UOUS M E N

Recommending Virtuous Men Is the Duty of the Magistrate. Although the Current System Is Different from That of the Old Days, the Magistrate Must Not Forget This. Emperors Yao and Shun and three sage kings instituted the law that requires the National University [Taixue] to educate the nobility to make them ministers, and the minister of education [situ] to teach the common people and prepare for the process of finding talented men [binxing]. Securing men of ability mainly depended on these two activities. Since the Han dynasty, however, these two laws have completely collapsed, and what is left is the system in which local magistrates recommend wise men with ability to the government. The number of talented men thus acquired during the Han dynasty equaled that of three dynasties. After the Sui and Tang dynasties men were selected through the civil ser vice examination based on literature. Nevertheless, the way of the world kept deteriorating, and subsequently counties and districts were ordered to recommend men of talent and learning every year, who were called “provincial nominees” [hyanggong]. Therefore, recommending men of virtue is the duty of the magistrate. In our country it was also the law that counties and districts recommend men of talent, but this law has been observed in name only. This should not indicate that the magistrate can ignore the law and neglect his duty. In modern times Nam Kuman recommended men of ability in his reports to the court whenever he returned from his inspection tours of border regions. Since this was the original purpose of high officials who served their sovereign by recommending men of virtue, how can scholar-officials who become magistrates to serve the country ignore that original purpose for recommending men of virtue? 42. A grand councilor during the Warring States period. He was famous for keeping thousands of guests in his house for advice and ideas. 43. One of the many guests of Meng Changjun. The latter asked the former to collect the unpaid loans from the people. However, Feng Huan burned the loan documents of the people who were unable to pay their loans in order to elicit favorable popu lar feeling for Meng Changjun, which saved Meng’s career from later political calamities. 44. King Yu of the Xia dynasty, King Tang of the Shang dynasty, and King Wen of the Zhou dynasty. 45. Th is was a way of recruiting talented people during the time of the Zhou dynasty. It indicates recommending an outstanding individual as a chief guest during the local drinking rite or selecting officials through the provincial examination. 46. “Literature” here indicates essays and poems.

242

book V

Since There Is a Code of Law for Recommending Those Distinguished in Classical Learning and Conduct and Those Excellent in Administrative Skill, Not One Person throughout the Whole District Should Be Neglected. Following ancient customs, our country has maintained a system in which counties and districts recommend men of virtue every three years. However, since factionalism has become increasingly intense since the middle age, those recommended by local districts have been ignored unless they have belonged to the faction in power. As a result, the law of recommendation has become only nominal. However, since neglecting men of virtue is not auspicious, how can we allow them to remain unacknowledged permanently even if we cannot employ them? The recommendations submitted by the counties and districts of our days always state, “No one to recommend.” This is wrong. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates as follows: “Recommendations should be made of those who previously served in the government [chŏnham] or those who passed licentiate examinations both in classics and literature [saengjin] or scholars who have never had a chance to serve in the government [yuhak]. Among these groups of men, the ones most distinguished in talent and conduct should be chosen, and in early January of the triennial year [singnyŏn] the residents recommend them to their magistrate (this is called pogŏ), and the magistrate in turn submits their recommendations to the governor. (The number of recommendations cannot exceed three in the case of hasamdo and two in the case of sang’odo.) If the recommendee turns out to be different from what is in his record by falsifying his age (saengjin should be above thirty years of age and yuhak above forty), he shall be punished according to the law.” Drafting a recommendation can be done by writing down an individual name first, and right underneath it a title in eight letters. For instance, “Yi so-and-so has never been idle in his study of the classics and lives together in unity with his family and relatives, but he maintains propriety even though he is close to them.” In addition to this, there is the procedure of recommending those talented in administration. Each district recommends three people to the governor, and the governor gathers the recommendations from all the districts in his domain, selects three of them, and finally sends their names to the Board of Personnel. 47. Saengjin refers to two groups of scholars: classics licentiate (saengwŏn) and presented scholar (chinsa). 48. Hasamdo indicates three provinces in the south: Ch’ungch’ŏng, Chŏlla, and Kyŏngsang. 49. Sang’odo indicates five provinces in the north: Hamgyŏng, P’yŏngan, Hwanghae, Kangwŏn, and Kyŏnggi. 50. Th is refers to the section in the Supplement to the National Code on personnel in relation to recommendations for public office.

Personnel Administration

243

The Civil Service Examinations Called Kwagŏ Originally Means Recommendation through the Testing of Respective Areas [Kwamok]. Although the System Itself Is Fine, There Have Also Been Abuses, Which Definitely Need to Be Corrected. It Is the Responsibility of the Magistrate to Do His Best in Recommending Men of Virtue. If the magistrates of counties and districts make recommendations, those who are recommended take an examination that is called kwagŏ. Our country originally neither classified the areas of examination nor had a system of recruiting men through recommendation. Nevertheless, we have called the examination kwagŏ, which is in fact not what it is supposed to be. There are two things in our country whose names we have misapplied. According to the law, a record of personal achievements should be submitted first for the review by the authorities. However, individuals are examined without the review process of their personal achievements. The law also requires them to be recommended first before they are allowed to take the civil ser vice examination; nevertheless, the examination is taken without the recommendation. This makes us a standing joke in the world. Now our civil ser vice examination system is problematic and lawless to an extreme degree. All things are supposed to change when they reach the stage of the extreme. Since public opinion is rising on this matter, I believe that we will sooner or later adopt the recommendation system practiced by the Chinese. He who is a magistrate must understand the meaning of this change. The Chinese System of Civil Service Examinations Is Very Detailed and Elaborate. If We Adopt It, the Work of Recommendation Is the Responsibility of Magistrates. If we look at the Chinese system of the Ming and Qing dynasties, it has superintendents of training [tixue] in each of seventeen provinces, and their tenure is three years. The Ministry of Personnel prepares a list of learned men so that the emperor can choose from them for his purpose, and this job is handled concurrently by either the prefect (Fengtian Prefecture) or the surveillance commissioner (Fujian, Taiwan, and so on). These officials personally supervise civil ser vice examinations, and the examinations are held in sequential order. If the preliminarylevel examination [suike] is held this year, the provincial examination is held in the following year, and it is followed by the metropolitan examination after a year. The examination consists of two parts. The first deals with two questions on the Four Books and another two on the interpretation of the classics; the second consists of one policy question, one treatise on a given subject, and a regular eight-line poem with five words in each line. It takes three years for these three

244

book V

categories of examinations to go around a complete cycle, and when the cycle is done, the superintendent of training is replaced. The Ministry of Personnel selects district instructors and dispatches them to the province. Then the governor evaluates them and confirms the appointment of the three men who achieved the highest score. He will give another chance to the two men who make fourth and fift h place in the contest by allowing them to take another examination after three years. However, he allows no further chances to the sixth-place person, the lowest achiever. Those who have been appointed instructor teach local students, making them prepare for their examinations. The examinations in this case generally consist of one question on the Four Books, one regular poem, and either a policy or a treatise. The instructors evaluate the results of the examinations they administered and submit them to the superintendent of training. My observation is that our country has neither instructors nor superintendents of training; consequently, the selection of classics licentiates through examinations is carried out by district magistrates. Although the Old Practice of Recommending Provincial Nominees [Hyanggong] Cannot Be Found in Our Law, the Magistrate in His Reports Must Not Neglect Recommending Scholars Learned in Literature. The civil ser vice examination that we now use originated during the Koryŏ dynasty. During the reign of Kwangjong, Shuang Ji of the Chaizhou dynasty, who followed a Chinese envoy to Korea and eventually settled in Korea because of his illness, transmitted the civil ser vice examination to our country. However, it is not clear why he did not introduce in detail the law of recommendation carried out by the local governments. The law of China from the old days to the present has required the examinees to have a recommendation before their examination, which they called yingyu [responding to the recommendation]. On the other hand, the examinees in our country were allowed to take the examination without a recommendation; nevertheless, they have also used the same word, yingyu, for taking the examination, betraying the meaning of the word itself. Nowadays, in the autumn of the triennial year counties and districts send recommendations to the examiners in Seoul, probably following the example of the old Chinese law of recommendation. The magistrate who drafts recommendations 51. Kwangjong (949–975), the fourth king of the Koryŏ dynasty. 52. An official of the Later Zhou dynasty (907−960). He visited the Koryŏ court as a member of a diplomatic mission and stayed permanently after his naturalization. He introduced the civil service examination to King Kwangjong and served as examination administrator (chigonggŏ).

Personnel Administration

245

should select only those who can do well in the examination, strictly preventing ignorant people from recklessly taking the examination. He should make the academic tradition clean and fresh as much as he can and prevent unqualified people from wasting their savings by taking the examination. Although it is impossible to stop the tide of water with one hand, he will not be ashamed if he does not contribute to the rising waves by pushing them forward. When Yan Zong became recorder [bucaoshi] of Shanggao, there was no examiner who could carry out the civil ser vice examination, so he had no choice but to read the examination papers, staying in Xiaosi Temple. Then a son of a rich man sent a message through a monk that he would offer him 50,000 taels as a gift. Yan Zong replied, laughing, “Then I will see him and discuss the matter.” Next morning the son of the rich man came to see him. Yan Zong sharply reproached him: “Every three years high officials are produced through this system of civil ser vice examinations. A man like you makes no attempt to study and tries to pass it only by bribery. What a disgrace!” Deeply ashamed, the man withdrew. If There Is a Scholar Learned in the Classics and Exemplary in Conduct in the District, the Magistrate Should Personally Visit Him and Inquire about His Health on Holidays, Observing Propriety. Generally speaking, there are four major principles in ruling the state. The first is that one love his kinsmen; the second, that one serve the elders and seniors; the third, that one show respect to those who deserve his respect; and the fourth, that one treat benevolent men with benevolence. It may not be easy to vigorously put these principles into practice in places like Seoul and the nearby Kyŏnggi regions where cultural standards are relatively high [because the area is too wide, and the people to pay respects to are too numerous], but in the case of the distant countryside the magistrate must show respect and courtesy to the virtuous and benevolent. Even though he is not ordinarily acquainted with them, he should visit them and continue to send wine and meat on holidays. As to the esteemed scholars who are well known in the district for their learning and conduct, even though they are poor, the magistrate must personally visit them so that the gates of their shabby-looking cottages may shine. This is the way to promote virtue among the people. As soon as Chen Zhongju became prefect of Yuzhang and arrived at his post, he asked about the address of Xu Ruzi to visit him. A district registrar 53. An official of the Later Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhang. 54. Chen Fan, an official of the Later Han dynasty. Zhongju was his courtesy name. 55. Xu Zhi, a renowned scholar of the Later Han dynasty. Ruzi was his courtesy name.

246

book V

said, “Everyone here wishes that Your Honor stop in the yamen first.” Chen Zhongju replied, “Since King Wu [of the Zhou dynasty] paid his respects to Shang Rong without having time to warm his seat as he passed by the village where Shang Rong lived, how can it be wrong to pay my courtesies to such a man of virtue?” C H A P T E R : S U PE RV I S ION OF PE R S ON N E L

Since the Magistrate Who Is Seated High Is Isolated, He Is Surrounded by Those Who Can Deceive Him. The King Is Not the Only One Who Has to Keep His Eyes and Ears Open. The magistrate cannot help worrying about petty clerks, heads of the local yangban association, and law-enforcement officers who always watch every move of the magistrate to commit tricks of all kinds. He also cannot help supervising stable slaves and liaison agents who secretly commit acts of extortion and violence against the people, or hooligans who are unfi lial and impious, robbing the people at the market, or bullies who harass the weak, trusting in their strength. The magistrate must keep close watch on these people and their activities in a secret and clandestine way. When Huang Ba was prefect of Yingchuan, he sent a yamen clerk to spy on the state of things in his district with a warning to use extreme caution. The clerk could not dare to stay at the official quarters of the post station and took his meals on the road. While the man was having his meal on the road, it happened that a crow snatched away the food from his hands. One of the people saw this and told the magistrate what had happened when he visited the yamen. When the clerk finally returned and reported, the magistrate said, “You must have had a really hard time. Your food was stolen by a crow while you were eating on the roadside.” The clerk was quite shocked to learn that the magistrate already knew everything about what had happened, so he could not dare to conceal anything from him. When Pak Yujŏ of the Koryŏ dynasty governed the district of Andong, he thought that his governance was not inferior to that of Yu Sŏk. One day, sitting in the yamen, he asked one of the yamen clerks who looked trustworthy and discreet, “Once a wall blocks the view, ears and eyes cannot hear and see even if 56. An official of the Shang dynasty who served as minister during the reign of King Zhou. According to a story, King Wu, who had toppled the Shang government, paid homage to Shang Rong, who was loyal to the Shang dynasty to the end, as he happened to pass by Shang Rong’s house. 57. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong, but little is known about him. 58. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong. He was famous for his integrity and love of people. He served as director of the Bureau of Judicial Administration.

Personnel Administration

247

things are within a short distance. Is it not hard, then, to oversee the four corners of the district while I sit in the yamen? I want you to answer me if there was any case in which wicked civil functionaries manipulated the law and thereby incurred the resentment of the common people.” The clerk answered, “Since Your Honor was inaugurated, the common people have not seen them, and, therefore, I am not very sure whether they manipulated the law. However, I have not heard so far that the people have any resentment or complaint.” Pak Yujŏ asked again, “I wonder how the people think of me, especially compared with Lord Yu Sŏk?” The clerk replied, “The people praise Lord Yu Sŏk; if there is still some time left, they talk about Your Honor.” Magistrate Pak felt ashamed. On the First Day of the First Month of Every New Season, the Magistrate Should Send a Letter to the County School, Asking the Students to State the Sufferings of the Common People and Discuss the Advantages and Disadvantages of the Government’s Measures and Policies. The county school is a place for discussing state affairs. (That Zichan of the Zheng state did not abolish the county school is found in the Spring and Autumn Annals.) In the National Confucian Academy there is the Hall of Righteous Records [Chŏngnokch’ŏng], in which a suggestion box was installed and students were supposed to discuss the current affairs of their times. So there is a basis for the magistrate’s request for advice from the county school. The magistrate’s letter can state as follows: “On a certain day of a certain month the government issued grain (this indicates the dispensation of grain loans), and on a certain day of the following month it collected them, and on a certain day of the following month a newly made list of beneficiaries for military exemption was announced. If there are any problems and wrongdoings concerning these matters, I want you to state them in your reports. If there is a mistake in rendering my judgment in lawsuits, or any unfairness in punishing crimes, or problems in the orders I issued, I want you to write them down in your statement. If yamen clerks and government slaves go out to the villages and privately collect money, or if village representatives and heads of the community compact practice tricks for their personal gain, let me know. If there is a man who is unfi lial and impious, having troubles with his family 59. Gongsun Qiao, the grand master of the Zheng state during the Spring and Autumn period. Zichan was his courtesy name. He took charge of state affairs for forty years with great success. He was known as a leader of self-strengthening movements. 60. An office in the National Confucian Academy that was used by officials like the fi rst proctor (hakchŏng) and the second proctor (hangnok). They kept the records on important current state affairs in a chest. Confucian students also gathered in the hall to discuss government policies. However, this tradition was discontinued after the Imjin War in the late sixteenth century.

248

book V

and friends, damaging good customs, and raising rows and disturbances in the market, despising the elderly, write down the details of his wrongful conduct. If you try to conceal the crimes of yamen clerks and local landlords because you are afraid of them, or if you falsely accuse them out of personal enmity, you shall receive punishment. Whether or not you reveal your name depends on you. However, if you desire to make your statement anonymously, put it in an envelope, paste its flap with a thin paper, and place your stamp on the outside. Then you submit it to the county school, and the student leader of the school will gather it with the other ones and personally submit the reports to the magistrate on the tenth day of the forthcoming month.” (Th is letter should be sent to all students of the county school, as well as to the elders of villages.) Lu Bo of the Northern Wei dynasty became prefect of Xiangzhou, and the way he conducted state affairs was fair and clean because he tried to help the weak while suppressing the strong. If there were reputable men trusted and respected by the residents in his district, Lu Bo treated them with propriety, seeking ideas and advice on the measures to be taken, and the number of his advisors was as great as ten, whom he called “ten worthies.” He also selected over one hundred men from the powerful families in his district and made them his stepsons. Comforting and persuading them in that way and bestowing clothes as gifts, he made them his ears and eyes when they returned home. As a result, there was nothing he could not find out about corruption or other secret matters, so people were afraid of him and dared not commit crimes. If There Are People among His Children or Guests of Honor Whose Conduct Is Marked by Orderliness and Integrity and Who at the Same Time Are Outstanding in Dealing with Practical Affairs, the Magistrate Should Employ Them as His Secret Inspectors. Would there not be at least one who is straight in heart and conduct among his family and relatives or disciples or yamen clerks who are connected with the magistrate in one way or another? When he is still in Seoul, the magistrate should make a promise to this man in advance, saying, “A couple of months after my inauguration I will send you a letter. Then you are to come down to my district and go around the villages, secretly watching over every aspect of the common people’s lives.” With this remark he gives the man a special pass (honch’ŏp; it is commonly called mulgŭmch’ŏp) for his secret mission. 61. He achieved outstanding results while serving as prefect of Xiangzhou. He was later enfeoffed as king of Jianan. 62. Men of outstanding virtue who are invited to the local drinking rite.

Personnel Administration

249

When the promised time fi nally arrives, the magistrate should send him a letter as follows: “Now the grain loan is being collected at the northern granary, but since I am not able to be present personally at the scene, I wonder whether my instructions are being carried out properly. Find out if the grain that has fallen on the ground is duly returned to its owner, or if there is anyone who feels that he is treated unjustly. Some of the collected grain, once it is gathered, might be mixed with chaff to make up for the loss, in a trickery called punsŏk [dividing a bag of rice to make it look double its amount]. Make detailed reports on these tricks so that I can see what has happened as if I saw it with my own eyes.” The magistrate will continue to give instructions in his letter: “In a certain subdistrict a clerk is scheduled to go out to inspect the fields this month. Find out if there is anyone who tries to buy a disaster declaration [chaegyŏl] with bribery. Check out if there is any farmland that suffered from natural disaster but was excluded from the benefit of disaster areas. Make an investigation if there is a household in a certain village that slaughters a cow and a pig in order to entertain the clerks. Make detailed reports on these tricks so that I can see what has happened as if I saw it with my own eyes.” The magistrate must generously compensate the hard work done by those who discharge an outstanding job with discipline and integrity, considering the compensation as part of their stipend. Even if they were Bo Yi or Chen Zhongzi, they would not work hard for no reason. Since the Power of the Chief Yamen Clerk Is So Great That It Obstructs the Passage of Information to the Magistrate, the Magistrate Cannot Help Establishing a Secret Channel for His Information. Since the incumbent chief yamen clerk usually has an enemy among the men he is in charge of, it will not take very long for the magistrate to find that out after his inauguration. In order to have good information on the wrongdoings of the chief yamen clerk, it is advisable to make good use of his enemy. However, surrounded by too many ears and eyes, it is almost impossible for the magistrate to 63. Th is seems to indicate a granary located in the north of the district. 64. Chaegyŏl indicates lands declared disaster areas. When land suffered damage from a natural disaster, it was exempt from taxes. However, this benefit was granted only to rice paddies. 65. A Chinese sage of the Zhou dynasty who starved himself to death, refusing to join the government of King Wu with his brother Shu Qi. 66. Chen Zhongzi was a sage of the Qi state during the Spring and Autumn period. He refused to take the property offered by his brother, named Zai, believing that it was tainted by corruption. He led a simple and independent life with his wife in a place called Wuling. Thus he was called Wuling Zhongzi.

250

book V

approach the man who will testify against the chief yamen clerk. One way to solve this problem is to send the man to Seoul under the pretext of official duty. Next, the magistrate should choose a man among his brothers or sons and nephews who is cautious and judicious in words and conduct, have him meet with the man he sent, and advise him to say as follows: “How many irregularities did the chief yamen clerk commit? Give me the information in detail. Then I will make a report to the magistrate.” I have observed that the magistrate who lacks wisdom makes the chief yamen clerk his personal retainer, sharing his likes and dislikes with him. He blindly trusts the words of the chief yamen clerk with little suspicion, making the clerk’s enemies his own. As a result, the people who are on bad terms with the chief yamen clerk feel uncomfortable and threatened. Hence the magistrate voluntarily makes himself foolish and isolated, losing the chance to learn what is going on outside and finally throwing himself into a disaster while the common people are cursing at him. Small Mistakes or Trivial Faults Should Be Tolerated Generously. Excessive Disclosure Is in Fact Not Disclosure in a True Sense. The Magistrate Should Expose Injustice Once in a While, and He Must Be Fast and Subtle in Detecting Wrongdoing. Then the People Will Be Afraid of Him. Some magistrates try to show off their smartness when they uncover one or two hidden wrongdoings of yamen clerks or the members of the local gentry as if they have found a treasure. They openly talk about what they have discovered in a boastful way. This is nothing but a sign of lack of virtue. The magistrate should expose the matter if it is serious; if not, he should be able to ignore it or only keep it in mind or secretly send for the man and admonish him with kind words so that he can rectify and repent his mistake. To be generous without being loose, to be strict without being cruel, and to make the people impressed and moved by his benevolence: that is the way to rule subordinates. Spying on the fish hidden in the deep sea and inflicting cruel punishment hastily cannot be the work of the good magistrate. On the day when Kim Yu, Lord Sŭngp’yŏng, was inaugurated as magistrate of Chŏnju, a craft y commoner tried to test him by sending an anonymous note. After a couple of months Kim Yu happened to meet one of his acquaintances on the road and said to him [indicating the commoner], “This is the man who sent me a note anonymously some months ago.” When the man confessed what he 67. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kwanok, and his pen name Pukjŏ. He was a disciple of Song Ikp’il, a famous Neo-Confucian scholar. Rendering ser vice in the restoration of Injo, he was granted a title, Great Lord Sŭngp’yŏng, and served as chief state councilor.

Personnel Administration

251

had done, the yamen clerks, as well as the common people, were all surprised and impressed. However, none of them could guess how Kim Yu learned about it. The Magistrate Should Not Take the People around Him at Their Word. Their Words May Sound Innocent but, in Fact, Are Charged with Personal Motives. Hu Dachu said as follows: “When the magistrate, being a man of strong character, is reluctant to trust yamen clerks with assignments, they talk about all sorts of things that sound sensible while subtly praising their magistrate. If this strategy does not work, they get together and exchange their views and comments on their magistrate so that the magistrate who takes a break at that moment may overhear their words. The magistrate, however, is unaware of their cunning and believes that they are speaking absentmindedly with no par ticular purpose. So he falls into their trap by taking their words as truth.” It often happens that yamen clerks try to prevent entertaining girls, boy servants, and attending slaves who are engaged in personal conversation with one another from expressing their ideas and opinions. However, in fact, most of those ideas and opinions are ones already provided by yamen clerks themselves in a secret way. Since their cunning and craftiness are of so many kinds, how can the magistrate not be careful? It Is Inappropriate for a Magistrate to Engage Personally in Secret Surveillance. It Does Not Work and, Even Worse, Only Damages His Personal Dignity. Every move that the magistrate makes should be carefully considered. Even if hidden wickedness can be revealed by surveillance, the magistrate should not resort to that expedient. If he goes out of his quarters during the night, the walled town will be fi lled with rumors the next morning. Then he will not be able to overhear personal conversations or secret scheming among the residents. His surveillance will only make housewives turn off their light for weaving early in the evening. These days magistrates enjoy secret surveillance, and their intention is personally to inspect the quarters of entertaining girls and arrest young men secretly engaged in immoral activities with the sole purpose of raising their moral stature among the people. The residents call the magistrate a goblin when the latter enjoys secretly chasing after people in the darkness. When the Governor Conducts an Investigation through His Agents, He Should Not Employ Petty Functionaries. Essays of Tasan said as follows: “When the governor launches a secret investigation, he can discover the sufferings of the people and the wrongdoings of district

252

book V

magistrates only when he employs a reliable person among his advisors who can totally dedicate himself to his mission, risking his own life. However, governors at the present time make petty functionaries of the yamen their trusted servants and employ them for the purpose of surveillance. They simply do not understand that those provincial petty functionaries are already connected with their counterparts in the districts, who are also craft y and scheming. Every winter and summer, when the evaluation of district magistrates is made and the inspection tour of the governor is scheduled, an investigatory official called yŏmgaek sends out a notice in advance. Then the yamen clerks of each district wait for the inspector, preparing a luxurious room bright with candles and splendid seats arranged with desks, as well as all sorts of food and rare delicacies, including Japanese noodles with swallow soup, abalones of Ulsan, clams of Cheju, tasty beef, pork tenderloin, roasted turtle, and raw fish dishes of carp. In the evening the inspector briskly arrives at the meeting place, riding on a horse with a splendid saddle. He dismounts from the horse and enters the gate with a high spirit, iridescent like a rainbow. On many occasions I saw that the district’s provincial agent and the yamen clerks sat together with the inspector [sent by the governor], roasting meat on the grill, and discussed how they should deal with the life of a district magistrate. Since so many magistrates who offended the agent of the provincial yamen are dismissed and return home in disappointment after failing in the evaluation of their job performance, how can the magistrates not be afraid of these men?” This is from Petty Tales by Hanam: “In May, as I was sitting below Hanam [Cold Rock], a local subofficial who worked as the chief yamen clerk came to see me and said as follows: ‘Last night an inspector from the governor’s office demanded the dossier of my investigations of our magistrate. It appears that there are not a few errors in his governance. However, since they do not hurt us subofficials, it will not be necessary to report them. Nevertheless, there is nothing much to say on the benevolence of his administration. The only things worth mentioning are that fights among the members of the county school have been considerably stabilized in recent days, and that the situation of the coastal granary improved because of his new instructions. I passed these two things on to both the inspector and the magistrate separately, but I am not sure how things will come out.’ On the sixteenth day of the sixth month the result of the inspection was issued from the governor’s office in Chŏnju, in which the title of the governor’s comments read, ‘Fighting in the district has already become stabilized, and irregularities in measuring grain in the granary were rectified.’ Alas, the man who made this evaluation was none other than the chief yamen clerk of the district! How wrong it is for the governor to treat such a man with reverence as if he were his own master, listening to his counsels and suggestions all the

Personnel Administration

253

time! The governor, therefore, must never entrust provincial subofficials with the work of secret surveillance.” When the Director of the Branch Department of State Affairs [Xingtai] Conducts Surveillance of the Current State of Affairs and the Magistrates, the Six Articles of Investigation for the Prefects That Were Established during the Han Dynasty Are the Best of Their Kind. In the fi ft h year [105 b.c.] of Yuanfeng, Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty installed regional inspectors for the fi rst time and had them supervise thirteen units of territorial administration. At the autumnal equinox they traveled around the commanderies and princedoms [junguo] in their jurisdictions, scrutinizing the local administration. If a district was well governed, they recommended its magistrate to higher authorities; in the opposite case they stripped him of his office. If there was injustice in legal administration, they investigated and rectified the problems on the basis of the six articles of judging criteria: First, do powerful local families and landed proprietors own lands exceeding the legal limit, and have they ever harassed the weak or tyrannized the minority with their power? Second, did a 2,000-bushel official [erqianshi] ever ignore a royal decree, seeking his personal advantage above the public interest and acting lawlessly and wickedly, including exploitation of and extortion from the common people? Th ird, did it ever happen that the magistrate neglected taking care of suspicious imprisonment, killed men ferociously, punished or rewarded people as he pleased, or frequently and cruelly extorted money from the people so that he became the object of their resentment and thus brought about extraordinary calamities like crumbling of mountains and rocks falling apart of themselves and strange rumors circulating? Fourth, did it ever happen that the magistrate was unfair in selecting and employing men, showed partiality to his followers, prevented the virtuous from being promoted, and favored the wicked? Fift h, did it ever happen that the children of the magistrate requested a favor from the officials of individual sections, relying on the power of their parent? Sixth, did it ever happen that the magistrate ignored justice, did evil things in collaboration with his subordinates, curried favor with landed proprietors, gave and took bribes, and injured government 68. One of the reign names of Emperor Wu (141−87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty. 69. “Generic reference to the highest-ranking officials of government below the Three Dukes (San gong), notably including Commandery Governors because in Han they received annual salaries in money and various commodities reckoned to approximate the value of 2,000 bushels of grain” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 205).

254

book V

ordinances? At the end of the year, the regional inspectors should travel with post horses to make reports to the central government on these questions. Liu Yuancheng said, “Since an official ranked at 600 bushels can investigate the irregularities of 2,000-bushel officials, his power and responsibility are extremely heavy. His spirit can be high, notwithstanding his low rank, and the power vested in him enables him to accomplish his mission fully.” If we think over this subject, the inspection system of our country was originally like that of the Han dynasty, which was carried out solely through patrolling without a command post. However, from the middle age on, royal surveillance commissioners concurrently held the office of provincial magistrate (for example, special capital magistrate of P’yŏngyang, city magistrate of Kongju, and so on). Hence they became like local magistrates, taking their mothers and wives to their assigned posts, and after two years they were transferred to some other place. Because they were now settled in a place, they were unable to inspect extensively. Furthermore, as more time passed since their inauguration, they made more acquaintances, and the public and the private became more and more mixed. As a result, subdistricts and villages became less careful and afraid of provincial authorities, and the local administration increasingly deteriorated to the level of exploitation and chaos. Therefore, only when the old system is restored can we have good magistrates. C H A P T E R : E VA LUAT ION OF PE R S ON N E L

The Evaluation of Yamen Clerks Is Also Absolutely Necessary. Without Evaluating Their Job Per formance, the Magistrate Cannot Exhort People to Work. Managing people depends on two words, exhortation [kwŏn] and reprimand [ching]. Without rewarding those who made contributions, the magistrate cannot exhort people to work, and without punishing those who committed crimes, he cannot control people. If there is neither exhortation nor reprimand, people become too relaxed in their discipline and hundreds of affairs break down, and officials, regardless of their rank and position, are no different as far as this matter is concerned. Nowadays there exists punishment for crimes, but no reward for contributions. Because of this, the conduct of subofficials grows increasingly wicked. When Lu Huan of the Tang dynasty governed Shanzhou, both benevolence and dignity were conspicuous in his governance. The custom of Shanzhou was worshipping spirits, but the residents said, “There is no need to pray to the spirits 70. Liu Anshi, an official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Qizhi, and Yuancheng was his pen name. He studied under Sima Guang and suffered exile a number of times because of his outspoken criticisms.

Personnel Administration

255

nor to ask the shamans to pray for you. You should not dare to violate the law of Magistrate Lu. Blessing or curse will follow right away.” Although the Magistrate Cannot Administer Alone What Is Not in the National Code of Law, It Will Be Better to Evaluate and Reward Concerned Individuals through Discussion than to Abandon Such Efforts Altogether. The magistrate should always keep a separate record for evaluating all personnel, including the heads of the local yangban association, law-enforcement officers, yamen clerks, and government slaves and subfunctionaries, writing the name of one individual on each page of the record. Every time they make mistakes, he chastises them with disciplinary measures, and he examines and analyzes the contributions they make at the end of the year, dividing them into nine grades. He will reward those who belong to the upper three grades with key positions when he makes new appointments in the new year; he will also reward those who belong to the middle three grades, but with lower-level rewards; as for those who belong to the lowest three grades, he will suspend them from office for one year, and this will help to a certain degree in exhorting them to work harder. Since the quotas of chief of the local yangban association and law-enforcement officers are limited, the highest and lowest grades should not exceed one person (for instance, the grade should be upper-upper or upper-middle or upper-lower), and the same merit rating based on nine grades should be applied to the yamen clerks. If the quota of yamen clerks is thirty, one person should be placed in each category of “upper-upper” [sang-sang] and “lower-lower” [ha-ha]; two persons in each category of “upper-middle” [sang-chung] and “lower-middle” [ha-chung]; two persons in each category of “upper-lower” [sang-ha] and “lower-upper” [hasang]; and three persons in each category of “middle-upper” [chung-sang] and “middle-lower” [chung-ha]. The remaining fourteen people should all be placed in the category of “middle-middle” [chung-chung]. Those who belong to the category of “upper-upper” should be awarded the best place; those in the category of “upper-middle” the second best; those in the category of “upper-lower” the third best; those in the category of “middle-upper” the fourth best. As for those in the category of “middle-middle,” the magistrate should order the clerk in charge of personnel to assign them to less desirable posts; those in the category of “middle-lower” should be suspended for half a year while they are exempt from corvée labor; those in the lowest three grades should be suspended from their office for one year, but the ones belonging to “lower-lower” must be levied hard labor. When the quotas of leaders of the local yangban association and lawenforcement officers are full and therefore there is no place for their reassignment,

256

book V

the magistrate should provide them with rewards like bows, arrows, brushes, and ink according to the degree of their achievements. He will also award them citations so that they can be handed down to their children. Gate guards and government slaves should also be evaluated and rewarded in the ways mentioned above. Village representatives, heads of the community compact, and liaison agents should also be evaluated in the same way, but the village representatives who won “upper-upper” grade should be promoted to the leadership position of the local yangban association. If we look at the custom nowadays, the yamen clerks or slaves who escort a new magistrate or his lady are usually awarded better positions the following year. This is more or less repaying a personal favor with a public reward. Making a trip to Seoul cannot really be hard work that deserves such a reward. Regular business trips to Seoul will be as difficult as escorting the magistrate. Therefore, such a reward is unjustified. The Tenure of the Magistrate Should Be Six Years. Only When the Magistrate Stays Long Enough in His Office Can Merit Rating Be Discussed. If the Situation Does Not Allow This, the Magistrate Should Dispense Justice Both to Services and Crimes without Fail So That People Can Trust His Orders. For the last two decades local magistrates have been replaced so frequently that their tenures have lasted only a year or two at the longest. Unless this law is changed, the civil functionaries in local districts, who include yamen clerks and leaders of the local yangban association, cannot establish plans on a long-term basis, and the law of merit rating will be subject to ridicule. In replying to a disciple, Confucius said, “One can dispense with military equipment or food, but trust cannot be abandoned under any circumstance.” To make the law trustworthy is the primary duty in governing the people. Once the magistrate proclaims through his order that those who break certain laws will be punished and those who make contributions will be rewarded with certain prizes, he must execute his orders as he proclaimed. Otherwise people will not trust his words when he is actually serious about his project. The damage of broken promises may be not significant in ordinary times; however, when national crises take place, what will he do if his subordinates distrust his orders and disobey them? To make the law trustworthy, therefore, is the foremost priority of the magistrate. There is an old proverb, “A military commander does not withdraw his orders.” The magistrate is like a military commander. Unless his orders are respected, how can he lead the people? 71. Adapted from the Analects, “Yanyuan,” chapter 7 (see Legge, Confucius, 254). The disciple who asked the question was Zigong.

Personnel Administration

257

The Merit Rating of the Governor Can Also Be Discussed; However, Because It Is Too Simple and Crude, It Cannot Be Expected to Bring About Practical Results. Therefore, One Must Try to Change the System by Submitting Memorials to the King. Commentary on Ancient Precedents [Kojŏgŭi] stated as follows: “The security of the state depends on the direction of public sentiment; the direction of public sentiment depends on the state of people’s welfare; the state of people’s welfare depends on the performance of the magistrate; and the performance of the magistrate depends on the appraisal of the governor. Therefore, the merit rating of the governor is a key to understanding the heavenly mandate and the direction of public sentiment, as well as the criteria for judging the internal security of the state. Although the law of merit rating is that critical, there has been no other time in which the law has been as flawed by extreme simplicity and crudity as it is in our time. This makes me worried.” Now I would like to introduce a sample of merit rating that is experimental and imaginary, based on the form of a royal inspector’s report. Magistrate of Sunch’ang Kim So-and- So. Self-discipline: Did not bring his whole family to his post; made his children and personal friends stay in his private quarters, prohibiting them from visiting him at the hall of state in the yamen. (positive) Public ser vice: Did not miss the deadline for official reports; rewarded the yamen clerks who carried out his orders earlier than the deadline he had set. (positive) Love of people: Held a banquet for the elderly, but because he invited too many of them, there was some controversy. (negative) Personnel: Recommended seven scholars as nominees for office [gongshi], which received the approval of public opinion. The scholars in his district who passed the local examination singularly outnumbered those in other districts. (positive) Taxation: In fixing the price of grain in the Ever-Normal Granary, he unreasonably reduced it by 5 p’un, causing complaints from the people. (negative) Rites: The students of the county school had fights in Myŏngryun Hall, but he did not punish them because of his personal relationship with them, which undermined the good custom of scholars. (negative) Military affairs: The soldiers [in his district] were well informed and skilled in martial arts because of the systematic training. (positive) 72. One of Tasan’s works included in The Complete Works of Yŏyudang (Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ). Yŏyudang was one of Tasan’s pen names.

258

book V

Punishments: In dealing with lawsuits, he cross-examined both the plaintiff and the defendant and gave his final sentence. As a result, he settled a number of pending lawsuits that had accumulated over many decades. (positive) Public works: Although there were seven reservoirs that were destroyed, he never tried to restore them. (negative) In this evaluation there are five positives and four negatives, so the final result of his appraisal is “middle-middle.” The original copy of the magistrate’s self-evaluation [chujŏkjang] cannot be removed by the office of the governor. Even though the magistrate’s report is not made on the basis of the rules of the nine-grade system, it must be submitted to the royal court. If this law is strictly observed, the governor will not dare to conceal the achievements of magistrates or downgrade their integrity. Commentary on Ancient Precedents stated as follows: “The magistrate who has received merit ratings for three years, regardless of whether he is in office or not, should personally go to Seoul and directly report to the king when he receives a call from the court. “When the magistrate visits the king, he carries in his arms his own selfevaluation reports, as well as the governor’s merit ratings for the period of three years, and, kneeling down, reads them aloud, and if the king happens to ask questions, he should be able to answer them on the spot. This was the way in which Emperors Yao and Shun met with the local magistrates every day. This ancient law, which was extremely solemn and austere, was not like the current ones, which are so careless and loose that the judge must think at least a hundred times to make a right decision.” Commentary on Ancient Precedents stated as follows: “When the king finishes the meeting with the local magistrates, he dispatches twelve secret inspectors to eight provinces so that they can check the truth of the reports submitted by the magistrates. (To the regions like Yŏngnam and Honam, and the provinces of P’yŏngan and Hamgyŏng, two secret inspectors are dispatched.)” “In the years like Cha, O, Myo, and Yu, the king starts receiving reports from the magistrates from the Onset of Spring [Ipch’un], meeting with five or six of them every day, and finishes his interviews ten days before the Onset of 73. These are the names of the years in the Chinese sexagenary cycle, which is also known as stems-branches (Kanji). The calendar in Korea, as well as in China, used to be calculated by combining the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches. The two sets of terms are made to enumerate the years of the civil calendar. The sequence of earthly branches runs as follows: cha, ch’uk, in, myo, chin, sa, o, mi, etc. Therefore, if the triennial civil ser vice examination is held in the year of cha, the next one is to be held in the year of myo. 74. The first of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around February 4.

Personnel Administration

259

Summer [Ipha]. When he finishes receiving the self-evaluation reports from the magistrates, the king dispatches his secret inspectors during the Onset of Summer and makes them report back before the Onset of Winter. (The magistrates in northern provinces are made to report to the king when they return after finishing their tenures.)” The secret inspectors then travel around the districts to which the magistrates belonged, carry ing their self-evaluation reports, as well as the governor’s merit ratings, in order to discover the discrepancies between the reports and the truth. If a magistrate made a false report on his achievements and the governor rejected it for being untruthful, or if the magistrate truthfully reported his achievements and the governor suppressed them, the secret inspector ought to impeach them for their wrongdoings in both cases. I have observed that although the government is supposed to dispatch secret inspectors approximately every three or four years, they are sometimes not dispatched for five or six years or seven or ten years. Therefore, it happens that the magistrates and local clerks who commit irregularities tend to count on their luck for not getting caught because of the lack of inspections. This is the reason that I propose that a law should be made and strictly enforced, under which secret inspectors are to be dispatched every three years. If the things that happened in the years of Cha, Ch’uk, and In are made to be inspected in the year of Myo that immediately follows them, and the things that happened in the years of Myo, Chin, and Sa are inspected in the year O that also follows the preceding three years, even avaricious magistrates and craft y clerks will not dare to violate the law for fear of later trouble. Moreover, since fift y-four articles for performance evaluation issued by the court, twenty-seven reports made by local magistrates, and nine merit-rating reports from the governors are all in the hands of the inspectors, who will not be afraid and worried if the inspectors take them to the districts and launch investigations based on them? Since even powerful families and large clans can have difficulty knowing in advance who will come down as a secret inspector and his personal connections, as well as the quality of his integrity, they must fear that they have little to rely on. They may be able to persuade the governor by their power or ask for favors from him on the basis of their friendship and of compassion, but they will be frustrated to find out that the interests of the governor and the secret inspector are not the same. If it is known that the merit rating conducted by the governor is also to be reviewed by the secret inspector, the merit rating cannot not help being fair and just. Is not this type of ancient merit rating much more constructive and scrupulous? If it happens that magistrates submit false reports on their achievements, and their reports are accepted by governors 75. The seventh of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around May 5.

260

book V

without corrections, the crime of false reports, as well as that of deceiving the king, will not be forgiven. How, then, can they not be afraid of the consequences of their actions? If this law is instituted, one can look forward to the age of peace and prosperity. The secret of Emperors Yao and Shun, who ruled their kingdoms successfully, essentially had to do with the merit-rating system that they had instituted. I am convinced that my contention is far from being extreme or absurd.

VI

Taxation

C H A P T E R  : L A N D A DM I N I S T R AT ION

Among the Fifty-four Articles of the Magistrate’s Duty, Land Administration Is the Most Difficult to Discharge Because Our Land-Administration System Was Flawed from the Beginning. The Chinese adopt qing and mu, and our country kyŏl and pu, in measuring land. All pieces of land of different length and width have a form, but the soil, which is of either rich or poor quality, is invisible. The forms of the lands do not change despite the passage of time, but the soil does. (The quality of the land depends on human efforts.) Therefore, it is problematic to administer land if it is assessed only on the basis of measurements like kyŏl and pu. The land measurement called tianjie originated from Writings of Master Guan [Guanzi], and kyŏl and pu, which are the Korean measuring units of land, already existed in the Silla kingdom. This is evidenced by “An Epitaph in a Mountain Temple” [“Sansa pimyŏng”] written by Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn, which included a sentence, 1. The qing and mu that the Chinese used were the basic measuring units of land. One qing consists of 100 mu. Originally 1 mu consisted of 100 bu (paces). However, after the Chin dynasty 1 mu became 240 bu. One bu approximately corresponds to 5 or 6 square feet. 2. The word tianjie in Writings of Master Guan was used to indicate the record of lands. However, in Korea it indicated a standard unit of land measurement for taxation. 3. Guanzi is a book compiled by Guan Zhong, prime minister of Duke Huan of Qi. The word tianjie is found in the section titled “Jincang bian.” 4. Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn (857–?) was a famous scholar-official of the Silla kingdom. At the age of twelve he went over to Tang China, passed the Chinese civil ser vice examination at the age of seventeen, and

261

262

book VI

“A land of 10 kyŏl was granted.” Words like “1 kyŏl of mountain land and 2 kyŏl of plain land” are also found in a section called “Sikhwaji” in History of Koryŏ, which deals with the development of various social customs. One kyŏl and 1 pu in those days were meant to be 1 qing and 1 mu, unlike the kyŏl and pu of the present system, which assess land on the basis of its quality, not size. (More details are provided in the section on the land system.) It was not until the end of the Koryŏ dynasty that the “standards of measuring lands in three categories” were instituted for the first time. This standard measuring system was revised and expanded from three categories to five categories during the early Chosŏn dynasty. Consequently, the grading categories were expanded; however, only the grading based on the quality of the land was recorded in the land register; the actual sizes of the lands, regardless of their difference in categories, were all [recorded as being] identical. In the late years of King Sejong the Bureau of Land and Tax Administration [Chŏnjesangjŏngso] was created, and a new standard measuring system of land assessment consisting of six categories was implemented, but the way of measuring and assessing lands is not like the one we have now. In the period of King Hyojong a new law on land administration was enacted, and a guidebook called Chunsuch’aek, which contained rules and regulations concerning the measuring and grading of land, was promulgated and distributed. As a result, a six-grade system was established as follows: the first grade is 100 pu, the second 85 pu, the third 70 pu, the fourth 55 pu, the fifth 40 pu, and the sixth 25 pu. The differences among these six grades established by the new rule eventually became permanent. The Current Measuring System Has a Number of Names for Different Shapes of Lands: Quadrate Field [Pangjŏn], Oblong Field [Chikjŏn], Right-Triangle Field [Kugojŏn], Ladder-Shaped Field [Chejŏn], Field in a Corner [Kyujŏn], SpindleShaped Field [Sajŏn], Drum-Shaped Field [Yogojŏn], and So Forth. The Rules for Measuring These Lands, However, Have Been in Disuse, and Therefore, They Cannot Be Applied to Lands of Different Shapes. In addition to these fields, there are also other types of fields, all in different shapes: a field whose four sides are unequal in length [sabudŭngjŏn], an eyebrow-shaped served in the Chinese government for years. However, he returned to Silla at the age of twenty-eight and served as a high-ranking official. He was famed for his literary genius and left many poems and essays; nevertheless, his life in Silla was marked by frustration and eventually ended tragically. 5. The standards of the land-measuring system in three categories were created in 1389, the fi rst year of King Kongyang’s reign. Th is system consisted of three categories: sangjŏnch’ŏk (20 chi), chungjŏnch’ŏk (25 chi), and hajŏnch’ŏk (30 chi). In this measuring system, the smaller the unit of measure, the higher the quality of the land. 6. The Chŏnjesangjŏngso was created temporarily in 1443, the twenty-fi ft h year of King Sejong’s reign, for the purpose of improving the land-assessment and taxation system in use at that time.

Taxation

263

field [mijŏn], a cow-horn-shaped field [ugakjŏn], a circular field [wŏnjŏn], a looplike field [hwanjŏn], a field in the shape of an overturned moon [pogwŏljŏn], a bow-shaped field [hosijŏn], a pentagonal field [ogakjŏn], a hexagonal field [yukgakjŏn], a snake-shaped field [sahyŏngjŏn], and a field in the shape of a large drum [taegojŏn]. These fields are generally assessed on the basis of the methods of calculation mentioned above. The law of measuring and assessing the seven types of fields, which has already been mentioned, is completely dead now, and even little children know this. Nevertheless, the magistrate demonstrates to the ignorant people how the law works by explaining and showing pictures, but when he encounters difficulties in his explanation, he feels too embarrassed to say anything further, except “All these things will be determined, deduced from this law,” which is nothing but deceiving himself, as well as others. In the first section of Geometry one can find the ways of calculating area, including right angle, rhombus, triangle, pentagon, and obtuse angle. However, the book does not mention quadrangles in irregular shape, of which there is no example for calculating their area. What is the reason? The extreme irregularity of shape makes it impossible to calculate the area accurately. Hardly any field in our country at the moment, ranging from one ridge or furrow at the smallest to land stretching 10 li at the largest, is straight in shape. If this is the case, what should the magistrate do? Should he multiply nine by nine, or four by seven, or divide by two, or divide by four? Since the seven ways of calculating the acreage of a field are useless because they cannot be applied to any of the existing fields, even Hong Wang will shake his head, and Yu He will be tongue-tied. How, then, can a magistrate with limited wisdom, standing on a levee of a field, find correct examples for calculating the size of a field and thereby expose tricks in land administration? Correctly assessing the actual acreage of a field, therefore, is virtually impossible, not to mention assessing the land according to its grade, for instance, the second grade 85, the fourth grade 55, and so forth, which is designed to take into account the fertility and increase or decrease in area of the taxable land. Even if the magistrate tries to explain by drawing a geometrical diagram of the field, does he really know what he is up to? If he chooses to talk about relatively simple things while ignoring very complicated matters, establishing problematic standards for assessment, is that not deception?

7. Th is refers to the methods of measuring lands of all different shapes introduced in the source text; however, because they are rather complicated, the translator chose to eliminate that section altogether. 8. It seems to refer to Euclid’s Elements [of Geometry] translated into Chinese by Matteo Ricci under the title Jihe Yuanben. 9. Unknown. 10. Unknown.

264

book VI

The so-called law of measuring and assessing the land was unreliable like this from the beginning. A Cadastral Survey Is a Major Task among the Works of Land Administration. What Is to Be Done under the Present Circumstances Is to Investigate the Fields, Either Abandoned or Hidden, to Prevent Potential Problems from Arising. If Launching a Cadastral Survey Is Unavoidable, the Magistrate Should Do It, but Rather Reluctantly. He Had Better Stick to the Old Law Unless a Problem Is Very Obvious. If a Serious Discrepancy Is Found, It Should Be Rectified, Making Up for Loss. Our land systems have been problematic since the old days. If an outstanding monarch and his talented ministers in the court work together, changing the law based on measurements by kyŏl and pu into those of qing and mu and making use of the Chinese well-field system, the magistrate who enacts government policy must do his utmost to carry out his duty and bring fairness and justice to his work. Since the kyŏl and pu system in our time divides lands into six grades, causing extreme confusion and irregularities, even King Yü and Hou Ji may not be able to solve the problem satisfactorily. Moreover, the quality of soil changes with time. If a village prospers and people enrich their fields with fertilizer, even poor soil becomes rich; if a village decays and people neglect taking care of the soil, even fields that are rich and fertile become barren. Furthermore, fields with many springs can become dry when they turn into a forest thick with pine trees, and dry fields can be fi lled with water through irrigation. Under these circumstances, how can the magistrate keep the lands fi xed in the first or second grade and unchanged through the ages? If he conducts a cadastral survey now, his efforts may appear fresh. However, the cadastral survey he undertakes is nothing more than readjusting the kyŏl and pu system, which is essentially problematic. When the law itself is fundamentally flawed, how can he fi x the 11. A Chinese land distribution method since at least the ninth century b.c. (late Western Zhou dynasty). It is named after the Chinese character for well (஬ jňng), which looks like the # symbol and represents the theoretical appearance of a piece of land under such an orga ni zation: the eight surrounding outer blocks being private, and the central block being communal or public (Wikipedia). 12. Yü the Great, the legendary founder of the Xia dynasty. Dredging new river channels and building numerous dikes, he fi nally succeeded in taking control of the floods that devastated the country every year. 13. A Chinese hero and the ancestor of the Zhou dynasty who brought the knowledge of agriculture to the Chinese when they were a nomadic people. He is worshiped as the god of millet and agriculture.

Taxation

265

problem? This is why I said, “The magistrate should conduct a cadastral survey rather reluctantly, except when the problem is extremely serious.” When the magistrate is about to survey land for raising taxes, a commoner comes forward to him with a plea: “The taxes for my paddy fields are as much as 3 pu. I beseech Your Honor to reduce them by 1 pu.” The magistrate asks his aide if the taxes that the man has to pay are unreasonably high. Then his aide replies, “What the man says is true. Everyone knows that the taxes for this man’s land are excessive.” Alas! Since mammon rules over the world and there is no public hearing [on matters like this], how can he tell if the man’s case is unjust or the man is telling a lie? Should one word decide all? If excessive taxes were levied on the man’s land unjustly, why is it still cultivated? If the man still continues to cultivate the land, his grievances may not be as serious as he complains. When the magistrate is about to survey a piece of land for reassessment, his aide says to him soft ly, “The tax on the land is only 3 pu, and it must be raised to 5 pu for the sake of fairness.” Alas! Since mammon rules over the world and there is no public hearing [on matters like this], how can he tell if the taxes are too low or adequate? When the magistrate summons the proprietor of the land, there will be no one who will simply suffer an increase in his taxes without protest. The reason that taxes are reduced after discussion is bribery, and the reason that taxes are not increased despite discussion of their increase is also bribery. How, then, can the magistrate shake even a little what has been established? Therefore, I said, “The magistrate should follow the old ways unless they present serious problems.” The lands located in the south in our time were all fi xed after a cadastral survey carried out in Kyŏngja year [1720] during the reign of King Sukchong. The next Kimyo year [1820] marks the centennial of that survey. However, if one considers the gradual decrease in the number of kyŏl over the years, the system of measuring and assessing land urgently needs to be changed. Although the Government Legislates the Law Regarding the Rules of Measuring and Assessing Land, It Is the Magistrate Who Must Reiterate Its Essential Points and Make Sure That People Understand Them. When the magistrate intends to survey land for taxes, he should post a public notice in advance, thirty days before the date of starting the work, and pledge to the people [as follows]. First, all the active and taxable farmlands [sigijŏn] should have taxes levied in the existing ways, and no changes for an increase or decrease in their taxes should be allowed. Even if taxes are excessive, landowners should not be permitted to plead for change; even if taxes are too low, others should not be allowed to

266

book VI

accuse an owner of low taxes. Those who raise complaints and controversies, intervening in matters of general benefit, will be punished. Second, if men named A and B, the owners of certain lands in a certain village, believing that their lands were mixed with each other, want to survey their lands in controversy in order to verify the real truth of that matter, they should make detailed reports of their own separately and submit them to the magistrate before the deadline. Third, a household named A of a village called so-and-so should keep two separate records of its abandoned lands [chinjŏn], one before reassessment and the other after reassessment. In the case of abandoned lands after reassessment, it should provide detailed information on the years, writing their names underneath the amount of kyŏl in detail. Fourth, various lands designated in different categories, such as lands cultivated after a year of rest [sokjŏn], abandoned land that is recultivated [hwangijŏn], and reclaimed land [singijŏn], may not be registered in the official record, but people are not expected to know about their status. However, once the cadastral survey is conducted, each village should investigate the status of these lands and submit detailed records, all made separately according to individual lands, before the designated deadline. Fift h, if a man influenced by geomancy expanded his family yard by planting pine trees around the graves, seeking the status of myojin [land with graves] for his land, the magistrate should levy taxes on the land just the same as in the past and never allow it to be removed from the record. In that case he should give an order that a separate record of that land be made to facilitate investigation and examination later. Sixth, if the taxes levied on the lands in an indexed group turn out to be different or confused, and therefore it happens that the taxes of land 10 and land 20, or the taxes of land 70 and land 80, are all mixed with each other, the owners of the concerned lands should have their village make a record instead of appealing to the magistrate’s office. When his condition became critical before he died, Cheng Zigao said, “Even though I have not been able to help people while I lived, how can I allow myself to bring harm to them after my death? When I die, bury me in ground that is useless for farming” (“Tangong”). This was the way in which the superior man thought. Nowadays people under the influence of geomancy choose land in a plain for burial when they are unable to find a suitable site in a mountain. As a result, fertile farmland becomes a useless grave site, and the farmlands throughout the 14. An official of the Qi dynasty who served as grand master. His posthumous title was Cheng. 15. A chapter in Book of Rites.

Taxation

267

country have increasingly diminished. This is no trivial matter. Whenever cadastral surveys take place, the grave sites owned by scholar-officials, newly designated as nonoperative, receive a tax exemption. Therefore, a benevolent magistrate should not allow farmlands to be turned into graveyards. However, if lands on top of mountains are turned into grave sites, he might as well allow their conversion. The Law of Measuring and Assessing Lands Must Be Just and Fair, Causing No Harm or Damage Both to the Common People Down Below and the State Up Above. Changing the Law Can Be Discussed Only When the Right Person to Change the Law Is Found. In the Kyemyo year [1663] of Hyŏnjong’s reign, when there was a reassessment of the lands in Kyŏnggi Province, the superior office in charge ordered that the grade of certain lands owned by the members of the royal family [kungbangt’o] be raised, saying, “Since those lands are tax-exempt, raising their grade to the first will not be a problem.” In Yangju there was a man in charge of supervising reassessment of lands whose family name was Kim. Protesting against raising the grade of the lands belonging to the members of the royal family, he said, “It is only for several dozen years that those lands enjoy tax exemption. It will not be very long until their ownership is transferred to civilians, but the troubles that the people will have to suffer because of this measure will be endless.” The superior office in charge ignored his protest, and as a result, nowadays many people abandon those lands without farming them (Public and Private Records). Since lands have no permanent owners and their ownership is changing all the time, one must not raise or lower the grade of lands because of consideration of the power and influence of their landlords; what the magistrate should do, therefore, is only to bring fairness and avoid extremes in administering lands. When Yi Kyŏngyŏ became governor of Kyŏngsang Province, there was an exceptionally great amount of barren land in that region, so he made a request to the central government to reduce the acreage of farmlands by 10,000 kyŏl and succeeded in reducing taxes and bringing fairness to his tax administration. Sŏng Chik  became magistrate of Ponghwa. In the land reassessment of Kapsul year [1634] he personally examined all the land in his district, including remote corners of secluded mountains. When he submitted his report, the commissioner of land reassessment [kyunjŏnsa] tried to reject it, so Sŏng Chik said slowly, “How can you increase the amount of kyŏl when the lands are all barren, 16. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chagyo, and his pen name Maebyŏn. A grandson of Sŏng Hon (1535–1598), a famous Neo-Confucian scholar, he also served as magistrate of Yanggŭn and Ansan.

268

book VI

belonging to lower-lower grade? The increase of acreage and fairness in land reassessment are not necessarily the same. Should we make people suffer?” The commissioner realized his mistake and fi nally followed Sŏng Chik’s advice. As a result, the residents of Ponghwa still enjoy the benefits from the action taken by Sŏng Chik. The Lands in the Kyŏnggi Region, Which Are Barren, Are Levied Lightly, Whereas Those in Southern Provinces, Which Are Fertile, Have Been Levied Heavily from the Beginning. Therefore, the Numbers of Kyŏl and Pu That Have Been Established Should Not Be Changed Lightly. In the eighth month of the fourth year [1653] of King Hyojong’s reign, when the government launched a reassessment of lands, Second State Councilor Kim Yuk  submitted a memorial to the king as follows: “Although the Kyŏnggi region is the foundation of our national territory, the number of kyŏl has decreased by more than half. Your Majesty should order the magistrates of local districts to go out with their men in charge of accounting and inspect the real state of all the taxable lands. However, they should be careful not to throw the people into turmoil by conducting a thorough investigation of the number of kyŏl; what they should do is only to check out and compare the present lands with their grade status on the records. In the case of Yŏngsŏ region, however, since the people take mountains as their home, and plain fields are left unreclaimed and scenic mountains are made bare day by day, the government should dispatch special officers [pyŏljang] to establish military colonies [tunjŏn], leading the residents to reclaim plain fields instead of cultivating mountains, and postponing taxes for three years.” The king took this advice and stated in his royal decree as follows: “Since the lands of Kyŏnggi are sterile and corvée labor is burdensome, try to reduce the taxes by lowering grades when you reassess the lands.” Then the king issued a royal decree and made each province throughout the country carry out his order. The main point of that royal decree was generally as follows: “The rice paddies of the three southern provinces are generally fertile; those of Kyŏnggi and Hwanghae provinces are both fertile and barren, half and half; and those of Kangwŏn, Hamgyŏng, and Pyŏng’an provinces are mostly barren. Since the lands of high and middle grades in the three southern provinces produced good crops even in times of flood or drought, taxes should be levied hereafter on the 17. Kim Yuk (1580–1658) was a scholar-official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His pen name was Chamgok. He took a leading role in enacting the Uniform Land Tax Law and served as chief state councilor. Among his works is a book titled Collected Works of Chamgok (Chamgokjip). 18. Chŏlla, Kyŏngsang, and Ch’ungch’ŏng provinces.

Taxation

269

basis of the Kudŭng yŏnbun system and the degree of natural disaster, without being restricted by the old rules.” I own barren lands located in Yanggŭn County, Kyŏnggi Province. The acreage of the rice fields amounts to 70 turak, and that of dry lands is 20 ilgyŏng, and the total of these lands is no more than 1 kyŏl. When I arrived in the remote southern border area [Kangjin], the place of my exile, and looked around the land, 20 turak of high-quality rice fields already had been graded as 1 kyŏl. This indicates that the majority of the lands in the south belonged to either the first or the second grade, and the barren lands to the third or the fourth grade. The fertile lands in Kyŏnggi Province, in contrast, belong to the fift h grade at most, and therefore, one can see that the rest of the lands in that region belong to the sixth grade. If you look at the annual reports on the status of lands [taegaejang], the lands even in the south are graded as “lower-middle” or “lower-lower.” Officials who are ignorant of land administration often mistake the grade of the land for the grade of annual taxes, which take natural disasters into account and therefore are arbitrary and changeable year by year. Since the national revenue suffers the loss of hundreds of thousands of bags of rice every year because of the grade of annual taxes, what should be abolished is the grading system of annual taxes. When the Taxes on Abandoned Lands That Remained Uncultivated for a Long Time Are Found to Be Excessive, the Magistrate Cannot Help Lowering Their Grades. One of the reasons that abandoned lands remain uncultivated is that villages have either deteriorated or suffered famine, so heavy taxes are not necessarily the sole cause of the abandonment of fields. However, if the taxes are light, the abandoned fields can be cultivated again although they may still remain abandoned. It all depends on the circumstances, but it is certain that those lands will 19. Th is was a new land-assessment system in which land was classified into six grades according to the degree of its fertility, and again into nine grades according to good or bad crops each year. The maximum and minimum taxes for 1 kyŏl of land were not supposed to exceed 20 mal and 4 mal, respectively. The acreage of 1 kyŏl was different according to the quality of the land; however, since the yields of 1 kyŏl were all the same, the taxes for 1 kyŏl were the same regardless of the quality of the land. What made a difference was natural disaster, which served as a determining factor in lowering taxes. 20. A unit of area for measuring agrarian land that is approximately 1 majigi, which is equivalent to 660 square meters. 21. The land that can be plowed by an ox in a day. Th is unit varied according to regions. 22. Every year district magistrates submitted annual reports on the status of the lands in their domains to their governor, and the governor collected those reports and sent them to the central government. These reports were called taegaejang.

270

book VI

not remain permanently just as they are. If the lands still remain abandoned even after reassessment, their grades must be lowered. The grade of those that are fertile and located near the village should be lowered to the fift h grade, and those that are barren and located far from the village should be lowered to the sixth grade. To reassess the number of kyŏl and promote the cultivation of land by gathering the people together is a priority that cannot be delayed. Since the abandoned lands in Kyŏnggi Province originally belonged to the sixth grade, their grade cannot be lowered any further. The magistrate should make a request to the superior office through a report that those lands be granted a tax exemption for up to five years, following a precedent set by Zhu Xi, and at the same time, he should encourage people to cultivate the lands by issuing official certificates [ipji]. If the Grades of Abandoned Lands Are Lowered and Their Indexed Designations [Chaho] Happen to Be Changed, Lawsuits Will Increase among the People, So the Lands Whose Designations Are Changed Should Be Provided with Ownership Certificates. The Supplement to the National Code states as follows: “When the acreage of the land reaches 5-kyŏl status, regardless of whether it is abandoned or recultivated, it should be marked with one of the designation letters” (ch’ŏn, chi, hyŏn, and hwang). It also states: “Every piece of land should have a description of direction [sap’yo], as well as the name of its owner. In the case of abandoned lands, the owner’s name should also be recorded, and lands without owners should be marked as ‘ownerless.’ ” If abandoned land of 70 pu that originally belonged to the third grade is lowered to the fift h grade, the same land becomes only 40 pu, and if its grade is lowered further to the sixth level, the land is actually reduced to only 25 pu. If this happens, one must make a kyŏl by fi lling up the shortage of acreage with lands registered under different character designations, and in that case the designation character on each field whose grade is changed must [also] be changed, and everything becomes confused. In a case like this, therefore, a certificate of ownership should be issued to each piece of land so that it can be handed over to the next owners. 23. The first four characters of Thousand Character Essay (Qianziwen), a Chinese primer written by Zhou Xingsi. 24. As a way of marking out a piece of land, a description of direction called sap’yo was used: for instance, east, paddy fields owned by so-and-so; west, so-and-so mountain; south, so-and-so stream; and north, dry field owned by so-and-so.

Taxation

271

Generally Speaking, Although There Is Nothing Better than Making Quadrate Fields [Pangjŏn] in the Format of a Cadastral Map Called Yulintu, This Cannot Be Implemented without an Order from the Government First. The idea of advocating quadrate fields originated from Zhang Hengqu, and Zhu Xi made a fish-scale cadastral map [yulintu], which is similar to that of Zhang. In the beginning of Hongwu’s reign this law was instituted by imperial decree, and it was handed down to our days in a more refined form. This law can deal with land matters better than others. However, if a magistrate in only a single district tries to institute this law alone, the law will not work well and will only cause much expense, as well as effort, while contributing little to solving the problems. Therefore, this law will work better only when it is carried out throughout the whole country. When Zhu Xi served in Zhangzhou, he posted a public notice concerning the reassessment of lands and the dispatch of tithing chiefs [jiatou] that stated as follows: “The government plans to reassess the lands in your district, drawing fish-scale maps of all the villages. In drawing the map of each subdistrict [du], it will take not more than twenty people and also not more than several months to finish it. The households involved in this project will not be able to avoid some effort, as well as expense; however, once the work is completed, they will benefit from it because the acreage of the fields owned by each individual and the quantity of their yields will become much clearer than before. People will not have to suffer such abuses as paying taxes for lands that they no longer own, and the government will not lose revenue by failing to delete the names of runaway residents from the official record. Powerful local landlords and large families will not be allowed to enjoy privileges, and the common people will not be treated unfairly. The government will certainly make a fish-scale cadastral map and census record by dividing the areas and distributing documents.” Master Sŏngho said, “Since the fish-scale cadastral map is roughly a descriptive drawing of the land, it is like the local map of our time. If you gather the pictures of all the fields and valleys and add little things to the large ones, they will form a complete map, and if they are divided, they become partial maps. The fields on the hills, unarable lands near water, and abandoned or barren lands should all be included in the map. On the basis of the rule of calculation, the width and length are marked, and on the top space of the complete map you write 25. A fish-scale map (yulintu) is a kind of cadastral map whose name derived from the fact that separate lands in the map looked like fish scales. 26. Hongwu is the reign name of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming dynasty. 27. Leaders of a community of from 10 to 30 households in the officially sponsored self-government system below the district level (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 139).

272

book VI

down the scale of the measuring unit, as well as the descriptions of four signposts like certain mountains or valleys or the number of neighboring fields, and so forth, so that the map can serve as a reference in the future. Because nothing will be hidden or left out, this measure will save you trouble concerning your lands.” The following comes from the Administrative Encyclopedia of Korea [Munhŏnbigo]: “In the thirty-fift h year of King Sukchong’s reign, the Kich’uk year [1709], when the government carried out the reassessment of the lands in Kangwŏn Province, Sin Wan, Lord P’yŏngch’ŏn, submitted a memorial to the king in which he strongly criticized the problems of old laws regarding the reassessment of lands. He said: “ ‘During a royal lecture held last year, Minister of War Kim Ku requested that the lands in the four districts of Hwanghae Province be reassessed on the basis of the quadrate-fields system [pangjŏn pŏp] proposed by Yu Iljip. At that time I was not sure about the benefits of the measure, but I followed the general opinion when Your Majesty asked for our advice. When the reassessment of lands of the four districts was completed, peasants spoke of its fairness, while landlords complained about its inconvenience. Thus praise and criticism turned out to be different on the same subject. When I examined the reassessment based on the well-field system submitted by the Board of Taxation and the map of the reassessed lands, all the details in them were meticulously ordered and recorded so that the distribution of taxes appeared to be even and fair. The map first established a monument that served as a determining point [tondae] and the range of lands to be surveyed in four directions, and the task of mapmaking was completed within ten days. The new way of reassessing lands, compared with the old ones, cut the workload by half but increased the revenue, doubling it in some cases. Furthermore, if one observes the length of roads based on the kujŏng system, he feels that he is seeing the whole land before his eyes when he spreads out the map because the map clearly provides the perspective of four directions and the physiognomy of mountains and streams. As a result, I was finally convinced that the new law of reassessing lands was advantageous enough to be executed throughout the whole country. 28. Th is work, also called Tongguk munhŏnbigo, deals with the social and political systems and cultural conventions of Korea, including rituals, geography, history, education, and other topics. 29. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Konghŏn, and his pen name Kyŏngam. He served as inspector general, second state councilor, and fi nally chief state councilor. 30. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was Chagŭng, and his pen name Kwanbokjae. He served as third state councilor. 31. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Taesuk. He served as minister of works and minister of justice. 32. Kujŏng indicates a unit of land area in the olden days. One ku is 16 chŏng, and 1 chŏng is 900 mu.

Taxation

273

“ ‘Besides, when I read the reports made by a royal inspector on the reassessment, the quadrate-fields system, which had originated from the well-field system, was so thorough and precise as a whole that not any little thing could be left out. The reassessments in the past divided fields into only five categories33 according to their shapes, and the methods of surveying them varied according to the length and width of various shapes of lands. Furthermore, once the survey was finished, the next thing was to observe its results, but they were not easy to determine. Officials had to grade the lands according to their quality, and in this process bribery and trickery among the supervisors and local clerks were hard to prevent because they were empowered to decide the increase or decrease of acreage and grade. “ ‘The reassessment system that we have now, which was well organized by setting up determining points, showed no disorder, included all the forests, streams, and ponds within the range of the survey, and rectified the problems found in the existing reassessment by straightening out miscalculated acreages and grades because most residents held their lands in the zone of those determining points. The people watching the survey process kept talking about it so that the problems were solved virtually by themselves. In brief, the quadratefields system is indeed an excellent one that can prevent irregularities and burdens on the people.’ ” The Administrative Encyclopedia of Korea stated: “In the eleventh year of King Yŏngjo’s reign, the Ŭlmyo year [1735], Governor Yu Ch’ŏkgi of Hwanghae Province submitted a memorial, and the king ordered that three or four districts start reassessment of lands first. Second State Councilor Sŏ Myŏnggyun remarked: “Hwanghae Province has a great many dry fields and few rice paddies, and furthermore, most of these lands are concentrated in mountains and seacoasts. A district like Anak had the benefit of reassessment that came down from old times, but the rest of the districts never had reassessment of their lands, so the assessment of lands was conducted only by speculation. Years ago the late minister Yu Chibil reassessed three or four districts as if he were making a net with ropes of straw, but he could not finish his work because of continued interference and obstruction from others. However, the residents of the districts that had reassessment of lands still talk about the benefits of that reassessment.” I have observed that making a net with ropes of straw indicates that one makes a square frame lined with a straw rope and, again with the rope, makes 33. Quadrate fields (pangjŏn), oblong fields (chikjŏn), ladder-shaped fields (chejŏn), triangular fields (kyujŏn), and right-triangle fields (kugojŏn). 34. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chŏnbo, and his pen name Chisujae. He later served as chief state councilor. 35. His courtesy name was P’yŏngbo, and his pen name Sogo. He also served as governor of Kyŏnggi Province.

274

book VI

subdivisions within the square both crosswise and lengthwise so that the square can be divided into twenty-five sections or eighty-one sections. This way of surveying lands had to face a great deal of interference when it was first instituted, but once the work was completed, people praised its convenience. Therefore, one can see that this is a good law, as well as a fine system. Investigation of Abandoned Lands Is One of the Main Priorities in Land Administration. Since the Taxes Levied on Abandoned Lands Often Cause Complaints and Unfairness, Investigation of Those Lands Is Inevitable. The Supplement to the National Code states, “Every year reclaimed lands among the abandoned fields must be recorded in detail and reported to the Board of Taxation, and the taxes on them should be reduced by half. (The Comprehensive National Code stated, ‘The taxes for three years shall be reduced.’) The lands that were abandoned after reclamation should not be levied.” There are two kinds of investigations of abandoned fields: false and true. The false one is something like this. The abandoned fields are not necessarily abandoned for a long time. Even if the fields are abandoned because of a poor harvest for one year, they can be cultivated the following year. Why, then, should the magistrate report those fields as abandoned? If he makes such a report indiscriminately, the people who actually cultivate them, because they are stingy, will keep silent about the status of their lands, and local clerks will wish to seek bribes from them for overlooking their deception. If this happens, how can the magistrate, who is often isolated, discover what is going on? If the records of abandoned fields are not updated, lands that are not accounted for will increase, and the increase of lands that are not accounted for means a loss to the national revenue. Therefore, this must be investigated. Another type of investigation, which can be called truthful, goes as follows. When a village is run down, its farmlands grow barren. Under these circumstances, if a harvest turns out to be poor while the burden of taxes is unrelieved, people are forced to give up farming their lands. If people fail to receive a tax break during the fi rst year when they abandon their farming, they have to continue to pay taxes regardless of the changed status of their lands. If the clerks falsely report that abandoned lands are cultivated while enriching themselves from their own cultivated lands, the people have no choice but to keep on paying taxes on their abandoned fields. Since this is one of the reasons that the descendants of old families suffer fi nancial ruin, these abuses must be investigated. Would it not be desirable if the magistrate makes up for the loss in abandoned fields by investigating the lands that are not accounted for?

Taxation

275

When the records from all the subdistricts arrive, the magistrate should summon the chief clerk and a senior clerk and persuade them as follows: “These records alone are not enough to discover the true status of lands. Since abandoned fields have already increased to an extreme degree, they should be made up with lands that are unaccounted for, which will affect your own interests. When lands are abandoned because of geomantic influence, and the grave sites of ancestors are expanded over active farmlands, they should not be given an official sanction; even if trees like pines, bamboos, jujubes, chestnuts, pears, and persimmons have been planted on those fields, the lands thus appropriated should not be acknowledged, and their status must not be changed. You should acknowledge and put on record only the lands that are deserted by people and laid waste.” When there are discrepancies between the records of local clerks and those of subdistricts, the magistrate should summon both the chief clerk and the representatives of the subdistricts and investigate the matter; if he asks them questions, he will soon find out which one is correct. The magistrate can adopt either the records of the chief clerk or those of the representatives, depending on the situation, and in that way he can finish the task of investigating the exact acreage of abandoned fields. The Supplement to the National Code stated as follows: “If the soil of a certain field is washed away by water from one side to another, the inspector shall write ‘disaster’ on the record and at the same time locate the other side where the washed-away soil has accumulated and also put that on the record. The fields that were covered by sand shall be provided with relief in the year of the disaster, but taxes shall be levied the following year when the fields are restored.” If we reflect on this matter, the soil washed away by water may be the fertile soil in the plain fields, and the accumulations formed on the other side may consist of a mixture of sand and gravel. Since mulberry fields and the blue sea cannot be changed to their original state, this statute [in the Supplement to the National Code] is neither natural nor fair. I have often observed that the fields located on a high plain above the water are extremely vulnerable to erosion every year. The common people, who are foolish and lack wisdom, do not know how to prevent such a natural disaster, and it makes me feel sorry. Since a change in a current of water always has to do with the impact on it, a weir must be built on the upper stream of water where the waves of the water are less strong and turbulent. If the weir is constructed, using large rocks, it will absorb the impact of floodwater so that the fields located downstream will be safe from harm by the water. The magistrate who inspects the fields should order that weirs be built whenever he finds a good spot for them, observing the topography of the land. He should also make sure that the fields are well preserved by providing manpower from the government.

276

book VI

Since the Task of Reclaiming Abandoned Fields Cannot Depend Only on the Common People, the Magistrate Must Support Their Efforts as Much as He Can, Sincerely Urging Them to Cultivate Those Fields. Magistrates in the past used to exhort the common people to cultivate barren lands by lending them oxen and provisions. Since the common people are ignorant of the law and its original purpose, they are now reluctant to engage in this task because they are scared of taxes, which are imposed on every little thing. Therefore, the magistrate in the present time must personally visit villages and persuade the people, explaining the law that allows a tax exemption for three years on newly reclaimed lands. He should also show evidence of the government’s support and determination by issuing certificates for tax exemption, as his predecessors did in olden days. Then the number of people who try to cultivate barren lands will increase. The Comprehensive National Code stipulated: “When people want to reclaim abandoned fields, they must have permission from the government, and the government shall provide a tax exemption for three years. If the original owner of those fields files a lawsuit, one-third of the yield of the reclaimed fields shall be given to the original owner, but the remaining two-thirds shall belong to the cultivator, and after ten years the yield of the fields shall be divided equally between the owner and the cultivator.” The main purpose of this law, as I believe, is to exhort the people to cultivate land. The magistrate must fully convey this to the people, motivating those who want to cultivate abandoned fields by eliminating their concerns about legality. When I look around, traveling through villages and fields, abandoned fields are everywhere. When I have asked why that happened, people have replied that it was because they were afraid of taxes. Even though there is a law that clearly supports and encourages reclamation, the common people hardly know it. The magistrate, therefore, should instruct the people about the law and encourage them to cultivate the fields, providing tax exemptions. Then abandoned fields and barren lands will certainly disappear sooner or later. Since Lands Unaccounted For and Exempted from Taxes, as well as Lands Belonging to the Royal Families and the Military, Continue to Increase Every Year So That the National Revenue from Lands Subject to Taxation Decreases Year by Year, What Will Happen in the Future? Officials residing in Seoul often hear about lands unaccounted for, but they tend to think that those lands are reclaimed lands scattered in remote mountains and valleys, not knowing that they are in fact extra lands that exceed the total of regular lands subject to taxation [wŏnjŏn]. In other words, they do not know that

Taxation

277

the total of the regular lands subject to taxation is filled up with only the wastelands covered with weeds or laid waste by floods or abandoned by people who left their village, whereas fertile and productive lands are registered as unaccounted for. When the time comes to collect taxes, after surveying the whole area of his district, the magistrate first selects some of the best lands in his district and registers them as lands unaccounted for. Then he tries to satisfy the requirements for taxes and revenue with barren wasteland. It has been several hundred years since this irregularity started, and much worse, it has been taken for granted. This is not a matter that a magistrate in one district can straighten out. Even if Gong Sui and Huang Ba were in a situation like that, they would pretend not to know it, closing their eyes. If the magistrate says a word in this situation, it will cause never-ending complaints and resentment. That is why everyone says, “Land administration is beyond any help.” Since the lands that have been washed away or have become pools of water are removed from the records of regular lands subject to taxation, and the lands that are newly reclaimed or recultivated are added to the lands unaccounted for, the way that things develop is likely to end only after the lands of the whole country are swallowed up in the throats of yamen clerks. That is why everyone says, “Land administration is beyond any help.” When Yu Chŏngwŏn became magistrate of Chain, he was famous for his outstanding memory and intelligence. Some time ago he had received a land register from a village and placed it in a case of ink slabs but had later found that it had disappeared. Knowing that local clerks had stolen the record, he summoned the clerks in charge of bookkeeping of all the subdistricts. Handing over the original copies of the land register to those men, he ordered six or seven of them to conduct their accounting by examining the figures and numbers while he did his own accounting inside his room behind the door, using two sets of accounting sticks. When the accounting was over, the clerks came to him to report the total of accounted lands. Magistrate Yu said, “The total should be a certain number, but it is short by over 80 kyŏl. Why is that?” When the clerks counted once again, Magistrate Yu turned out to be right. When the clerks withdrew, Yu said to his attendant, “Look into the fi le box of original records. You will surely find the missing documents that were lost before.” Indeed, the lost documents were found as he said. What happened was that the clerks, who knew that they were unable to deceive the magistrate, had placed the documents back in the file box. Thereafter, yamen clerks began to be afraid of their magistrate and never dared to try to deceive him. Since the lands belonging to the royal families and the military are eroded continuously, the national revenue decreases day by day. Furthermore, since all 36. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuan.

278

book VI

kinds of taxes and ser vices are attached to land, and the lands owned by the royal families and the military are all exempted from taxes, only 3,000 kyŏl of land out of 10,000 throughout a district are subject to taxes and ser vice requirements. The burdens that the common people have to bear are so extreme and unfair that people never cease abandoning their lands. This is certainly not a problem that a district magistrate alone can rectify. That is why everyone says, “Land administration is beyond any help.” Treatise on Military Colony [Tunjŏnŭi] stated: “The military colony in the past was useful to the country because it supplied provisions for the military; however, the military colony in our days has become a moth to the country because it only enriches certain individuals privately. Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty turned the abandoned lands in his Shanglinyuan imperial garden into a military colony, and Cao Cao made a military colony in the inland area of Xuchang, because in that way they could save the cost of transportation, producing provisions for the imperial army. Nowadays commanders of various military camps purchase fertile lands in distant regions in the name of a military colony and send sons of gentry by concubines or idle youths of wealthy families who have nothing to do at their homes to be the supervisors of their lands. They collect taxes from their tenants so ruthlessly that their private income amounts to from at least 1,000 to at most several thousand taels. Since the royal domain shrinks day after day and the national revenue also decreases, no moths could be worse than this. Even though what distinguished officials and wise councilors have been seriously worried about is on the memorials they have submitted, and all kinds of good words and policies are piled in the office, the number of military colonies increases year after year so precipitously that it has become ten times what it was a hundred years ago. This is not the kind of situation that a magistrate in one district can handle. All he can do under the circumstances, therefore, is to maintain a certain limit so that things may not deteriorate extremely.” C H A P T E R  : L AW OF TA X AT ION I

Since the Land System Is Already Problematic, the Law of Taxation Is Also in Disarray. Since the National Revenue Suffers Loss through the Annual Tax Rate [Yŏnbun], as Well as the Collection of Yellow Beans, the Total Amount of Collected Taxes Turns Out to Be Insignificant. 37. Th is work is presumed to have been written by Tasan himself. 38. The rear garden of the Han imperial garden located in the west of Changan District, Shanxi Province. 39. A warlord and chancellor of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was one of the central figures of the Th ree Kingdoms period and posthumously titled Emperor Wu of Wei. 40. Taxes from dry lands were collected in yellow beans.

Taxation

279

Since lands at the time of reassessment are graded into six categories according to quality, 1 kyŏl of first-grade land becomes 85 pu when its grade is lowered to the second, and 70 pu to the third, and so forth, until it hits the sixth, the lowest grade (Comprehensive National Code). As a result, 1 kyŏl of first-grade land and 1 kyŏl of sixth-grade land are alike in terms of productivity and the payment of taxes. To make the situation worse, the nine-grade system of annual taxes is added to the already-problematic six-grade system of annual taxes so that 4 tu are levied for a year graded as lower-lower [hahanyŏn], 6 tu for a year graded as lower-middle [hajungnyŏn], 8 tu for a year graded as lower-upper [hasangnyŏn], and 20 tu for a year graded as upper-upper [sangsangnyŏn], if the grade goes all the way up. This is the so-called law of taxation (Comprehensive National Code). These systems conflict with each other, and because they are confusing and chaotic, they provide no clues to the solution. Let us take an example from Naju. This district has 20,000 kyŏl of land graded as lower-lower and 10,000 kyŏl of land graded as lower-middle, for which a total of 180,000 tu of rice is collected, because 6 tu are to be collected for each kyŏl of land. Even though they collect taxes at this rate, the local clerks in their report say, “Four tu of rice were levied on each kyŏl of land graded as lower-lower, and 6 tu on land graded as lower-middle, so the total amount of rice that was collected came to only 140,000 tu.” Since this indicates that 40,000 tu of precious rice are missing in the process of collecting taxes, should this be called a law? Besides, these 30,000 kyŏl of land are made up of 20,000 kyŏl of rice paddies and 10,000 kyŏl of dry fields, and the taxes on the latter, by law, are collected in beans. (According to the law of conversion, 2 tu of beans are equivalent to 1 tu of rice.) Therefore, over 23,000 tu of rice evaporate on the way. Can this be called a law? Since the amount of rice that is embezzled in one district exceeds 6,000 kok, the total combined loss of the three southern provinces will be 20,000–30,000 kok. Far removed from the scene, the court does not hear about it; governors, preferring the status quo, are reluctant to investigate; and magistrates, unaware of the magnitude of the problem, do not know what to do. It has been this way for a hundred years. This is not a matter that a district magistrate can dare to correct by himself. The law stipulates that the taxes on dry fields are collected in beans. Taxes paid in beans consist of two kinds: wit’ae and set’ae. Wit’ae indicates levies on various crops like cotton, hemp, and so forth, which are in fact not beans. Set’ae, on the 41. In the case of Naju, the dry fields graded as lower-middle are 3,333 kyŏl, and those graded as lower-lower are 6,666 kyŏl. If the taxes for dry fields are collected in beans, and the conversion rate of beans to rice is fi xed as 2:1, the total embezzlement from the lower-middle fields is 9,999 tu of rice (3,333 kyŏl × 3 tu of rice), and the embezzlement from the lower-lower fields is 13,332 tu of rice (6,666 kyŏl × 2 tu of rice). If the two amounts of embezzled rice are added, the total is 23,331 tu of rice.

280

book VI

other hand, means the crop of beans, as its name indicates. According to old laws, wit’ae was supposed to be paid to the Board of Taxation and set’ae to the Royal Stable Court [Saboksi], and in the case of the latter, subofficials used to come down to collect the taxes. Under the present law, however, local districts are to convert beans into rice at the ratio of 2:1 and submit the rice to the government in the capital city. This is the tax law that we have now. Since 6 tu of rice are collected for 1 kyŏl of dry fields, the tax on dry fields is no different from that on paddy fields. Investigation of Disaster Areas and the Confirmation of Disasters Are Minor Priorities in Land Administration. Since the Principal Foundation Is Already Shaken and the Logic of Legal Statutes Is Totally in Disarray, It Is Impossible to Accomplish the Job to One’s Satisfaction Even if One Tries His Best. The magistrate has three administrative duties [samjŏng], which concern the military, land, and disaster relief. So-called land administration here is nothing more than confirmation of the disaster areas in his district, which are allocated by the provincial office. Although this sort of confirmation, like sixiaogong in observing the rite of mourning, is more or less trivial, it is still not easy to deal with. Therefore, if the magistrate establishes his authority through self-control, as well as respect from his subordinates, the irregularities of yamen clerks will not be the worst. There is no way to make things work perfectly. So-called fraudulent designation of disaster areas [wijae] indicates something like this. In the autumn, when a clerk goes out to inspect crops in the fields, a wealthy man in the village points at the rich crop of his dry fields and rice paddies and secretly hands him 8 taels. (The bribe money can be 7 or 9 taels, depending on the current price.) The man says to the clerk: “They belong to me. Why do we not share the profit together?” Then the clerk designates all the fields of the wealthy man as disaster areas. He looks around wherever he goes, seeking the same kind of opportunity and using similar tactics to make money. Although a poor farmer planted rice in his paddy, it did not come into ears yet, and even if its ears came out, they are still far from being ripe. Pointing at his field, the poor farmer in tears says, “I beg you to declare my land a disaster area.” The clerk says, “You say that your crop is ruined, but it still makes a sound when I stir it with a stick. (This means that the rice plants, which grew long, though unripe, make a

42. The word sixiaogong is drawn from Mencius (“Jinxin I”) and indicates the sackcloth for mourning that was worn for three (sima) or five months (xiaogong). The relevant passage in the Mencius reads as follows: “Not to be able to keep the three years’ mourning, and to be very par ticular about that of three months, or that of five months; to eat immoderately and swill down the soup, and at the same time to inquire about the precept not to tear the meat with the teeth;—such things show what I call an ignorance of what is most important” (Legge, Works of Mencius, 477).

Taxation

281

sound when they are stroked by a stick.) So your request cannot be allowed.” Then he designates only one-tenth of the farmer’s rice paddy as a disaster area, and this partial designation of a disaster area in a piece of land is called “partially declared disaster” [naejae]. The clerk keeps on looking around and uses the same tactics as he continues his tour of inspection. When he finally reports back to the magistrate, the magistrate rebukes him: “The lands unaffected by the poor harvest in your district were quite extensive. Why are there so many disaster areas in your report?” Then the magistrate orders that the scale of reported disaster areas be reduced extensively. Then the land of the poor farmer partially designated as a disaster area completely loses the status of disaster area, while the land of the wealthy man, full of fine crops, is absolutely intact. This is exactly the meaning of wijae, fraudulent designation of disaster areas. In order to prevent tricks like that, the magistrate orders his yamen inspectors to place a mark on every block of land affected by disaster with the number, size of acreage, and name of cultivator. Then he personally goes out to inspect how his order was carried out, comparing the markers and the register made by the yamen clerks. He believes that in this way he can discover the truthfulness of reports on the status of land. However, his way is nothing but foolish because he does not realize that all the names in the reports are fictitious. Thus titles like private female servant named Pokdan or private slave named Sangdŭk are all made-up names. Furthermore, the old names on the land register are neither the ones that still exist nor the ones of those who are actually engaged in farming. Sometimes the details in the section of the east village are transferred to that of the west village, or the names in the section of the south village to that of the north village, as if they were clouds and mist that are always moving and changing. To look into the names of cultivators, which originally do not belong to the land, is like retrieving a sword that was dropped into the water while sailing. Furthermore, since land measurements are hardly adequate to represent the real status of land, how can the magistrate tell whether the measurements and figures on the record are accurate or not? If he asks farmers, there is scarcely anything in their replies that is honest, and if he asks the supervisors of land, they argue that a deer is a horse, making a fool of the magistrate. Since those who practice evil in conspiracy with others make no mistakes in their remarks, and those who do not practice evil keep silent although they know the truth, the magistrate is the loneliest person under Heaven. Since he has nothing to say when he finds marks in the areas affected by disasters, what is the use of those signs in the future? When the magistrate conducts an inspection tour, his subordinates follow him or stand on the edge of land watching him while shabby-looking scholars and old farmers of the village silently laugh at him under the fence. No damage to the dignity and reputation of the magistrate can be more serious than this. If the magistrate, after finishing his tour, tries to cut down disaster areas, yamen clerks will say, “You

282

book VI

have inspected all the lands that were marked by appropriate signs and have found no mistake in them. How can you then cut down disaster areas?” Then the magistrate will have difficulty in responding to them. Land inspection for crops and taxation should be conducted in this way. The magistrate tours his domain, taking only a horse and two boy servants with him. He observes the state of the crop, but all he should do is to keep in mind that the disaster damage of so-and-so village of so-and-so subdistrict is relatively more serious, and the crop of so-and-so village of so-and-so subdistrict is just average. Sometimes he invites the elders of the village under the shade of elm and willow trees, asking about the crop of the year and talking about various things in a benevolent manner, as if they were members of his family. While he talks with these people, the magistrate naturally can find out which village of which subdistrict was most affected by disasters, and which village of which valley has prospects of a good crop. Upon returning from the trip, if the magistrate writes down the details of his inspection tour for his reference, comprehending the general situation in his district, yamen clerks’ irregularities in their reports on natural disasters will not be really serious. All investigations of natural disasters should be carried out in this way. Starting from ten days before the Grain in Ear [Mangjong], the magistrate should order village representatives and heads of the community compact to submit a report on the state of the crop every five days, and the form of their report should be as follows: “A certain village of so-and-so subdistrict finished half of its rice planting; a certain village finished its rice planting; so-and-so farmer finished not even half of his rice planting; so-and-so farmer did not do rice planting at all.” On the day of Great Heat [Taesŏ] the magistrate should gather all these reports and make a record book, selecting and organizing essential details. Since even in normal times it is possible to draw honest and truthful reports from the village representatives and heads of the community compact, the magistrate can discover the real state of the crop if he investigates it around harvest time, using the records he made. If he compares the harvest situation with the details on his record, he will be able to tell why a harvest had to be poor. In other words, he will be able to find out whether the poor harvest has to do with a delay in planting rice or with severe drought. It will also be helpful for his fact-finding if he orders village representatives and heads of the community compact to report in detail every five days on damage by harmful insects, floods, storms, frosts, hail, and so forth. 43. The ninth of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around June 6 or 7. It generally indicates the season of the barley harvest. 44. The twelft h of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around July 23 or 24.

Taxation

283

When the Clerks Are About to Go Out to Inspect the Fields, the Magistrate Should Give Them Admonitions with Gentle Words or Make Them Fear by His Dignified Warning. If He Can Impress Them with His Sincerity and Earnestness, It Will Not Be without Help. The magistrate should give admonitions with gentle words as follows: “Even if a yamen clerk tries to maintain his integrity while the rest of his colleagues in the province commit irregularities, it will not be much help to the state; even if a yamen clerk is upright while the other clerks in the district are all corrupt, it will not be much help to the revenue of the district. Nevertheless, I believe that we need to discharge our duty honorably, because we are all endowed with the heart and desire to follow the path of righteousness. If you who are subjects of the king dare to commit wrongdoings even though you are fully aware that what you are doing is theft, how can you escape disasters when all the spirits of Heaven and Earth are watching you?” The magistrate continues to speak: “You may think, ‘Who will discover our trickery, which was carried out in collaboration by all of us?’ However, you must not forget that there are many who are jealous of your place. Therefore, it is not hard to discover your deception.’ ” After a few days, when the inspecting clerks come back to report on their investigations, the magistrate should see if what they reduced or raised in their reports generally agrees with what he expected. If their reports are truthful about what they saw and believed, it is not necessary that he should suspect that they are lies. However, if he feels suspicious that they continue to make false reports and carry out evil designs, he should reinforce his surveillance of their activities, using some different channels. In Inspecting the Paddy Fields That Missed Rice Planting Because of Severe Drought, It Is Most Essential to Appoint the Right Person for the Task. In the Kisa and Kapsul years [1809 and 1814] in the reign of King Sunjo, there was such a severe drought that almost one-third of the rice paddies throughout the country were unable to have rice planting. In the autumn the government dispatched officials to conduct investigations of trickery in the lands affected by disasters. At that time I was among the common people and saw directly what was going on. At first, the government sent clerks in charge of land administration led by a supervisor, and later it sent special inspectors led by a director for another inspection. The so-called special inspectors and directors are men of reputation because they are the leaders of clerks and representatives of the district. People like them usually steal 10 or 20 kyŏl of land, and 50 or 60 in an extreme case. However, the inspectors at that time did not steal even 1 kyŏl, which was

284

book VI

probably only accidental. An important matter like a field inspection should not be entrusted to yamen clerks or leaders of the local yangban association; the magistrate must personally select the person most suitable for the job. The magistrate should send a notice to the residents of his district, including elders and gentry, which states as follows: “As magistrate in charge of this district, I am deeply saddened and worried. Alas! The drought, which was very severe, completely ruined the crop. What can be done under the circumstances to make the people survive? Although I try to find a solution day and night, I am still at a loss. I plan to go out soon to inspect abandoned paddy fields without rice planting, but before I start, I must tell you that there is something that greatly worries me. Since the national revenue is already depleted and the revenues from taxes and imposts amount to little, the extent of disaster areas approved by the superior office will be limited. Under these circumstances, what will happen if we make false reports on our situation? If the superior office indeed finds out that we made false reports, we will have nothing to say to them even if they cut down the amount of our disaster areas. “I wonder how many people in our district can handle a momentous task like this. Will there be men of integrity, discretion, and ability in each subdistrict who are both well educated and good mannered, regardless of their social status, especially ones who will not be tempted by fortunes and bribes? So I would like to ask the elders of each subdistrict to gather about ten people consisting of both scholars and common people and select through discussion and consensus of all participants two men from them who can successfully carry out the task with which they will be entrusted. If it happens that the two men thus selected turn out to be unsuitable for their task, raising controversy among the people when their work is fi nished, everyone, including those who recommended them and participated in the vote, will lose face. Therefore, I want you to recommend the men with extreme caution and submit a list of nominees as soon as possible.” When the list of recommendation arrives, the magistrate should meet personally with the two finalists (two persons are recommended by each district) and exhort them with warm words to carry out their work honorably. When the Magistrate Reports on Disaster Areas to His Superior, He Should Present the Facts of the Matter; If It Appears That His Superior Will Reduce the Figure, He Should Be Willing to Take Responsibility and Submit His Report Again. When mediocre magistrates report to their superiors, they always present an inflated number, expecting that it will be reduced in the process of examination for approval, which resembles the way of merchants who ask a higher price in case they have to give discounts. Since this is what merchants do, the magistrate

Taxation

285

should never follow their practice of conducting business. What should magistrates do if their superiors in good faith approve the figures as they appear exactly in their reports, which are in fact false? The magistrates will have no choice but to be silent, since retracting their reports will be met with punishment. How long will they be safe from being caught? If reduction of their numbers by their superiors was motivated by their distrust, the magistrates must submit the same reports repeatedly until they can convince their superiors. If the quota for the amount of disaster areas, which the government decides and distributes to individual districts, was too small, and therefore the figures had to be cut down so that the shortage of disaster areas could be shared by all, the magistrates should not be held responsible for their reports, and the reduced number of disaster areas should be distributed to each district. Chŏng T’aekgyŏng, a military official and a native of Kangjin, became magistrate of Ŏnyang and reported the situation of disaster areas in his district. His report was rejected and sent back to him with an order that the figure of disaster areas be reduced. Nevertheless, Chŏng T’aekgyŏng submitted the same report again. The governor wrote on the cover of the report: “Even a man who previously served in the Office of Special Counselors would not dare to act like this, not to mention a district magistrate with military background.” Extremely indignant, Chŏng T’aekgyŏng made the following report: “There may be a great difference between civil and military officials, but the common people are all engaged in agriculture and important for the country. How can one talk about the high and low status of the magistrate?” Because the tone of voice in the magistrate’s report was stern and dignified, the governor fully accepted the report and sent it back to the magistrate with an apology. At the end of the year, when the governor (the governor at that time was Minister Hong Ŏk) did his merit rating, he made a comment on the magistrate: “A man of integrity, he is consistent and unwavering from the beginning to the end.” When the king went for a walk to Ch’undang Pavilion [in Ch’anggyŏng Palace] and read the reports of merit ratings, he took notice of the one in the district of Ŏnyang. He asked, “Who is Chŏng T’aekgyŏng?” A royal secretary answered, “He is a military official from Kangjin.” The king said, “When I look at the title of the merit rating here, the magistrate had an argument with his superior, but it appears that he did not give in. If a military official of a border district received a high grade like this, he must be a man of exceptional ability.” Then he ordered the Board of Personnel and the Board of War to select him, and a few days after this royal order Chŏng 45. A military official of the late Chosŏn dynasty, but little is known about him except that he was a man of integrity and courage. 46. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Yujik, and his posthumous title Chŏnggan. He also served as third minister-without-portfolio.

286

book VI

was appointed to the position of t’op’osa [commissioner for suppression and apprehension] of Andong. Lowering Taxes in a Disaster Year [P’yojae] Is Also Difficult. If the Acreage Affected by Disaster Allowed by the Superior Office Turns Out to Be Smaller than That Submitted by the Subdistricts, the Burden of the Reduced Acreage Should Be Divided Proportionately among the Subdistricts. When the status of disaster areas is granted in the way that the magistrate requests, lowering taxes for a disaster year may not be difficult; otherwise the disaster areas that are disapproved should be divided among the subdistricts evenly and proportionately. If the figure submitted by the district is 500 kyŏl and the one granted by the superior office is only 400 kyŏl, each piece of land affected by disasters must have a reduction of one-fift h of the original figure. Then 50 pu is reduced to 40 pu, 40 pu to 32 pu, and 32 pu to 24 pu and 16 sok proportionately. If it appears that there is a degree of seriousness in disaster areas that are included in the magistrate’s report, less severe disasters [kyŏngjae] had better be eliminated, whereas severe ones [hokjae] are kept. A severe disaster is commonly called a “complete disaster” [chŏnjae], and a less severe disaster a “partially declared disaster” [naejae]. The so-called complete disaster indicates that the damage for a land of 1 kyŏl is absolutely devastating throughout the whole acreage. On the other hand, a partially declared disaster means partial damage; thus, in land of 1 sŏmnak [which can produce 20 turak], 10 turak of the crop is good, whereas the crop of the remaining 10 turak is bad. Therefore, severe disasters and less severe ones are not the same in their real situation. Since sometimes in a limited way less severe disaster areas can be as devastating as the most severely affected disaster areas, these things should be discriminated carefully from one another. The way in which the magistrate lowers taxes in the disaster year is as follows. He should make three copies of disaster records, which should be written in regular script [haesŏ], not in the clerical style [ponch’e] used by yamen clerks. (The writing style of yamen clerks, which resembles the shape of grass or sand, looks so weird that it is totally illegible.) One copy is for the magistrate, another is for the yamen clerks (this copy is the basis of taxation), and another is for the common people. All the letters in the records should be closely examined so that 47. According to Expanded Administrative Encyclopedia of Korea, the office of t’op’osa was created in 1638, the sixteenth year of King Injo, in order to prevent and suppress bandits. After 1660, however, the provincial military commander also held this position concurrently. 48. Sŏm or sŏmnak was originally a colloquial term for sŏk, 1 picul of grain by volume; 15 or 20 mal. However, the meaning of the word sŏmnak here is ambiguous.

Taxation

287

no mistake will be made. The copy of the records given to the people, unlike the other two, must be separately made of thin paper and written in regular script and distributed to each subdistrict, one for each. However, it does not have to be bound like a book; it would be better to make it into a roll. (If it is bound and made into a book, it becomes more vulnerable to trickery.) When he puts his stamp, he should first press it down on the red stamp pad and then on the parts where papers are attached. If there is a spot in which mistakes are corrected, he should also put a stamp called ain. Then he places the roll in an envelope and seals it with paper that is very thin, like the wings of cicadas, and finally puts his stamp once again both on the top and the bottom. The magistrate then prepares a little banquet and invites distinguished scholars of all the subdistricts. He personally hands over the copies of the records to these scholars so that they can show them to the residents of their districts when they return home. He makes them first show the seal and stamp on the envelope and then open it before the eyes of the people. He also tells them to make an extra copy to be kept in their subdistrict and to look into any controversy concerning the disaster areas. They mark on their copies whenever a false report on the status of a disaster area is uncovered. Then the copy of the record distributed by the magistrate is placed in an envelope, sealed with thin paper, privately stamped, and finally submitted to the magistrate again. If the subdistrict is large, the magistrate divides it into several units and gives copies of the records to the scholars who represent each unit. If the magistrate handles this matter in this way, not 1 pu and 1 sok can be hidden as far as the reports on the disaster areas are concerned. On the day when the magistrate holds interviews with the scholars of subdistricts, he will say as follows: “The waves of the river flow away, but the rocks in the river remain. I understand that it is hard for you to uncover wrongdoings and put them on the record because you are afraid of yamen clerks from the beginning [knowing well that they will remain even after this magistrate is gone]. You also know that there are common people who are your neighbors and therefore need your help. If I were in your shoes, I would be at a loss, too. However, since everybody already knows the problems and there is no way to prevent them from keeping silent, I eventually will be able to discover the wrongdoings even if I am sitting deep inside the yamen. If you fail to report the problems that everyone knows about and I happen to find that out later, will you not feel ashamed to see me? If you explain the situation you are in to yamen clerks, how can they blame you, and how can the common people complain if you also explain the situation to them? Besides, even if you report a problem, I assure you that the man responsible for the 49. Th in paper was used for documents to prevent potential forgery. 50. Also called tosŏ, this is a stamp used for books.

288

book VI

problem will not be punished too severely. Keeping all these things in mind, you should inform me of all the wrongdoings as they stand.” When the rolls of the record [prepared by the scholars of the various subdistricts] are returned to the yamen, the magistrate gathers them, counting figures and making comparisons. If the amount of land that yamen clerks falsely declared disaster areas turns out to be trivial, he should pretend to be unaware of it. If the degree of trickery is serious, however, he should immediately confiscate what was stolen and return it to the peasants whose lands were unjustly left off the list of disaster areas. When the magistrate retrieves the land involved in trickery, however, he should do so evenly in proportion to the size of the land. For instance, if the land in the east subdistrict is 500 kyŏl and the land in the west subdistrict is 300 kyŏl, a difference in the amount of money generated from the trickery must be taken into account. Therefore, if the money to be confiscated in relation to the east subdistrict is 2 kyŏl and 50 pu, that of the west subdistrict should be 1 kyŏl and 50 pu. The processing expenses of each subdistrict should be distributed in proportion to the acreage of each subdistrict, and what is left over should all be confiscated. (It is not necessary to look ruthlessly into the details if the amount of the differences is trivial.) On the day of reckoning the magistrate should not necessarily punish those involved in trickery; he should only summon the chief clerk and the one in charge of accounting and say to them, “Since you tried to deceive me to the end, I cannot forgive your wrongdoings.” Then he puts their mistakes on the record and, as he warned in the beginning, dismisses the two yamen clerks at the time of the annual merit rating. As for the yamen clerks who faithfully followed the admonitions of the magistrate, on the other hand, the magistrate writes down their merits and appoints them to important positions at the start of the new year. When the Investigations of the Disaster Areas Are Completed, the Magistrate Should Proceed to Work on Chakbu, Which Is Grouping Small-Size Lands as a Unit for Convenience in Collecting Taxes. He Should Prohibit All Kinds of Suspicious Transactions and Transfer of Ownership for Evading Taxes, Which Are Called Irae [Moving In] and Igŏ [Moving Out]; However, He Should Allow Some Flexibility in Collecting Taxes. What is called chakbu is grouping small-size lands for convenience in collecting taxes, in which 100 pu ㇿ makes 1 kyŏl, and 8 kyŏl makes 1 pu ኰ, and for 8 kyŏl of land one head owner [hosu] is designated to pay taxes on behalf of small tenants. Once the chakbu record is made, the record of taxation is soon announced, and therefore, these two things are announced to the people separately but almost simultaneously.

Taxation

289

So-called irae [moving in] and igŏ [moving out] are dens of all sorts of tricks. If a resident in the east village sells his land to a resident in the west village, the sold land moves to the land register of the west village even though the seller continues to stay in the east village, and this is called ii [transferring to another village]. If a resident in the east subdistrict sells his land to one in the west subdistrict, the sold land moves to the land register of the west subdistrict, but the seller still remains in his subdistrict, and this is called myŏni [transferring to another subdistrict]. It is generally said, “Since small tenants [chŏnbu] are mostly poor and the landlords [chŏnju] are rich, the magistrate should target the latter when he collects the taxes on the land. That is why the magistrate makes tax records based on the lands where the landlords are located.” However, the land is something that is permanently fi xed, and the man dwelling on it constantly shifts from place to place. Why, then, should the tax system abandon the land and follow the man? If the land is here, its tenant, as well as the produce of his land, is also here. Why should one abandon what is near and follow what is far away? This is why the tricks of yamen clerks take place. They collect the rice from the land in their neighborhood and transport it to their homes, or they collect the rice from the place near the sea [where rice is not produced] and sell it. The magistrate must prohibit this kind of practice, and on the day when he makes chakbu records, he should make sure that the land originally belonging to the village is levied only in the selfsame village on the basis of the land register. However, if the magistrate also prohibits flexibility in collecting taxes, the common people will find his measure extremely inconvenient. If the lands owned by one person are scattered in several subdistricts and cultivated by a number of small tenants, and the land taxes must be paid in the name of several landlords in those subdistricts, the people have to pay high fees when they take their grain to the granary to pay their taxes. Therefore, the taxes for all the scattered lands should be paid in the name of their owner; in that way the expenses that the small tenants have to pay can be reduced. When suspicious transactions and transfers in relation to tax records are not duly regulated, a problem called ajing occurs. It works something like this: If a man has sold a land of 8 pu, the deed now belongs to a new owner; nevertheless, for one reason or another, the former owner remains the owner of the land, and the state of this anomaly is prolonged indefinitely. Although both the former and present owners pay the taxes for the same piece of land, the wrongful record of ownership persists. Th is is an instance of ajing. Here is another instance: the 51. Changing residence from one village to another (irae or igŏ) after selling lands used to produce a great many problems and irregularities in taxation, especially when the record of ownership remained unchanged or taxes were levied on individuals who changed their residence, not on the lands they used to own.

290

book VI

record of a piece of land in subdistrict A is transferred to subdistrict B, following its new landlord, and the record of a piece of land in subdistrict C is transferred to subdistrict D, again following its new landlord; nevertheless, the records of new ownership are lost for some reason, and as a result, both the former and the new owners of the land have to pay the taxes for the same piece of land. This is ajing. The Magistrate Must Strictly Investigate and Prohibit the Manipulations of Crafty Yamen Clerks Who Secretly Take the Land Subject to Taxation [Mingyŏl] and Transfer It to the Record of Tax-Exempt Villages [Cheyŏkch’on]. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates: “He who misappropriates lands for taxation by extorting taxes from them (which is popularly called yangho) shall be punished by imprisonment with penal servitude [tohyŏng] and exile for life [yuhyŏng], considering the seriousness of his crimes.” This is so-called yangho, extorting taxes, in our days. (In the old days the word referred to the practice by which local landlords concealed some of the tenant households in their villages and privately employed them for their personal purposes by preventing them from participating in corvée ser vices.) When craft y yamen clerks make chakbu records, they move the lands for taxation to the record of tax-exempt villages. At the same time they make the people pay their taxes in the way similar to paying tribute called pangnap [tribute contracting]. They deliver tribute to the government on behalf of the people and later collect their expenses from them, making profits. This is what yangho is about. For instance, if they collect 45 tu of rice from 1 kyŏl of land, they pay 20 tu to the government and take 25 tu for themselves. So-called panggyŏl is an indirect way of paying taxes for the common people who cultivate the privileged lands granted to loyal subjects, filial sons, faithful widows, and so on, which are exempt from miscellaneous taxes; lands that are unaccounted for; lands affected by disasters; and the lands of the lowest grade. From the tenants of these lands yamen clerks collect 12 or 13 taels (in the case of an average harvest) or 45 tu of rice (30 tu at the least) per kyŏl of land, but they do not pay a single grain of rice to the government and swallow all the taxes they collect while they make the tenants of those lands completely exempt from all sorts of extra imposts related to their lands. This is what pangnap is about. What, then, are tax-exempt villages? They are the following: first, those in the district capital [ŭmnae]; second, those privately managed by yamen clerks 52. An indirect tax-payment system in which “powerful individuals would deliver tribute goods to the state and then collect the cost of the goods from the peasants” (Lee, New History of Korea, 203).

Taxation

291

[kyebangch’on]; third, those with retail stores dealing in various goods [chŏmch’on]; fourth, those with a county school [hakgungch’on]; fi ft h, those with private academies [sŏwŏnch’on]; sixth, those with a post station [yŏkch’on]; seventh, those with inns [wŏnch’on]; eighth, those located at the entrance of Buddhist temples [sach’on]; ninth, those with a state granary [ch’angch’on]; tenth, those with lands or estates granted to princes and princesses [kungjŏnch’on]; eleventh, those with military colonies [tunjŏnch’on]; twelft h, seacoast villages [p’och’on]; thirteenth, island villages under the jurisdiction of military garrisons [toch’on]; and fourteenth, villages in the mountain passes [yŏngch’on]. Besides, the villages near the army and navy headquarters are all tax-exempt. Since there are so many tax-exempt villages, as one can see, it is impossible for the magistrate to check out every detail of the land records concerning their transactions. What he should do under these circumstances, then, is to summon the head clerk and accountants and give them admonitions as follows: “The total acreage in our district subject to tax is 9,500 kyŏl, and the acreage exempt from tax for various reasons amounts to 3,200 kyŏl. In addition to this, the acreage allowed for tax exemption this year because of the natural disaster turns out to be another 300 kyŏl. This indicates that the actual acreage subject to tax is 6,000 kyŏl. This 6,000 kyŏl should not be reduced any further; otherwise it will make the people’s tax burden much heavier than it should be. Therefore, when you make the tax record of each village or subdistrict, you should write the total figure at the end of the record. Only when you are able to come up with a total figure of 6,000 kyŏl will I trust that there was no trickery and that you committed no extortion of taxes. From now on I will make the 6,000 kyŏl a criterion for your tax collection. Since you are duly warned, I hope that you will not forget this.” Several years ago in a village near an inlet the tax on 5 kyŏl mysteriously disappeared, and no one knew what had happened to it, so the residents of the village appealed to their magistrate to recover the missing tax. The magistrate replied, “Why should you try to find it? It caused no loss to state taxes, nor are you required to make up for it. Therefore, it will be in your own interest to ignore it.” Outraged by the remark of the magistrate, the residents of the village secretly whispered, laughing at their magistrate. In a certain district of the southern province there is an episode handed down from mouth to mouth: “In the old days there was a magistrate named Li soand-so, and he was so shrewd in discharging his duty that no yamen clerks dared to deceive him. When he was replaced and about to return, the departing magistrate, lifting his cane, pointed at the office of yamen clerks [sŏwŏnch’ŏng] and 53. Chŏmch’on indicates artisan villages where goods were manufactured and sold. The goods sold by the stores in the artisan villages were brassware, hardware, pottery, and so on, and their names mostly ended with chŏm or jŏm: for example, yujŏm, ch’ŏljŏm, chagijŏm, and wagijŏm.

292

book VI

said, ‘I can see what goes on in all the sections of the yamen, but that place is always a mystery to me.’ ” Every district has a story like this. Yamen clerks enjoy what they do, exploiting ambiguities in the law. That is why land administration is hard to carry out. When the Magistrate Intends to Make Chakbu Records, He Should First Separate the Wealthy from the Poor and Have the Former Chiefly Pay the Land Taxes. On the Onset of Autumn [Ipch’u] the magistrate should post a public notice that prohibits yamen clerks from privately collecting taxes from the people [panggyŏl]. Since the office of clerks is usually set up in the yamen on that day, the privately handled taxes start coming in. Therefore, the magistrate should start taking action from the Onset of Autumn if he wants to prevent such taxes from flowing in. In the public notice the magistrate should state as follows: “The present magistrate wishes to enlighten you by this public notice. We have a poor harvest this year, and it makes me concerned about the amount of taxes to be collected next spring. Because of this difficult situation, the fertile lands owned by wealthy landowners, designated as the lands for pangnap, fail to satisfy the quota of our land taxes, making the law of the state almost useless. How can these things be allowed to continue? The total amount of land taxes that we owe to the central government, which includes imposts on lands and tribute taxes collected in rice and cotton, as well as fees for shipping and other miscellaneous taxes, amounts to 4,800 sŏk of rice. Even if the government reduces our taxes because of the natural disaster, the reduction will not exceed 800 sŏk of rice, and then the total that we have to send out by ship will be approximately 4,000 sŏk of rice. If we collect 2 sŏk of rice for every 1 kyŏl of land, we can secure 4,000 sŏk of rice from approximately 2,000 kyŏl of land. Although the total acreage of our district is 6,000 kyŏl, the actual acreage subject to tax is 4,000 kyŏl after tax-exempt lands, such as those belonging to royal families, military colonies, and so forth, are eliminated. Would it not be advisable, then, for us to take 2,000 kyŏl or so owned by wealthy landowners and collect 4,000 sŏk of rice from them to meet the requirement for the land taxes of our district? If 2,000 kyŏl or so are divided, each subdistrict will be assigned 200 kyŏl or so for its share of the tax payment. Therefore, I decided to inform you of this before I make my final decision on the taxes that you have to pay. “On the day of the autumnal equinox [ch’ubun] the residents of individual subdistricts, including both gentry and commoners, should have a meeting and decide first to set aside the fertile lands of wealthy landowners to pay the allotted 54. The thirteenth of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around August 8 or 9.

Taxation

293

land taxes of their subdistrict, and they should also make a separate book in which the names of landowners and tenants are recorded, as well as the names of households, numbers attached to the lands, and their acreage presented in terms of pu and sok, which are all falsely made and reported only for the sake of expediency. The following day they should select a representative from the clerks who were born in their subdistrict and, therefore, are more reliable and cautious in observing the law and have him submit their record to the yamen and pay their allotted land taxes. If they continue to deal clandestinely with yamen clerks, as in the past, believing that yamen clerks are more reliable than the state, this magistrate will launch thorough investigations until he uncovers their crimes and will collect again the taxes due according to the law. “The law stipulates that local landowners who practice pangnap shall be punished by 100 strokes of beating with a heavy stick and exile for life to 3,000 li. If one or two people violate the law while the whole village follows my order, I will certainly punish those offenders according to the law; if there are too many who violate the law and it is therefore difficult to punish them all, I will transfer the tax payments of the poor or the households that lost their breadwinners to the record of those who violated my order. In that way I will make them pay the land taxes, as well as imposing the penalty of banishment and beating stipulated by the law. That is the law of the state, and I intend to keep the law. If you understand what I mean, you had better not dare to think about changing the fertile lands into those of low grade for the purpose of tax exemption.” When the magistrate reveals his idea of collecting taxes, yamen clerks will surely say as follows: “Because the investigations of disaster areas are still in progress, it is hard to tell the magnitude of the actual acreage subject to tax.” Then the magistrate will reply as follows: “Since the disaster area allotted to our district is approximately 800 kyŏl, you can first divide the 800 kyŏl by the number of our subdistricts and temporarily determine the total amount of our land taxes. If the disaster areas happen to increase, extra kyŏl of lands should be converted to the expenses of the district, and if they happen to decrease, I will make up for the deficiency by taking the lands of the wealthy landowners. So there is nothing for you to worry about. I want to remind you once again, if you try to manipulate the fertile lands of the wealthy landowners for your private gain, I will launch an investigation not only of those lands but also of the surplus lands that you previously handled. I will certainly uncover your trickery and make up 55. The magistrate wants to let the people know that he is well aware of the trickeries committed by either clerks or people with regard to making the record of land for tax purposes. 56. Exile for life to 3,000 li indicates a penalty by which the convict is banished to a distant place as far as 3,000 li away from the capital city. (Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn [Seoul National University Kyujanggak, 1998], 1: 240).

294

book VI

for the taxes of abandoned lands. Therefore, you will have to be very careful in carry ing out your duty.” If there is a good harvest and no difficulty in collecting taxes, this kind of approach may not be necessary. Since Fraudulent Figures Are Mixed with Real Ones in the Tax Register, the Magistrate Must Investigate and Verify the Details. There are several kinds of fraudulent tax figures [hŏaek]: first, kŏlbok; second, chobok; and third, ch’ŏmbok. (According to the land-measurement system of our country, 100 pu make 1 kyŏl. In our language the word pu is also called im or pok. Hence pu here is called pok.) Kŏlbok is an extra amount arbitrarily added to the total amount of taxes to be paid, which is usually entered at the end of the tax register. With little justification they [the yamen clerks in charge of taxation] abruptly add 10 or 20 pu to the total and make the cultivator of the land pay more taxes than he should. The extra taxes thus collected are used for expenses for brushes and inkstones used by clerks. This is kŏlbok, and the word kŏl signifies “begging.” In the Kyŏnggi region people say kŏlbok, and in the southern province chobok, but their meaning is identical. Ch’ŏmbok is the main way of producing lands that are unaccounted for. Let us say, for instance, that a man named Isa, a resident of the village of Yuch’ŏn, originally had a tax of 7 pu; however, he finds that his tax was abruptly raised to 9 pu. The tax of a man named Changsam, a resident of the village of Songgok, used to be only 6 sok, but he finds that it was suddenly raised to 8 sok this year. Raising the amount of tax in an erratic way like this is called ch’ŏmbok. There are several clues [that indicate] when ch’ŏmbok has taken place . First, a cunning landlord in collaboration with the supervisor of land administration transfers 2 pu of his tax to a man named Isa; second, the man Isa originally had 12 pu of land but sold 5 pu to someone else. The one who purchased the land from Isa, however, collaborating with a clerk in the bureau, makes 2 pu out of 5 still remain in the record of Isa, who already sold the land, so that the latter can pay the tax of the seller; third, the clerk, intending to play tricks on the land tax and holding helpless peasants in contempt, just adds 1 or 2 pu to the total amount of tax with no justification whatsoever; fourth, Isa had a relative who originally resided in his village. At the present time, however, his relative has lost his whole family or has moved to a remote place. Consequently, the site where his house once stood and the vegetable garden that he used to cultivate remain abandoned, and therefore the tax deriving from them is lost. Exploiting this situation, the supervisor of land administration and 57. Pok and bok are the same word, but when the letter p is combined with other words, it is transliterated as b.

Taxation

295

the head owner [hosu] designated by the government for the sake of collecting taxes collaborate with yamen clerks and transpose that tax to the record of Isa. At first, this may appear merely to be transferring the tax record, but, in fact, when it comes to collecting taxes, it is no different from levying taxes on the neighbors of a man who ran away [injing] or coercing the residents to pay the tax that was embezzled by yamen clerks [ijing]. Therefore, this is karok [entering an additional detail on the record]. C H A P T E R : L AW OF TA X AT ION I I

When the Land Register Is Completed, a Tablet of Taxation and Collection Is Made. Then the Magistrate Must Meticulously Examine This Chart and Rigorously Remove Ambiguities. The so-called tablet of taxation and collection [kyep’an] is made after inspectors [tori] and yamen clerks work together to compute the total amount of taxes for the year. The tablet consists of three categories: taxes for the state, taxes for shipping or transportation ser vice [sŏn’gŭp], and taxes for the local district. These three categories of taxes are generally collected in three ways: kyŏllyŏm, swaeryŏm, and sŏngnyŏm. Kyŏllyŏm is collecting taxes based on each kyŏl of land, as described earlier. Swaeryŏm is splitting 2 sŏk of granary ser vice charge [ch’angjakjimi] into several thousand kyŏl of land, and in the same way 5 sŏk of Hojo chakjimi [processing fee of the Board of Taxation] and 5 sŏk of kongin yŏkgami [fee paid to tribute men in the granary in Seoul] into several thousand kyŏl of land. In other words, swaeryŏm is a way of collecting taxes by breaking them into numerous portions. Sŏngnyŏm, on the other hand, is collecting taxes on the basis of the grain measurement of sŏk. There is trickery in kyŏllyŏm, kyŏl-based taxation, and why does this happen? The tax on land of lower-lower grade, according to the law, is 4 tu; however, in reality, 6 tu are collected. The tax on dry fields, by the law, is collected in beans, and 2 tu of beans are supposed to be exchanged for 1 tu of rice; however, 2 tu of rice instead of 1 are now collected. This is the trickery in kyŏllyŏm. Since this trickery is too pervasive to be stopped, it is difficult for a magistrate to change it drastically. There is trickery in swaeryŏm, a way of collecting taxes after splitting them, and why does this happen? The taxes collected through swaeryŏm are 12 sŏk of rice, which are 180 tu, and these again are 1,800 sŭng. If this swaeryŏm is divided 58. These are ways of collecting taxes. Kyŏllyŏm indicates taxes that are collected after attaching them to kyŏl of land; swaeryŏm, taxes similar to surtaxes that are attached to other taxes; and sŏngnyŏm, taxes collected in the grain measurement of sŏk.

296

book VI

and attached to kyŏllyŏm, 5 hop increases by 3,600 times. For example, if the total taxable lands in a district are 3,600 kyŏl, the swaeryŏm rice tax per kyŏl is only 5 hop. However, since the land tax is again divided into numerous segments based on pu or sok, how far can the 5 hop be divided? Therefore, they [yamen clerks in charge of collecting taxes] collect 1 hop even though the actual tax is less than that. Likewise, they collect 1⁄2 tu for what in fact should be 1 hop. The extra rice taxes thus collected become the profit of head owners [hosu]. Since yamen clerks know about the way in which the head owners make fortunes, they divide the taxes in the name of kŏlbok or chobok, and therefore, swaeryŏm becomes a means for yamen clerks to make fortunes. There is trickery in sŏngnyŏm, sŏk-based taxation, and why does this happen? When they [either the government or yamen clerks in charge of taxes] say “every sŏk,” they indicate the actual 1 sŏk of rice that is carried into the granaries in Seoul. If one wants to know the actual amount of rice carried into the granaries in Seoul, he should see the note written in four lines at the bottom of the annual reports on the status of lands with regard to the annual tax rate [yŏnbun taegaejang]. The note may say something like, “The tax for the dry fields of lower-lower grade is x number of tu and sŏk of beans, and the tax for the dry fields of lowermiddle grade is y number of tu and sŏk of beans.” To collect these taxes in rice, their number is reduced by half. Another note will go like this: “The tax for the paddy fields of lower-lower grade is x number of tu and sŏk of unpolished rice, and the tax for the paddy fields of lower-middle grade is y number of tu and sŏk of unpolished rice.” If the figures in the note, which consists of four sentences, are added and the total land taxes amount to 1,234 sŏk of rice, and sŏngnyŏm, sokbased taxation, is levied on the total land taxes, 1 tu, 2 sŭng, 7 hop, and 7 chak of rice should be collected for each sŏk of rice. However, this is not the case at the present time. Since the magistrate does not know exactly how many sŏk of rice taxes are carried into the granaries in Seoul, the total number turns out to be as much as 3,567 sŏk if the rice collected from the lands of lower-lower grade, unfairly exchanging beans into rice, the ser vice charge for shipping, and taxes for the local district are all put together. Since they [the yamen clerks] levy sŏngnyŏm on the basis of this wrong figure, how unjust!

The district’s capital agent [kyŏngjuin] and provincial agent [yŏngjuin] are serious troubles to the country. The rice paid for the ser vice of the district’s capital agents increases month by month and year by year, and there are two reasons for 59. Literally, kŏlbok means “begging for surtax.” Chobok means “providing assistance for collecting surtaxes.” These words basically mean the same thing. 60. Unit of volume. One chak is 1/10 hop or 10 milliliters.

Taxation

297

this. One is that men of power and influence in the royal court buy their positions. The other is that the magistrate secretly takes bribes from these agents. When men of power and influence procure the position of agent, the Border Defense Council [Pibyŏnsa] always tries to protect them and thereby make them rich by sending official dispatches to the district. This is why the tax for the service of these agents continues to increase. Once the new magistrate leaves for the post of his appointment, these people secretly present 500 or 600 taels to the magistrate’s family in Seoul. Next, they visit the magistrate at his inner quarters, offering precious gifts to his wife. At the same time they also bribe the chief of the local yangban association and the chief yamen clerk so that the commission for their ser vice can be raised. Then the magistrate holds a meeting under the pretext of seeking advice, inviting to the guesthouse several dozen disreputable sons of local gentry who are in alliance with the yamen clerks. They enjoy wine and a pig that was killed for the occasion, and all the guests quickly approve the raise of the capital agents’ commission as soon as it is mentioned. The old magistrate is replaced by a new one, but the latter follows his predecessor in raising the commission of the district’s capital agent. This is why the commission of the district’s capital agent, which is levied on all the taxable lands in the district, keeps on increasing with no limit. There are two reasons that the rice paid for the ser vice of the district’s provincial agent and the rice levy for various expenses in relation to the tribute payment to the king and royal family are increasing month by month and year by year. One is the royal tribute that should be prepared by the governor; the other is the magistrate’s fear of the governor’s secret investigation of his conduct. The office of the governor in our legal system was originally not much different from that of the pacification commissioner [wiyuŏsa], who is supposed to travel through the districts, one after another, for the purpose of inspection, having no fi xed place to stay and separated from his family. In the middle of King Sukchong’s reign a new law was established, under which the governor for the first time was allowed to take his family to the post of his appointment. Since then a number of problems have begun to arise, and this has been more conspicuous in the Honam region. The governor sends to his relatives or men in power necessities for daily life, as well as precious things produced from both the land and the sea, which he purchases from the district’s provincial agents at a low price. For instance, 1 chŏp (100 pieces) of large abalones originally costs 1,000 maces, but the governor pays only 4 tu of rice, which is the equivalent of 100 wŏn. One chŏp of citrons originally costs 500 p’un, but the governor pays only 2 tu of rice for it, which is the equivalent of 50 p’un. This is the 61. A royal inspector dispatched to areas affected by various natural disasters for the purpose of calming popu lar sentiment.

298

book VI

way in which the governor procures the things he needs, and it shows little discipline. Th is system is like the tribute taxes paid to the state. Nevertheless, since the province has no institute like the Office for Dispensing Benevolence [Sŏnhyech’ŏng] that can protect artisans from abuses, this system results only in increasing the fees for the ser vices of the district’s provincial agents. The provincial agents, for their part, go to their magistrates for help, and the magistrates, who also need help from their agents to secure a favorable merit rating from the governor, willingly grant their requests. This is why the tax for the ser vice of provincial agents keeps on increasing. When the governor goes out to inspect the districts in his domain, he chooses his staff from those in his yamen, and it is most likely that they are chosen from the district’s provincial agents. If the magistrate treats them with disrespect, trying to restrain their power, these agents conspire to find a way to remove him. As their determination to remove the magistrate becomes more hardened and solidified, slanders and backbiting against the magistrate proliferate until the governor finally drives him out by placing him in the lowest grade in his merit rating. A magistrate of Kangjin whose name was Yi something received the lowest grade in his merit rating because he did not pressure a man to pay back his loan as a district’s provincial agent asked him to. A magistrate of Hanam whose name was Chang something lost his post because he was reluctant to force the family of a dead man to pay back a loan, which a district’s provincial agent deeply resented. When the district agents punished a magistrate, sending out a signal, the magistrates of other districts were all scared of them, and they were more feared than the governor himself. As a result, what the district agent said was respected like the law, and this is why the tax for the ser vices of the district agents keeps on increasing. An old yamen clerk of Kangjin named Son something said, “When I was young, the price for the position of Kangjin’s provincial agent was only 300 taels, and it was given to a person who was relatively less powerful in the yamen. Now after thirty years, however, the same position costs 10,000 taels, and it is taken by one of the most powerful men in the yamen.” This indicates how much the burden of the common people has increased in these years. Those who argue for collecting more rice from the people often say, “Since a spoonful of contributions from ten people makes a meal for one, an extra collection will not be too much of a burden on the people.” However, what appears to be insignificant has grown to be enormous after many years of accumulation. Since 300 taels has become 10,000 taels, the price for the position of the district’s provincial agent, as well as the burden of the people, has increased thirty-three times. This is the meaning of the saying “If you are unable to see what is before your eyes, try to look at its shadow at least.” The provincial agents in Kyŏngsang Province do not practice such tyranny, but they are able to escape from cold and hunger. What, then,

Taxation

299

makes those in Chŏlla Province so avaricious to collect more? Unless these abuses are rectified, the whole Chŏlla Province will eventually turn out to be Tangmuyi [a district in which exploitation is allowed]. Once the Tablet of Taxation and Collection Is Made, the Magistrate Must Enumerate All the Items of Taxation and Make the Tablet into a Booklet. Then He Should Distribute the Booklet So That It Can Serve as a Reference in the Future. Although the government says that the land tax paid in rice is so-and-so mal and so-and-so toe, the common people do not understand what these figures exactly mean; they only follow the order. This is true not only of the common people; the magistrate himself is also much the same. The common people must have heard about the tablet of taxation and collection but have never had a chance to see it themselves. Why, then, can the magistrate not make it accessible to the public? Is it not right to announce how much the state tax is and how much the local tax is, and also to explain what kyŏllyŏm is, what sŏngnyŏm is, and what swaeryŏm is? Furthermore, is it not also right to let the people know the exact amount of taxable lands [wŏngyŏl], tax-exempt lands, and lands unaccounted for so that they can understand clearly the general situation related to their taxes? The magistrate should explain first to the people before he punishes them for their violations of the law; likewise, he should show them first what their taxes are for before he collects the taxes from them. If he keeps the people in the dark about their taxes and only collects taxes from them, how can it be said that the magistrate is doing his job right? There Are Still Many Tax Burdens Not Covered in the Tablet of Taxation and Collection. There is a tax of 3 p’un for Kyujanggak, which is to be paid to the province. There is a tax of over 300 taels for the traveling expenses of the new magistrate (sometimes the tax exceeded 400 taels at its greatest amount), a tax of 600 taels for the departing magistrate (since there was no official allowance granted to a departing magistrate, his traveling expense was collected twice), and a tax of over 100 taels for the repair of the new magistrate’s official residence. (These taxes are all collected in the form of swaeryŏm.) 62. Emperors in the Zhou dynasty used to grant a district to dukes and marquises under the pretext of providing expenses for taking baths. So Tangmuyi, meaning “the district for bath,” indicates a district that its ruler can exploit with little restraint. 63. Unit for measuring volume. One toe is 1/10 mal or approximately 1.8 liters. 64. The Royal Library established by King Chŏngjo in 1776.

300

book VI

As for the taxes for personnel clerks, these are 4 tu of unrefined rice for the inspectors of disaster [sŏwŏn kogŭpjo] and 2 tu of unrefined rice for the subdistrict agent [pangjuin kŭnsujo]. (These taxes are all collected in the form of kyŏllyŏm.) There are also other miscellaneous taxes such as the public depository tax [mingojŏn] and the tax for dealing with shipwrecks of foreign vessels [p’yosŏnjŏn], which are attached to either land or household taxes. The public depository tax, which is collected from land, is 1 tael and 2 to 3 maces per kyŏl each year, or 30 to 40 tu of grain. (Twenty years ago it was 3 to 4 tu at the most.) The tax for dealing with shipwrecked foreign vessels is 30 to 40 p’un or 50 to 60 p’un per kyŏl of land. Some of the grain loan that happens to be attached to the land tax amounts to 2 to 3 sŏk of grain per kyŏl of land every year; however, there is no one who has received a single grain from the government. Let us stop and consider. How can the common people survive? The crop harvested from 1 kyŏl of paddy field is at most 800 tu, at the least 600 tu, and 400 tu if the situation is much worse. The peasants, having no land of their own, cultivate the land as tenants, and although they work hard all year long, they have nothing left when they harvest because they have to feed their large family, pay their neighbors who assist them in farming, and finally divide their harvests half and half with their landlords. So those who produce 600 tu of rice end up with only 300 tu. Then, out of this 300 tu of rice they have to pay for seeds, loans, and taxes, and finally what is left to them is only 100 tu of rice. Since the exploitation of the peasants is this extreme, how sad! How will these poor people be able to survive? If the magistrate who governs the people, wishing to avoid slanders and complaints from his yamen clerks, allows them to have their way, he will surely bring about a calamity that will extend to posterity. Therefore, the Magistrate Cannot Help Determining the Number of Extra Lands. If There Is Extra Room in the Total Lands on the Tax Record [Kyŏlch’ong], Taxes and Labor Service Can Be Alleviated to Some Extent. The term “extra lands” [sŏngyŏl] here is a newly made name. Lands unaccounted for [ŭngyŏl] and leftover lands [yŏgyŏl] are originally something that exists in name only. Lands unaccounted for here indicate those that are left over after the payment of state taxes. However, no lands can be left over in a real sense. In my view, they are the lands of iron [ch’ŏlgyŏl] whose status is permanent like iron, whereas the lands subject to state taxes are leftover lands. What does this mean? The so-called lands unaccounted for are those that are neither inundated under the worst kind of flood nor parched even in a year of burning drought; they are also the lands whose crops can be ruined neither by worms nor by frost. If there is land unaccounted for that originally amounted to 1,000 kyŏl, the crop produced from that land is always safe and intact from harm like great mountains,

Taxation

301

no matter how serious a natural disaster may be. Is it not appropriate, then, to call such land “the land of iron”? Since in levying taxes the Defense Border Council designates disaster areas and the governors waive taxes on them and yamen clerks manipulate them for their profits, and in this process 1,000 kyŏl of land evaporate and what is left is only some pieces of barren land that are set aside for the payment of state taxes, they are indeed extra lands, are they not? If yamen clerks make income only from the lands of iron and do not touch leftover lands, the situation will be less desperate. When the day comes to collect taxes, the rice, precious like gold and jade, gathered from the fertile land, which can readily be brought in as soon as the order is issued, all goes into the hands of yamen clerks, and this rice is completely safe from all kinds of taxes, including state taxes, shipping charges, and district taxes, as well as taxes like kyŏllyŏm, sŏngnyŏm, and swaeryŏm, which are paid in rice or unrefined rice or cash. On the other hand, the rice gathered from the land of poor quality goes to the national coffer exactly in the name of the same type of taxes, which are also paid in rice or unrefined rice or cash. Once this rice is collected and brought in, however, not a single grain or coin can come out. Since 1,000 kyŏl of poor-quality land that barely exists are made to take over the tax burden of several thousand kyŏl of lands unaccounted for, the burden of the common people becomes increasingly unbearable. How sad and lamentable! The magistrate, therefore, cannot help investigating extra lands. The Granary Is Open in January, and on the Day When the People Bring in Rice for Their Tax, the Magistrate Should Receive It in Person. In receiving the tax paid in rice it is not necessary to measure the amount of rice too meticulously; it will be advisable to follow the old custom. However, if the magistrate is absent from the scene of collecting the tax, things can go wrong. Lacking order and discipline, both the officials in charge and the people who pay taxes become too relaxed in discharging their duties. The magistrate, then, should first set up the day of his personal supervision on the tenth of the month, and on two occasions, the seventh day of the second lunar month and the fift h day of the third lunar month, he must go out to supervise and encourage the collection of taxes. When the magistrate goes out to inspect the tax collection at the granary, he should take only a horse and two of his personal servants. Even if he makes superintendents and tax officials take charge of law enforcement, and granary slaves and storehouse slaves serve him as his attending slaves, he can fully control the situation, issuing commands. When the magistrate visits the granary, it is usually the granary slaves who have to take care of the food and other expenses of the men and horses that the magistrate brings. If the magistrate, therefore, brings with him a large company, the granary slaves will try to collect taxes from

302

book VI

the common people recklessly to make up for their expenditure. The magistrate should keep this in mind when he visits the granary. These are the rules and regulations concerning the collection of rice fallen on the ground and the surtax paid in rice. Not a single grain of rice should be collected that is not authorized by the law. If the people who come to pay their tax to the granary happen to have extra rice in their bags after their payment, the magistrate should use that extra rice to supplement the tax of the households that were unable to pay their tax and issue receipts to those who donated their rice. On the day of opening the granary the magistrate should admonish the people with warm words as follows: “The grain tax [segok] is different from the grain distributed as a loan [hwangok]. Since lending and collecting the latter depend on me, it will not matter even if there is a little bit of shortage when it is paid back. However, since the grain tax is to be sent to the capital, you have to make sure that there will be no shortage in it. Those who transport it by ship are so avaricious and rapacious that they will cause trouble to our district when they find something wrong with our grain tax. So in collecting the grain tax, what was intended to help the people often brings them trouble instead. Therefore, although the measure of rice is supposed to be exact in its amount, it may require a little extra, and I hope that you will understand the situation.” When the Day of Opening the Granary Is Imminent, the Magistrate Should Post a Public Notice That Strictly Prohibits the Approach of Various Sorts of People Who Are Morally Corrupt. The following should be prohibited from the village where the granary is located: first, wandering entertainers [up’a] (according to the dialect, they are also called sadang); second, prostitutes (old retired prostitutes should also be prohibited); third, women in the tavern [chup’a] (those who sell soju or rice wine); fourth, men of female shamans [hwarang] (according to the dialect, they are also called kwangdae); fift h, musicians (those who play the zither and flute and sing); sixth, clowns (according to the dialect, they are also called ch’orani); seventh, gamblers (those who are engaged in gambling like majo or t’ujŏn); and eighth, slaughterers of livestock. Since these types of people lure travelers with songs, women, wine, and meat, granary runners and boatmen fall into their trap. When eating and drinking are unrestrained, and greed grows worse, granary runners and boatmen will fiercely try to collect taxes from the people in order to make up for what they have lost in their debauchery. That is why dissolute people, as well as immoral activities, should be strictly prohibited. 65. Hwarang here refers to men who accompany female shamans, mostly as their husbands and assistants in musical per formance.

Taxation

303

In his public notice the magistrate should warn the people about the penalty for violating the law: “He who provides accommodation to those mentioned above for overnight stays shall be punished by 30 strokes of beating with a heavy stick and fined 3 tu of rice, which will make up for the taxes of those who died, and those who provide them with one meal shall be punished by 10 strokes of beating with a heavy stick and fined 1 tu of rice. Those among yamen runners who, despite my order, mix with dissolute people shall be punished by 50 strokes of beating with a heavy stick and fined 1 sŏk of rice. Boatmen who join the same group of people against my order shall be punished by 30 strokes of beating with a heavy stick and their captain [tosagong] 20 strokes of beating with a heavy stick. The eight sorts of miscellaneous gangs should also be disbanded and taken into the yamen to be dealt with according to the law.” In the towns where granaries are located, such as Asan, Kahŭng, Sŏngdangp’o, Pŏpsŏngp’o, Kunsanp’o, Yŏngsanp’o, Masanch’ang, Kasanch’ang, and Samnangch’ang, the prohibition should be enforced more strictly. There are also the coastal villages in which boatmen stay for several days, waiting for the wind and fixing their gear. They are no exception to the surveillance and prohibition. Even if the Common People Fail to Pay Their Taxes within the Deadline, to Unleash Yamen Clerks to Collect Them by Force Is to Release Tigers into the Den of Goats. The Magistrate Should Never Give Such an Order. Unleashing yamen clerks and military officers to search out the households of civilians for the purpose of collecting taxes is called kŏmdok. To impoverished people, kŏmdok is like jackals and tigers. How can the magistrate, the head of the people, be that cruel? Unless the magistrate allows wealthy landowners to evade their taxes through their holdings of hidden lands and the arrangement of pangnap payments, he will be able to meet the quotas for taxes on his district, and even if some of the common people fail to pay their taxes, they will eventually discharge their obligation if the magistrate persuades them with kind and gentle words. If the magistrate sends out his men to enforce kŏmdok, it will tell what kind of man he is even if it happens only once. The Magistrate Must Carefully Examine the Statutes Concerning the Loading and Shipping of Grain and Do His Best to Observe Them. Even though sending personal belongings by the ship for transporting grain is prohibited by law, those who violate the law never cease to exist, and because of 66. Kŏmdok literally means superintending and overseeing. However, here it means house-to-house searching to collect taxes. It also means the person who conducts this activity.

304

book VI

this they are either dismissed or imprisoned every year. This happens because of the temptation of making money. On the day when the grain ship departs, one always finds goods like bamboo sticks, wooden mortars, iron cauldrons, sedge mats, and bamboo mats all wrapped with straws and ropes and taken to the pier. Pointing at them, the common people show their contempt because they believe that those goods were stolen from them, and the boatmen, because they are angry, recklessly throw them onto the deck, saying that they are sinful stuff. Therefore, the magistrate should realize that those things are not worthwhile even if they are a pile of gold. When a man of vulgar taste happens to obtain the position of magistrate, the members of his family become excited and ask him to send them anything, even if it is a little shovel in the kitchen. This is indeed a shameful request, is it not? If the magistrate really wants to send such stuff, can he not find a private vessel? If he violates the law, which is dangerous and dreadful, he may lose his whole career because of shipping charges that amount to nothing. In that case the lack of good judgment is too costly. The Tenants Who Cultivate the Tax-Exempt Estates of Princes and Princesses and Military Colonies Are Often Exploited by the Managers of Those Lands. The Magistrate Should Pay Attention to Those People and See That They Are Not Seriously Exploited. The stewards [tojang] and managers [ch’ain] who manage the lands of princes and princesses and military colonies belonging to the agencies in the capital, which are tax-exempt, come down to collect the taxes and send them to Seoul after setting aside a portion for themselves. Sometimes they sell their position for money, and the person who purchases it makes his living with what he collects from the people. In other words, those who exploit the people are many, and those who give in charity and sympathy are few. Those who cultivate the lands of princes and princesses, because they are generally free from corvée ser vices, do not answer the call from their district for corvée ser vices. For this reason, the magistrate usually does not pay much attention to whether they are doing better or worse. However, the magistrate must realize that they are also his people, whom he has to take care of. He should find a way to look into their situation, and if he discovers stewards or managers who try to exploit the people excessively, he should summon them and make them stop what they are doing by either persuading them with reasonable words or punishing them. The villages with the lands of princes and princesses and military colonies either prosper or perish depending on individual circumstances. The prosperous ones are usually dens of evading corvée labor. Although these lands are officially granted tax-exempt status from corvée labor, there must also be a certain limit and discipline on them. Since there is no lack of manpower even if 1 kyŏl of the

Taxation

305

lands of princes and princesses and military colonies is cultivated by two households, the magistrate should calculate the number of households needed to cultivate those lands and investigate the households recently registered as their new cultivators so that the burden of corvée labor can be distributed more evenly. Some of the lands among the estates of princes and princesses are exempt from land taxes. Nevertheless, taxes are also levied on them, and they are 700 taels per 100 kyŏl. When the district government collects them and submits them to the Board of Taxation, the Board of Taxation in turn pays them to the princes and princesses who own the lands. This is like collecting 7 taels per kyŏl, but taking advantage of this practice, greedy magistrates and craft y yamen clerks play tricks. In the worst year of crop failure 1 kyŏl of the land under the arrangement of yangho and panggyŏl payments is levied 40 tu of white rice, which costs 40 taels because 1 tu of rice costs 1 tael. If there are 100 kyŏl of tax-exempt lands, they also collect taxes from them just as they do from the lands related to yangho and panggyŏl payments, and the collected taxes amount to 4,000 taels. Then the magistrate and the yamen clerks pay 700 taels to the Board of Taxation and divide the remaining 3,300 taels among themselves. Is this not tyranny? All the pangnap payments of taxes handled by yamen clerks always depend on a secret den or source. If there are 100 kyŏl of tax-exempt lands belonging to the royal family, they make it a den of their manipulation for 1,000 kyŏl of land. Since Kyŏnggi Province has no par ticular den of trickery like that, the estates of the royal family become the main source of their manipulation. When the magistrate encounters a case like this, he should make a separate register in which he records the details on the acreage of the lands, as well as their ownership, and use it as a reference whenever he examines the transaction of pangnap payments. If he cannot find a name on the register of the tax-exempt lands of royalty, it indicates that the piece of land with no name belongs to the yamen clerks’ private pangnap payments. So the magistrate should not allow a little basket of rotten fish to contaminate the air with its foul smell. Since the Custom of the Southern Region and That of the Northern Region Are Different from Each Other, Either Landowners or Tenants Pay for Grain Seeds and Pay the Taxes. The Magistrate Should Only Observe the Custom So That There Will Be No Complaint from the People. On the day when they harvest rice, the landlords and tenants in Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng provinces equally divide the rice on the spot where they thresh it. Hence the landlords have little to lose. The people in the southern region, on the other hand, first gather the rice crop and spread it on the paddy fields for a couple of days to dry it in the wind. Next, they move the sheaves of rice to the houses of tenants and make a large pile, and choosing one of the days in the winter, they

306

book VI

thresh the rice, using tools made of bamboo and iron, and fi nally divide it between the landlords and tenants. Hence the landlords cannot observe what their tenants are doing with their share of the harvest, and the situation they are in is therefore different from that of their counterparts in the north. In the north, landlords pay for rice seeds and also pay land taxes, and in the south both kinds of payments are made by tenants, and the reason has to do with the difference in the method of harvesting the rice. Besides, in the north the straws are equally divided between landlords and tenants; however, in the south the tenants take them all. Because of this, the landlords and tenants divide the payments for rice seeds and land taxes in the way mentioned above. However, in a year of poor harvest and famine, if the tenants take the whole harvest and do not pay for the rice seeds and land taxes, the landlords themselves, under pressure from the government, are supposed to pay the taxes on behalf of their tenants. If the landlords live far away from their lands, they cannot not collect even 1 tu of rice from their tenants but must still pay their taxes to the government. This is the main reason that prosperous people go bankrupt during a year of poor harvest. There is another difference in the customs of the southern and northern regions. The people in the north pay the tax out of their current harvest, but their counterparts in the south do not. For instance, if a tenant named Changsam stops cultivating the land after consuming the rice that he earned this year, a new tenant of the following year named Isa should place his name in advance on the register of tenants that is made during the winter and at the same time pay the tax that his predecessor owes to the government; then he is able to cultivate the land in the following year. This system is obviously unreasonable. When I asked how this system was established, one of the tenants replied that since he had already paid his tax in advance before he started cultivating the land, he did not have to pay the tax in the year in which he ceased cultivating the land. Although what he said sounded reasonable, the custom itself is undeniably problematic. Suppose that the price of rice, being very cheap, was only 20 maces per tu when a tenant started cultivating the land, but happened to rise to 100 maces by the year when he quit cultivating the land. Would it be right to give up the land after consuming what he reaped from the land but not to pay his tax at all? Hwanghae, P’yŏngan, and Kangwŏn Provinces and the Northern Part of Kyŏnggi Province Originally Had No Ordinary Land Administration That Is Found in Other Regions. What the Magistrate Can Do, Therefore, Is Only to Follow the Customs Unique to These Regions after Examining the Land Register. The northern regions of Kyŏnggi and Hwanghae provinces have no original system that grants individuals a reduction of land taxes during a natural

Taxation

307

disaster. They have no regular inspecting clerks in subdistricts and do not send out officials in the autumn to check the harvest for the collection of taxes. They appoint men of experience from the village residents and have them divide and distribute the land taxes to their fellow villagers on the basis of the quota fi xed by the government. In a year of poor harvest they make a request to the magistrate for a reduction of their taxes. Th is is also a fi ne system. When I visited Sangnyŏng in the north as secret royal inspector, I found that the tax system was like that, and when I served as magistrate of Koksan, I also found that the tax system of my district was just the same. So I speculate that the tax systems of the provinces like Kangwŏn, P’yŏngan and Hamgyŏng will be much the same. Having spent eighteen years in exile in the south, I finally learned about the irregularities of yamen clerks and the unspeakable sufferings of common people. Even when the governor secures 20,000–30,000 kyŏl of disaster-declared lands from the central government, this benefit hardly reaches the poor. If the lands designated for disaster and tax relief are 10,000 kyŏl, 8,000 goes to yamen clerks, 1,000 goes to the magistrate, and the rest goes to the people, but it usually does not exceed 1,000 kyŏl. Thus the national revenue is wasted for nothing because it provides little benefit to the people. Half the country has already adopted a fine system of law that can enrich the national revenue and reduce the suffering of the people. Why can it not be extended to the rest of the country? A state councilor who is not experienced in practical administration argues that changing the current system will deprive yamen clerks of their livelihood. However, he does not realize that yamen clerks are still surviving even though half the country follows the different system of the law. Some others may also say, “The law can be applied to mountainous regions with dry fields, but not to provinces with paddy fields.” However, they are ignorant of the fact that in Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang provinces a tax law similar to the one in the northern regions is already used with no problem. The land taxes related to post stations and government-run ranches are now collected on the basis of the quota system, as in the north. Why is it impossible to extend this system to regions with paddy fields? Unless the tax law is changed, the government revenue will decline, the people will be impoverished, and only yamen clerks will prosper. The yamen clerks in the south are so arrogant, extravagant, and impudent that they often lose their career during their lifetime and fail to make their children carry on their hereditary office. Their counterparts in the north, on the other hand, hold on to their employment much longer. So the prosperity of the yamen clerks in the south is ultimately a disaster for themselves.

308

book VI

In short, the best thing in improving land administration is to restore the well-field-with-nine-tribute system [chŏngjŏn kuilbŏp], and if that is not possible, the second-best is to enforce the tax system that is practiced in the northwest region. The Taxes for the Slash-and-Burn Fields Should Be Levied on the Basis of the Provincial Quota System [Pich’ong], as Well as Customs. However, in the Case of Severe Famine and Devastated Villages, They Should Be Reduced Moderately. The code of law [Comprehensive National Code] stipulates, “The slash-and-burn fields belong to the sixth grade of land.” It also stipulates, “One kyŏl of slash-andburn field measures 25 ilgyŏng.” This so-called 1 kyŏl of slash-and-burn field sometimes extends on a high mountain or is located on a plain like regular fields. According to the old custom, the fields on the high mountain are usually levied 100 tu of millet; those on the plain, 8 tu of millet; and the lands where slash-and burn farmers always come and go, 4 tu of millet. This custom has been fi xed as the law, but it is not alike in all provinces and districts. Years ago I had a chance to see the slash-and-burn fields in mountainous districts and found that they were scattered on the steep slopes in fragments, so it was difficult to levy land taxes on these lands. The size of this type of land could not be calculated by the kyŏngmu system or the attached kyŏlbu system nor measured by the turak or ilgyŏng systems. When I asked the cultivators of those lands, they replied, “Traditionally, a certain amount of taxes is levied on the residents of our district. This is divided among the residents, and each pays his own share of tax.” 67. The well-field-with-nine-tribute system (chŏngjŏn kuilbŏp) is an ancient land system of the Zhou dynasty in China. The Chinese character for well (஬, jing) represents the orga nized appearance of dry or paddy fields. “Eight families occupied each plot, communally working on the central section to provide for their overlord and separately working the eight surrounding sections for themselves” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, p. 7). 68. The provincial quota system (pich’ong) was a tax system newly instituted in 1760, in the thirty-sixth year of King Yŏngjo. During disaster years taxes had been decided on the basis of the report of the governor, as well as that of the inspector dispatched by the Board of Taxation. The new system, however, eliminated the report of the inspector in the procedure of determining taxes and used the governor’s report on agriculture as the sole reference for fi xing the quota of land taxes. The central government reviewed the governor’s reports that were submitted over the years and determined the taxes of the disaster year. 69. Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn [Comprehensive National Code], “Hojŏn” [Laws on Taxation], 200. 70. Kyŏngmu is the combined form of the words kyŏng and mu, which are land area units. One mu is approximately one-sixth of an English acre (Hucker, p. 7), and 1 kyŏng (Ch. qing) is 100 mu. 71. Kyŏlbu is the combined form of the words kyŏl and bu (pu). It indicates the system of land measurement using the kyŏl and bu (1/100 kyŏl). Kyŏl is “a constant measure of crop yield produced by an area that varied from 2.2 to 9.0 acres depending on the fertility of the land” (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 1169).

Taxation

309

The lands on the official record are registered in measurements of kyŏl and pu. However, on the private records of the villages they are shown only as x numbers of sŏk and tu, and when the tax is actually paid to the government, it is all paid in cash, not in grain. Since the creation of the world there has been no one who knows how to measure these lands correctly for tax purposes. Since the law is like this, the magistrate should only levy taxes on the basis of the quota fi xed by the government, following the old custom. Good or bad harvests of the slash-and-burn fields depend on the prosperity or decline of the households. If there are no cultivators although there is no lack of land, the harvest from the land decreases. If the magistrate examines the census registers of the ruined villages for the last thirty years and the villages that used to have one hundred households but now have only thirty households, he can see that the residents of those villages have declined and deserted. So the magistrate must persist in his efforts to reduce taxes and induce the people to return to their old village. The reason that the magistrate is reluctant to reduce the taxes on slash-andburn fields permanently is that he fears that his successors may complain, although he knows that the benefit of a permanent tax reduction to the people is much greater than that of temporary relief. How sad! Should this be the way in which the magistrate treats his successors? Even a man like me, who am incompetent and mediocre, desires to provide the people with benefits and relief if it is possible. What makes the magistrate expect that his successors will think differently? A thing that a hundred people desire can overpower the complaint of one person. Why should the magistrate be reluctant to do what he wants to? C H A P T E R  : G R A I N A DM I N I S T R AT ION I

State-Sponsored Grain Loans [Hwansang] Have Evolved from Village Granaries [Sach’ang]. They Are Not Exactly the Grain-Lending System Called Chojŏk, Which Is Lending Grain in the Spring and Collecting It in the Autumn Because They Have Caused Abuses of the Worst Kind to the People, Bringing Them Misery and Increasingly Throwing the Country into a Serious Crisis. There was also a grain-lending system called chojŏk in Paekche, which imitated those of the Han and Wei dynasties. In Koguryŏ, King Kogukch’ŏn for the first time established a grain-lending system, which loaned grain in the spring and collected it in the winter. In the early Koryŏ period village granaries called 72. Hwansang is also called hwanja or hwangok. 73. Th is chapter begins by reviewing the grain-lending system in China from the Zhou dynasty to the time of the Song dynasty, during which Wang Anshi’s reform, the Green Sprout Act, was introduced.

310

book VI

ich’ang were established for the first time; later they were renamed righteous granaries [ŭich’ang] in the time of King Sŏngjong and continued to exist that way even in the early days of our dynasty [Chosŏn]. Although this system at first imitated that of village granaries [sach’ang], it gradually turned into a public treasury and finally the current grain-lending system. Since the original purpose of this system was to supply the people with provisions, on the one hand, and to raise funds to cover government expenditures, on the other, how could a law with this intent treat the people with ruthlessness and cruelty? Nowadays, however, when abuses have piled one on another, and disorders and confusions, which look like the clouds and mist that constantly change and shift, or the waves and sand on the shore that ceaselessly move and slide, have caused continuing deterioration, the situation has become too complicated to find a remedy. What is used for government expenditures out of the income from grain lending is one out of ten; what is manipulated by various yamens for their share of the profits is two out of ten; what is exploited by the clerks of districts and subdistricts through selling and merchandising is seven out of ten. Even though the common people do not touch a grain of rice, the rice and millet that they are required to submit to the government amount to 1,000 or 10,000 sŏk every year. How, then, can this be called a relief loan? It is nothing other than exaction of taxes. Nay, it is not exaction; it is robbery. The magistrate in his youth enjoys himself, studying poetry and practicing archery. He cools himself with a fan on which a phrase about heroes like Xiang Yu and Liu Bang was written, or he enjoys betting a sum of money on gambling like majo and kangp’ae, assuming airs of gallantry. He who feels superior to that kind of man believes that mastering the principles of the diagram of the supreme polarity and the arguments over the numbers in the Diagram of the Yellow River and Signs on the Back of the Turtle [Hetuluoshu], as well as the primary elements like i and ki [Ch. li and qi] and human nature, is the consummate accomplishment that a scholar should attain, but he never tries to learn about or 74. Xiang Yu (232–202 B.C.) was a general who rose against the Qin dynasty along with his rival Liu Bang. Born of a noble family and endowed with enormous physical strength and a heroic temper, he led a successful campaign against the declining Qin dynasty until he was defeated by his adversary Liu Bang. 75. Also called Duke of Pei, Liu Bang (256–195 B.C.) was the founder of the Han dynasty. Born of a peasant, he became the leader of the insurrection against the Qin dynasty and fi nally became the founding emperor (Han Gaozo) after defeating his rival Xiang Yu. 76. According to a Chinese legend, hetu indicates the diagram engraved on the side of the dragon horse that rose from the Yellow River; luoshu are the signs on the back of the turtle that was also found in the Yellow River. It was known that these diagrams and signs became the origin of the Book of Changes, a Chinese classic of divination.

Taxation

311

practice land administration, tax law, and the bookkeeping of the granary. Despite his lack of practical knowledge, however, he is suddenly appointed magistrate and has to deal with a gang of craft y and scheming clerks. The government says to him, “You should watch out for the trickery of these people.” Does this make any sense? The scholar-officials of the present time who discuss the abuses of the grainlending system only make a comment that sounds like this: “When in the autumn the government collects rice from the people, it takes only the rice of fine quality with an extra amount on top of the measuring utensil. When it lends rice, however, it gives out rice of poor quality; moreover, the amount of rice in the measuring utensil is often less than adequate. This practice is the cause of serious grievances of the common people.” When they talk about the theft of rice, they simply tend to think that some of the yamen clerks steal it during the night, carrying the rice on their backs to their houses. That is the reason, they believe, that the magistrates secretly watch over the granary. How ignorant and hopeless they are! Although the yamen clerks of the three southern provinces are the most cunning among their peers in all eight provinces, and the current situation is unprecedented in atrocity, none of the magistrates truly understands the intensity of the people’s sufferings. They are required to pay back 10 sŏk of rice each year even though they never borrowed a grain of rice from the government. Th is is really outrageous. It is a miracle if the people can survive. The Reason That the State-Sponsored Grain Loans Are Liable to Abuses Lies in the Fact That the Foundation of the Law Is in Disorder. Since the Foundation Is Already Flawed, How Can the Structure Built on It Be Sound and Safe? What does it mean that the foundation is in disorder? The disorder can be found in the following: first, the designation of the grain loan; second, the disorder in the yamen in charge; third, the number of sŏk; fourth, the collection of interest on the grain loan; fift h, the apportionment of the grain loan; sixth, the distribution and stockpiling of the grain; seventh, trading and manipulating the grain for personal gain; and eighth, deferring the payment of the loan. These eight disorders are the main trunk of abuses, and out of this trunk a thousand or ten thousand abuses branch out that are impossible to enumerate. Zhao Nanxing in Discourse on the Granary [Shecangyi] stated as follows: “Collecting ten after distributing six is called ‘adding four’ [jiasi], but can the collection be limited to only four? The people, who are naïve and helpless, hardly see the grain because the clerk removes their names from the register after 77. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Mengbai, and his posthumous title Zhongyi. He served as minister of personnel.

312

book VI

collecting grain. Besides this, the evils and malpractices that they have to suffer are too severe and incomprehensible. The Buddhists often talk about the hell of incessant suffering, which indicates that there are numerous hells within hells. The granary system in our time is such a hell. People are granted seven while they pay ten; they receive husks instead of husked grain and sometimes not even the husks of grain because even the husks are not available for them. Th is is why the people become impoverished. Furthermore, in carry ing out the law, expenses for food and drink, as well as travel and accommodations, are unavoidable and became a burden on the people. Ah, who made this kind of law? Is the legislator of this law cunning or foolish? Certainly he will be one or the other.” Since the Governor Opens the Way to Trafficking in Grain for Personal Gain, It Is No Surprise That the Magistrates Violate the Law. The governor orders the districts in his domain to make a report on the prices of commodities on a monthly basis. Having detailed information on the price of grain, he plays the role of a merchant, buying and selling grain for profit. For instance, if 1 sŏk of unprocessed rice in district A costs 7 maces, and 1 tael and 4 maces in district B, the governor takes 2,000 sŏk of unprocessed rice from district B and sells it, grossing 2,800 taels. He takes half of this money [1,400 taels] for himself and with the rest of the money again buys 2,000 sŏk of unprocessed rice from district A. This [method of buying and selling grain for profit] is socalled trading for personal gain [imu], and this is so-called making up for deficiency [ipbon], and this is so-called ambulatory grain [posok]. So the governor acts like a merchant, exploiting the people and damaging the country, even though he is not ill paid by the government. What more can you say? He knows no satisfaction while he makes 100,000 or 1 million kwan of gold every year. Since he collects money at a higher rate from the districts that release rice and releases money at a lower rate to the districts that purchase rice, how can the damage to the people be stopped? The magistrate who makes a report on the price of commodities watches the way of the governor, trying to ingratiate himself with the governor. Thus the magistrate of the district that releases the grain raises the price higher than the actual price, and the magistrate of the district that purchases the grain lowers the price below the actual price. Once a district reports a price that pleases the governor, neighboring districts make haste to adjust the price to the figure that is most acceptable to the governor after their reports are rejected with a reprimand. How can the damage to the people be stopped? This is what I witnessed when I was secret royal inspector. I found that the reports on the prices of commodities were all different according to the districts. However, the highest one was eventually adopted by all districts, and this is an indication of the present malady.

Taxation

313

Since the Magistrate Makes a Fortune through Trickery, One Can Imagine the Extent of Trickery Committed by Yamen Clerks. There are a number of ways for the magistrate to make a fortune through trickery. To mention only a few that are against the law, there are as many as six ways: first, pŏnjil; second, kabun; third, hŏryu; fourth, ipbon; fift h, chŭnggo; and sixth, kajip. What is pŏnjil? Collecting the grain loan is usually done in winter, which is the end of the year. So the magistrate makes an official report to the governor on the status of collecting the loan. However, the magistrate’s report is in fact false because he simply pretends that he made the loan. When spring arrives, the magistrate makes another false report to the governor, pretending that he released the grain to the people, which he in fact did not do. This is so-called pŏnjil, also called wahwan [keeping the grain lying down]. In P’yŏngan and Hwanghae provinces they collect 1 tael for 1 sŏk of wahwanmi (usually millet), following the local custom. The wahwanmi, which is also called wahwan loan [wahwanch’ae], goes into the pockets of either the magistrate or yamen clerks. In Hwangju the magistrate and the military commander take this grain for granted. (The three provinces in the south have no custom like this.) What is kabun? It is releasing the grain that should be preserved for emergencies. According to the law, he who commits kabun, emptying the granary, is to be punished by banishment for life, and he who releases only half of the emergency grain is subject to three years of penal servitude, and one whose crime is less serious is only deprived of his post. (This is in the code of taxation.) The reason that officials keep on violating the law despite its clear prohibition of this crime is that they are tempted by personal interests. If the magistrate under an extreme circumstance releases the emergency grain with the approval of the governor, especially when the people are starving, the measure taken by the magistrate can be passed over with generosity. However, if the secret royal inspector happens to find that later, the magistrate cannot avoid punishment for violating the law [even if he releases the grain with the approval of the governor during a famine]. Hence, for one who is afraid of the law, it is not worth trying. Since in recent years there has been hardly any grain in the provincial granary that has not been released to make a profit, there is no way to prevent the dirty water in the upper stream from affecting the water down below. What is hŏryu? When the magistrate takes over the post from his predecessor, the records he receives are likely to be fraudulent in most cases because his predecessor has condoned the irregularities of yamen clerks and omitted them in the records transferred to his successor. The new magistrate, who is ignorant or negligent, does not know how the bookkeeping is done or how the clerks manipulate the grain for their personal gain. In the regular reports submitted to the

314

book VI

provincial yamen each season there is always a certain amount of emergency grain, but when the warehouse is examined, there is nothing in it. Even if it happens that the Border Defense Council or the officials of the provincial yamen uncover the irregularities, they overlook them after taking bribes, and this practice has become too common and chronic. If one examines the grain registers of the local districts, he will find that virtually all of them are fictitious. If he launches a thorough investigation of those records as if he were combing, seven or eight out of ten districts will turn out to have forged their official documents. How lamentable and disastrous this is for the country! According to the law, those who make false records are subject to three years of penal servitude and banishment or are barred from public office for five years. (The offender is not punished only when the amount of grain in the false record does not exceed 10 sŏk.) Those who hide the irregularities of their predecessors, or magistrates who are concurrently in charge of a neighboring district on a temporary basis and has approved documents in violation of the law, are subject to the punishment of penal servitude and banishment and furthermore are excluded from the benefit of amnesty. The reason that magistrates continue to violate the law despite its existence is that the law has not been enforced from the beginning. In recent years there have been many magistrates who have uncovered the corruptions of yamen clerks but have condoned their crimes after taking bribes. What is the remedy? What is ipbon? It happens that during the autumn the magistrate makes profits using the capital he has at hand, and in the spring he lends the money and later retrieves it with interest. He handles barley in the same way, and this kind of manipulation is called cooking the market [yop’an]. In the autumn, when he gathers the loans, suppose that year A had a poor harvest and the current price for 1 sŏk of unprocessed rice for repayment is 2 taels; the magistrate allows the people to pay back loans in currency, and the people also like this. In the spring of year B, when the people are starving and experience difficulties, the magistrate’s yamen places a public notice: “If you have a good harvest this autumn, 1 sŏk of rice will be no more than 1 tael. You can take the money you need from the government and pay it back with grain in the autumn.” The people naturally like this idea. While this happens, the magistrate makes 1 tael of profit for each sŏk of loaned grain, and if he invested 1,000 sŏk, he will make 1,000 taels of profit. This is called ipbon. Even though what the government gains is only 1 tael, what the people lose is 2 taels. Why is this? If in year A the price of rice is 2 taels, it always goes up to 3 taels in the spring of year B. Since the people receive only 1 tael when the price of rice is 3 taels, did they not lose 2 taels? Even though they certainly lost 2 taels, the people in the autumn willingly 78. In this case, three years of penal servitude and five years of exile.

Taxation

315

pay back what they borrowed and in the spring again willingly borrow the money. How pathetic the people are! What is chŭnggo? The governor orders a certain district to convert 2,000 sŏk of rice into cash according to the standard exchange rate [sangjŏngnye]. When 1 sŏk of rice is priced at 3 taels and 1 sŏk of unprocessed rice is priced at 1 tael and 2 chŏn according to the standard exchange rate, and the current price of rice is 5 taels for 1 sŏk of rice and 2 taels for 1 sŏk of unprocessed rice, the magistrate collects from the people according to the current price and submits the money to the governor according to the standard exchange rate so that he can pocket the difference. (If he steals 2 taels for each sŏk of rice, he can make 4,000 taels out of 2,000 sŏk of rice.) This is called chŭnggo. However, it is hard to find a governor who converts the grain into cash according to the standard exchange rate. If the governor steals the profit by converting the grain according to the current price, the magistrate has no chance to touch that money. Only when the current price is low do they follow the standard exchange rate. What is kajip? Even though the governor allowed the aforesaid district to convert only 2,000 sŏk of rice into cash, the magistrate of that district converts 4,000 sŏk of rice into cash, adding another 2,000 sŏk of rice. Thus, having already stolen the difference through the standard exchange rate, the magistrate again makes a fortune by lending an additional 2,000 sŏk of rice to the people. In the spring he lends 1 tael and in the autumn he collects 3 taels, making a profit of 2 taels for each sŏk of rice. Therefore, if he converts another 2,000 sŏk of rice, the profit he makes amounts to 4,000 taels. In 1798 King Chŏngjo held an interview with the scholars from the Honam region and asked them about the abuses of grain lending. The king stated as follows: “What was intended to benefit the country turns out to trouble the country, and what was supposed to nurture the people results in harming the people. The grain collected in the lowland counties near the sea somehow, although it lacks feet, manages to make it far uphill to the district capital, where it is stacked up. The unprocessed rice collected last year still remains untouched, but the local governments demand refined rice from the people. “Although the law prohibits the practice of levying tax on the family when an individual failed to pay his tax [chokjing], the government punishes not only the family but also his neighbors [injing]. The law also prohibits the practice of forcing the people to borrow grain for the sake of making a profit [ŏkbae]; nevertheless, the officials not only assign the grain to the people who do not want to borrow it but also collect it, charging extremely high interest rates and fees. Once an order is sent down to convert the district’s grain reserve into cash, there are always those who try to make a fortune on the pretext of discharging the official order, and once the disaster relief is carried out, there are many who practice trickery and fraud. In an extreme case, the governor and the magistrate do not know about the unprocessed rice that is

316

book VI

hoarded secretly, and the grain that comes in and out is all accounted for with figures that are partly true and partly false. Both to provide the people with grain and to meet the expenditures of the local yamen, they first use the grain in the warehouse by manipulating the figure and collect twice as much after the harvest. Using the current price, they collect grain to be shipped [chomi] and cash surtax on land [kyŏlchŏn], and, falsifying the documents on the collected taxes, they pass the winter. As time passes, the original terms used to designate this grain and those taxes change, and in the process of copying the documents, yamen clerks secretly play tricks in the documents when they are in danger of being discovered after stealing the grain in the granary. Thus the yamen clerks exploit the people to save themselves, and the living conditions of the people become increasingly unbearable day by day. “The rice loaded on the ship is difficult to divide and preserve, and military provisions in mountain fortresses are risky to transport and maintain. Because a state granary, as the case of Narip’o shows, often moves from one place to another, the changes in government policy are too frequent. Is it then good or bad to abolish the state granaries to save the people once again? Whereas the grain reserve of the provinces increases, that of the Three Offices [Samsa] decreases, which has made the abuses of using up all the grain reserve [chinbun] chronic. Even though the official supply is accumulated, the local governments are relying more on making their revenues through grain lending. Therefore, the damage from the practice of continuing to collect taxes in accordance with the precedents [inbong] is utterly critical. What will be the remedy to solve all these problems?” When the Water in the Upper Stream Is Muddy, the Water Downstream Cannot Be Expected to Be Clear. Since the Yamen Clerks, Shrewd like Spirits, Employ Every Conceivable Trick, the Magistrate Fails to Detect the Problems. The tricks that yamen clerks employ are too many to enumerate, but they can be classified into approximately twelve kinds: first, pŏnjil; second, ipbon; third, kajip; fourth, amnyu; fi ft h, panbaek; sixth, punsŏk; seventh, chipsin; eighth, t’anjŏng; ninth, sejŏn; tenth, yohap; eleventh, sahon; and twelft h, ch’aerŭk. These numerous abuses indicate that public affairs are all subject to the tip of the brush in the hands of yamen clerks or a bead of an abacus moving in their fingers. Since what goes on behind the scenes is constantly changing like clouds and mist or shifting like waves and sand on the shore, neither will Gong Sui and Huang Ba be 79. Originally established on the border between Kongju and Yŏngi of South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province in 1720, Narip’o was relocated to Naju of South Chŏlla Province in 1722 and once again to Imp’i in North Chŏlla Province in 1724.

Taxation

317

able to detect their wrongs, nor will Yang Yan and Liu Yan be able to rule those people competently. Pŏnjil [making a false report on the status of releasing and collecting grain] occurs when yamen clerks steal what remains uncollected at the time of repaying grain loans in the winter. Notwithstanding that poor people’s pots and jars containing rice are all empty and there is not even a handful of rice uncollected for taxes, why does pŏnjil take place? In October, when the state granary is opened, what the yamen clerks have embezzled still remains hidden. Then the chief yamen clerk speaks to the magistrate as follows: “So-and-so clerk has no place to raise 500 sŏk of rice at the moment. If you decide to expose him now, he will not be able to avoid punishment. What Your Honor should do, then, is first to submit a report to the provincial yamen for the time being and later discuss the ways of collecting the rice; everything will turn out all right.” The magistrate follows this advice, thinking that the man’s words are trustworthy, and this is why pŏnjil is repeated every year. Ipbon [making money through loans to the people] usually works this way. When a yamen clerk is about to do ipbon, he first tries to seduce the magistrate into his scheme. The magistrate listens to the words of the clerk, who prostrates himself under the window and whispers in secret. Impressed and persuaded, the magistrate follows the advice of the clerk, and once the magistrate shows a sign of trust, the clerk withdraws and becomes immediately the man in charge of the granary. Amnyu is keeping the grain that is to be distributed to the people for a personal purpose. When there is a sign that the price of grain is rising, the magistrate and the clerks conspire and hold back the grain that is supposed to save the people in difficulty until the price of grain goes up and a profit can be made out of it. When the price of grain goes down, yamen clerks and common people conspire not to distribute the grain to the people, and instead they purchase rice at a low price to make a profit in the future. However, the clerks falsely report to their superior that they distributed the grain to the people. This is called amnyu. After the distribution of grain is over, the magistrate inspects the granary in person and discovers that a great deal of grain still remains inside the granary. Being suspicious, he asks a clerk why the grain is still in the granary. The clerk replies, “It is rice fallen out on the ground [saengnangmi] to make up for the deficiency of the rice kept in storage, and it is kept here in the granary.” The magistrate often

80. A chancellor of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Dezong (742–805). His courtesy name was Gongnan. He was credited for reforming the tax system. 81. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Shi’an. He briefly served as chancellor during the reign of Daizong (727–779), introducing reforms in the Tang salt monopoly and food transportation systems. However, after being falsely accused by Chancellor Yang Yan during the reign of Dezong, he was executed.

318

book VI

trusts these words, but this is a serious mistake. Years ago it happened that a magistrate in a western province found rice in the granary. When he became suspicious and asked about the rice, the answer that the clerk gave was much the same as the one above. The magistrate said, “That is a lie. The rice is clearly suspect.” Later he ordered the rice to be turned over to the treasury of the government. The rice was there because of the avarice of the clerks; it cannot be said that the clerks were ignorant of it. Panbaek is a practice that is the most unfair in the world. It indicates a way of exploitation in which the clerks steal half a sŏk of rice from the people with no justification, and the people submit half a sŏk of rice to the clerks for no reason. When the time comes to distribute the grain to the people, yamen clerks with power and property summon a leader of the village and try to lure him with these words: “The grain assigned to your village is 40 sŏk, but since it is mixed with chaff and blasted ears, it will be no more than 20 sŏk if it is processed. Besides, there will be travel expenses for two days in transporting it, plus the extra charges that will amount to several mal of rice for potential loss of grain in keeping it in the granary. So what can you gain even if you take it? I happen to have a good idea. Would you take my advice?” The village head replies, “What is it? I will follow your advice.” The yamen clerk says, “Since I am faced with the springtime hardship period at the moment, how can I escape this without a little loss? If you let me have the grain of your share, which is 40 sŏk of rice, I will use it, and when the time comes to pay for it in the fall, you will pay only 20 sŏk and I will pay the rest, which is another 20 sŏk. Considering all kinds of extra charges such as kansaengmi, nakjŏngmi, mogok, and t’asŏmmi [extra rice resulting from measuring rice], which you have to pay, my share of the payment will actually be more than half the total.” The village head will say, “That sounds fine. How can I dare not follow your advice?” Once the contract [kwŏn’gye] is drawn up and the village head leaves, the yamen clerk calls in another village head and again seduces him to sign an agreement of the same kind. If he makes an agreement with ten villages in this way, he will earn 400 sŏk of rice for nothing. Then the yamen clerk opens the door of the granary and takes for himself 200 sŏk of rice of excellent quality and keeps the remaining half of the rice as it is, which is relatively inferior in quality. In the autumn, when he opens the door of the granary to collect the grain from the people, he prepares just over 10 sŏk of rice and mixes them with chaff and empty heads of rice until they become 40 sŏk. Then he brings them into the granary under the pretext of mojo [an extra charge for the potential loss in the 400 sŏk of rice]. On the other hand, the people of the ten villages bring 200 sŏk of rice to the 82. Kansaengmi, nakjŏngmi, and mogok are basically surcharges in collecting the grain loaned to the people.

Taxation

319

granary even though they did not see even the husks of rice that they allegedly borrowed. The yamen clerk distributes receipts to the people for the 440 sŏk of rice, and the people feel grateful and say, “Your Honor never fails in your promise. We are hopeful that you will allow us the same favor next year.” This is called panbaek. There are five or six among the yamen clerks who practice this trick, and one person embezzles usually 400 or 500 sŏk of rice, and in the worst case, as many as 600 or 700. It is less than ten years since this way of exploiting people arose. It was practiced in a few villages at first but now has spread throughout the whole province. Alas! Although the situation has deteriorated to this extremity, grand councilors and governors just stand and watch, taking no action to rectify the wrongs. What should we do? Punsŏk [increasing the quantity of rice by adding chaff and empty ears] is a practice handed down from olden times. When I started my life of exile in Kangjin, I made my quarters at one of the inns in the district capital. One day I found the mistress of the inn gathering the chaff and empty ears of rice separately in one place. When I asked her about the use of that stuff, she replied, “The clerks working in the granary pay for it in advance and take it away. As to where they use this stuff, do I really need to explain?” As she made this remark she giggled and finally laughed aloud. Also, when I was at Tasan, I heard that a brother of a granary official was running around the villages to buy hundreds of sŏm of chaff and empty ears of rice for food for his pigs, but he in fact intended to use it for punsŏk. On the day when a yamen clerk collects the grain from the people, he takes well-refined rice and stores it in the granary. During the night, however, he enters the granary and mixes the chaff and empty ears of rice with the rice that he took during the day. Thus he inflates 1 sŏk of rice into 2, or 3 to 4 in a much worse case, and makes up for the fi xed amount of rice in stock [by adding chaff and empty ears], and after that he takes the rice of fine quality to his home. This is called punsŏk. However, thieves who operate on a large scale take the rice directly without doing punsŏk and even laugh at the ones who try punsŏk, calling them petty thieves. What is chipsin? Pŏnjil, ipbon, kajip, and amnyu indicate distributing old grain instead of new. The old grain is often rotten and empty, but the grain that yamen clerks take in is all new. When they substitute old grain for new grain, the people complain and resent what the yamen clerks do, but their voice fails to reach the ears of their magistrate. On the day when the grain is distributed to the people, therefore, the magistrate should order the yamen clerks to prepare a draft of the report submitted to the superior office, which states the total amount of grain, as well as the ratio of 83. Sŏm is a colloquial term for sŏk.

320

book VI

the old and new grain to be distributed to the people. Then he orders the granary clerk to bring out the old grain first and has his servant [sino] stand right next to the door of the granary with a tiny tray [kugi] in his left hand and an inspection rod [saekdae] in his right hand. Every time a peasant carries out a bag of grain on his shoulder, the servant thrusts an inspection rod into the bag and pours out a sample of grain into the tray that he is holding. If the new grain is mixed with the old, he makes the peasant carry the bag back into the granary. The servant continues to sample the grain in this way, and if the amount of the old grain reaches the amount of grain fi xed by the law, he has this grain piled in the yard separately. Then the magistrate orders the granary clerk to bring out the new grain and tells the slave to continue to check the quality of the rice with an inspection rod and a kugi in the same way he did before. If the new grain in the yard reaches the amount fi xed by the law, the magistrate orders it to be piled in the yard separately and at the same time commands the servant to submit the samples of grain. If the samples of the new grain are mixed with the old, the magistrate must punish the servant right away. If the magistrate keeps a close watch on the practice of exchanging grain in this way right on the spot, it will not happen that the rotten grain of yamen clerks is distributed to the common people. I used this method when I was in Koksan [as the magistrate], and it happened that a powerful local yamen clerk named Yi Kapp’aeng was unable to distribute 500 sŏk of stale beans that he kept in the northern granary. Every time he tried to distribute them to the people, he was prevented and had to carry them back into the granary. After he failed to distribute them for three years, the beans eventually became good for nothing but fertilizer and were dumped into the soil. T’anjŏng [taking away the benefit granted to the people in the year of a poor harvest] is extremely unfair to the people. Every time there is a disastrous harvest, the government grants postponement of tax payments [chŏngt’oe], but the decree usually comes down to the districts at the end of the year. The craft y yamen clerks, calculating in advance what is coming, expedite collecting grain from the common people twice as fast as in ordinary times. Thus, cheating their magistrate and cruelly lashing the common people while secretly pressing the heads of the villages (such as village representatives and heads of the community compact) to ransack the households in their villages, they collect grain loans ruthlessly. Around the last day of the eleventh lunar month, when the collecting of grain loans is completed, only the figures manipulated and fabricated by yamen clerks, who are either influential or frivolous, remain. After an official dispatch from the provincial yamen arrives, the yamen clerk says to the magistrate, “We finished collecting grain loans from the villages outside the district capital, but the loans from those inside the capital that still remain uncollected are as much as this. It appeared unavoidable for us to escape punishment for our failure, but because of the grace of Heaven, the decree post-

Taxation

321

poning tax payments arrived opportunely, and our town is now out of danger.” The magistrate is also pleased to hear these words, believing that he is lucky in his official career. Following the advice of the yamen clerk, the magistrate fi lls up the amount that the decree postponing tax payments allows with the figures submitted by the yamen clerk. As a result, the benefit of the decree is never extended to the common people. How lamentable! The king is our parent, and the common people are our children. Out of pity on his children, the king sends down his decree, but there is always someone who interferes between the two, blocking their relationship. Is this not lamentable? There is also a more wicked case. When the royal decree postponing tax payments arrives earlier than expected, the yamen clerk reports to the magistrate at the window of his room, “The situation of the people is not that bad at the moment. However, if they learn that the royal decree has arrived, even those who can afford to pay their taxes will try to evade paying them. If that happens, how can you handle administering relief next spring?” Thinking that the yamen clerk’s advice is quite sensible, the magistrate makes him hurry to collect taxes with ruthless speed, without revealing the royal decree to the people. Only when the collection of taxes is completed does he announce the arrival of the royal decree, and as for the grain that he collected, he sells it at a high price and divides the profits with the yamen clerk, taking advantage of the royal decree. In the spring of the following year he releases some money in order to make up for what he took (only 1 tael for each sŏk of unrefined rice) and leaves the portion that the yamen clerk took as it is until the royal decree canceling debt arrives. Grain loans whose payment is postponed by a royal decree are called kuhwan, and they are always written off whenever there is an auspicious event in the country. The kuhwan, according to the way that the king believes, are old debts of those who are already dead but that were transferred to living people. So he bestows a special favor on his people to celebrate the auspicious occasion for the state by granting relief from their debts. Although the king cares for his people like this, the grain that he bestows seldom reaches his people. How lamentable! What is sejŏn? It is turning a grain loan into a land tax or vice versa. When yamen clerks keep on manipulating the grain in the granary for their personal purposes, they manipulate the grain in the granary in the winter and the land tax in the spring three times each year. It is like a man who is susceptible to heat suffering heat in the summer and cold in the winter. Although his suffering continues repeatedly, its cause lies in one problem. When the yamen clerk is pressed to make up for the grain that he embezzled and is unable to do so, he goes out to the villages and borrows money or grain. Although it may appear that he has cured a sty in his eye, the same problem recurs in the spring. Then he takes a grain loan and presents it as a land tax after refining the grain in a mill. Once he manipulates 100 sŏk of grain, it becomes 200 sŏk, and likewise if he manipulates

322

book VI

200 sŏk, it increases to 300 sŏk. So it becomes in the end a serious hemorrhoid that cannot be cured. If the magistrate is wise, nine families come to face bankruptcy, and if he is foolish, the grain belonging to the state turns out to be nothing but a figure on the register, and this is a problem. What is yohap? The corvée labor ser vice for the public depository is all collected in millet. The districts that attach corvée labor to the land tax collect several tu of millet per kyŏl of land, and those that attach corvée labor to the household collect several tu of millet per household. They levy these taxes according to their needs and collect them, combined with other taxes paid in grain. If the grain for corvée labor is mixed with grain loans, manipulation and theft of the grain are bound to happen, which is a serious affl iction to the people. If the granary stores only the grain belonging to the government, the grain that is received or released has to go through all the checkpoints, including the gates of the district and province. Therefore, it is hard to manipulate the grain unless the manipulators conspire with officials. However, if the people’s grain for their corvée labor ser vice and the grain privately owned by yamen clerks are mixed with that of the government, the granary becomes a den of thieves. Under the pretext of handling the grain that is in their charge, the manipulators sell or buy the grain at will as the price goes up or down, so the foul smell of corruption is comparable to that of rotten fish. This is just like the case in which the taxes from the lands and estates owned by royal families, or the grain for corvée labor, are mixed with regular land taxes, because it provides opportunities to the men in charge to take advantage of them for their personal purposes. Sometimes they ask to borrow the grain belonging to the government for the urgent use of the public depository, and once the gate of the granary is opened, they take the grain out and sell it as they please. If their wrongdoings are discovered, they stop providing the people with the things they need and say instead, “It is not hard to make up the shortage since there is the grain loaned to the public depository.” Thus they turn the state granary into one of their own. Yohap is a big den of manipulating yamen clerks. Therefore, people say, “The taxes levied for the public depository must be paid in cash, not in grain.” What is sahon? In the three southern provinces there is a voluntary after-tax contribution called kogŭpjo. This tax, also called igojo or hoedaejo or hoedujo, is collected either in grain or in cash and is attached either to the land tax or to the household tax. It is also levied on all people regardless of social status; however, exemptions are granted to the ruling yangban class. The amount of this tax varies according to villages, and some villages do not pay it at all. The way in which 84. The families of the yamen clerk, including his own, his wife’s, and his family on his mother’s side, as well as all his other relatives.

Taxation

323

yamen clerks collect it is close to begging, or the people pay it along with the grain they borrowed. This practice started forty years ago and spread throughout the three southern provinces, particularly throughout the Honam region. At first, petty clerks clandestinely went out to the village and begged for contributions from the residents. The residents gave them some grain or money because they were already acquainted with them personally or felt sorry for them. They were also afraid that clerks who were knowledgeable about their personal affairs might cause them trouble unless they acceded to their demands. Because the Qin dynasty continuously demanded concessions of land from its neighbors and thus its demands knew no limit, the level of the demands that the clerks made on the people continued to increase year by year. The clerks were like mountain climbers who keep on moving forward until they capture hills and mountaintops in their laborious journey. In the last several years the grain they have collected from the people has already reached as much as 4 tu of rice and the cash already 5 maces, and no one knows how much these amounts will increase in the future. If the total acreage of the district is 6,000 kyŏl, and if 4 tu of unprocessed rice are collected per kyŏl, the total amounts to 1,600 sŏk. These 1,600 sŏk of rice may not be significant in quantity, but if they are mixed up with grain loans, they become a den of manipulation. The manipulating clerks draw an advance, but they do not pay back what they borrowed, or they try to make up the shortage by using this grain. Sometimes they use the handling of this grain as a pretext to open the granary. Although the grain nominally belongs to liaison agents for the subdistrict [myŏnsŏwŏn], it makes virtually everyone, including head clerks, military personnel, granary guards, and clerks of the public depository, as well as even yamen clerks distantly related to it, get involved in the affair in one way or another because of the complicated process of handling and cooperation. On the day of opening the granary for the repayment of grain loans, Magistrate Yi something tried to separate voluntary after-tax contributions in the tax register from the grain loans, prohibiting the clerks from collecting them at the same time. When this happened, a gang of over eighty yamen clerks gathered together to discuss the matter, raising a great commotion. As a result, the magistrate was unable to accomplish what he intended to. It was so strange that I asked someone in the village the reason that this had happened. The man replied, “If one separates this thing from the grain loans, there will be no one in the yamen who can escape from his crime. The clerks revolted because the magistrate’s 85. Also called myŏnjuin or pangjuin, liaison agents for the subdistrict were low-ranking functionaries who carried out various duties including collecting taxes or purchasing goods.

324

book VI

order would bring about a situation in which a goblin’s hiding place in the forest is revealed and the backstage of a performing puppet is exposed.” What is ch’aerŭk [manipulating debts]? When the magistrate is extremely foolish and the tyranny of yamen clerks is too outrageous, the repayment of grain loans becomes chaotic and out of control. If a district owes money to its capital agent, the provincial medical center [kwannyakguk], yamen clerks, government slaves, and so on, it mixes its debts with grain loans. In order to make this measure seem justified, it makes a pretext, and that is that the capital agent, medical doctors, yamen clerks, and government slaves all have financial dealings with the granary. However, this is absolutely untrue. If there is a chance to make a fortune through private loans, the magistrate first consults yamen clerks and opens the granary to sell grain to make a profit just like a merchant. When October arrives, they [the magistrate and the yamen clerks] collect their loans combined with monthly interest. (The monthly interest for 1 tael is 10 mun.) These loans, computed at the current price, are collected in grain along with other taxes paid in grain. Those who are in debt but are unable to repay it are all poor, whether they live in a town or a village. Although they received not one grain of rice from the state granary, what they have to pay in the winter is something that they never expected before. Since this evil practice virtually cuts the flesh of the people and dries their marrow, but officials squeeze the people under countless pretexts, how can a nation survive, commanding respect from its people? The twelve instances that I have so far illustrated are evil practices always repeated every year. Those who exploit the people naturally never distribute a single grain to them. They collect money in advance from the people under various pretexts and deduct it from their taxes related to land, military ser vice, corvée labor, salt, and so on, but the people never actually see the money that they owe to their debtors. I have dwelled in Tasan for the last ten years, looking down on the road that leads to the district warehouse. However, I have never seen a man carry ing home a bag of grain that was distributed by the government. Even though it never borrows a single grain from the government, every household is supposed to pay 5 or 6 or 7 sŏk of grain to the granary every winter in the name of the grain loan [hwanja]. The word hwan originally meant “return” and “repay.” If the people did not borrow, they have nothing to repay or return. What do they use the word hwan for? 86. The expression here implies that the trickery of yamen clerks, which is concealed, like the goblins living in the forest or the puppets behind the curtain, can be completely exposed when the magistrate’s new attempt to separate the government grain loans and the clerks’ private dealings has succeeded. 87. It seems to refer to the provincial medical facilities run by the government.

Taxation

325

In Each of the Four Seasons the Governor’s Provincial Yamen Issues Official Replies to the Reports on the Status of Repaid Grain Loans That Are Submitted by District Magistrates. The Governor Must Be Fully Aware of the Details of His Replies and Be Careful Not to Entrust Them to the Hands of Yamen Clerks. The orders and guidelines issued by the provincial yamen to local districts must be strictly carried out. If the governor fully knows how many bags of grain were distributed, how much grain remains in the granary, and how much should be collected in the future, discharging his duty according to principle, the tricks of his yamen clerks will inevitably be under control. The tricks committed by provincial yamen clerks can create greater damage. In my observation, when the granary is opened in the spring to receive barley and in the autumn to receive harvested grain for the repayment of grain loans, yamen clerks of various local districts come to visit the provincial yamen with bags of cash in their hands in order to buy that grain at a cheap price. When they return home, they store the grain in their houses in the countryside and sell it at a higher price, and the amount of grain they handle in this way amounts to 400 or 500 sŏk every year. This evil practice has become a custom, but that is a crime that should be dealt with by the governor, not by district magistrates. The reason that lands unaccounted for are increasing every year is that provincial yamen clerks sell them, and the reason that grain registers become disorderly is that provincial yamen clerks take bribes. Nevertheless, the governor who is in charge of a province makes it a principle of his governance to deal only with general and large issues. What can we do about this? A man named Kim Tonggŏm served several times as section chief of taxation. He was so knowledgeable about the tricks and deceptions of those in charge of grain administration that yamen clerks of both the province and the districts could not dare to deceive him. A gang of yamen clerks, therefore, made a proverb of their own: “It would be better to face a poor harvest than to come across Tonggŏm.” He who holds the office of governor should seek such a man and make him his aide. There is an open secret among yamen clerks: “Harassment is profitable.” What does this mean? Miscellaneous imposts attached to land taxes, which are paid to provincial yamen clerks and liaison agents, are complicated and burdensome. If yamen clerks raise the rate of this tax every year and harass the people, the people who are unable to bear their burden voluntarily seek the arrangement of 88. The government opened the granary to take barley in the fift h lunar month and closed it in the following month; it opened the granary again in the autumn to take payments of grain loans, which generally took place in the tenth lunar month, and the granary was closed in the twelft h lunar month. 89. Unknown.

326

book VI

panggyŏl at a high price, which is a contract that allows the yamen clerks to borrow money in advance from the people to compensate for the taxes that they are supposed to pay later. This is nothing else than killing two birds with one stone because they make profits from both the taxes and panggyŏl. The grain distributed to the people is of crude quality. Much worse, yamen clerks steal from it by mixing it with chaff. The people who receive this grain can hardly bear the harassment and eventually pay them back with their grain for nothing. This is also killing two birds with one stone because yamen clerks make profits from mixing the grain with chaff and the advance payment from the people on the pretext of deducting it from the taxes to be paid later. People are the foundation of the nation, and yamen clerks are those who undermine it. To harass and torment the people is to put them in the situation of an earthworm thrown into a heap of ashes or a mudfish struggling in the middle of sand. After he makes the people suffer and come to visit him of their own accord, the magistrate says, “The people are all glad to follow the orders.” Thus “harassment is profitable.” How can a man who is the head of the people not deeply reflect on this problem? C H A P T E R : GR A I N A DM I N I S T R AT ION I I

Since the Magistrate Can Successfully Distribute Grain Only After He Successfully Retrieves the Grain Loaned to the People, There Is No Way to Save the People in the Following Year Unless He Successfully Gathers in the Grain Loaned to the People. On the day of the autumnal equinox, the magistrate gives an order to bring in the various containers for measuring grain and selects the ones of middle size, neither too large nor too small. He has the measuring containers that are either too large or too small gathered at the yard of the yamen and destroyed, and he makes new ones so that the measuring containers used in the granary of the district capital, suburban granary, and other public warehouses and kitchens are all uniform in their measurement. Furthermore, he makes stamps and seals on which the names of granaries are engraved and distributes them to all the places dealing with grain. On the day of opening the granary, the magistrate summons the superintendents and clerks of outside warehouses to the granary in the district capital and familiarizes them with the standard rules for dealing with grain. Among his instructions, the first is the quality of grain; the second, the size of measuring containers; the third, extra rice collected for sampling or potential loss in storage and rice falling out on the ground; the fourth, extra rice resulting from measuring 90. The men dispatched by the local yangban association to supervise the activities of the warehouses.

Taxation

327

rice; and the fift h, the small amount of extra grain after the payment of a loan [yŏngch’ŏk]. The magistrate makes his instructions at this meeting a standard rule in dealing with grain. The quality of grain needs to be neither too refined nor too crude. If chaff and foreign ingredients are found in grain, they need to be winnowed roughly. The stick in the shape of the letter T that is used for measuring the quantity of grain should be straight, but a little irregularity in its shape is allowable. Extra rice collected for sampling should not exceed 3 sŭng, and the extra charge of rice for the potential loss of the grain stored in the granary should not exceed 5 sŭng. (If the district has observed its own rule by custom, collecting 5 sŭng for extra rice for sampling or potential loss in storage and 1 tu for rice falling out on the ground, the magistrate allows it to be observed.) Extra rice resulting from measuring rice should not exceed 1 sŭng, and this belongs to those working in the granary. (Although some say that things acquired unjustly cannot be measured, the absence of a rule itself is the root of disorder.) The grain that falls to the ground when it is trimmed by a measuring stick should not be returned to its owner. The magistrate orders it to be measured right away, and when its quantity is substantial in toe or mal, he makes it pay off the grain loan of those who are unable to pay for their own. Then he orders the clerk to issue a receipt for it, and this receipt is called yŏngch’ŏk. (If the magistrate returns the leftover grain to its owner, granary clerks and slaves through their agents confiscate it as soon as he steps out of the gate of the granary.) At the end of the day the magistrate gathers the superintendents and clerks of various granaries and warehouses and says as follows: “You have seen what happened today. When you go back to your places, you try to practice what you have learned, making it your rule. If you unreasonably demand a high quality of grain and I happen to hear complaints from the people, you will be punished. If the quality of the grain is crude to the degree that I feel suspicious of your trickery when I distribute the grain to the people next spring (this is warning against increasing the quantity of grain by mixing it with chaff ), you will also be punished. If you take more rice for sampling or potential loss in storage, or rice that has fallen on the ground, or rice resulting from measuring rice than you are allowed to, and furthermore, if you allow the leftover grain to go into the pockets of warehouse slaves by not issuing receipts, you will all be punished.” When the magistrate returns to his office, he brings with him 1 sŏm of each kind of grain (1 sŏm of rice, 1 sŏm of unprocessed rice, 1 sŏm of beans, 1 sŏm of millet, and so on) and places it in the storage room in the yamen, making sure that the room is safe from harm by rats. Then he calls in the superintendent and 91. A small amount of grain that is left after the payment of a grain loan. The government issued receipts to individuals when it took their extra grain.

328

book VI

clerks of the granary and says as follows: “The reason that I keep this grain in the storage room is to find out how much grain can be lost in the process of storage. If 5 sŭng of grain turn out to be lost on the day when the grain is distributed next spring, I will allow the same amount in the rest of the warehouses that you are in charge of, and if 1 or 2 tu are found to be lost in my storage, I will still make sure that the same amount will be deducted in your account. However, I will not allow any deduction if only a certain kind of grain suffered an excessive loss and will collect the missing portion even if it is only 1 sŭng or 1 yak. Therefore, I want you to be careful in discharging your duty.” After giving this warning, the magistrate orders the men to take the grain submitted by people to storage. If the District Has No Granaries outside the District Capital, the Magistrate Should Personally Come Out Every Five Days and Supervise the Work of Taking in the Grain for Repayment. If It Has Granaries outside the District Capital, the Magistrate Personally Decides the Rules of Collecting the Grain on the Day When the Granary Is Open. The way of governing the people can be summed in one character, kyun [equal treatment]. I have observed that the magistrate often pays attention only to the granary within the town, forgetting the ones outside. This is like forgetting goats while watching cows, and letting ducks escape while catching chickens. If he is unable to distribute benefits equally, he had better distribute pains equally. Why does the magistrate pay attention only to the granary in the district capital? When there are no outside granaries in the district, the magistrate should go out to the office in charge of the granary every five days when the market is open and personally supervise receiving the grain from the people. (During the remaining four days he has the chief of the local yangban association receive the grain.) Ten days after the winter solstice, when the closing of the granary is imminent, the magistrate should go out every three days, pressing the receipt of grain. If there are outside granaries in the district, the magistrate should not personally intervene in collecting the grain from the people, whether the granaries are within or without. What he should do is to gather information on what goes on in the granaries through surveillance. Thus he finds out which granary harasses the people by demanding a higher quality of grain or an excessive amount of grain; which granary collected too much extra rice for sampling or potential loss in storage or rice fallen on the ground; which granary did not issue receipts for leftover grain after taking it; on which day complaining people were beaten by the superintendent of the granary; and on which day the granary slaves physically abused the people who brought in their grain for repayment. The magistrate should be able to picture these things in his mind as if he saw them and

Taxation

329

should reprimand and punish those who did wrong. If he discharges his duty in this way, the praises of the people will fi ll the road along which he travels even if he does not personally oversee the receipt of grain. Although It Is Not Necessary for the Magistrate to Take Grain Personally from the People, He Should Personally Take Charge When Grain Is Distributed. He Should Never Allow the Chief of the Local Yangban Association to Delegate His Duty to Oversee the Distribution of Grain Even if the Grain Is Only as Little as 1 Sŭng or Half a Yak. However, in the Case of Sunbun [Distributing Only a Portion of Grain after Dividing the Total], He Does Not Have to Feel Constrained by the Rule. In October, when the granary is opened, the magistrate sends to the clerk of the granary a brief note consisting of three words that mean “Magistrate will personally distribute [p’ilch’inban]” to prevent the personnel in the granary from committing the crime of mixing grain with chaff and other ingredients. Sunbun [distributing only a portion of the grain after dividing the total] is really a cause of many troubles. Those who defend it contend, “The common people are so foolish that they have no plan for their living. Once they have obtained grain, they just fi ll up their stomachs and go hungry all year long. That is why the magistrate tries to cut down the quantity of distributed grain into small portions.” This way of talking is ridiculous. Would it make any sense if parents who have married off their children and let them have their own life say as follows, “My son is not good at managing his property, and my daughter-in-law is too wasteful in her spending, so we will provide their meals for breakfast in the morning and dinner in the evening”? How would their children take their words? Since the magistrate [who practices sunbun] tries to do for the common people what parents cannot for their children, there is a fundamental flaw in his generosity. Is the law of grain lending, one must ask, to supply the people with the provisions they need or to make profits to help the finance of the government? It has been a long time since the people stopped believing that the law was designed to help their situation. Even if the distribution system was intended to help the people, would it make them happier? What people try to save is time. During the spring and summer they have to work hard day and night. If the government distributes 2 sŏk of grain on eight occasions, the people lose eight working days to receive the grain. Does this policy of grain distribution really help the people or not? Besides, whenever the people go out to receive the distributed grain, they have to spend money. When they are hungry, they have to buy meals and cakes, and when they are thirsty, they have buy drinks and melons. Since they have no cash, they have to pay for their expenses with the grain that they have just received from the government. Therefore, if the grain is distributed through the system of sunbun, it will only make yamen clerks and granary slaves

330

book VI

fat and the taverns prosper, while the people become more impoverished. What the magistrate should do, then, is to trust the people and let them take care of their grain by themselves, whether they waste it or save it for their own sake. Once the quantity of grain to be distributed is decided, there is no better way than distributing it at one time. In a district whose grain for repayment is relatively small, the quantity of grain for each ho (a unit of three or four families) is not more than 2 sŏk or 30 tu of rice. The grain loan for each ho is divided and consumed by three or four families, and if each family provides one person, there is no difficulty in transporting the grain that they receive or repay. If the people except the elderly, children, and women work together, transporting the grain will hardly be a problem. The way of distributing the grain for repayment is as follows. When people gather in the yard to receive the grain, it often happens that the yard is crowded and disorderly, as if it were the market. Dust and noise are rising as thousands of grain sacks are taken out to the yard. So even if Liu Mu takes charge of the operation, he will not be able to detect the tricks of clerks handling the grain. The yamen clerks try to take advantage of the situation, acting as they please, but in the end it appears that nothing has happened. It is advisable that the grain to be released per day not exceed 800 sŏk. If 2 sŏk are distributed to every ho, 400 ho can receive the grain, and if there are 200 ho in a subdistrict, it is possible to process the distribution of grain to two subdistricts a day. The grain to be distributed should be piled in the yard horizontally, not vertically. (That way, the magistrate sitting on the floor of his office can count the bags of grain.) When the piling of grain is finished, the magistrate orders a slave to count the grain sacks and place a banner for every ten sacks. Then the magistrate can determine the exact amount of grain if he only counts the banners in the yard. When the magistrate has finished counting the grain sacks, he has the people check them to see if they have holes in them or whether the sacks have as much grain as they should. If rats caused a loss, the magistrate persuades the people to take their grain as it is. (The loss of approximately one bag out of two hundred will be allowable, but no more.) However, when the grain sacks lack in their quantity without reason, the magistrate orders the clerks to make up for the shortage. (In this case the problem is with the clerks.) Next the magistrate orders them to check at random the sacks that look sound and measure the quantity of grain in them. If their quantity turns out to be the same as that of the sacks in the storage of the yamen or is short by 5 sŭng or 1 tu, the magistrate persuades the people to take their grain as it is, and if the shortage of grain is excessive, he orders yamen clerks to fi ll up the sacks, but only to the level of the sacks stored in the yamen. 92. Unknown.

Taxation

331

When the grain sacks are mixed with chaff, or the quality of the grain is so poor that trickery of granary clerks is clearly suspected, the magistrate should order that the rice be all taken out to the yard and winnowed. Then he makes up for the shortage and distributes it to the people, but he makes sure that the quality of the grain and the number of tu correspond to what is stored in the yamen, not 1 p’un more (since the clerks feel that this is unfair) or 1 p’un less (since the people feel that this is unfair). The shortage in the grain is caused by theft. The magistrate, therefore, must punish the clerks responsible for the shortage in front of the people. When the distribution of grain is completed, the magistrate orders five or six gate guards [kungwan] to clear the road as far as the Orijŏng Pavilion so that the people who carry the grain on their shoulders or vehicles can return home safely without interruptions or temptations from miscellaneous people. The magistrate gives a warning to the people as follows as they leave with their grain: “You had better rest after traveling 10 li. If upon leaving the granary you secretly go straight to the liaison agent of your subdistrict [myŏnjuin] and pay the debt with your grain after enjoying wine and food, or pay him money for past favors [chŏllye] or the food provided that day at an inn [yŏnga], you will be punished by twenty lashes, and gate guards who failed to properly supervise you will also be flogged.” Right after this warning the magistrate orders gate guards to lead the people as far as 10 li from the yamen and upon returning make a report on their job. At the same time the magistrate chooses a simple and honest man and secretly sends him to the place of the head of the subdistrict to observe the real situation. If the man brings a report that there are people who buy wine and food at the place of the liaison agent, the magistrate immediately sends his officers to arrest them and punish both the people and the gate guards who escorted them. This kind of injunction should be issued to the liaison agents of subdistricts five or six days before the day of opening the granary so that they may not commit crimes, risking their property and wasting their wine and food. If the Magistrate Intends to Distribute the Grain at One Time, He Must Let His Superior Know His Intention in Advance. Actions of the magistrate that are intended to help the people are not necessarily bound by laws and customs. Since it is generally believed that one must observe laws and customs regardless of the situation, the magistrate cannot simply ignore them. If the magistrate does not want to follow the sunbun system, which is distributing 93. The Orijŏng Pavilion, as the name indicates (ori means “5 li”), was built about 5 li from the magistrate’s yamen. It was used to welcome or see off official guests.

332

book VI

only a portion of the grain after dividing the total, he should first visit the superior yamen and discuss the matter with the governor, and if the governor agrees with him, he makes sure that the report is submitted to the central government. If the governor, feeling restricted by laws and customs, is reluctant to grant the request of the magistrate, the magistrate persuades him as follows: “Allow me to carry this out according to the way that I find convenient. However, Your Honor should just follow the custom when you make regular reports to the government in Seoul.” The governor will certainly grant the magistrate’s request. In China local magistrates of various provinces are allowed to submit their reports directly to the emperor. This system was designed to convey the situation of the people to the highest level and at the same time spread the emperor’s benevolence to the people below. The magistrates of our country, however, are not allowed to make reports to the king independently, and this system makes the governing of the people more difficult. When Wang Qinruo became magistrate of Bozhou, it happened that he supervised the activities of Huiting Granary. At that time there was a long spell of rainy weather, and the government granary refused to receive grain from the people because the grain of the people was wet. Thus the people who had brought grain from distant places were in deep trouble. Wang Qinruo submitted a proposal to the emperor that the government first take in the grain from the people and start distributing the grain that was wet so that it might not decay, disregarding the standard rule of distribution according to a timeline. Emperor Taizong was so pleased that he immediately granted the request by an imperial order that he personally wrote. In my opinion, Wang Qinruo was able to make such a request because the administrative system of the Song dynasty allowed local magistrates to make proposals independently. Since local magistrates are like feudal princes in the old days, it is reasonable that they be allowed to submit proposals directly to the central government whenever there is something worthy to propose. This is a good way of governing the people because it helps people in trouble and makes the blood of the choked vein circulate again. In our country local magistrates are not allowed to submit their proposals independently because the governor who is their superior plays the role of the Royal Secretariat in processing the proposals. Only the local magistrates who have once served in the Three Offices are allowed the privilege of submitting proposals, and military officials in various 94. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Dingguo, and his posthumous title Wenmu. He served as minister of works, as vice director of the Chancellery, and jointly as manager of affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery. 95. The Th ree Offices (Samsa) are the Office of Special Counselors, the Office of Censor General, and the Office of Inspector General.

Taxation

333

districts and officials who did not take civil ser vice examinations are excluded from the privilege of submitting proposals to the government even if a serious matter arises in their areas. This is truly lamentable. If an Order to Raise Cash Unexpectedly Comes down to the District When His Office Has Already Collected over Half the Grain Loan, the Magistrate Should Not Follow the Order and Should Submit a Statement to the Authorities about the Reason for His Noncompliance. The profit or loss resulting from raising money through the sale of grain while the government collects the grain loan from the people should be equally shared with the people. If an order to raise cash unexpectedly arrives in the middle of collecting the grain loan, it is likely that poor people who were unable to repay their grain loan will suffer more damage than others. When the grain already received from the people is not enough to meet the expected sum of money, the men in the granary return the grain to the people, making them sell their grain and bring the right amount of money. The yamen clerks usually take advantage of this opportunity and exploit the people for their profit, and therefore, the burden of the people will be twice as heavy if the magistrate decides to return the grain to the people. That is why the magistrate must take the situation into consideration before he follows the order and must argue against it even if it costs him his job. In Case the Magistrate in a Year of Poor Harvest Allows the People to Repay Their Loans with Substitute Grain, He Should Make a Separate Register and Try to Restore the Normal Status of Grain Administration as Soon as He Can. The ways of repaying loans with substitute grain are specified in detail in the Comprehensive National Code. The so-called repayment of loans with substitute grain [sangdae] is the origin of chaos. Unless it becomes absolutely unavoidable, it should not be allowed lightly. If the magistrate plans to distribute grain next year, he first should give orders to investigate the exact number of beneficiaries among the people by making a register. On the day when the grain is distributed, he orders the clerks to use a device called a saekdae to check the grain. Then they will not be able to deceive him, telling a lie that a deer is a horse. Those Who Live Near a Mountain Fortress Have Difficulties in Receiving or Repaying Grain Loans. When the Problem Is Too Serious, It Would Be Fair That the Magistrate Find a Way to Reduce the Burden on the People, Including Their Corvée Labor Service. The military provisions of all mountain fortresses are distributed to or collected from the districts in their vicinity, so the residents send a man to receive the grain

334

book VI

from the mountain fortress, which is often located a long distance away. The distance ranges from 100 li to 200 li. (The distance between Koksan and Taehyŏn is nearly 200 li.) Because of the great distance, people send their agent and make him receive their grain and turn it into cash after taking the grain to the villages near the mountain fortress. In the autumn they also dispatch their agent, providing him with cash so that he can purchase grain in the villages under the mountain fortress and pay for their loans. In order to transport the grain to or from the fortress, one must hire a man, but it is not easy for a person who travels a long distance alone to hire an agent. Thus the man has no choice but to consult one of the granary clerks belonging to the mountain fortress, selling him his grain at a bargain price when he repays his grain loan and buying grain at a high price when he takes his grain loan. The clerk gives half of his profit to the official in charge of the fortress as a bribe and takes the rest for himself. As a result, the grain in the granary decays and turns into dirt. Since this grain-lending system brings only trouble to the people, providing benefits neither to the state nor to the people, it must be changed. This system was originally instituted during the wars, the Japanese invasion in 1592 and the second Manchu invasion in 1636, when the preparation of military provisions was required to defend the country. These wars took place a long time ago, but the system still remains, causing nothing but problems. When a war takes place, signs of tumult and agitation precede it; it does not happen suddenly in a day or two. There were threats and signals five or six years before the Japanese and second Manchu invasions. What we should do under the circumstances is to store 200 sŏk of rice in each mountain fortress and make the villages in its vicinity replace old grain with new grain every year. Military provisions should also be distributed to and gathered from the various districts surrounding the fortress. If there are signs of conflict and war with neighboring countries, the grain in the districts should be removed to the mountain fortress and moved back to the districts when the crisis is settled. This measure will bring benefits to both the government and the people. Namhan Mountain Fortress may be the Jinyang of our country, and we need to take such a measure. Granaries should be established in Kungch’on (an old capital of the Paekche kingdom), Kyŏngan Post Station, and Naksaengch’on so that military provisions can be stored in times of peace. When there is a sign of war, the military provisions in those places can easily be transported to the mountain fortresses, and nothing can go wrong. It is certainly not convenient to require the 96. The last stronghold of Zhao Yangzi, one of the contenders for power in the Spring and Autumn period of China. Using Jinyang as his last stand, Zhao Yangzi, who was in danger, was able to defeat his adversary Zhi Bo and eventually ushered in the new era of the three states (Zhao, Wei, Han) which was called “Th ree Jins.” The Battle of Jinyang and the players in it being so famous, historians like Sima Qian and Sima Guang, as well as Han Feizi, the legalist thinker of the late Warring States, wrote about them in their works.

Taxation

335

people to climb the steep mountains carry ing heavy loads of grain even though there is no crisis or war. When Yu Chŏngwŏn became magistrate of Chain, the residents of his domain received their grain from the granaries in the south of Taegu and the mountain fortress of Ch’ilgok, which were so distant that it was difficult for the people to transport the grain to their homes. So Yu appealed to the governor to alleviate their troubles, but the governor rejected Magistrate Yu’s request for the reason that he could not change the old custom. Nevertheless, Magistrate Yu continued to appeal and to insist on changing the custom, risking his career, and finally the governor relented and changed the law after he made an investigation. When It Happens That Some Members of Yangban Families Want to Borrow the Grain in the Granary for Their Personal Purposes, Which Is Called Pyŏlhwan, the Magistrate Should Not Allow Their Request. Some members of yangban families beg for the grain in the granary for their personal use and obtain dozens of sacks and never repay them to the government, and this is called yup’o [delinquency in payment of grain loans made to yangban families]. They appeal to the magistrate, making excuses that they are starving or are suffering damage from natural disasters or are engaged in some public works like digging ditches or constructing dams. When there is a great famine or a happy event for the country and the government forgives old debts, the magistrate who is influenced by his personal relations also writes off the debts of yangban families, which are actually delinquent loans to be paid to the government. This type of irregularity is widespread, particularly in Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng provinces. The magistrate must firmly watch over the locks of the granary and never allow it to be opened unless the benefits are to be distributed to the general public as well. When Yi Wiguk became adjutant of Kanghwa Island, he found that powerful yangban families in Seoul had borrowed so much grain from the government that the total in arrears turned out to be as much as half of the 140,000 sŏk of rice they had borrowed. When he tried to point out the problems in his memorial to the king, the men of power in Seoul were all terrified, so they made the officials of the Office of the Inspector-General impeach Yi Wiguk for abuse of his power, and Inspector General Hong Myŏngha joined them, signing his name on the 97. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He served as magistrate of various districts, including Yongin, Charyŏng, Koksan, and Ich’ŏn. A man of integrity and strong personality, he was dismissed after criticizing the high officials in Seoul who failed to pay back grain loans from the government. 98. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Taei, and his pen name Kich’ŏn. He was famous for exposing corrupt officials when he served as secret royal inspector. He

336

book VI

document of impeachment. However, the inspector general soon discovered that the impeachment of Yi Wiguk was unfair and this time impeached himself for making a mistake. Because the situation developed in his favor, Yi Wiguk was able to retain his post. Provincial Military Commander Yi Wŏn was a grandson of Li Rusong, the supreme commander of the relief army of Ming China. When he served as magistrate of a local district, he found that a member of the royal family on the maternal side of the king was delinquent on his loan, which amounted to 400 sŏk of rice. The magistrate time after time urged him to repay his old loan, but this did not work. He sent him an official notice on which the magistrate’s seal was stamped, but the servant who carried the notice to the member of royalty was beaten so hard that he returned almost dead. Magistrate Yi Wŏn pretended to be surprised and asked who the owner of the house was. When a yamen clerk answered, Magistrate Yi said, “I made a mistake. If I had known, how could I have dared to act as I did?” Then he immediately dispatched a yamen clerk of rites [yeri] and the chief of the local yangban association to the royal personage with a message of apology, and the latter was very pleased. About ten days after the incident it was cold and there was snow. Magistrate Yi ordered a military cadre member to go out hunting with a hawk on his shoulder, and he himself dressed in a military uniform. He also ordered military cadre members to follow him, carry ing bows and swords, and the cooks to bring wine and meat with them. Arriving at the village where the royal personage lived, he dismounted from his horse, and after setting up a tent and making a fire, he asked his aides around him as if he knew nothing, “Whose house is the one with a tiled roof under the hill?” They answered that it belonged to so-and-so. Then he dispatched the chief of the military cadre members to the owner of that house with the following message: “While I was out hunting, I came to stay in front of your house. Although courtesy requires me to pay my respects to Your Honor, I am impeded from doing so because of the military uniform that I am wearing. So I will be honored if you can come out and grant me the pleasure of seeing you.” The royal personage was extremely pleased and immediately came out to see the magistrate. However, as soon as greetings were exchanged, the magistrate drew his sword, glaring fiercely and shouting aloud. He ordered his men to arrest the man, saying, “Tie him up hard with a rope. My hunting today was designed to capture that beast.” Then he had his captive tied up and loaded onto the rear of eventually rose to the position of chief state councilor and supported King Hyojong’s plan for invading Qing China. 99. Little is known about him except that he was a grandson of General Li Rusong. 100. Li Rusong (1549−1598) was a Ming general of Korean ancestry who served as the supreme commander of the Ming Relief Army during the Japa nese invasion of Korea in 1592.

Taxation

337

a horse and let the horse run forward, and at the same time he ordered his soldiers to play military music and the battle drum of victory. The magistrate, now mounted on a large horse and pleasantly drunk, returned to his yamen. The people in the yamen were surprised. After five or six days of imprisonment, during which the prisoner was made to wear a pillory around his neck, the grain debt that he owed to the government was paid in full. When this happened, the magistrate released the prisoner and invited him to his office, providing him with proper attire. Then he offered him wine and apologized for what had happened. He said, “I hope that you will understand that discharging public duty allows no personal feeling.” From that time on, the yangbans in his district began to fear the law and dared not disregard his orders. In the twelft h month of the third year of his reign [1677], King Sukchong in a royal decree proclaimed to the provincial governors: “Although royal decrees on the reduction or exemption of old debts are issued, some magistrates try to hide them or continue to collect the debts, and even if they carry out the royal decrees, supervising officials and avaricious clerks intervene and manipulate the situation so that powerful yangbans become beneficiaries, and powerless people are excluded from the benefits to which they are entitled. The government’s efforts to encourage the people in their farming and to save the poor from starvation do not work and only make the people more resentful. Is this the mistake only of magistrates? The governors are also responsible for their failure in supervision.” I have observed that the practice of canceling debts of the powerful yangbans is usually concentrated in the regions of Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng provinces, and in the case of the distant provinces in the south, the benefits all go into the pockets of yamen clerks. Dispensing a Portion of the Distributed Grain on the New Year’s Holiday Should Be Carried Out Only in a Year of Poor Harvest, When Grain Is Hard to Find. The grain distributed before New Year’s Eve is called segwe, and the grain distributed before the first full moon of the year is called manggwe, but these dispensations are nothing but harassment to the people and undermine the dignity of the government. The segwe grain must be distributed only in a year when grain is hard to find. The Magistrate Should Try to Reduce the Quantity of Grain Loans When the Number of Households Is Relatively Small but Increase It When the Quota of Grain Loans Is Too Small to Save the People in Need. Several decades ago the grain loan allotted to the district of Hwangju was so excessive that each household received as much as 30 or 40 sŏk of grain. This was

338

book VI

because Hwangju was a strategic point on the main roads and a site where the military headquarters was located. Naturally, large amounts of military provisions were preserved in Hwangju. The coercive distribution of grain loans made the lives of the common people miserable. Although farms were ruined and the population was already reduced, the allotment of grain loans kept increasing because the provincial military commander and the local magistrate for their private gain did not request a change. Alas, this makes one wonder whether the frontier army exists to protect the people or to preserve its military provisions. In a case like this the magistrate should quickly report the matter to the authorities and find a way to transfer the surplus provisions to other districts. Counting the Number of Households in His District, the Magistrate Should Make the Allocation of the Grain Loan to Each Household Equal in Its Amount Regardless of the Location of Granaries. Furthermore, He Must Not Allow Yamen Clerks to Transfer the Grain Loan as They Please from One Granary to Another. If one calculates the total number of households in his district and the amount of the grain loan to be distributed to them, he can know how much grain each household is to receive. This is the standard way of allocating the grain to the granaries. For instance, if there are 3,000 households in total, and the total grain for distribution is 9,000 sŏk, the amount of grain for each household is 3 sŏk. Let us say that Tongjong Subdistrict belongs to the jurisdiction of Eastern Granary and has 300 households, it should secure 900 sŏk for distribution, and this amount should be exact, no more and no less. (If the grain loan to be distributed exceeds 900 sŏk, the grain loan to be collected will amount to over 1,000 sŏk.) For a long time yamen clerks have regarded public granaries as their private coffer. The way they manipulate the grain is as follows: They constantly move the grain from the granaries in the district capital to those in the suburbs, from east to west or vice versa, so that the inspectors will have difficulty detecting their irregularities. When a new official arrives and unexpectedly tries to inspect their granary, or an inspector from the Defense Border Council launches an investigation of their tricks, the yamen clerks who are engaging in irregularities try to say that the grain to be investigated is stored in other granaries, or they solve their problem by offering bribes. Sometimes they take out all the grain in granaries and sell as much as they like since the granaries are often located along the river where the market is held, and when it is time to make up for the deficiency, they make the residents of other subdistricts bring grain from a long distance away. Sometimes it happens that the magistrate finds it hard to visit the granaries in his domain because they were built in remote places, far away from his office. The yamen clerks take advantage of this situation and commit all sorts of tricks, but the magistrate is hardly aware of the complaints and resentment of the people.

Taxation

339

Since the tricks and irregularities of the yamen clerks are too numerous to illustrate, the magistrate must pay attention to what is happening in the granaries and personally supervise all the activities every year. The Magistrate Cannot Avoid Uncovering the Irregularities of Yamen Clerks, but Collecting Fines for Their Crimes Should Not Be Too Severe. The Execution of the Law Requires One to Be Strict and Rigorous, but the Offenders Need to Be Treated with Compassion. Retrieving the money embezzled by the clerks requires an investigation of the extent of the whole property belonging to the criminal, including his house, lands, vehicles, clothes, utensils, and other items, and after confiscating all or some of these items, one can discuss some other matters. The person who was the chief clerk at the time when the offender was appointed to a post in the granary cannot avoid punishment for his recommendation. The magistrate should summon the chief clerk and admonish him as follows: “Since you have already made a wrong recommendation, it is reasonable that you should take responsibility and return at least 100 taels of your gift money [p’ungch’ae] to the public treasury. Unless you are willing to return the money, you should make an investigation of the hidden properties of the offender and report to me.” If the report of the chief clerk fully reveals the property of the offender, the magistrate can reduce the fine that is to be collected from his p’ungch’ae money; otherwise he confiscates the whole amount. When a man is newly appointed to a post in the granary, he normally receives gift money called ch’ŏngnye. The magistrate collects the whole amount of that gift money from the offender, whether it be 30 or 50 taels. In the case of the supervisor of the granary who worked as the superior of the offender in the same year, one-tenth of the offender’s embezzled money is collected. In the case of the supervisor who happens to discover the irregularities in the following year and fails to report them, the magistrate collects one-thirtieth of the offender’s embezzled money. In the year when the offender quits his post and a clerk who succeeds him fails to report the irregularities of his predecessor, he is also liable to punishment under the law. If the man who violated the law is poor, the magistrate collects onetenth, and if not, one-fourth of the embezzled money. The man who takes over 101. Also called kop’ungch’ae, this appears to indicate the gift money that the magistrate bestowed on the chief clerk at the time of the latter’s appointment. 102. When a clerk was appointed to a post in the granary, it was customary to grant him 30 to 50 taels as a gift.

340

book VI

false records that are handed down without reporting this to his superior is punished in the same way. If there was a person who collaborated with the offender in the granary, the magistrate should punish him according to the degree of his collaboration and collect two-tenths of the embezzled money. If the collection of embezzled money still remains far too short, the magistrate resorts to a method called ch’ŏngjing, which requires that all the personnel in the granary take responsibility collectively. The yamen clerks in the personnel section, who usually number seventy or eighty, are also made to pay their share of the penalty according to their financial situation. If the offender committed embezzlement and wasted that money on taking an official entertaining woman for his concubine, the magistrate confiscates the woman’s property, including her house, lands, and housewares; however, the penalty imposed on her should not exceed the level of penalty applied to the offender’s wife. If the offender habitually engaged in gambling, and a man named Changsam won 80 taels, and a man named Isa won 60, and the host of the gambling place took 50 by overcharging for the food he served, the magistrate collects all the money from those who were involved in gambling. Then the magistrate summons the head of the offender’s clan and makes him bring a list of his families residing in the district capital. He eliminates the poor from the list and collects the money from the rest who are relatively well off according to their financial capacity. If the offender was caught in the autumn or winter, the magistrate collects the embezzled money in grain, and if he was caught in the spring or summer, the magistrate collects it in cash. In short, this way of retrieving the embezzled money from the offender is based on the principle that requires his colleagues to take collective responsibility first, and then his family. It also requires that the families of the offender residing in the district capital be forced to pay the money, while those residing outside the district capital are exempted from the obligation to pay the money. This rule may appear to be one-sidedly in favor of those living outside the district capital, but there is nothing personal in it. There are two reasons that the rule should be that way. One is choet’ong, which means indirect collaboration in a criminal act, and the other is chaebok, recovery of property. What is choet’ong? When a clerk is engaged in irregularities, his fellow clerks are not unaware of what their colleague is doing. Thus they collaborate in crime, trying to protect one another. Looked at this way, they are all criminals. What, then, do the distant relatives living outside the town have to do with the offender’s crime? What is chaebok? When a clerk squanders his property, he will become a beggar in a day even if he had the wealth of Lord Tao Zhu [Fan Li] and

Taxation

341

Yi Dun, and a man like that does not deserve relief for his trouble. Nevertheless, if the same clerk, using his position, continues to manipulate and exploit people, he will recover in a few years what he has lost and regain power as in the past. On the other hand, the common people in the countryside cannot recover from an unexpected disaster once they take out their cows and sell them, living in misery for their entire lives. Since the magistrate is like a parent to the people, he must treat equally both yamen clerks and common people as if they were his children. Suppose that you have two sons. One is so talented that he is able to make a fabulous sum of money three times, and the other is so weak and dull that he is crushed by even one failure. How would you collect money from them? To whom would you go first? So the rule of collecting embezzled money is a matter of general benevolence, not personal feeling. In recent years, when the clerks have been discovered embezzling money from the treasury, the magistrate has forcefully allocated half of that money to the common people to make up for the loss, making them pay in grain when autumn comes. This is absolutely against reason and principle. The magistrate should rather make the relatives of the offender residing outside the town pay for the shortage, but if they are the offender’s relatives but distant in relation, he should not force them to pay regardless of whether they are rich or not. In retrieving embezzled money there are two things that one must avoid. First, drawing from distant relatives living in villages outside the district capital must be avoided. If a man who does not belong to the family of the offender is unfairly drawn into the case by the offender’s family, the magistrate should first deal with this case. He should also punish the head of the offender’s family for involving a stranger in his family matter. Unless those residing outside the district capital belong to the offender’s close family, including his parents, father-inlaw, brothers-in-law, sons-in-law, nephews, and so forth, no one should be drawn into the case. Second, making the offender collect his embezzled money from the people should be avoided. The office of a yamen clerk may be insignificant [in terms of rank and prestige], but the mission he is undertaking is a great prerogative since it has to do with punishment and reward. If this prerogative is given to an offender notwithstanding his previous crimes that are already heavy, this is nothing less than encouraging him to commit more crimes, and therefore the appointment of a criminal for a task should not be allowed under any circumstances. It is not a bad idea to choose a man from the close relatives of the offender who carries out his duty with integrity and appoint him to a good post after taking several hundred taels of cash and making up for the loss due to the embezzlement. 103. A man who became rich through salt farming. He is briefly mentioned in the “Biographies and Collective Biographies” [Liezhuan], Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian.

342

book VI

A yamen clerk whose embezzlement amounts to several thousand sŏk of grain is a big thief. Once his embezzled money is collected, the magistrate should banish him from his district to a faraway place (which is 3,000 li away), making an announcement in front of all the yamen clerks that the offender will never be employed again, and then post a notice in the office of personnel. Benevolent Magistrates in the Past Used to Make Up for Embezzled Grain Loans by Reducing Public Expenditures or Writing Off Such Debts after Consulting with the Governor. Collecting Them Ruthlessly Is Not the Way That Benevolent Magistrates Should Employ. When Yi Hyŏnbo [pen name Nongam] became magistrate of Yŏngch’ŏn, his district had many old defaulted loans. Because he managed them well and also reduced expenditures, the defaulted grain loans were made up after a year. Then Magistrate Yi burned all the documents of debts that were too old to collect. When Hwang Chullyang became magistrate of Sŏngju, he reduced expenditures and made up for the defaulted loans handed down from his predecessors. When the shortage was made good, he burned the loan documents. When Section Chief Kwŏn Mok  became administrator of grain transport of Hamhŭng, the defaulted grain loans over a long period amounted to thousands of kok. He kept on reducing expenditures, finally made up the shortage of grain, and then burned all the documents related to grain loans. When Yun Hyŏngnae became magistrate of Hoein, he successfully made up for or wrote off the old defaulted grain loans and military cloth taxes of the poor who were unable to pay by using various expedients. Furthermore, he also provided relief to the people who were too poor to support their parents. Overwhelmed by the benevolence of their magistrate, the people in his district said, “How can we who have such a benevolent magistrate dare not pay what we owe to the government?” Then they paid their old debts, and in paying them they were afraid that they might fall behind their neighbors. In the yard of his yamen not a stroke or a lash was applied for punishment, and in the prison not a convict was locked up; nevertheless, the amount of grain that was collected increased more than ever.

104. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chunggŏ, and his pen name Myŏngye. He also served as fourth inspector, vice section chief of the Board of Works and the Board of Taxation, and magistrate of Tanyang, among other positions. His writings were collected and published in Collected Works of Hwang Chullyang (Kŭmgye chip). 105. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was T’aehwa. He also served as section chief of the Board of Taxation and was famous for his benevolent administration when he served in Hamhŭng.

Taxation

343

When Cho Ch’angwŏn became magistrate of Chiksan, he carried out his duty with integrity, and whatever he did proved to be so precise and fair that his reputation spread to neighboring districts in a few years. The people who wanted to fi le lawsuits crowded in his yamen, and arrows with golden tips [kŭmsi] piled up like a hill. With the funds thus generated, the magistrate paid off the people’s old debts to the government. The royal court promoted him in rank, bestowing silk [as a gift]. When Yi Chŏk  became magistrate of Singye, there were military provisions in his district, but the military provisions ran short because of unpaid loans and the decrease in population over the years. His predecessors had tried to conceal the fact out of fear that they might be punished. Therefore, when the central government proclaimed a decree that old defaulted loans were to be canceled, the residents of his district were not able to enjoy the benefit. Upon arriving at his post, Magistrate Yi submitted a report to the commissioner of military provisions [kwanhyangsa] and made a request to forgive the old debts by royal order of the king. However, his request was not granted, and in the spring of Kiyu year [1669] he was finally dismissed because of his request. Later Min Yujung became commissioner. He happened to read the report submitted by former magistrate Yi Chŏk and immediately submitted his own report to the royal court. As a result, the old debts that amounted to 1,000 sŏk of grain were finally canceled. The residents of Singye still praise the good works of Yi Chŏk. C H A P T E R : HOUSE HOL D R E GI S T R AT ION

Household Registration Is the Foundation of All Taxation and Corvée Services. When Household Registration Is Administered Equitably, the Dispensation of Corvée Services Can Be Equitable. There are two kinds of law in administering household registration. One is the law focused on rigorous investigation and strict enforcement [hefa], and the other is the law emphasizing generosity and flexibility [guanfa]. Hefa is the law that 106. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Taehyŏng, and his pen name Oŭn. He also served as magistrate of Inch’ŏn. When his daughter became a royal concubine of King Injo, he was appointed director of the Royal House Administration (yŏngdollyŏng busa) and granted the title of Great Lord Hanwŏn. 107. Arrows with golden tips were used as a kind of processing fee paid to the officials in charge of prison administration. 108. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as magistrate of Yŏngdŏk. 109. The office of commissioner for supplying military provisions was created during the reign of King Injo for the purpose of providing military provisions to the two major military forces in two western provinces in the north of Korea. It was usually held concurrently by the magistrate or governor of P’yŏngan Province.

344

book VI

requires that every single household be included on the register, since anyone who is left out is thereby not entitled to any benefit of law, even if he or she is murdered or raped. The corpse of such a person is not examined, and a victim of sexual violation cannot bring a suit against her attacker. So this law is mainly focused on finding the facts of the actual number of people and on strict enforcement of the law. Guanfa, on the other hand, does not stress strict investigation nor advocate accuracy in registering the people. It allows individual villages to make their own registers and allocate corvée ser vices and taxes to the residents. A local government that adopts this system of law collects only general information on the number of households, trying to make the law fair and equitable to all of them. Rites of Zhou states that the office of the population registrar [simin] is to put a person’s name on the record as soon as a man or woman is born and submit it to the emperor and report to Heaven without omitting anyone. This is the application of hefa. When Zhao Jianzi made his retainer Yin Duo rule Jinyang, Yin Duo made a request that he be allowed to make his district more stable by reducing the number of households on the registration record. As a result, the people of his district were able to regain their economic strength, and this is the application of guanfa, the law based on generosity and flexibility. If the well-field system is organized as required by the law so that the burden of taxation is not too heavy for the people, and the nine types of corvée ser vices [jiufu] are well regulated so that they are not troublesome, thorough investigations of individuals and households will not make the people alarmed, and under those circumstances it will not be hard to use hefa. However, if the magistrate of an individual district alone tries to use that strict law although the whole country is unprepared for such a law, the burden of taxes and corvée ser vices, along with the complaints and resentment of people, will increase every day. Furthermore, the tricks of yamen clerks will worsen, and this will force the people to offer them bribes. So the application of hefa will produce only a great deal of trouble for no reason. This is the reason that the magistrate nowadays adopts guanfa, the law based on generosity and flexibility, in administering family registration. 110. Zhao Jianzi (517–458 B.C.) was a ruler of the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period. 111. When Zhao Jianzi made his retainer Yin Duo rule Jinyang during the Spring and Autumn period, Yin asked, “Do you want me to collect more taxes or make the state more secure?” Zhao replied, “I prefer the latter.” When Yin reduced taxes by reducing the number of households on the registration record, the lives of the people greatly improved. As a result, when there was a rebellion in the state of Jin, the Zhao clan was able to restore its power, using Jinyang as its political base (Guoyu, “Discourses of Jin”). Guoyu is a classical Chinese history book that covers the history of various states, including Zhou, Lu, Qi, and others, from the Western Zhou to 453 B.C. “Discourses of Jin” (Jinyu ) is one of the sections of the book.

Taxation

345

What is guanfa? It does not require searching for every household and putting it on the record; what one should do first is to take a look at the total number of households of various administrative units in the district, which was originally fi xed by law. If the total number fi xed by law is 3,000 and the number of actual households turns out to be 9,000, one should set up 1 household out of every 3 households, and if the total number fi xed by the law is 2,000 and the number of actual households turns out to be 8,000, one should set up 1 household out of every 4 households, so that the discovery of new households may not exceed the quota that was already fi xed by law. This is guanfa. I recommended the use of strict law when I discussed the national law codes because that is the primary law in governing the state as a whole. However, in this book, Admonitions on Governing the People, I recommend the use of lenient law because it is intended to accede to custom. Since the Administration of Household Registration Is in Disarray and Lacks Discipline, Only Magistrates with Great Capabilities Can Fix the Problem. For the past several decades the magistrates have neglected their jobs, and the tyranny and trickery of the yamen clerks have shown no limit. Household registration is one of the outstanding maladies among their tyrannies and trickeries. If a village consists of 100 households, and the yellow color of their thatched roofs is clear and blue smoke rises from their chimneys, it can be regarded as an affluent village. When the year for renewing household registration arrives (investigations are conducted during the summer and autumn of the years whose names include the following characters: in, sa, sin, and hae), the clerk in charge sends an official letter to the village in which he says that he will increase the number of households by ten. The leader of the village then calls for a meeting and discusses the situation with the residents, sitting under the shade of an old tree in the center of the village. He says, “The authorities say that they will increase the number of households by ten, which appears to be difficult to avoid. If this happens, the burden of taxes and grain loans will also increase. The additional burden of ten households per year will amount to 100 taels, and 300 taels for the period of three years. Would it not be better if we can work out this problem with one-third of the money to be paid for three years?” The residents all agree and say, “What you are saying makes sense. We should raise the money. You take it and make a deal with the authorities. 112. The Chinese characters here stand for the years in the Earthly Branches or Twelve Branches, which are combined with ten Heavenly Stems. The Earthly Branches are as follows: cha, ch’uk, in, myo, chin, sa, o, mi, sin, yu, sul, hae. If the household registration is renewed on the years of in, sa, sin, hae, that means that it is renewed every three years.

346

book VI

We will depend on you.” Thus the villagers finally hand over 100 taels to their representative. The latter secretly pockets 20 taels for himself and bribes the clerk in charge of household registration with the remaining 80 taels. When he meets with the clerk, he says, “Since we have known each other for many years and have an opportunity like this, I am sure that not only will you be able to prevent the number of households from increasing, but you can even reduce it. We will not forget your special favor for our village if you can reduce the number of households by five.” The clerk replies, “Although the situation is pretty bad this year, how can I dare to disregard your request?” Then the representative returns to his village and calls another meeting to make a report on the deal he has just made and to discuss the reduction of households. He says, “The authorities already promised me not to increase the number of households; furthermore, they also promised me to reduce the number by five, which is a great opportunity for us. So we should raise another 50 taels, drawing from the public funds of our village.” The villagers at the meeting reply, “You did a good job. If you had not handled the matter, such a good deal would not be possible.” As a result, that village benefits from the deal; on the other hand, the reduced number of households, which is five, is distributed equally to five villages in the neighborhood so that each of them unexpectedly has an additional household on the records of their household registration. At the news of the increase of households, the people of the five villages are shocked and cry out, “We are now ruined. From olden days three families in our village have paid the taxes of one household, and even that arrangement has been excessive and has made us bleed to death. Under these circumstances, if the number of households in our village is raised, how can we survive?” Then the people of each village immediately start raising 7 taels by selling their property, including cows and cauldrons, and rush to the Household Registration Office. They make an appeal to the clerks, saying, “We are in deep trouble, and please have mercy on us. From olden days three families in our village have paid the taxes of one household, and even that arrangement has been excessive and has made us bleed to death. Under these circumstances, if the number of households in our village is raised, how can we survive? We have prepared a little money to show our sincerity and hope that you graciously accept it.” The clerk in charge looks up to the sky and laughs. He says, “It normally takes 10 taels to be exempt from this obligation; however, since you appear to be too hard pressed, let me allow you a special favor this time.” Then the clerk transfers the burden of one household to another village, and this process continuously causes similar reactions from the villages that are involved. The post of clerk in charge of personnel [ibang] is the most coveted among the clerks in local administration; however, when the year comes in which household registration is renewed, the clerk in charge of household registration is more envied because he can make as much as 10,000 taels in a year if he serves in a large

Taxation

347

district and at least 3,000 taels in a small district. Since there is a good chance to make a large fortune in a short time, craft y clerks try to find ways of contacting the people in power in Seoul in order to secure the post they desire. Thus they bribe them with all kinds of precious gifts, such as silk, rare dried fish, and abalones, even before the year designated for new household registration starts. Since the wind blowing above is fierce, the fire burning below is hot. The clerks spend 700 or 800 taels on bribery, offering money to the magistrate’s wife or to his secretary and retainers or even to female entertainers favored by the magistrate. They fiercely contend for the post they seek, and the strong finally devour the weak. If unfortunately the magistrate happens to be replaced by another, the clerk who was already appointed to the post of household registration, now running out of resources, is compelled to withdraw from the bidding, and the job is handed over to another contender who bribes the new magistrate. When this sort of deal is known among local residents, the entire district is fi lled with foul rumors. Notwithstanding the turmoil outside his yamen, the magistrate only indulges in caressing the bundles of money he took, lying down on his side. How sad! Since from the beginning the magistrate took money from the clerk in exchange for the job of household registration, how can he prevent the clerk from committing trickery? The clerk now exploits the people as much as he pleases, but it is no surprise that the magistrate does not reproach him at all. This is the present situation in which household registration is administered. One Must First Conduct Investigations of the Sites of Households in Order to Carry Out Household Registration Successfully. Only after Finding Out the Facts Can One Raise or Reduce the Number of Households. Therefore, One Cannot Neglect Keeping a Record of Household Seats. Ten days after his inauguration the magistrate should summon several yamen clerks who are seasoned and good at writing. He orders them to draw a map of their district, using the scale of the Zhou dynasty in which 1 chi is 10 li. If the distance between the north and south of the district is 100 li and that between the east and the west is 80 li, the size of the map, according to the Zhou scale, should be 10 by 8 chi. The first thing to be included on the map is the yamen, surrounded by protective walls; next, forests, hills, streams, brooks, and ponds; and finally, villages. A village with a hundred households should be marked by a hundred small triangles. (Triangles resemble the shape of roofs.) Likewise, a village with ten households is marked by ten triangles, and a village with three households is 113. The magistrate caressing the bribe money while lying on his side suggests an indulgent parent who is petting a child lying on the bed or floor.

348

book VI

marked by three triangles. The roads should be depicted as in their original shape. As for coloring the map, a light color should be used for the background; however, the houses with tiled roofs should be painted in blue, the ones with thatched roofs in yellow, mountains in green, waters in blue, and roads in red. If the magistrate hangs this map on the wall of the main hall and always looks at it, the entire district in his domain can appear as if it were present before his eyes. Besides, since he now knows the distances, he can figure how long it takes to send out official dispatches or personnel to conduct official business. The map should be spacious enough to enter necessary details. Therefore, one adopts the scale of the Zhou dynasty in which 1 chi represents 10 li. When the magistrate makes the map, he should instruct his staff as follows: “The purpose of making this map is for me to learn about the rise and fall of the households in my domain. Therefore, you should make a thorough investigation of their current state, showing how many houses there are and whether they have tiled roofs or thatched roofs. You will be held responsible if you are careless in describing details. If the village you are working on is too large for you to investigate it yourself, you should make inquiries of the representative or residents of the village until you discover the facts you need. Do not dare to forget what I said.” When the map is completed, the magistrate should make a record book of household seats [kachwach’aek]. The record book of household seats is something like zhenjibu, a record of basic information that was used by the people of the Song dynasty. Since the record of household seats includes detailed information on the land and property belonging to each household, it is not unlike the Chinese zhenjibu. Whereas household registration should be carried out using guanfa, the law marked by flexibility and generosity, the record book of household seats must be made according to hefa, the law based on rigorous investigation and strict enforcement, allowing no mistakes. When over a month has passed since his inauguration, the magistrate is ready at last to make the record of household seats because by then he can make the people trust him through wise and benevolent administration and call him “our magistrate” as they speak of him among themselves. He first chooses three or four yamen clerks who are intelligent, generous, and experienced and gives them instructions on how the record of household seats is to be made with the following admonition: “You visit so-and-so village and start making the record, but never forget that you can be punished if you fail to do your job.” Then he continues: “The reason that I want this record to be made is not to search out hidden households or unregistered men for tax purposes or harassment. Because I have become a magistrate, my job is to govern the people wisely, so I need to know the real situation they are in, that is, how they are doing, whether they are well off or 114. Tiled roofs were an indication of affluence.

Taxation

349

not, and so forth. I have no intention other than that. I want you to take my message to the people you meet and be cautious not to scare them.” He will also say to them: “You may think that the magistrate, sitting deep inside the yamen, has no way of knowing about the people who, like a flock of sparrows and quails, live together in deep mountains and remote villages, especially their living conditions concerning their houses, land, assets, and livelihood, and the number of their households. Thus you may believe that the magistrate will not be able to discover the facts even if there is a gap between the survey and the real situation. However, I must tell you that everything under Heaven depends on one character, that is, ‘sincerity’ [sŏng]. If the magistrate lacks sincerity in what he does, the place just outside the yamen gate will appear like Huyue; if he is sincere in carry ing out his duty, a place that is 1,000 li away will be seen as if it were right before his eyes. This is the way the world works. The reason that I send you out to make the records of people, including their living conditions, is to govern them properly on the basis of those records. If those records happen to be wrong, and mistakes are made because I have been misled, how can I raise my face? Therefore, the records that you are to make should be absolutely accurate. “Suppose that a man living in a remote village in the mountains fi les a lawsuit. To find out the facts, I will start asking him questions based on the records you have made. If there are some errors in your records, they will be discovered in that process, and you will be held responsible for them. When a homicide takes place in a remote village, I may visit the place for my investigation. While I am carry ing out the investigation, I will certainly count the number of houses and the rooms they have. If your record is wrong about them, it will definitely be discovered at that point, and you will be punished for it. When people happen to sue each other over a calf, or a support soldier has a fight with his neighbor, and no information on them is found in your records, your negligence will be exposed, and you will be punished for it. Furthermore, I will separately send out my men who will check on your activities, and if you commit trickery, you will have to pay for it. If you still conduct yourself recklessly despite my warning, your mistake will be too serious to be forgiven lightly.” The magistrate continues to admonish them: “Because you are used to taking the easy way, you may be tempted to send a man to conduct the survey instead of making the trip by yourself, or to make your records only on the basis of the words of a villager. Your mistakes will be discovered within ten days or a month at most, and you will have to face the consequences. If your record, on the other hand, is carefully made and thus proves to be reliable for a long time, you have rendered a good ser vice and will be specially rewarded in relation to your career.” 115. Hu indicates the people in the north of China and Yue the people in the south of China. Since the two are a long distance from each other, they cannot know about each other well.

350

book VI

He will finally say to the yamen clerks: “I will provide you with some money for your expenses. When you visit the villages, neither allow the residents to kill their chickens and dogs nor collect any money in order to entertain you. If one of your relatives in the village comes to see you, bringing wine, you will say, ‘The wine that you brought is like poison to me.’ Wherever you go, you are to make sure that not a single coin is collected for your sake; then you will be free from blame. Do not say, ‘Our magistrate is sitting deep inside his office.’ I will go out and make inquiry into your activities.” (When I served in a district in the west, I actually warned yamen clerks in the manner I have described above. The result was that the records they had made indeed became more accurate and reliable. Since I found no error in them despite testing them for several years, their records must have been based on facts.) When the New Records of Household Registration Are Completed, the Magistrate Should Proclaim the Total Number of Households of Each Village. There May Be Some Protests over the Numbers, but They Should Be Strictly Prohibited. It is decided that Yuchŏlli is now a village of 20 households. (Although it used to be a village of 15 households, 5 households have been added.) It is decided that Sŏkchŏlli is a village of 15 households. (Although it used to be a village of 14 households, 1 household has been added.) It is decided that Kŭmdangni is a village of 12 households. (Although it used be a village of 30 households, the number of households has now been reduced by 18.) It is now decided that Oksalli is a village of 18 households. (Although it used to be a village of 20 households, the number of households has now been reduced by 2.) The proclamation continues to be made in the same way. The population should also be determined on the basis of the total number of households that had previously been decided. For instance, if the households of a district in the last triennial year [singnyŏn] were 4,000 in total, and its male population was 7,800 and its female population 8,200, respectively, each unit of 40 households has 78 males and 82 females in population ratio. If this ratio is similarly extended, each unit of 20 households has 39 males and 41 females, and these figures of population should be entered at the bottom of the household records. Since Yuchŏlli has 20 households, it is decided that its male population should be 39 and its female population 41. Since Oksalli has 18 households, its male 116. Koksan, Hwanghae Province, in which Tasan served as magistrate. 117. Fictitious names are used for the villages described in this paragraph. 118. The household registration and civil ser vice examinations used to be conducted every three years, and the third year of this cycle was called singnyŏn.

Taxation

351

population is 35 and its female population 37. The population of the remaining villages is computed in the same way. The magistrate should give the following order: “The magistrate proclaims as follows: The household registration of our district has been in disarray for many years, and the burden of the people has increased because of the trickery of yamen clerks. The number of households of affluent villages has decreased by several every year, whereas that of impoverished villages has increased by several every year. Thus the accumulated number of households was transferred from one place to another to the disadvantage of the poor and powerless. This is obviously wrong. This magistrate has now finished adjusting the number of households for each village. He determined 1 household by combining 4 to 6 families. Thus it was decided that your village (the village here refers to Yuchŏlli) has 20 households. As for the male and female populations, you will find them at the bottom of this dispatch. “So I suggest that you, the residents of Yuchŏlli, hold a meeting that includes village elders and literati but excludes village representatives and heads of the community compact and discuss and submit a list of 20 households to my office by the fifteenth day of the seventh month. Then I will approve it with my stamp on it without demanding revision. Although the number of households in your village has increased by 5, you should not complain about this because the adjustment was intended to bring about fairness in running state affairs. If anyone tries to appeal or raise complaints, creating disturbance in my office, I will see that he is punished. I must warn you that anyone who tries to change the result by bribing or conspiring with yamen clerks will surely fail. Since this rule that I have established is firm and strict, one must be careful not to take a chance to test it.” The reason that the list of households should be approved as originally made is that the people may be harmed if it is altered. When the chief clerk in charge of household registration is allowed to gather the lists of information on individual households privately, the courtesy fee will amount to 100 maces per household (40 or 50 maces at least). Is it not advisable, then, to recognize the original list submitted by the people as the official one? When the lists of household seats are collected from all the villages, the magistrate should immediately approve them by stamping his seal and hand them over to the clerk in charge. Then the magistrate summons the chief of the local yangban association and makes him appoint a director in chief [togam]; he summons the chief of local law enforcement [sugyo] and makes him appoint a supervisory official [kamgwan] and an examiner [kamgo]; and finally he orders his staff to establish the Household Registration Office [Hojŏkch’ŏng]. However, he makes sure that village representatives and heads of the community compact are excluded from hiring for the office.

352

book VI

If the magistrate discharges his duty in this manner, the clerk in charge will lose his profit, and the director in chief, the supervisory official, and the examiner will suffer a fi nancial loss. Neither a cup of wine nor a bowl of noodles will be taken into the Household Registration Office unnoticed. If that happens, you can imagine the sound of groaning and lamentation that those officials will make. However, eradicating the irregularities in household registration is of utmost importance to the administration of the local government because household registration serves as the basis for determining all kinds of taxes and corvée services. If household registration is allowed to deteriorate, all the other administrative affairs become so entangled and out of shape that not one of them can be straightened out. Would it be wise if the magistrate neglected the troubles and unfairness imposed on ten thousand households in order to take care of the worries and lamentations of a few minor officials? In tasks other than household registration the clerks can still make profits by taking advantage of the people even if the magistrate strictly carries out his duty. However, in the case of household registration the clerks in charge will go bankrupt when the aforementioned way of dealing with them is adopted. The villages whose portion of the population was increased will not try to bribe the clerks because their share of the population has already increased. The ones whose portion of the population was decreased will not bribe them either because they are so poor. Although he may feel sorry for the clerks, the magistrate cannot satisfy both sides. If he makes even a small exception, it will undermine the principle of governance. The way of handling household registration, then, is either one thing or another. If it is sound, it is sound; if it is not, it completely collapses. There is no possibility of being half white and half black as far as household registration is concerned. The magistrate should be prepared to steel his mind to resist his sympathy for a handful of his men who have grievances against him. If he feels that the clerks suffered financial loss because of their jobs, the magistrate can compensate them by transferring them to other advantageous positions at the end of the year. I also used this practice when I served as magistrate in a district in the west. If a Village Is Unable to Satisfy the Designated Amount of Taxes Because of a Decrease in the Number of Households, the Magistrate Should Report This to His Superior. If during a Famine Nine out of Ten Houses in the Villages Are Incapable of Paying Their Share of Taxes, the Magistrate Should Also Report the Situation to His Superior, Making a Request for the Reduction of Their Tax Payments. When the total number of households in a district is large but the actual number of households is small, four small-size households or two medium-size households or one large household, respectively, should be made into one household.

Taxation

353

If it is not possible to take this approach, however, because the number of households assigned to the district is too large and the number of actual households is too small, the magistrate, instead of reporting the total number of households in his district, should select one of the most impoverished villages in his district and investigate the number of fictitious households that are on the record. Using his investigation to support his argument, the magistrate can appeal to the superior office for the reduction of households in his district. His requests may not be accepted, but he should continue to make requests until they are granted, risking his career. The magistrate makes a report as follows: “The total number of households in our district is 3,600; however, the actual number is less than 3,000. Thirty-two villages, including Songsanni, Chisŏngni, Changyangni, Taegongni, and Pigongni, altogether have a total of 100 household seats. Nevertheless, the total number of households assigned to them amounted to 600, which was decided in the last survey. The situation with other villages is much the same. Therefore, there is no way of making up for the shortage. The law stipulates that the number of households cannot be reduced, although it can be increased; however, it is also against the spirit of the law to falsify the facts simply to follow the law itself. Since I am a man in charge of a district, how can I not be concerned about this? Since in olden days Yin Duo laid down the foundation for his governance by reducing the number of households, and Marquis Wenhou of the Wei dynasty compared the tax increase through the increase of households to wearing a coat after turning it inside out, the way in which the people in the olden days showed their interest in reality, rejecting falsehood, provides an example for us to follow. In closing the household registration, I am absolutely convinced that mistakes can be eliminated only when it is allowed to reduce the current quota of the number of households by five hundred. Upon my knees I beg you to take the difficult situation of the people into serious consideration and reduce the number of their households so that you may not betray their trust in you.” When Chŏng Sulin served as assistant district magistrate of Haeju, there were numerous nonexistent households. He reduced two thousand households from his final report and after receiving the approval of the governor submitted

119. The ruler of the Wei dynasty during the Warring States period. 120. One day Marquis Wenhou (424–387 BC) went out and came across a man who was carrying a load of grass on his back, wearing a fur coat after turning it inside out. He asked the man, “Why do you wear your fur coat, turning it inside out?” The man replied, “It is because I care for my fur coat.” Wenhou lamented, “You certainly care for the fur but do not know that its skin is worn out” (Book of Wei). 121. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reigns of Chŏngjo and Sunjo. He also served as assistant district magistrate of Chŏnju.

354

book VI

the report to the central government in Seoul. When his report was accepted, the people of Haeju were delighted and praised him. Imposts like Head Taxes and Processing Fees Can Be Collected According to Custom; However, Various Exploitative Imposts Other than These Should Be Strictly Prohibited. According to the custom in the southern region, the rice for the head tax [ingumi] is 1 sŭng per head, comfort money [injŏngjŏn] is 2 p’un per household, and the processing fee paid in unrefi ned rice [chŏngsŏjo] is 1 tu per household. These imposts are collected from various villages on the basis of the number of households for the year in question, and the rice goes to yamen clerks, the money to the government office in Seoul for the closing of household registration, and the processing fee paid in unrefined rice to those who copy household registers. If there are 4,000 households, for instance, the processing fee will amount to 4,000 tu of unrefined rice, and the money to 80 taels; and if there are 16,000 heads, the rice will be 16,000 tu, which is sufficient for everyone involved. When the lists of households are collected, the Household Registration Office usually extorts 5 or 6 taels from each village. When the clerks, overseers, and hired slaves in the office are dissatisfied with the people, they threaten them by using abusive language and hurling insults at their fathers and grandfathers. Fishing villages and market places cannot file the lists of their household seats unless they pay 10 taels. Sometimes the Household Registration Office collects 1 tael from each household. Even the people belonging to the class of literati and local landowners have to pay no less than 5 to 7 maces when they pay individually. Once household registration is completed, the Household Registration Office makes a separate copy of the household register called chŏngdan, using fine paper. (They place a stamp on it, and it receives the signature of the household in question.) It also happens that a gang of hoodlums in the district capital goes out to the villages and extorts 1 or 2 taels from people, calling themselves supervisory officials of household registration, and if they are not satisfied, they harass the people with abusive language. They will not leave the village, although people try to persuade them with wine and food; they depart only when their greed is satisfied. This practice is absolutely a poison to the people. If the magistrate himself receives or hands out the lists of household registration directly from or to the people, the two evils aforementioned will disappear of themselves without any intervention. If the clerks working on household registration come to complain that they are short of money needed for the closing of registration, the magistrate should order the chief of the local yangban association 122. Chŏngdan means “correct list” or “correct household register.”

Taxation

355

to send out letters personally to the villages, asking for donations of money, and bring the money to the local office (the money should not be delivered directly to the Household Registration Office) so that it can be transferred to the clerks in charge of household registration. The work of making copies of the household register should not be granted to the magistrate’s poor friends or impoverished relatives. It is not appropriate for the magistrate to use the processing fees for this purpose. When Second Minister Yu Ŭi served as magistrate of Hongju, he had a houseguest who was very poor. The chief clerk in his yamen felt sorry for the man and gave him a job, which was making the copies of the household registers of two subdistricts, allowing him to take processing fees for his work. When the copy making was completed, Magistrate Yu discovered the situation. The magistrate ordered the processing fee paid in rice to be sent to a poor scholar in his district who was unable to repay his grain loan. As for his houseguest, he gave him grain that he had obtained from a different source. This is what I witnessed. Those Who Deliberately Raise or Reduce Their Legal Age, Those Who Pretend to Be Confucian Scholars or Officeholders, Those Who Falsely Report That They Are Widowers, and Those Who Falsely Place Their Names on the Family Register as Candidates for the State Examination Must Be Fully Investigated and Prohibited from What They Are Doing. Those who want to gain the privilege of senior citizen try to raise their age, and those who are concerned about changing their status for military duty try to lower their age. (When a man reaches the age of sixty, his son is supposed to inherit his father’s military duty. They all pay the same military cloth tax, but changing their status costs extra money.) Since in small districts there are no laws and regulations regarding the state examination, all kinds of people, including public or private slaves, not to mention ignorant people, can easily have access to the examination hall, pretending that they are Confucian students. If this situation is allowed to continue, all the people in this country will be Confucian students, and no confusion will be more serious than that. Writings of Master Guan said, “A state that has many men of higher social status becomes poor.” Our country is a good example of that warning. Since changing the status of military duty is onerous and troublesome, people across the country try to evade their military duty at the risk of losing their original 123. According to the National Code, those who were above eighty years of age were all granted rank 1 regardless of their social status, although the rank was merely honorary. 124. The military duty of the father was handed down to the son. Th is was called kaech’ŏm in Korean.

356

book VI

nature, changing the names of their fathers and grandfathers to elevate their social status and pretending to have loyalty and filial piety. The records thus fabricated become established after several decades. Since the person who forged his family record does not tell his children what he has done, the children actually believe that their forebears held some official titles. If the government happens to uncover the facts, the children of the man raise outcries, complaining about the injustice in the official finding. So it becomes extremely difficult to rectify mistakes in the family records even if they are obviously wrong. If one has many family members, he has to pay relatively higher taxes. For this reason, he tries to register himself as a widower, which indicates how serious the sufferings of the people are. However, if the practice of arbitrarily increasing or decreasing the total number of households in relation to the actual population is prohibited, how can there be so many households that have widowers? When the magistrate collects fines from those who falsified their records, there should be a gradation in fines. Those who pretended to be Confucian scholars or officeholders should be fined 5 tu of rice, and other offenders 1 tu of rice. The rice thus collected in fines should be handed over to the clerks in charge of household registration so that they can be used as expenses for concluding the final procedure at the superior office in Seoul. Although I said that acting as a Confucian student should be prohibited, the deception will never be eradicated. As soon as I depart from the district, the people will once again bribe officials and continue to assume their undeserved titles as they did before. So what is the use of my efforts to rectify the problems, which only contribute to the coffers of clerks without solving anything? When I returned home after finishing my term in the district of the west, the residents came out to see me off. They said, “Your Honor did an excellent job, but uncovering those who pretended to be Confucian scholars was a little too harsh.” It Is Not Advisable to Proclaim Publicly the Instructions and Precedents Regarding Household Registration, Which Are Dispatched from the Governor’s Office to the Local District According to Custom. The regulations on household registration are fully stated in the code of law. (See the second article in the code of taxation.) They specify the penalties for various offenses. For instance, certain offenses are punished by one hundred strokes of beating by a heavy stick, and others by three years of penal servitude. However, all these laws are no longer enforced. Proclaiming laws that are no longer enforced 125. An individual who received an official citation for loyalty or fi lial piety was exempted from military ser vice.

Taxation

357

only makes the people distrust the decrees of the government and ignore the laws of the state. Therefore, it is advisable for the magistrate to keep such laws only for his own reference without proclaiming them to the people. I have observed that the people in the countryside generally do not keep records. Hence they forget things that happened only a few years ago and become easily surprised or shocked whenever they receive orders from the government. Thus when official dispatches concerning household registration come down to their village, the people are thrown into a panic, all saying, “The law this year is unusually strict.” Then they often visit the Household Registration Office in order to gather information about the new law. The clerks, who know well the weakness of these foolish people, scare them more by saying that the penalty for violation of the law is very severe, citing a hundred lashes of corporal punishment, as well as three years of penal servitude. Those who violated the law of household registration then offer bribes to the clerks for their safety. Since many people violate the law, bribery fi nally has become the general practice, and those who are innocent are also compelled to give their money to the clerks. Th is is the reason that 5 or 6 taels are extorted by the clerks when the lists of household seats are fi led. Under these circumstances, would it be right for the magistrate to proclaim to the people the official dispatches concerning the law of household registration, particularly the details on penalties and punishments? Since this is the situation, it is hard to prevent the people from assuming the identity of Confucian scholars, even if the magistrate conducts investigations of them. There Will Be No Room for Evils like Trickery and Robbery if the Magistrate Carries Out the So-Called Five-Household or Ten-Household Watch Systems, Following the Model of Old Laws and Adding New Ones to Them. Wang Yangming’s “ten-household watch system” works as follows: The ten households of so-and-so village of so-and-so district are given the tallies in which their basic family information is recorded. The members belonging to this group, taking turns each day, conduct patrols in the late afternoon or the early evening, checking the tallies of individual households to see if there is any change in their status. Thus they can find out which household has a visitor, who left his house to work and where he now is, when he is scheduled to come back home, the name of the guest who is staying in a certain household and the purpose of his visit, and so forth. Then the patrol informs his household group of his findings, and if there is anything suspicious, he immediately reports to the authorities. When he fails to report or tries to hide the things to be reported, the group of ten households to which he belongs is to be punished jointly for his offense.

358

book VI

[Wang says]: “According to the findings of our commission during its regional inspection, the districts are infested with bandits. In order to repel the enemy from without, one must strengthen the domestic situation within. However, because I am newly appointed to my present position and am not familiar with the current state of affairs of our district, my experience in administration is not adequate to find ways to mobilize the people for our security. According to the reports, some of the residents, for a small gain, provide shelter and food to strangers whose histories no one knows and sometimes even join them in cheating and stealing. Much worse, they conspire with barbarous bandits in the backwoods country, providing them with information and their houses for their operations, which makes it more difficult to eliminate the bandits. “So here are my orders. The people in my domain should place their nameplates at their gates, on which the permanent domicile of the family and the number of family members and houseguests are recorded. Th is will facilitate the work of officials who conduct inspections. “Organized into one unit, ten households will display identical gateplates with the names of their families on the front and the instructions from our office on the back, and every day members of the unit will patrol the village, checking out the gateplates. If one fi nds strangers or anyone who looks suspicious, he should immediately report this to the authorities. Otherwise, the whole ten households will be held responsible for failing to make a report. When this measure is carried out, the residents will not dare to join the men of trickery and deception, and there will be no place for the criminals to set their feet on. The supervising officials will be assigned to all villages according to the rules, and their assignment will be completed within a month. Strict surveillance should also be enforced on the provincial level so that people will not provide false reports to the authorities, as they have done in the past. The list of names verified through inspection should be submitted to my office and will be bound in a book for the purpose of reference. The details in it will be closely examined, and they will show whether you did a good job. After examining them, I will either recommend or punish the individuals according to the quality of their work.” The magistrate continues to persuade the people as follows: [Wang says,] “If problems like quarreling and feuding take place within the unit of ten households, the other members of the same unit should immediately try to arbitrate the dispute between the two parties. If one refuses to listen to words of counsel, despises the weak, and falsely accuses others, trusting his own power, the members of the household unit to which the man belongs should bring him to the authorities. My office will review the case and take proper measures as fast as it can. If litiga126. “Our commission” here probably indicates the Provincial Administration Commission, one of the local administrative organizations during the Ming dynasty.

Taxation

359

tion that brought about imprisonment was caused by false accusations, all the members of the household unit will be held responsible for failing to arbitrate the dispute and not making a report to the authorities. Therefore, every day, each member of the household unit should try to maintain a good relationship so that there will be neither disputes nor lawsuits among themselves. Realizing that quarrels and disputes among themselves are wrong, the members of the household unit will also be less prone to bring lawsuits against their neighbors. “The ten-household watch system may appear simple, but its effect is outstanding. If it is well executed, things like robbery and lawsuits will decrease. Furthermore, administering corvée ser vices will be carried out more impartially; security against the outside enemy will be strengthened; customs and culture will improve; and rites and music can prosper. If it happens that the new policy does not agree with the residents and their customs, it should be revised to accomplish its original purpose.” The magistrate continues to admonish as follows: [Wang says,] “The reason that there is no leader in the ten-household watch system is to prevent the potential abuse of his position by the man who is selected. However, when villages are under the threat of bandits, there must be leaders who can take control of the critical situation. So this is what should be done. As soon as the first draft of gateplates is submitted to the government office, the officials in charge of various local administrative agencies must visit all the villages in their jurisdiction and select a leader of each village who is reputable and reliable, so that the man can concentrate only on repelling the bandits. “A drum must be installed at every strategic point of each village or subdistrict inside the walled town. If the villages are far apart from each other, a high tower should be built so that a drum can be placed in it. If any emergency situation arises, the residents rush to the tower to beat the drum, and nearby villages also respond by beating their own drums. When the drums are sounded, the head of each household-watch unit, carrying weapons, should go out to the street and give his support to the leader of the village in defending their place or attacking the enemy. If there is a person who deliberately avoids participating in the joint action, the leader of the village and the heads of ten-household watch units should make a report on the man to the local authorities so that he can be duly punished.” Master Sŏngho once said, “Wang Yangming’s ten-household watch system, which probably originated in the local community compact, may cause some problems if it is followed without discretion. If the law is too demanding, it will produce many violators; once there are violators, one must rule them according to the law. If this happens, the common people, who are foolish, will fall into the traps of the law, and their complaints and resentment will grow. When there is a quarrel or lawsuit in the village, the members of the ten-household watch system get together to discuss the matter and seek the advice of their elders. They finally

360

book VI

make a report and submit it to their magistrate to bring about the solution of the matter, but I am not sure that this system will work as it is expected to.” The ten-household watch system, as far as I know, is the one that Wang Yangming used when he toured southern Jiangxi Province for inspection. During a time of peace the strict enforcement of this system may not be necessary. C H A P T E R : J US T IC E I N L E V Y I NG C ORV É E SE R V IC E S I

Fair and Impartial Administration of Corvée Services [Puyŏkgyun] Is One of the Seven Important Duties of a Magistrate. Since Unfair Corvée Services Should Not Be Imposed, Not One Degree of Injustice in the Scale Should Be Allowed in Levying Such Taxes. In olden days the land tax, which was one-ninth [of the harvest], was collected on the basis of land production, and corvée ser vices called pu [Ch. fu] were levied on the basis of household production. The former originated from the land, and the latter from the man, and they were dealt with separately without intermixing. During the Han and Wei dynasties, however, taxes that combined both land and household taxes were legislated. This happened because a scholar named Mei Ze, who was obsessed with that law, misinterpreted the chapter “The Tribute of Yü” [“Yügong”] in the Classic of History [Shangshu], confusing corvée ser vices with the land tax, which resulted in the intermingling of the two taxes. Since that time people have become ignorant of what corvée ser vices really stand for. According to the law of nine taxes in Rites of Zhou, the wealth or poverty of the common people must be taken into consideration, so everything, including their cattle and vehicles, should be accounted for. During the late Lu dynasty the government tried to levy corvée ser vices on land, which prompted Confucius to criticize it (Spring and Autumn, “Neiwai zhuan”). People in later ages were so used to this type of taxes that they hardly suspected them. In our country the 127. A scholar of the Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420). His major work was a book called History of Ancient Book of Documents (Guwen shangshu chuan), which was popu lar not only in China but also in Korea. However, section 25 in his book later turned out to be a forgery. Tasan in his book Critical Commentaries on Mei’s Work (Messi sŏp’yŏng) discussed the section concerning Mei’s forgery. 128. “The Tribute of Yü” (“Yügong”) is a chapter in the Classic of History. It is about the achievement of King Yü, who regulated the floods that had devastated China in his time. Th is chapter included the records of the relationship between the land and land taxes. Tasan, in his Old Precepts in the Book of Documents (Sangsŏ kohun), contended that the land taxes and the taxes levied on individual households were confused because of misreading of the ancient text. According to Tasan, taxes on houses, forests, salt farms, gardens, and commercial businesses were originally designed to alleviate the tax burden of the farmers. Tasan found the ground for his theory in “The Tribute of Yü.”

Taxation

361

land tax was originally light. However, since the time of the middle age corvée ser vices have been levied on land, which finally became established as a custom. Thus all kinds of taxes, including the uniform land tax [taedong], the tax for corvée ser vices (originally 3 tu of rice per kyŏl; now collected in cash), the rice tax for the military [samsumi], the rice tax called moryangmi (in Hwanghae Province this tax is collected separately, and it was originally for the Ming army led by Mao Wenlong), and the rice tax called ch’igyemi (which is for the magistrate’s personal expenditures), are now levied on lands, and the government surely knows this. Furthermore, numerous imposts, like the rice tax for a district’s agent in Seoul, the rice tax for a district’s provincial agent, the tribute tax paid in rice (it was originally collected from grain-loan repayments, but now it is attached to the land tax), the rice tax for expenses for delivering official documents, the rice tax for travel expenses for newly appointed magistrates, and the rice tax for travel expenses for departing magistrates, are also levied on land. When the magistrate shows insensitivity in this matter, his subordinates just follow him; thus the miscellaneous imposts, such as the ser vice fee for the clerks’ office and the ser vice fee for liaison agents, are all levied on land. The abuses of the grain loan are so extreme that the common people submit several sacks of grain every year even without seeing the grain that they were supposed to have borrowed from the government. The several sacks of grain tax are also levied on the basis of land. When a foreign vessel is shipwrecked, the government collects a great sum of money from the residents, and the money is also levied on the basis of land. As a result, the farmers are increasingly impoverished, and their fallen bodies almost fill up the ditches. The point I want to make here is that all these maladies have to do with the fact that the government levies corvée services on land that are essentially groundless and unjustified. I discussed this issue in detail in the section on land administration. However, what is important in administering corvée ser vices for now is fairness and nothing else. When ten persons have a drink, they share their expenses evenly, and when ten travelers take their meals together, they also pay for their meals evenly. Therefore, would ten thousand residents in a district, who pay their taxes in grain and cloth and serve their magistrate, not expect their taxes to be administered fairly? Classic of Poetry said: 129. Samsumi, literally meaning “rice for three su,” was a rice tax for the military, which mainly consisted of archers (sasu), infantrymen (salsu), and artillerymen (p’osu). 130. Mao Wenlang (1576–1629) was a military official at the end of the Ming dynasty. As Nurhaci (1599–1626), a Manchu chieftain who reigned the Manchu area in the early seventeenth century, invaded Liaodong China in 1621, Mao stationed his army on a Korean island called Kado in North P’yŏngan Province, demanding that Chosŏn Korea provide military provisions for his army. So the taxes were levied to support his army, but the practice of collecting taxes for Mao’s army persisted even after his army was defeated.

362

book VI Being fair in ruling the state, He is able to keep the four quarters [of his kingdom].

It also said: Great Heaven, unjust, Is sending down these woeful disasters,

which refers to injustice in administration. The administration of corvée ser vices at the present time is so unfair that nine thousand households in a district with ten thousand households manage to evade their duty; only widows and widowers and the sick and handicapped, who are powerless and helpless, are responding to the call for their corvée duties. How can the magistrate, the head of the people, allow this outrage to continue without taking any action? It is hard to tell who formulated the so-called seven important duties of the magistrate [suryŏng ch’ilsa]. The development of agriculture and sericulture and the increase of households cannot be accomplished quickly even if the magistrate tries to work hard. Improving the educational system and military administration is not always urgent, and the details of lawsuits and the cunning of clerks are hard to comprehend. Only bringing justice to the administration of corvée ser vices is within the reach of the magistrate on a daily basis, and therefore, he must do his best to make the system fair to all. Since it is always advisable to lighten the burden of corvée ser vices, the magistrate should try to find ways to make this possible. If he looks closely into the truth and falseness in public affairs, he will find that he can meet his objective even if he collects less from the people. If he thoroughly investigates the records of households, he will discover the details that are left out or missing, which is a sure step to bring about justice in the administration of corvée labor. Nothing is more important than fairness in the enforcement of corvée labor. In Addition to Land Taxes and Corvée Services, the Heaviest Burden Is the Public Depository Called Mingo, Which Was Established to Pay Miscellaneous Taxes. These Mingo-Related Taxes Are Levied Either on Lands or on Households, but Their Rate Increases Day by Day to the Degree of Ruining People’s Lives. The abuses related to public depository taxes derive from two main sources, but they have little to do with yamen clerks. One of the abuses is that the governor recklessly tries to maintain his dignity at public expense, and the other is that the 131. “Minor Odes of the Kingdom (Xiaoya),” “Loft y Is That Southern Hill” (“Jibi nanshan”), VII, The Book of Poetry, in Legge, Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Electronic Text Center). My translation. 132. Ibid.

Taxation

363

magistrate acts avariciously. If these two sources are eliminated, there will be neither abuses of the public depository nor room for the trickery of yamen clerks. When the newly appointed governor arrives at his post with his family, he holds large-scale meetings and renovates his office, as well as his private quarters. The furniture and various supplies, attendants on the left and right, food, carriage, and clothes that he displays, which are very luxurious, are comparable to those in the royal palace, and his dignity appears to be no less than that of ministers. Once a person who lacks inner resources and good judgment attains the position of governor, he assumes superior manners, taking everything for granted. So, when he feels that some of the local magistrates in his domain are less enthusiastic in serving him than his direct subordinates, he feels outraged and tries to drive them out of office. The magistrates are naturally so frightened that they dare not spare expense for their governor. However, once the event for the governor is over, the magistrate feels sorry about the money he had to spend on it and seeks ways to make up for it by shifting his loss to the poor people. This is the reason that the abuses of the public depository are taking place. There are no products that are not compulsory among the things allocated to the local districts by the governor. (This type of compulsory allocation of products to the district by the governor’s office is called pokjŏng.) The amount of the allocation was originally not very great. However, the governor’s office actually demands more than the designated amount; furthermore, although the prices of the products are very low, the governor’s office is extremely tough on their quality so that the magistrate alone cannot bear all the expenses. This is the reason that the abuses of the public depository are taking place. In levying honey on a mountainous district, for instance, the amount was originally no more than 5 tu of white honey and 1 sŏk of brown honey. However, when the governor’s office actually received these products, the amount of white honey was raised from 5 tu to 10 tu, and the amount of brown honey from 1 sŏk to 2 sŏk. (In addition to being tough on the quality of products, the governor’s office more than doubled the amounts of submitted products.) In paying for these products, 1 tu of white honey is no more than 6 tu of rice, and 1 tu of brown honey is only 3 tu of rice. Besides, they always pay for these products in unrefined grain that is collected for the grain-loan surcharge [hwanmo]. Therefore, the payment for 40 tu of white honey is only 75 tu of unrefined rice. On the day when a district purchases honey, yamen clerks are dispatched in all directions. They climb the hills and search the valleys to find a high-quality product, and this process often costs over 1,100 p’un of money. When they fi nally 133. Th is refers to the surcharge added to the original grain loan that is collected under the pretext of making up for the potential loss in processing the grain loan.

364

book VI

arrive at the provincial office after procuring the honey, the clerks and examiners ask for bribes under the pretext of granting special favors in grading the product, which requires additional expenses. Thus the cost for procuring and submitting the honey to the provincial office amounts to at least 500 to 600 taels in total. Nevertheless, the payment for the honey is no more than 5 sŏk of unrefined rice, which is equivalent to less than 2 kwan of copper coins. Since the district is required to send the honey twice a year, the total expenses will amount to as much as 1,000 taels. What can the magistrate do about this, even if he is a man of integrity and benevolence? This is the reason that the public depository was created [to meet these expenses]. For another instance, the districts on the seacoast are required to present abalones. At first, they were told to offer the abalones produced in their own districts, which consisted of two sizes, medium and large. However, when the governor’s office actually receives these local products, it takes only the abalones produced from Cheju Island (they were called muhyŏlbok, which means unpierced abalones) in the case of the large size, and those from Ulsan in the case of the medium size. (The abalones produced in Ulsan were called chojabok because they are bright and transparent.) Therefore, it is impossible to procure these products unless one spends 400 to 500 taels, including other extra expenses. Nevertheless, what the governor’s office pays for those products is no more than several sŏk of unrefined rice, whereas the total expenses the districts have to pay amount to as much as 90,000 p’un because they are required to present them twice a year. No matter how benevolent and conscientious he may be, what can the magistrate do about this problem? This is the reason that the public depository was established. These two instances are sufficient to show how the officials on top exploit the common people. The reason that the government provided the heads of local districts with a sufficient salary was that it was aware that they, because of their high positions, often receive requests for favors from the people in their domains. So their salaries, which are more than enough for their personal purposes, are supposed to enable them to resist those requests for personal favors. However, the governors and magistrates, lacking intelligence and judgment, do not realize this; they tend to think that their salaries are only for themselves, not for public expenses. So they always go to the common people to raise funds for public matters. How wrong this is! When the government offices in Seoul or Korean tribute embassies to China make requests for contributions, the governors shift the burden to the people in their districts. This is also wrong. Sometimes the governor’s old friend wants to have a drink together, or a private academy of which his senior is a member requests financial support for the maintenance of the academy. It is obvious that the expenses for these purposes are personal; nevertheless, the governor collects his expenses from the people as if they were public affairs. Even

Taxation

365

worse, the governor spends public funds in order to bring down his family, including his old mother and wife and children. Using that money, he repairs their rooms and carriages, which are clearly personal affairs, but he has the people pay for this. Does this make any sense? Are his salaries and subsidies intended only to purchase land and houses and curry favor with men of influence? How deluded he is! When the source of a stream is dirty, one cannot expect the downstream to be clean. Since the avarice of clerks and subofficials is ten times greater than that of governors and magistrates, the rate of the people’s burden related to the public depository keeps increasing month after month and year after year. When I stayed at Tasan Ch’odang, a few Confucian scholars who were preparing for the civil ser vice examination once requested that I set a question for them as a way of helping them. The subject of the question I gave to them was the public depository, and the question was basically as follows: “There is a so-called public depository in every district or county in the provinces. What was the original purpose of creating it? Was it intended to help the people by using their financial contributions better or to help them save and increase their wealth, as the term ‘public depository’ indicates? Was there a royal decree from the court when it was first established? Has there never been an order that prohibited public depositories when they were widespread?” “Land taxes, although their abuses are very serious, have been included in the code of law from the beginning; corvée and military ser vices, although their abuses are also serious, are imposed in accordance with royal decrees. On the other hand, what is called the public depository was made by the officials of the local government at their will. The local officials made their own precedents, and the magistrates have sanctioned them as if they were laws. How can this kind of thing happen? The eight provinces throughout the whole country all have public depositories; however, their rules and regulations are all different from province to province and from district to district. Aside from the good and bad regarding their rules and regulations, it is disturbing to find that the nation has one king, but his laws are many. The confusions brought about by the public depository are very obvious. How can this kind of thing happen? “If the requests made by offices in Seoul belong to public affairs, the Board of Taxation should take care of them. If their requests have to do with personal affairs, the Office of Inspector General should look into them. Why should they always try to resort to the public depository when financial matters are at issue? If a rice levy for various expenses in relation to the tribute to the king and royal family is to be imposed, its items and expenditures should be set on the basis of the market price, and if the rice tribute exists only on paper, its name and purpose 134. The place where Tasan spent the last ten years of his exile.

366

book VI

should be straightened out without resorting to the public depository. There are always budgets for the books published by the Palace Library, but the paper for the books is paid for with funds from the public depository. Travel expenses for the congratulatory embassy [to China] are supposed to be provided by the government; however, the gifts for Chinese officials are purchased with funds from the public depository. This is absurd no matter how you look at it. “Although funds for the farewell or welcoming banquets for the governor are provided by the government, they are paid out of the public depository; the rice called chŏmi [or chŏch’imi], which is reserved for expenditures of the local government, is supposed to be used for the magistrate’s departure or inauguration, but this rice is also paid for from the public depository. Twice a year, during spring and autumn, the governor conducts an inspection of his domain. Although his official tour should be made as simple as possible, the expenses for his entertainment are paid by funds from the public depository. The amount of meat used for sacrifices during summer and winter is relatively small; nevertheless, the expense for it is always paid from the public depository. How can this be explained? “When the governor or magistrate invites his mother by sending a carriage, he is supposed to pay for the expenses; when he makes an official trip, it is the government that pays for it. However, for these events he always draws either money or materials from the public depository. What a shame! Who does not know that the honey produced in mountainous villages or the abalones and clams in the coastal districts or the apples and pears of the western regions and the tangerines and citrons of the south are all of excellent quality? If the governor wants them, he should pay for them because he is provided with a stipend that is enough to procure them. Why does he then try to take them away, paying only a token price and draining the public depository? “People pay ten times the price of tribute ginseng and three times the price of tribute bamboo; where does the shortage come from? Why should the public depository pay for them unless someone took the money? What do the screens furnished in the Office of Special Counselors and the stationery used by the State Tribunal have to do with the poor people? Why should the poor people pay for the official gazette of the Royal Secretariat or the ritual of forcing someone who made a mistake to obtain wine for others [pŏllye], which is held in the Palace Guards Garrison? “The ox horns for the Weapons Bureau [Kungisi] should be levied on the butchers who live in the neighborhood of the National Confucian Academy [panch’on]; 135. Panch’on was the village located in front of Pangung, which is another name of the National Confucian Academy (Sŏnggyungwan). In this village lived the butchers who paid taxes to the academy for running butcheries.

Taxation

367

the goats’ beard kept in the depository of coffin woods for royal families and ministers [Changsaengjŏn] should be collected as part of tribute goods; sparrow’s tongue green tea called chaksŏlch’a should be purchased from the merchants dealing with medicinal stuff; and the plumes of pheasants should be bought from hunters; nevertheless, all these products are laid to the charge of the public depository. Is this right? “Sometimes they [local government] collect money under the pretext of hiring or raising horses, but where does the law authorize that, and what does it have to do with the public depository? The government has already collected donations from the wealthy people for entertaining foreign envoys. Therefore, there is no justification for coercing the common people to contribute to the entertainment of foreign envoys. The authorities have already exacted money from the residents of islands in order to deal with the shipwrecks on their beaches; nevertheless, they again demand funds from the public depository, which is clearly wrong. “The money that the magistrates, both old and new, owed to the clerks for their ser vices or the debts that clerks owed to the government but transferred to the people have nothing to do with the people, but they are levied on the public depository, which is certainly absurd. Is it impossible to rectify these abuses? “The publication of family histories and genealogies is a priority for the members of a clan, and the repair work of the private academy is a project that personally concerns Confucian scholars belonging to that institute. Nevertheless, if these people once make a request for funds, they obtain what they want from the public depository without much difficulty. The ser vice fees for the district’s capital agents and provincial agents have increased a hundred times. One wonders how the orders of the magistrate were executed when there was no increase in their ser vice fees. The goods for Confucian rituals held in spring and autumn, including those to be used for three altars [samdan], have already been purchased [according to the paperwork], but where are they now? Does the public depository exist to deal with these problems? The taxes for the public depository are collected along with the land taxes or grain loans; they are also collected in spring and autumn or only once at the end of the year along with other unpaid taxes; sometimes they are collected little by little, and the remaining portion is collected at the end of the year. What threw the tax administration into such extreme disarray as this? “Taxes for the public depository are the heaviest burden among the corvée ser vices. Even in times of crisis, the ministers in the royal court were cautious in 136. Rituals were held in spring and autumn in the local Confucian temple. 137. The altar for the guardian deity of the state and grain (sajikdan), the altar for the deity named Yŏ who protected people from epidemics (yŏdan), and the altar for the guardian deity of the village (sŏnghwangdan).

368

book VI

discussing the matter of levying various taxes; the king on his throne also continued contemplating it until he made his fi nal decision and issued a royal decree. Once the law was passed with the king’s approval, it was proclaimed to all the provinces, and the governors announced it to the districts under their rule. Obeying the law, the people paid the taxes that they were required to, and the government duly collected them, and this was the way in which society worked. Although it is not always a good law to make every man pay taxes, a law at least had to go through a certain due process before it was passed and executed. Although the practice of levying [a tax to be paid in] silk on every household was virtually a cruel exploitation, it was at least not imposed without due process. The monopoly of products like tea and salt concerned merchants, and the substitution for corvée ser vices of a tax in money [mianyifa] was the work of the minister in charge of taxation. However, these laws followed due procedure, like the ones stated earlier. Only the law concerning the public depository stands as an exception. It did not follow the procedure of submitting the proposal to the king or reporting to the ministers in charge; the governors were little interested in studying that law, and inspectors never pointed out the problems with it. One or two cunning yamen clerks devised ways of squeezing money out of the people, and one or two local magistrates with bad judgment turned that practice into rules and regulations, which continued to expand and turned into a serious malady in the course of time. Fully realizing the extent of this malady and intending to rectify it, our great former king [Chŏngjo] left his instruction, which was austere and sincere enough to impress readers. Nevertheless, men in public ser vice are so insensitive and careless that they make no attempts to bring about changes. In recent years the malady has become much worse, just like increasingly deepening water. Thus what used to be measured by mal or toe is now contained in either a large jar or a sack, and what used to weigh a little is now to be weighed on a large set of scales. The articles of the law, which originally numbered only a few, have increased like the hairs of an ox, and the collection of taxes, which used to be done once or twice a year, is now so frequent that the people are unable to survive because of the never-ending avarice of officials. Despite that, officials count only the heads of people as if they were their crops ready to be gathered, and because of their tyranny, the farmlands are laid waste and the population keeps on shrinking. No malady in the country can be more serious than this one. If one is resolved to make a reform, he confronts obstacles on all fronts, and if one wants to change things for the better, he will soon find them returning to their former state. Is there no way to clean up this mess, just as the clean wind sweeps away the clouds in the morning? 138. A new law made in the second year of Zhiping (1065) during the Song dynasty that allowed the people to pay for their corvée labor with money.

Taxation

369

“You scholars are the leaders of the people. How can you ignore the sufferings of the common people as if nothing has happened? If you have thought about this issue, try to express your opinions in writing.” When Chŏng Mansŏk  served as magistrate of Yŏnil, he submitted the following memorial in reply to the king’s order: “The taxes related to the public depository of each district are the magistrate’s household expenses, called sit’anga; remuneration for the ice makers, called pingjŏngga; expenditures for fruits [kwasilga]; expenditures for silk [myŏnjuga]; expenses for receiving and delivering official documents, called chŏngwan kakga; payment for official gazettes; and so forth. “In addition to these taxes, there are extra rice or cash imposts attached to each item of taxes, which are supernumerary taxes for each yamen or military headquarters, including provincial armies and navies; voluntary contributions to those above-mentioned government organizations; ser vice fees for provincial or district agents; requests for monetary contributions from the various departments in Seoul; supernumerary charges for rebuilding warships; extra taxes to make up for the loss in the revenue of slash-and-burn fields; and so forth. Besides, other miscellaneous taxes are so numerous that the situations of the seventy-one districts [in Kyŏngsang Province] are not the same. “These taxes related to the public depository are attached to kyŏl of land or to households. They are also collected either in grain or in cash. Because there are no consistent rules, the amount of the taxes differs from district to district; some of them have names, while the rest have none. Therefore, avaricious magistrates have recklessly collected taxes, taking advantage of the misguided law, and weakminded ones, cheated by their subordinates, have kept losing what they have gathered from the people. For this reason, the extortion of taxes has grown worse and worse, and the people are now in danger of losing their lives. “What we should do is to look into all the items of taxation of each district that are related to the public depository, calculating the total revenue and at the same time the exact amount of revenue needed for running the district. The taxes worth keeping should be kept, and those that need to be reduced or eliminated should be reduced or eliminated. We must also determine to what we attach the public depository taxes, kyŏl of land or to households, and the amounts of these taxes to be collected, and whether we collect them in grain or in cash. Then we should make rules for expenditures and publish them in a book, which can be based on the model of True Record of Military Service Tax for Men of Good Status [Yangyŏk 139. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Sŏngbo, and his pen name Kwajae. When Hong Kyŏngnae rose in rebellion in 1811, he rendered ser vice in suppressing the rebellion. Later he rose to the position of third state councilor. 140. “The seventy-one districts” means all the counties and districts in Kyŏngsang Province.

370

book VI

silch’ong], so that they can be distributed to each district. If we can make the local officials strictly observe the new rules, it will not be impossible to prevent them from exploiting the people in a reckless and cunning manner.” In response to the memorial submitted by Yi Chongsŏp, magistrate of Nŭngju, the king [Chŏngjo] replied as follows: “I am impressed by a remark you made, ‘To report on the problems with the public depository in the Honam region, taxes were levied not only on land but also on households. I cannot help crying when I come to think of the sufferings of the people.’ The court is not unaware of this problem, and the minister in charge, as I believe, is also working on it. The abuses are so rampant among the officials and functionaries that the people are all thrown into danger of sickness and death. Had I not heard of this, my worries would be less acute. However, since reports on the matter have already been made on several occasions, we must find ways to resolve the problem. Unless we deal with it effectively and satisfactorily, how can we comfort the people in Honam? Years ago the late State Councilor Yi Chongsŏng, while he served in P’yŏngan Province, set strict rules on expenditures of the public depository and severely punished those who violated them for their personal gain on the pretext of carry ing out official duties. If this happened in a place like P’yŏngan Province, it would be needless to say anything about the southern provinces. To show my concern and displeasure, years ago, I first ordered the State Council and the Border Defense Council strictly to admonish the governors to rectify the problems with the public depository. “I thought that the problems had been resolved since I gave my order, but I am surprised to hear that the people of Nŭngju did not benefit from my order. It makes me wonder whether they are the only exception, or the people of both Honam and Yŏngnam regions in the south are generally in the same situation as those of Nŭngju. Did the governors and magistrates of those regions take my decree as a kind of routine instruction and therefore not heed it seriously, only following the wrongful customs as usual? If the governor of P’yŏngan Province was able to accomplish his objective on his own, why are the State Council and the Border 141. In 1743, the nineteenth year of Yŏngjo’s reign, Th ird State Councilor Cho Hyŏnmyŏng proposed that records be made concerning all the military personnel in the government agencies, military headquarters, and garrisons. Th is survey was expanded later to the level of local districts, and the book was fi nally published in 1748 in ten volumes. 142. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. He served as magistrate of various local districts. 143. The minister of taxation. 144. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chago, and his pen name Och’ŏn. He served in numerous government offices including as governor of P’yŏngan Province, and fi nally rose to the position of chief state councilor during the reign of Yŏngjo. 145. Honam and Yŏngnam regions.

Taxation

371

Defense Council unable to accomplish the same? Even if the State Council and the Border Defense Council wasted time in properly carrying out my order, there is still the royal court, which has power and authority. The court should summon the governors and magistrates who failed to follow the royal command and take disciplinary measures for their failure. How can the court be the court unless it is able to punish those who only watch the sufferings of the people without taking any action by putting them in jail for taking bribes and interrogating them three times a month so that they make confessions about the current state of their domains? Then the ministers and officials of the State Council and the Border Defense Council will be able to discover ways to fix the problems without fail. Let the governor of P’yŏngan Province also reexamine the rules set by the late State Councilor Yi Chongsŏng and revise them if necessary so that the original intention of the court to make the local officials violate no laws can be fully realized.” In my observation, although the king’s words are this strict, the abuses of the public depository still remain much the same. The local magistrates surely have guts. The Rules and Regulations of the Public Depository Are All Different from District to District. Collecting Taxes without Rules and Discipline Makes the Sufferings of the People Much Worse. Discussing the laws made by former kings, Mencius stated, “When former kings collected taxes from the people, they first thought about the rules and regulations.” This indicated that tax collection that is not based on rules and regulations cannot last long. The so-called rules and regulations are essentially the product of time and circumstances, which are always changing. Hence it happens that new problems are added to the old rules and regulations that are already arbitrary and flawed, generating abuses and complications like entangled vines even before they are actually enforced. Since the problems worsen as time and circumstances change, how can the rules made by the people in the past be enforced without being revised? Changing those rules, therefore, is always inevitable no matter how long they have been observed. How, then, can you continue to use laws riddled with abuses and collect taxes recklessly? Revising the rules, therefore, is a priority for the magistrate, a matter that he cannot give up. Kye Association Villages Called Kyebang Are the Origin of All Abuses and the Pit of All Tricks. Unless They Are Abolished, Nothing Can Be Accomplished. Kye association villages called kyebang consist of two kinds: one is village based [igye], and the other is household based [hogye]. The village-based association is

372

book VI

created to raise and provide several hundred taels every year for various local agencies; so is the household-based association. (There are many householdbased associations in Naju and Changsŏng.) Government offices or agencies like the local yangban association, the hall of clerks [ich’ŏng], the hall of military officers [kungwanch’ŏng], the hall of guard officers [changgwanch’ŏng], the office of government slaves [kwannoch’ŏng], the office of stable slaves [choyech’ŏng], and the office of runners [t’onginch’ŏng] have their own kye associations. Among these offices, the hall of clerks has more kye association villages than the others. If the hall of clerks has ten kye associations, the others have only two or three in comparison, but their number is not consistent. Once a village is selected as a kye association, it enjoys the privileges of being exempt from the allocation of grain loans, military corvée ser vices [kunch’ŏm], and corvée ser vices related to the public depository; in return, the village is obligated only to pay several hundred taels for a whole year. For this reason the common people wish to have their village designated as a kye association. However, unless their village has sound financial resources and its members have some power, it is not possible to be selected as a kye association. Who would designate a rundown village with poor people, including widowers, widows, and the sick, as a kye association? Household-based associations called kyeho are much the same. In order for a household to be selected as a household-based association, the head of the household must be a man of power and influence who has over 10 kyŏl of land and is capable of taking control of a hundred households. Therefore, while rich villages and powerful men buy their privileges from the clerks, the poor and powerless have to bear the burden of all labor duties. As a result, the burden to be shared by ten thousand households becomes that of a thousand households, and the burden of a thousand households falls upon a hundred households. Thus in olden days the burden of a household used to be only 100 maces, but now even several thousand maces is not enough to resolve that burden of a household. The common people are so desperate now that they look like dead fish floating in the water. Unless they are provided with relief, common people will be completely exterminated. Abolishing kye associations is an urgent priority and the first step to save them. The magistrate calls a clerk and makes him report on the true status of kye associations. When there are nine villages designated as kye associations, for instance, the magistrate says to him, “Except the old kye associations that have existed for more than thirty years, I want you to tell me in detail about the ones that you have. I intend to abolish them in the future.” As soon as the magistrate 146. Special households that are privileged to avoid various labor duties because of their fi nancial contributions.

Taxation

373

makes his remark, the whole yamen is thrown into turmoil. Eighty or ninety clerks in the yamen, kowtowing like a bunch of wild geese or ibises, will rush to the office of the magistrate and appeal to him as follows: “The nine villages are all less than thirty years old. However, Yuch’on is a village that pays for the expenditures when the governor visits our district for his annual inspections in spring and autumn. If you abolish the village all of a sudden, what are you going to do when the governor visits us? Chisŏk is a village that pays for the miscellaneous expenses for the entourage of the governor. If you abolish the village in a day, what are you going to do when the governor’s inspection takes place? Songu is a village that pays for the ser vices of runners and couriers during the governor’s inspection. Without its support, how can you manage the governor’s inspection? Sanggok is a village that pays for items like blankets and cushions, lanterns, mosquito nets, and toilet stools. If you eliminate the village, how can you pay for them? This village pays for the New Year’s gifts for the clerks, and that village for the ser vices of the clerks at the provincial office on the day when the repayment of the grain tax is completed. And this village is made to cover the tribute to the hall of personnel at the provincial military headquarters, and that village is made to provide for the hall of personnel at the provincial navy headquarters, which is part of our custom from the old days.” Then they submit all sorts of documents to support their arguments. Since there is nothing wrong with what they say, the magistrate, shocked and overwhelmed, does not know how to respond to them. No matter how strong-minded and clear-sighted the magistrate may be, he will be helpless under the circumstances. Furthermore, since military officers, as well as government slaves and stable slaves, will try to appeal in exactly the same way, what is he supposed to do in the future? The law about the governor’s inspection is absolutely pointless. When his inspection starts, numerous men follow him, consuming provisions while the common people are starved to death. No one can stop them from what they are doing; they eat and drink and enjoy themselves at the cost of the people they meet with while the people are hungry and exhausted. What can be more serious than these abuses among the ones we have now? There are provisions that the governor should follow when he uses post horses, which stipulate that an official above ranks 2 and 3 who travels at the king’s orders is to be provided with only one regular horse and one or two horses for carry ing his baggage. Nevertheless, the governor, under the pretext of inspecting post horses, requisitions all the horses from various post stations. Thus the long line of horses, either saddled or unsaddled, stretches over many miles. When the governor’s entourage passes by a post station, the number of horses amounts to several hundred, and those who follow him, divided into three groups according to their rank and combined with idle spectators, reach as many as one thousand people.

374

book VI

When the governor arrives in each district, he is lavishly entertained and, feeling tired, retires early to rest. Then the clerks who followed him receive the lawsuits from the people and write down the sentences as they please. In the case of a lawsuit concerning the grave sites of ancestors, for instance, they write, “Final decision should be made after investigating the facts”; in the case of certain abuses they again write the same sentence: “Final decision should be made after investigating the facts,” which in fact leaves the cases entirely to the discretion of the magistrate of the district that they happen to visit. The governor sleeps with an entertaining woman at night and wakes up late in the morning. When his carriage starts moving, he wants to see the torches lighted and the roads cleared; thus it often happens that passersby are either kicked on their backs or fall down before they run away. He visits the temples in the mountains or the pavilions overlooking the river to enjoy a picnic or a boat ride under the moon with the magistrates he summoned. However, he never discusses matters concerning administration, such as taxes, corvée ser vices, judicial matters, military affairs, tricks of clerks and functionaries, and the tyranny of some scoundrels in the locality. Wherever the carriage of the governor passes by, what one finds is only the cloud of dust and noisy music trailing it. What kind of official trip is this, what is its meaning, what is its justification; and who is to benefit from his activity? For whom does the governor mobilize the people and keep them busy all the while? The reason that one cannot reduce the number of yamen clerks has to do with the governor’s inspection; the reason that the taxes on land increase day by day has to do with the governor’s inspection; the reason that the miscellaneous corvée ser vices levied on the common people increase month after month has to do with the governor’s inspection; and the reason that the villages of artisans are laid waste has to do with the governor’s inspection. Unless the law about the governor’s inspection is changed, one cannot discuss the administration of local governments, which aims at shepherding the people. Nevertheless, there is a way to abolish kye associations. When the clerks try to appeal to the magistrate as shown above, he will refute them as follows: “When the meal is served to the head clerk, the kitchen slave grills the heart of an ox and makes a soup of omasum. Can you tell me where these things come from? Either in the late spring or midsummer, or either at night in the autumn or at the end of the year, strings of dried fish and jars of pickled seafood or fish and meat are sent to the senior clerks as a gift. Can you tell me where these things come from? On a beautiful day full of flowers and birds and the moon in the evening, you have a picnic or a meeting, enjoying a boat ride with entertaining girls who sing and dance. Now tell me, where does the payment for all these expenses come from? You help each other on the occasions of weddings or mourning or birthday celebrations or even on the occasion of being punished by beating with sticks (when a senior clerk is punished by beating with a heavy stick, his associates comfort

Taxation

375

him by holding a party called changwirye), but where do you find the money for all these things? When you commit wrongdoings and receive disciplinary action from the superior office, you raise funds, including bribes and other expenses, in your office. Now tell me, where do those funds come from? The villages designated as kye associations were originally on the official records of the government, and household-based kye associations are the ones that are supposed to pay taxes directly to the government. However, you have turned them into your own kye associations, stealing their taxes and corvée ser vices to pay for a life of luxury and pleasure. At the same time you make the poor and helpless people bear the largest portion of tax burdens, which include regular taxes and corvée ser vices. How can those poor people endure and survive? “The kye associations we are talking about were established in the last thirty years. What did you do before the last thirty years? Were there no governor’s inspections, or military corvée ser vices imposed by the provincial military headquarters, or prohibitions against logging the pine trees issued by the navy headquarters? And before the last thirty years, were the clerks unable to perform their duties, and did the government slaves and stable slaves go out to the streets to beg for their living? I have no patience for your tiresome excuses. In a word, kye associations must be abolished.” Investigations Should Be Conducted of the Lands Belonging to the Royal Houses, the Military Garrisons, the Schools, and the Private Academies to Discover All the Lands and Households Unaccounted For If Justice Is to Be Brought to Tax Administration. Generally speaking, 1 kyŏl of land will be sufficient for two real households to tenant. If the lands belonging to royal families [kungbangchŏn] are 10 kyŏl, there is no reason not to allow twenty households to cultivate them and to levy corvée ser vices on the rest of the residents after adjusting their portion of duties. If there are 6 kyŏl of military colonies, there is no reason not to allow twelve households to cultivate them and levy corvée ser vices on the rest of the residents after adjusting their portion of duties. Since male and female slaves are employed by the provincial school, it is not inappropriate to exempt them from corvée ser vices. However, the ones hired by powerful families must be disclosed, and the households that are nonexistent must be eliminated from the record so that there will be no gap between the public data and the reality. The tax-exempt lands of private academies with a royal charter are only 3 kyŏl. Although there are no stipulations in the code of law about the slaves belonging to the academies, about ten households will be sufficient to take care of the Confucian shrine or the storerooms belonging to the academies. In the case of the shrines of individuals or famous persons for whom portraits or memorial tablets are established, five or six households can handle the job. However, since the

376

book VI

private academies or men of influence keep many landless households for themselves, preventing them from becoming men of good status, is this not also against the law? The magistrate, therefore, should try to persuade those in charge of private academies or men of influence with kind words, explaining his intention not to allow any interference and to bring justice in tax administration for all the constituents of his domain. Investigations Should Be Conducted of Post-Station Villages, Artisan Villages, and Granary Villages So That All the Irregularities That Have Been Practiced Clandestinely Can Be Disclosed to Achieve Justice in Tax Administration. Although the law allows male and female post-station slaves and clerks, as well as female slaves belonging to post-station villages, to be exempt from corvée services, the landless households that try to make the post station into the den of their escape from taxes should be thoroughly investigated. Although it is justifiable to count post-station slaves and clerks who married women of good status as post-station households, it is appropriate that men of good status who married female post-station slaves be counted as landless households. Although it will be allowed to make the residents of a village with a private academy that has become run down because it is located in a remote corner exempt from their tax duties, the residents of a post-station village who are engaged in vigorous commercial activities, selling wine and meat, should be disqualified from exemption from their corvée ser vices. Only a couple of households or so belonging to the post station can be allowed to have tax privileges, and the rest of the households should be registered for corvée ser vices. The reason that the magistrate protects artisan villages is that he is avaricious. Since he recklessly takes merchandise like brassware, ironware, ceramics, bamboo ware, and other items produced by artisan villages in exchange for remitting their corvée ser vices, is this not actually stealing corvée ser vices from the people? The magistrate should refrain from taking those commodities from the artisans as much as he can and at the same time grant them few tax privileges. That is the way to distribute the burden of taxes equally among the people. The protection of granary villages derives from the greed of yamen clerks. The granary clerks take an extra tax paid in rice for the potential loss of the grain stored in the granary, which is called nakjŏngmi, and make a profit out of it by making wine and slaughtering pigs. Therefore, the people of the granary village are relatively better off than those in other places. In the case of those granary villages that have deteriorated too much to maintain the granary, it will be appropriate that the magistrate recruit the granary personnel by reducing their corvée ser vices, and when the granary villages thrive, it will be advisable to in-

Taxation

377

crease corvée ser vices on the residents proportionately. Since other cases are mostly like this, their solutions vary according to each case. When Pang Song became assistant prefect of Yingtian, he found the people suffering from their excessive corvée ser vices, so he ordered all those who were legally exempt from labor-service duties, including actor households, unregistered households, households in the ser vice of the local government or the lords of the manors, widow-headed households, and artisan households belonging to a shrine called Shenbotang, to join the others and contribute their labor ser vice. As a result, the poor people in his district were able to survive. Land-Based Taxes [Kyŏllyŏm] Are Less Desirable than Household-Based Taxes [Horyŏm]. The Former Make the Peasants More Destitute, and the Latter Make the Lives of Artisans, as Well as Jobless People, More Difficult. So the Latter Are Better for Protecting the Peasants. There are many who do not have land of their own, but there is no one who does not have a house. Is it not reasonable, then, to levy taxes on households? However, since the household registers have long been in disarray, they should be corrected first if the taxes on households are to be enforced. There are three reasons that yamen clerks assiduously try to block household taxation: first, the decrease in the income from their ser vice fees [panggo]; second, the decrease in bribe money in relation to household registration [chŏkgo]; and third, the difficulty in raising funds through kye associations [kyego]. What is panggo? If the taxes on land are heavy, the landowner’s payment to the clerks [pangnap] goes up; if they are made light, the rate of pangnap payment also goes down. This is the reason that the clerks are anxious to keep land-based taxes. What is chŏkgo? If taxes are levied on households, the spurious households will be disclosed, and if the household registers are corrected, the bribery of the villagers will also be stopped. This is why the clerks are anxious to keep land-based taxes. What is kyego? If taxes are levied on households, the kye associations will collapse, and if they collapse, the clerks will face difficulty in raising funds for their purposes. This is the reason that the yamen clerks are anxious to keep landbased taxes. When the magistrate lacks experience in administration, the clerks fabricate all kinds of rumors in order to confuse ignorant people, and the people, who are really foolish, tend to trust what the clerks say, complaining that the taxes based on households are too hard for them. Finding that the complaints are from the people, the magistrate believes that they really represent what the 147. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhenqing. He was a disciple of Wang Yangming and served as magistrate of Yingtian for eight years. He was famous for his benevolent rule.

378

book VI

people want. Thus the people easily fall into the trap set by the clerks; so does the magistrate. When the clerks incite and confuse the people, they use several arguments. One is that not every household is equal in property. The second is that the landlord lives in another place. Although they say households are unequal on the level of property, the number of landowners will be no more than two in a village that consists of ten households. The imposts assigned to these two landowner households will be evenly divided into ten households in accordance with the grades of large, medium, small, the poor, and so forth, and therefore, it will not happen that one household bears the burden of taxes per household. Then why does inequality in property matter? In the Kyŏnggi region it is the custom that a landowner pays the taxes on his lands; in the southern provinces, however, tenants pay the taxes on the lands that they cultivate. If the landowner pays the taxes on his lands, one cannot say that he evades paying his taxes even though he resides in a different place. If the tenants pay the taxes, however, the landowner does not pay them even though he resides in the same district as his tenants. The point is that the taxes on lands are still paid one way or another. However, since attaching corvée ser vices to the land taxes is inappropriate, as even Confucius warned, the absence of the landowner does not really matter as far as the collection of taxes is concerned. To Collect Taxes in Rice Is Less Desirable than to Collect Them in Money. Even the Taxes Originally Paid in Rice Should Be Collected in Money. Grain is produced from the farming of the people, and money from the minting of the government. Thus the people in the olden days said that levying taxes in grain was convenient, and levying them in currency was inconvenient. (Both Lord Lu Zhi and Lord Su Shi are known to have made statements to this effect.) However, since it is hard to cheat on an amount of money, the clerks cannot find fault with the people as long as the people pay the amount of money they owe to the government. In paying taxes in rice, however, controversies about measuring rice and grading its quality are endless. Besides, there is no way to retrieve the rice that falls on the ground in the process of measuring or to resist the demand for nothing but the highest quality. So paying taxes in money is much more convenient, is it not? Since the districts that levy and collect taxes in rice should change their law, they will have no problem if they collect 1 tael for 4 tu of rice. In a year of good harvest 1 tael is equivalent to as many as 6 tu of rice, but in a year of poor harvest it is equivalent to no more than 1 tu of rice. During a year of good harvest the burden of taxes [paid in currency] cannot harm the people even if it is a little too

Taxation

379

heavy because they have acquired enough strength to sustain themselves because of the good harvest. In a year of poor harvest, on the other hand, tax payments made in currency will lighten the burden of people to some degree. Therefore, it is more advisable to collect the taxes in currency. It is said that in a year of good harvest collecting taxes in grain causes no damage, but the ones who suffer no damage are the clerks; it is also said that in a year of poor harvest collecting taxes in grain has an advantage, but the ones who enjoy the advantage are the clerks themselves. It should be a matter of principle to protect the people by curbing the power of clerks and to replenish those at the bottom by reducing those on top. Would it not be advisable to levy taxes in currency? If taxes are paid in currency, neither the fees of the clerks nor the cost of transporting the grain, which burdens the people, will increase. It is also impossible for the clerks to make complaints about the quality of currency that is made of copper, and no controversies will take place when a bundle of coins is fully counted. Although raising currency is harder than producing grain, the benefits for the people are much greater. The interests of the people and those of the clerks are clearly not the same. All the Tax-Related Pretexts Ingeniously Made for the Pockets of the Magistrate Should Be Eliminated. The Spurious Ones among Various Imposts and Excises, Which Are Too Extreme, Must Be Removed So That the Burden of the People Can Be Lightened. When I happened to look at the list of imposts and excises of several districts, the ones that were either extreme or spurious were innumerable. The expenditures for banquet equipment, which amounted to 300 taels, were clearly excessive; the expenditures for a carriage drawn by a pair of horses, which amounted to 200 taels, were also excessive; and the payment for breeding horses, which amounted to 150 taels, was definitely more than necessary. The 1,200 taels that were appropriated for delivering official messages will not be needed in full. How can I enumerate all these things? This happened because the imposts recklessly created by avaricious magistrates in the old days have become established as a custom as their successors have taken advantage of them under the pretext of following the custom. Since some of the imposts that went to the pockets of the clerks are the result of luring and bribing avaricious magistrates to raise their commissions, this is the reason that the expenditures for delivering official messages amount to as much as 1,200 taels. No matter how often reports are sent to the provincial yamen, their frequency of delivery will not exceed five or six times a month. How can you spend 100 taels every month? The clerks must have bribed their magistrate at the time when the magistrate increased their commissions.

380

book VI

The following happened when Kim Hongjin was magistrate of Singye. Located deep in the mountains, his district had a number of imposts that were unjustifiable from the beginning but had been handed down as a custom to be followed. When he took office, he immediately abolished them at a stroke, and the people finally realized that there was a law on the government’s levying of taxes. When Yi Hubaek  served as governor of Hamgyŏng Province, he abolished old abuses, curtailing almost all the imposts traditionally levied by each county and district. So the provincial office and its neighborhood, which had been large and prosperous, eventually began to decline. Years later the magistrates made new pretexts for levying taxes, and the lives of the people became miserable again. Im Che composed a poem in which he lamented what had happened: The good grass withered in the frosty wind, and the jade is buried in the dust. How deeply the literati once admired the minister’s clean virtue. Alas! Since it is hard not to harass the people with taxes, He tried to help them but unwittingly made them rather helpless.

If we think it over, the reform of Governor Yi derived from his sense of righteousness as a public official, and the wry remark in Im’s poem is only a careless opinion of a scholar; nevertheless, the people eagerly memorize and recite the poem as if it were a wise saying. So it is not worthwhile to discuss it any further. The rise and decline of the departments of the government do not depend on the amount of taxes they collect from the people. When the government building displays its loft y walls and winding moats, and its pavilions, painted with red and blue, stand in a line, is it not magnificent? When the building was originally constructed, it needed contributions from the people; however, once it was completed, the contributions from the people went to the private pockets of the magistrate. Then what is the use of the people’s sacrifice? Too often I have seen how magistrates neglect their duties. Even if the banners and drums are worn out, the magistrates never repair them. Even if the pieces of equipment like sedan chairs and flat benches are destroyed, they do not fi x them. Even if the gate tower has fallen down and the guest house in the yamen has tipped to one side, the magistrate is reluctant to repair them. His government slaves look haggard and the gate guards appear ragged in their attire, but the 148. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reign of Hyŏnjong. 149. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ijin, and his pen name Ch’ŏngnyŏn. He also served as director (taejehak). 150. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chasun, and his pen name Paekho. Talented in literature, he left a number of poems and stories, such as Story of Castle of Sorrow (Susŏngji), History of Flowers (Hwasa), and Record of Scholar Won’s Dream (Wŏnsaeng mongyurok). A man of flamboyant character, he had to suffer serious setbacks in his career. He died young at the age of thirty-nine.

Taxation

381

magistrate never tries to improve their condition. What does the amount of taxes have to do with the prosperity of the government office? If the supplies provided for the district office are significantly reduced, it will be a great setback to the office, but even if a setback like that takes place, there is no change in the status of the magistrate’s stipend. When a man of integrity serves as magistrate, he will not be in want even if his stipend is meager. When an avaricious man serves as magistrate, however, he will always be in want no matter how much his stipend may be. The reason that the number of items subject to imposts increases is that the magistrate is greedy. How can one blame Governor Yi Hubaek? I have observed that when a man of integrity serves as magistrate, he reduces the burden of the people. However, one who succeeds him and is greedy complains, “Magistrate so-and-so, my predecessor, recklessly removed such-and-such imposts; since then our office has been in terrible shape, and the lives of the people have become worse.” The magistrate who makes such a complaint obviously regards the public office as an opportunity for making money. So this is not worth discussing. There Are No Statutes in the Code of Law That Exempt the Households of the Officials in the Royal Court from Labor Imposts. No Privilege Should Be Allowed to Those Who Reside in a Civilized Place like Seoul, but Exceptions Can Be Made for Those Living in Remote Regions. There were no statutes exempting the court officials in Kyŏnggi from the obligation of their labor imposts, but when I moved down to the southern region, I learned that there had been a custom of exempting officials from such duties, which I found sensible. The officials in the Kyŏnggi region are too numerous, and, therefore, it is difficult to release them all from their tax obligations; however, only one or two court officials at most live in the remote corners of the countryside. So it is not a bad idea to allow them such a privilege of exemption based on an old custom. The court officials of the Tang dynasty were exempt from household taxes by the law. However, in the early Han dynasty the law required that even the sons of high ministers were obligated to serve as border guards, and that law continued to exist up to the times of the Jin and Song dynasties. (See the chapter on the household register for further details.) So the law of the Tang dynasty was unique, for it was not handed down to the succeeding dynasties. The following happened when Wei Ao of the Tang dynasty served as metropolitan governor. When the farm of Zheng Guang, the emperor [Xuanzong]’s maternal uncle, did not pay its taxes, the governor arrested the manager of the farm and warned that he would punish him in accordance with the law unless he paid all the taxes in arrears within five days. The emperor summoned Wei Ao,

382

book VI

but the latter said, “If the man pays his unpaid taxes today, I will release him at once; if he exceeds the deadline, there is nothing I can do.” The emperor called in the empress dowager and said, “It is impossible to force Wei Ao to change his mind.” Soon the unpaid taxes were paid in full. The following happened when Li Gao was in charge of Luzhou. When there was a severe drought in his district, the men of power and wealth began to purchase land and houses as they pleased, making excessive profits but forcing their tenants to pay their taxes. So he levied taxes on those men, which were based on their lands, and the total of the collected taxes amounted to twelve thousand bundles of coins. As a result, the common people were able to regain their strength. The following happened when Wang Juzheng ruled Wuzhou. General Zhang Jun made a request that his lands in Magistrate Wang’s district be exempt from labor imposts. Refusing to allow the general’s request, Wang replied, “Since the war broke out, scholar-officials, as well as the common people, have shared the burden together. The reason that the men on top and the people down below have worked together has been to save the country from the crisis. There can be no exception, not to mention the family of General Zhang.” The Abuses of the Public Depository Must Be Eliminated. One of the Ways to Eliminate Them Is to Establish Public Land So That the Income Derived from It Can Make Up for the Shortage of Labor Imposts Related to the Public Depository. The following happened when Fan Chengda was in charge of Chuzhou. The people of Songyang complained about their excessive corvée ser vices. He said to them, “I have heard that some of the people in the district of Dongyang, using their own money, help their neighbors who are suffering from labor imposts. You live in their neighborhood, and do you not feel ashamed?” Then he persuaded the people who were complaining to make contributions according to their financial ability, created public land, and had a person in the families loyal to the country manage the land. Thus he was able to raise the funds annually that were needed to help the people burdened by labor imposts, and he called this support system “righteous labor imposts” [yiyi]. Then he made the people take turns in discharging their corvée ser vices and prohibited those in the yamen from interfering in the system. The people were so pleased that within a few months they reported 151. An official of the Tang dynasty. He admired Han Yu and made a name for himself by his old-style writing. 152. An official of the Song dynasty. Disliked by Qin Gui, a man of power, he was relegated to the position of magistrate of Wuzhou. 153. Fan Chengda (1126−1193) was a famous poet and writer of the Southern Song dynasty. He was learned in geography, and travel literature features prominently in his writings.

Taxation

383

that the whole district with twenty-five subdistricts had established the “righteous labor imposts” system, and in the following two decades neighboring districts vied to adopt the new system. The following happened when Yi Porim ruled the prefecture of Namwŏn. When he created new contingency funds called cheyongje in order to pay off various imposts on the people while prohibiting reckless levying of taxes, Yi Saek  in a tribute to Yi Porim wrote as follows: “Every time messengers were dispatched from the court to press for the payment of taxes, the local districts that had failed to collect the due amount of taxes had no choice but to borrow the money to make up for the shortage, which drove the people into further financial crisis. Worried about this, Yi Porim secured some cloth by either investigating tax frauds or resolving lawsuits over slaves, which amounted to 650 bolts. He also retrieved military farmlands from the clerks and cultivated them himself; thus he was able to gain a total of 200 sŏk of rice and 150 sŏk of beans. He also ordered that the reclaimed lands, which produced 72 sŏk of rice, be used for saving rice for emergencies, and he finally gave this contingency system a name, cheyongje, providing all the necessary tools and equipment. Since that time the troubles of the people, who were suffering from reckless and ruthless taxation, have disappeared.” The cheyongje is the public depository in our time. Han Kang of the Koryŏ dynasty served concurrently as defense commander and magistrate of Kŭmju. Many of his predecessors had been dismissed because they had failed to collect the designated amount of taxes from the people. In the first year of his appointment he cultivated the military colony that had been allowed to lie waste and succeeded in securing 2,000 sŏk of rice, which helped make the irregularities of clerks disappear and helped stabilize the lives of the people. As a result, he received the highest score in his job performance and was promoted to director of the Ministry of Rites. When Ch’oe Yuhae was magistrate of Kilju, as many as 1,700 people in his district died of hunger and plague. He opened the state granary to the people and cured the sick with medicine. He also cultivated the land that belonged to the military and secured 300 kok of grain; furthermore, he prepared weapons of war for emergency. In recognition of his hard work and achievements, the king granted him silver. Previously the people in his district had paid over ten bolts 154. An official in the late Koryŏ dynasty. He was the grandson of Yi Chehyŏn, a famous scholar-official. 155. Yi Saek (1328–1396) was a scholar-official of the late Koryŏ dynasty. His pen name was Mogŭn. The tribute mentioned here is included in the Collected Works of Mogŭn (Mogŭnjip). 156. He served as vice minister of works and Hallim (Ch. Hanlin) academician during the reign of Kojong. 157. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reign of Kwanghaegun. His courtesy name was Taeyong, and his pen name Muksudang. He served as sixth royal secretary.

384

book VI

of cloth per household; however, they now paid less than half what they had formerly paid because Magistrate Ch’oe created new funds by selling local products. When Yi Chŏk became magistrate of Yŏngdŏk, the lands of his district, surrounded by mountains and the sea, were sterile, and the residents were impoverished. He collected taxes on fisheries, salt fields, and slash-and-burn fields and used them to help the people pay off their corvée ser vices, as well as their land taxes, uniform taxes, expenditures for the gifts carried by the winter solstice embassy to China, and so forth. Because of his efforts, the people were able to have respite for a few years. The districts in the south have a number of places that can be converted into public lands when dams and waterways are constructed, and seacoast districts are capable of paying for the taxes of the public depository every year with what they collect from the cultivation of the islands in their jurisdiction. If the magistrate really wants to solve the problem, how can he say that there is no way to do it? It Is Not Appropriate to Invite Local Confucianists and Have Them Audit the Records of the Public Depository. The overspending of public depository funds always amounts to nearly 1,000 taels at the year’s end. Then the magistrate calls a convocation of Confucianists in his district and asks them to review the accounts of the taxes, treating them lavishly with meat and fish. The invited guests pretend to examine the records, and soon everyone says, “No mistakes were found.” Then their approval provides the magistrate with an excuse to levy additional taxes for the public depository. The superior man says, “This is not the proper way.” The so-called public depository tax ledger is a document signed by the magistrate. Since it already has his signature and seal on it, the account was closed by him. Nevertheless, showing the document to the people, he asks the people to judge whether he committed theft or is a man of integrity. How can this be possible? Nothing can be more damaging to the prestige of the magistrate than this way of auditing. Furthermore, who are the local Confucianists? Those who are supposed to be relatively superior among the group are those whose heads are filled with poetry that they have studied for the civil ser vice examination. Their hair has grown gray as they read and recited the phrases concerning historical figures such as Xiang Yu and Peigong [Liu Bang]. Those who are of no account are the ones engaged in rice planting and threshing the grain, and therefore, they are unable to read the accounts of land taxes and the granary. How can they be expected to discover mistakes in the documents of the public depository, which are very complicated? Even if they smell something wrong in them and feel a smoke of

Taxation

385

suspicion rising in their hearts, what can they do? Since they are sitting with tigers and wolves, their courage must already have fallen, and since the dish of pork and fish went into their mouths, their livers must already have melted down. Under these circumstances, who will dare to argue that this is white and that is black? The so-called district convocation [hyanghoe] is generally like this. If the magistrate really cares for his people, he should not have such a meeting. C H A P T E R : J US T IC E I N L E V Y I NG C ORV É E SE R V IC E S I I

Since the Law on Hiring Horses [Komabŏp] Is Not Included Even in the National Codes of Law, There Is No Justification for Levying Taxes on the Basis of This Law. The Laws without Abuses Can Be Preserved; the Laws with Abuses, However, Must Be Abolished. When the magistrate came down to the post of his assignment, the government had already paid his horse expenses; furthermore, whenever he makes trips outside [his district], 4 or 5 sŏk of rice are provided for his expenses. Why does he need to collect an extra tax from the people under the pretext of hiring horses? When the magistrate lived in Seoul, he raised a horse for his trips to the outside even if he had hardly anything for his family to eat. Now beans and barley are piled in the granary of his yamen, and the grass and straw to feed the animals overflow the barn. One or two household slaves, often dozing, are always standing by in the inner quarters of his yamen. Why, then, does the magistrate have to squeeze money out of the people instead of purchasing a couple of horses and raising them for his purposes? When he was unemployed, preparing for the civil ser vice examination, the magistrate traveled all around the country with only a servant and a single horse. Now that he has become a magistrate, he does not go out for even a short distance without having a sedan chair and a horse plus an additional saddled horse carry ing his clothes, his quilt and pillows, and all sorts of food. Is this not excessive? When the magistrate makes an outside trip, he is to have a sedan chair and a horse for his exclusive use, and another horse carry ing his clothes, his quilt and pillows, and food. These horses should be raised in the yamen, and the horses for a clerk and a runner are to be hired with money either from the yamen or from the public depository, following the precedents in the past. If the horses are provided by the public depository, the payment is 1 chŏn and 5 p’un for every 10 li, and if the distance exceeds 100 li, it will be 2 taels per 100 li (6 taels for 300 li; 16 taels for 800 li). 158. Th is means that those who are entertained with fi ne foods are powerless to criticize irregularities in the documents of the public depository even if they discover them.

386

book VI

The reason that the expense for horses is paid by the yamen is that the yamen has property of its own. When it happens that the clerks are transferred to more advantageous positions or there are security guards [posol] outside the district capital, it is appropriate that the expenses be paid according to old precedents; if the expense for the horses has been paid by a kye association village, the village kye set up for that purpose must be abolished first, and the expense must be paid out of the public depository. Since the magistrate is provided with money for expenditures when he makes outside trips, he should give the first half of this money to the stable inside the yamen (two horses are assigned for the magistrate’s use) and the other half to the public depository so that horses from the outside can be supplied (two horses are hired from the outside). With regard to the horses, it will suffice if the magistrate follows the rules as above. However, the magistrate these days establishes a special fund called komago and every year levies 1,000 taels on the people. With that money he keeps eight or nine horses and spends 50 to 60 taels for each horse by hiring grooms. When a horse dies, he collects half the price of the horse from the groom, and when a horse becomes sick, he replaces the sick one with a new one, providing extra money for the replacement. When he makes a short trip to nearby places, he usually does not pay the grooms; when he goes out to distant places, he pays only half of the whole expense. Those who have the funds for horses know hardly any limit in using the horses; they seem to think that the horses sprang out of the ground for free. Every time the magistrate goes out, his trip requires a pair of horses for himself, a saddled horse, another pair of horses for carry ing equipment, and three horses to be used by runners [paema]. When his children travel to Seoul, or the women in his household or his relatives visit him or return to their homes, they all use the horses. The magistrate takes pride in having this system of transportation, calling his yamen ungbu [outstanding office]. Wherever his entourage goes, the air is thick with dust and is fi lled with the noise of ringing bells of horses, and the magistrate feels that the general appearance of his outing is quite impressive. On the day when the impost for horses is levied or collected, however, wolves and tigers run around on the streets in the middle of the day, and chickens and dogs are scared during the night. The ruthless tax collectors ransack the barns of the people, take their cauldrons away from them, shear the cloth on the looms, and destroy their clothes racks; so the outcries of widowers and widows fill the air, but the magistrate is hardly aware of what goes on. How sad! How can he be so insensitive to the plight of the people? There is no doubt that the tax for horses must be abolished. However, a pair of horses used by runners needs to be taken into consideration.

Taxation

387

When the Equalized Tax Law Was First Enforced, the Tax Rate on Fish, Salt, and Vessels Became Consistent; However, as the Law Grew Old, New Abuses Began to Replace the Old Ones, and the Tricks of Clerks Intensified. It is in full accord with good principles to levy taxes on fish, salt, and vessels. In Rites of Zhou there were statutes prohibiting the blockage of streams and ponds, and all vehicles were required to be accounted for; during the Qi dynasty there were supervising officials in charge of large swamps, streams, and ponds; and during the Han dynasty there were salt and iron monopoly commissioners [yantienguan]. Therefore, there is nothing to be ashamed of as far as taxes on fish, salt, and vessels are concerned. What matter, however, are inconsistency and inequality that result from the differences and uniqueness of local customs concerning revenue policy. The ministers of old, who made the laws, lacking wisdom or a good relationship among themselves at the time of legislation, overlooked some of the problems with the taxes on those items. Hence the tax rates are all different from province to province and from district to district. As time and situations have continued to change, it has become both difficult to take control of subordinate personnel and impossible to reopen all the old cases of anomalies. So it happens that the real and the fictitious are mingled to a confusing degree, and tricks and cheating continue to increase day after day. Those who become magistrates of the districts along the seacoast must pay attention to this problem, not to mention their three major administrative duties. Cargo Vessels Have a Number of Grades According to Their Sizes, but the Classification Is Different from Province to Province. Therefore, When the Magistrate Inspects Them, He Should Follow the Customs, and When He Collects Taxes, He Should Watch Only for the Mistake of Collecting Them Twice. The loading capacity is the strength [i.e., the most important characteristic] of the vessel. If the height and width of the vessel are different, the loading capacity has to be different. However, the present system of grading vessels counts only their length and then levies taxes on that basis, which is obviously unreasonable. If the classification of vessels were based on loading capacity, the tax rate would be much more reasonable, for it would reflect the real situation. Unfortunately, there is nothing much one can do about this now. However, when the magistrate goes out to inspect vessels, he must keep this problem in mind. I personally witnessed that the government levied taxes twice on vessels that had already paid their taxes. There lived on Modo Island a man named Hwang 159. Land administration, military administration, and grain loans.

388

book VI

who used to make his living by operating a small boat for trading. Unable to make profits from his boat business, he sold it to another man named Chang Sam. Chang died after a year, and his wife resold it to a man named Yi Sa, a resident of Wando Island. However, these three people, who once owned the same boat, were still listed on the tax records for the vessel and were required to pay taxes every year. When Hwang filed a suit, the magistrate rendered judgment: “Investigations will be conducted to find out the facts.” Then he passed the document to a clerk in charge, and the latter demanded 10 taels as a bribe. Hwang returned home and consulted one of the magistrate’s aides, offering him fift y abalones and a bundle of seaweed as a gift. The latter promised him that he would solve his problem. However, the poor man continued to be pressured to pay his taxes by the clerk, and the man of power now said, “I am sorry to say that something went wrong. There is not much choice for you but to pay the tax this year. I am sure that I can take care of it next year, though.” The following year Hwang was once more pressured to pay the taxes and rushed to the man he had consulted about his problem but discovered that he had been replaced by a new man and could not be found any longer. Hwang once again had to submit his case to the magistrate, and the latter rendered the same judgment, “I will order the investigations,” and passed his document to his clerk. The clerk now said, “What you have done cannot be forgiven. You offered a bribe to the magistrate’s aide while disregarding us in the yamen. Therefore, you will now need 20 taels if you want to remove your name from the tax record.” Hwang thought for a moment: “The taxes I have to pay for my vessel are only 3 taels a year, but I have already spent almost 10 taels in order to clear my name from the record. If I have to pay 20 taels, as the man told me to, it will be like paying in advance the taxes for ten forthcoming years. Since life is as short as the morning dew, how can I be assured of being alive ten years from now?” As a result, he paid 3 taels, which were due at that time, and left the yamen. On the way home he stopped by my place at Tasan and related his story, which I have just finished. Although the man I met with is an individual named Hwang, I guess that the story of Chang or Yi will not differ much from his. This indicates that several people are simultaneously paying taxes for one ship regardless of its ownership. If there are several taxpayers in the case of a small vessel, the abuses related to large or medium-size vessels will be more serious. Since the tax rates of larger vessels are much higher, the potential abuses can be relatively greater. In levying taxes on vessels, the magistrate should first examine the original records of the vessels and discover the real capacity of the ship. Then he orders the clerks to issue a tally to each vessel, checking the ownership of the vessel. When he feels certain that there is no trickery of levying taxes twice on a single ship, he should stamp his seal on the card. Even if the number of vessels and that of their tallies agree, there is no guarantee that the possibility of trickery is completely removed. If the clerks privately

Taxation

389

collect taxes from the current owners, using a card without an official seal [paekp’ae], and from the former owners, using a card with an official seal [chup’ae], the current owners will pay them willingly since they have nothing to lose, and the former owners have no choice but to pay for them although they feel that this is unfair, since the cards they received are stamped with an official seal. Abuses like this must be kept in mind when the magistrate actually collects the taxes from the vessels. Since the Foundation of Taxes on Fishing Is in the Sea, It Is Hard to Make a Close Observation All the Time. What the Magistrate Should Do, Therefore, Is to Make Sure That the Total Amount of Collected Taxes Agrees with the Taxes Assigned to the District, and Watch Whether They Are Collected Recklessly. The foundation of taxes on fishing consists of four areas: first, the fishing grounds where fishing boats gather to throw nets; second, the passage of fish and fishing boats that await the arrival of fish; third, the fishing boats that spread on both the left and right of the main boat; and fourth, the fish traps, which are made of bamboo and are set up to induce fish into a narrow dead end. The taxes on fishing in Ch’ungch’ŏng Province are levied on fish traps, the fishing grounds, the passage of fish, and fishing boats. The fish traps are divided into ten grades, and the rest into only four grades. In Chŏlla Province fish traps are divided into nine grades, and fish routes into three grades, and the taxes on  fishing grounds and fishing vessels are much heavier than in other places (for example, Pŏpsŏng, Kunsan, Wido, and so on). The taxes on fishing in Kyŏngsang Province, which make up one-fi ft h of its revenue, are the most problematic among those of the provinces. The tax laws on fishing in other provinces are not clear. Although the tax system of each province is uneven and has merits and demerits of its own, the magistrate should do his best to collect the designated amount of taxes on time according to the tax records every year. Even if there happen to be some surpluses or shortages and conflicts of interest, it is not necessary for the magistrate to look into them closely, which means that the magistrate is not required to check out the fish deep in the sea. However, when the inspecting clerks, powerful and cunning, commit extortion on the pretext of carry ing out their public duties, the magistrate must order investigations and strictly punish the offenders once in a while. In that way the district can induce fishing vessels to its ports and will not lose profits from them. The fish traps set up in the estuaries and bays are levied more taxes in addition to the designated amount; yamen clerks, law-enforcement officials, government slaves, and runners always extort money by using all kinds of excuses, such as the inspection tour of the governor, the birthday banquets for the magistrate’s

390

book VI

mother, the civil ser vice examination, the magistrate’s boat ride for entertaining his guests, and so forth. They take away all the fish that are caught in the ebbing and rising tide from the people without paying a single coin. Why should the magistrate take the complaints and curses of the people when he took none of their fish? When I lived by the sea, I personally saw things like that. The magistrate should keep this in mind. When Chŏng Mansŏk became magistrate of Yŏnil, he submitted a memorial in response to a royal decree: “Since the Equalized Tax Law was enforced, fish products have decreased and fish traps have also disappeared. Nevertheless, the taxes on them still exist, and taxes on the fish vessels that have already been destroyed continue to be levied. If the owner of the vessel is delinquent in his taxes, his relatives or neighbors are forced to pay them. Although the district I am in charge of is extremely small, it has as many as three or four places on which taxes are levied for nonexistent fish traps; and there are also nineteen vessels, now all destroyed, for which taxes are levied on relatives and neighbors on behalf of their owners. Since the taxes that used to be paid by a hundred people are now levied on ten, and the taxes paid by ten are now imposed only on one, how can people survive? One of the reasons that the people cannot escape from their unfair tax burdens is the government policy that makes others pay delinquent taxes, and the other is the extortion routinely practiced by yamen clerks. As I prostrate myself before Your Majesty and reflect on this matter, it is a universal law that all things have beginnings and ends, and all man-made products have limits on their durability. Our tax system, however, disregards that law and is intent only on accomplishing its goal, which is to collect taxes from people at all costs. How can we continue to allow this anomaly?” The Taxes on Salt, Which Originally Were Light, Are Not a Burden on the People. What the Magistrate Should Do Is Only to Check Whether the Taxes Were Reasonably Levied in Comparison with the Standard Figures on the Records. The salt taxes in Kyŏnggi Province, which are the lightest throughout the country, are 4 taels when they are heavy and 1 tael when they are light, and they are divided into only four grades. Although the salt taxes of Hwanghae Province are divided into four grades, its tax rate is a little higher. (The highest is 16 taels.) The salt taxes of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province are divided into eight grades; those of Chŏlla Province into nine grades; and those of Kyŏngsang Province, the most profitable and yet light in its tax rate, are only 6 taels regardless of grade. Kangwŏn Province is the same. In the case of Hamgyŏng Province, salt processed through clay 160. “The government policy” here indicates that of the Bureau of the Equalized Tax (Kyunyŏkch’ŏng).

Taxation

391

cauldrons is levied 10 taels, and salt produced through iron cauldrons 6 taels. The salt taxes of P’yŏngyang are divided into five grades. (The highest is 10 taels; the lowest is 2 or 3 taels.) Salt is indispensable, like foods consumed every day. The clerks and supervisors in charge of salt often steal salt from the people without payment, promising only that the money will be deducted from the rice tax that the people owe to the government, but their promise is never kept. Sometimes they ask the people to supply soybean sauce for the use of the district but drastically cut the price of salt, which brings financial ruin to many salt farmers. How can the magistrate overlook this matter? When Yun Nodong became magistrate of Yangsan, he submitted a memorial in response to a royal decree, and the king replied as follows: “The salt processing of Myŏngji Island, which produces salt by boiling sea water, was based on the model of the salt granary established by Wen Jing during the years of Jianan. In recent years the local government has levied taxes so recklessly on those engaged in the production of salt that it has deprived them of their livelihood. Over fift y salt-processing cauldrons were reduced by half, and even the people residing along both sides of the river have no salt on their meal tables, not to mention food to eat. Because of the lack of salt in their diet, one can see [excess] hair growing on their skin. Although in recent years a promise was made to raise the price of salt, it was not kept. Even if I do not ask for salt when I have breakfast or dinner, how can it be of any help to the people? You said that the passage of private vessels is blocked, and the remaining salt-processing cauldrons will become empty in the near future. Your statement captured the real situation as if it drew a picture.” According to the law of China, salt is supposed to be produced and sold by the government, and private ownership of the salt industry is prohibited. It is not unlike prohibiting the people from privately printing currency. The reforms of salt production and price controls made by Liu Yan were praised at the time of their legislation. Now the governor of Kyŏngsang Province establishes a salt granary on his own and makes profits out of it. Salt is a commodity that is controlled by the government. A man of wisdom can predict the cycle of natural disasters, and the value of things, good or bad, reveals itself as a sign. When drought lasts long, the value of salt goes down to the level of manured soil, and even if all the households in the salt-producing community work together, they make no profit despite their hard labor. Taking this opportunity, the magistrate buys several thousand sŏk of salt and has a wealthy resident in his district keep it with this 161. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. 162. Unknown. 163. The reign name of Emperor Xian (196–220) of the Later Han dynasty.

392

book VI

remark: “I want you to keep this salt. The time will come when salt becomes precious. Then you will be able to make profits when you sell it.” Since the profits thus made are indeed not small when the salt is sold at the right time, the magistrate can use the profits to save the people during a year of poor harvest; if he is fortunate enough to have good harvests in a row, he can use the money to repair the fortress and the yamen office, as well as banners, weapons, and so forth. If he appropriates even a single coin for his own purposes, however, he will not be able to escape the shame of being called a merchant. When Governor Chŏng Ŏnhwang served as magistrate of Inch’ŏn, the salt taxes of his district were originally too heavy. Finding that the salt-producing households were gradually declining, he reduced their taxes by two-thirds; at the same time he strictly supervised the clerks and prohibited them from extorting fish from the people. Because his benevolent measure quickly became known, even people in other districts vied with one another to rush into his district. As the salt-producing households increased, the salt revenue also increased. Merchants Trading Meat, Salt, and Brown Seaweed and Laver, Who Have to Use Either Privately Owned Small Vessels or Ships Run by the Government, Have to Pay the Service Charges of Liaison Storehouses. Always Maneuvering and Tyrannous, Liaison Storehouses Harass the Merchants, but the Latter Have No Place to Which to Appeal. What are the ser vice charges of liaison storehouses? They are the so-called payments to the liaison storehouses [didian shui], which Zheng Xuan talked about. What is the liaison storehouse? It indicates the middlemen who trade the merchandise on behalf of the merchants. Wherever ships can sail to and anchor, a few powerful families in the port set up their storehouses, and when merchant ships arrive, they take control of the cargoes at their will, cutting off access to them. They manipulate the price of the merchandise, or pay off their own old debts while pretending that they are secretly helping the merchants, or make an alliance with the traders living on land and share the profits after forcing the sea merchants to sell their merchandise at a discount, or charge the merchants an exorbitant ser vice fee after serving them wine and meat as if they were entertaining them with the utmost hospitality. On the day when the vessels depart and all the accounts of sales and expenses during their stay are settled, half of the merchants’ profit goes to the liaison storehouse, and the remaining half is divided among various parties, including the merchants themselves. Furthermore, once the clerks, law-enforcement officials, and official slaves hear the news that a merchant vessel has arrived, they rush to the port like a swarm of bees and plunder the cargoes or pay only half the price for the merchandise or grab the merchandise on credit. If the merchants refuse to yield to their demands, they are treated

Taxation

393

with violence. Thus fights break out between the merchants and the gang of clerks and officers, causing bloodshed and outcries that reach to the sky. Then the rogues of the sea village jump into the fights, making the situation even worse, and this eventually drives away commercial ships and vessels from the village. As a result, the price of all commodities in the village increases day after day, and the village itself keeps on deteriorating. Since this type of roguery deserves punishment even in ordinary times, not to mention during a year of poor harvests, how can the magistrate ignore it without taking any action? Since Zhu Xi in his efforts to save starving people during a famine admonished time and again that such abuses must be prohibited from taking place in the sea villages, it is clear that even this old sage was fully aware of the problem. He who becomes a magistrate of a district near a river or the sea should let his people know that no one in his domain will harass the visiting merchants with tricks and intimidation; the residents can charge the visitors for the meals they provide, but other than that, they should commit no cheating or manipulation. Along with this pronouncement, if he separately sends out secret inspectors to monitor the situation and punishes the offenders, the merchants will certainly be pleased to visit his district for their trade. The profits made by the liaison storehouses located in Masanp’o of Changwŏn and Kasanp’o of Chinju amount to several thousand or several hundred thousand taels. The powerful families that rule the sea villages fight to take over the best spots and create conflicts in conspiracy with those in power. They offer bribes and gifts to high officials in Seoul in order to secure an appointment from the governor, and relying on the power they bought with money, they practice corruption and tyranny that challenge the authority of the magistrate. For this reason, there is no end to the abuses that the trading merchants have to suffer. Furthermore, since the magistrate already took bribes from the men of the coastal villages for the position they wanted, how can he stop them from practicing tyranny? Instead of punishing them, the magistrate makes them his own men and through them acquires rare fish or large abalones. So the tyranny and abuses committed by the liaison storehouses become worse as time passes. What should be done about this? The Magistrate Must Scrutinize Whether the Taxes Levied on Markets, Customs, Ferries, Liaison Storehouses, and Hemp Shoes, as Well as the Cloth Tax for Female Shamans, Are Excessive. The market taxes are the taxes levied on the stores in the marketplace. The taxes levied on the towns with checkpoints, which are recorded in Rites of Zhou, were one of the nine taxes and contributed to the expenditures for the king’s food and clothes. The market taxes of the Han dynasty were established for the personal

394

book VI

expenditures of the emperor, and the rules and regulations concerning customs and ferries became more detailed with the passage of time. They were developed further during the time of the Song and Ming dynasties, and therefore, the market taxes are in accordance with principle. The problem, however, lies in the way this law is enforced. Since enforcement is entrusted to ruthless men who openly rob the people of their money and rice in conspiracy with the wealthy merchants in the town, the poor and helpless in the countryside lose their money and grain. The magistrate must repeatedly express his will to punish those who practice the old custom of exploitation; at the same time he must separately dispatch a team to search for violators of his order and bring them to justice. It will not take long, then, until the odds and ends of yard goods and small quantities of grain in the houses of poor people will be sold in the market at a reasonable price. It also happens that a band of cunning men with only their bare hands jump into the market and, playing the middleman, take control of all transactions as they please. Asserting their rights, they interfere in all kinds of activities, such as measuring and weighing grain, cloth, and cotton; selling fish, pickled fish, and fruits like jujubes, chestnuts, pears, and persimmons; and trading in pottery and earthenware, as well as cows, horses, pheasants, and chickens. Without their participation no transaction is possible, so they manipulate the price as they please, exchanging signs among themselves. Th is is the reason that the magistrate should watch over these people. If he strictly punishes a man or two whose crimes are extreme and makes them an example for the general public, probably a hundred people will soon realize that they have to be careful in their conduct. Commenting on the market, Rites of Zhou states, “The market taxes are exempted during a famine.” Although this is not entirely possible nowadays, at least the stores that sell grain should be allowed an exemption during a famine; thereby not a handful of grain will be wasted. This measure will bring benefits to both parties, those who sell and those who purchase grain, and only the middlemen will lose their profits. In conducting state affairs, it is more desirable to draw praise from ten thousand people than to receive a complaint from one person. Why should the magistrate hesitate to take action? Checkpoints are gateways established on the narrow spots of mountain passes, such as Tongsŏllyŏng, Ch’ŏngsŏkdong, Ch’ŏllyŏng, Taegwallyŏng, Choryŏng, and Ch’up’ungnyŏng, through which the merchants pass, and a chin is a ferry where people are carried across a river or the sea. In China taxes at checkpoints or ferries have been levied throughout history; however, we originally had no taxes at checkpoints. Although there were taxes on using ferries, what the people paid went into the pockets of ferrymen. Hence the money paid to ferrymen is excluded from our discussion here.

Taxation

395

Chŏmse are the taxes levied on taverns. The main roads to the west and to the south extend as far as 500 li from Seoul, and along the roads there are a number of taverns, which are all large in scale. Therefore, it is natural that taxes are levied on them, which contribute to state revenue. What the magistrate should do is to supervise the taxation so that no complaints and resentment spread on the road. Since the checkpoints and taverns are places through which travelers pass, even a rumor of an act of generosity or heartlessness can spread to remote corners of the country. This is the reason that the magistrate has to be alert all the time. There is no justification for requiring Buddhist monks to submit straw shoes. In olden days Buddhist temples had many donors, and the monks were exempt from labor imposts. Instead, they were required to submit shoes made of straw or hemp every month; however, the number of donors has declined in recent years, and a majority of Buddhist temples have been neglected and have become empty. Even when one temple has to bear the burden of several temples, the magistrate fails to see the difference, and his clerks and slaves recklessly collect taxes from it. When a royal messenger passes through the district, the clerks and slaves extort money from the temples. Although the contribution required of each temple was originally 5 taels, the amount they actually collect exceeds 20 or 30 taels. When the magistrate has a picnic in the temple, inviting the magistrates of neighboring districts, as well as female entertainers, musicians, attendant clerks, and official slaves, everyone in the party is provided a pair of straw or hemp shoes as a gift from the temple. Suppose that there are a hundred people; how many shoes is the temple supposed to produce? The magistrate must know it. In the case of the royal messenger, he should look into the exact contributions made by the temples, and when he enjoys a picnic with local magistrates, he should reduce the number of persons in his entourage in order to reduce the abuses caused by his visit. Since Buddhism is unauthorized by the law, it will be appropriate to prohibit it as far as the government is concerned. However, in reality, it is not possible, and if that is the case, it will be appropriate for the magistrate to protect it. The people in the old days regarded the Buddhist temples as charity or welfare institutions because “people like widowers, widows, orphans, the elderly without children, and beggars sought the Buddhist temples as their last refuge.”  This is true. Hyujŏng, Great Master Sŏsan, composed a prayer and made the monks recite it day and night. Monk Kŭnŭn of Mandŏk Temple was physically weak and lived the life of an invalid. He said, “In the prayer composed by Master Sŏsan, the blessings for three royal personages, all the people in the royal palace, and all the 164. According to the source text, it is not clear who made this statement. 165. Hyujŏng (1520–1604), better known by his pen name, Master Sŏsan. When the Japa nese invaded Korea in 1592, he mobilized monk armies and fought the enemy in P’yŏngyang.

396

book VI

officials in the court sound all right. However, for a monk like myself living in the mountains, the blessings for the promotion of provincial governors are not my concern; the blessings for the magistrates and the wish for their benevolent rule are not my concern, either. I would rather revise his prayer like this: ‘Please order the provincial governors not to visit the temples in the mountains and make the magistrate reduce the imposts on the straw shoes we make.’ ” The people who heard about this laughed. Although this was a joke, it was a good indicator of the difficult situation that the people faced. Since the Board of Punishments prohibits sacrifices to evil spirits, it is right to increase the cloth taxes levied on female shamans, whereas it is advisable to reduce other labor imposts. Even a small village consisting of only three households has a shaman who practices uncanny rituals, generating fear and confusion among the villagers. With her reckless fortune-telling, she deprives the people of their clothes and rice while she enjoys wearing silk and eating fish and pickled fish. So the activities of shamans should be restrained. However, it is certainly not appropriate for the magistrate to raise the tax on shamans and pocket the shamans’ unclean tax money. He should divide it into four parts and distribute the first part to the clerks belonging to the criminal justice section [hyŏngbang], the second and third parts to the runners in charge of enforcing the law, and the fourth part to the female official slaves, so that they can contribute to the expenditures for horses and travel, as well as to the preparation of their outfits. The Magistrate Must Be Extremely Cautious When He Imposes Corvée Labor and Must Try to Reduce It as Much as Possible. Unless the Corvée Labor Brings Benefits to the People, He Must Avoid It. The impositions of corvée labor are as follows: fi rst, constructing embankments (which are breakwaters); second, digging ditches; third, dredging reservoirs; fourth, carry ing coffi ns (when officials have died far from home); fi ft h, drawing boats (that operate on inland waterways); sixth, transporting timber (which includes pine trees used for making coffi ns for royalty or timber intended for shipbuilding); seventh, transporting tribute products (for example, the local products of Cheju Island); eighth, driving horses (in Cheju horses are presented as tribute to the government); ninth, keeping ice in storage (which is for the use of the magistrate); tenth, assisting at funerals (building a temporary shelter called myosanggak to cover a tomb under construction and the storage of lime, fi ne sand, and white earth, which are needed to make tombs); eleventh, carry ing sedan chairs (to cross over mountain passes); and twelft h, transporting baggage on one’s shoulder (the cargoes and baggage that belong to officials). In addition to these labor ser vices, there are many more miscellaneous

Taxation

397

requirements that are no less onerous, including the repair of fortresses or office buildings. The corvée labor for the construction of embankments is a cause of complaints of the people. If the magistrate constructs a large embankment by mobilizing the residents and procures 600 to 700 sŏk of extra grain every year, he should turn the newly acquired land into the property of the public depository and appropriate it for the corvée labor of the people. Then the poor people will not complain even if they are mobilized for labor for three days. The current situation, however, is quite the opposite. A gang of cunning people and the men of influence in the district frequent Seoul in order to make an alliance with a number of powerful families who dispatch their family retainers to supervise the construction of embankments. Sometimes the Five Army Garrisons [Ogunmun], the Royal Stable Court, and the Palace Supply Bureau dispatch their men and take control of the construction, or the Embankment Construction Agency [Cheŏnsa] holds a meeting, and the governor sends out an official dispatch to mobilize the people, which requires that each household send one person for the construction work. If a man resides 30 li away from the site of construction, he wastes three days for one day’s labor duty; furthermore, the expenditures for food and wine while he travels to work are not small. For this reason, the people who live far away from the site usually pay for their labor impost in cash, and the amount for each person is 25 maces. Since many households are exempt from labor imposts, the assignment of labor among the people is unequal, and the burden of nine households is passed over to three. Hence the total impost that a household actually has to pay amounts to 75 maces. When the people are unable to pay their dues, they have to face humiliations like having their hair pulled down or their cheeks slapped; sometimes they have to watch their cloth on the loom being cut off and taken away or, even worse, their cooking cauldrons removed from the kitchen and carried away. Thus the labor imposts, which amount to 700 to 800 taels, are collected in no time and transported to the construction site of embankments. The bundles of money coming from all directions eventually amount to thousands of taels. This money, however, is not spent as it should be; the construction is poorly done and therefore requires repair within a few years, which means more collection of labor imposts and mobilization of the people. When the embankment is finally completed, they [i.e., those in charge of the Embankment Construction Agency] gather a group of wicked people to form a 166. The Embankment Construction Agency (Cheŏnsa) was a government office in charge of constructing dams and managing irrigation. It was established in the early Chosŏn dynasty but was abolished during the Japa nese invasions. However, it was reestablished in 1662 but was merged into the Border Defense Council in 1730.

398

book VI

village, making them their tenants and granting them an exemption from corvée ser vices. As a result, the number of households on which corvée labor is levied declines day after day, and the burden of the people increases all the time. The grain produced from the land created through the newly built embankment is exempt from royal taxes, and in the case of sharecropping, only one-tenth of it is presented to the office in Seoul, and the rest goes into the pockets of the managers and supervisors. So the new land created through the construction of the embankment is profitable neither to the state nor to the people. Nothing is more inappropriate than this type of work, for it generates only complaints and resentment among the people, which can be more serious than the abuses themselves. Keeping this in mind, the magistrate should be very careful before he gives his consent when a meeting is held to discuss building embankments. Even if neighboring districts have agreed to the idea of the project, he should not allow himself to be carried away. If his disagreement is based on his love of the people, his superiors will find it hard to reprimand him. Although his superior may be indignant at the moment, he will relent later after he better understands his intention; if the magistrate loses his office because of the objection he raised, the people’s warm feeling toward him will be an honor to him for many generations to come. Then why should he hesitate to act, trusting his own judgment? He should not be too ready to grant the idea of constructing embankments. Digging ditches and dredging reservoirs are not much different from constructing embankments in the sense that they also can bring harm to the people. If such works can benefit the people, the magistrate of course should not refuse his support for them, although they require the people to contribute their labor ser vice. However, if those works are initiated by a few powerful families or by agencies in the central government after listening to some cunning people who seek fortunes at the cost of innocent people, he should never allow them to proceed. When a reservoir was made long ago and was listed on the old record of the Embankment Construction Agency, the magistrate should not dare to disobey the order of his superior even if it is privately owned by an individual. He should order the tenants of the farms attached to the reservoir to contribute their labor for ten days and the people residing within a distance of 3 li around the reservoir to contribute just a day’s labor. If the work is still incomplete despite these efforts, he should have them continue their work in the following year, and if the work is still incomplete once again, he should make those in charge of construction wait another year [to have the work done]. In other words, he should never allow himself to do things that bring more harm than good, mobilizing the people of his district and collecting money from a thousand households.

Taxation

399

When Xu Ying became prefect of Jiaxing, the construction of Baimao Harbor was under way in the region of Changshu. The officials who were leading the project sent out dispatches to mobilize tens of thousands of workers in his district. Xu Ying said, “When the flooding of Baimao Harbor did not really affect our district, how can I bear to drive out my people to such a faraway place to carry out their labor ser vice?” Then he sent an official letter and offered his help by contributing money, never yielding to the requisition. When Shi Zizhong was in charge of Wujin District of Changzhou, the prefect wanted to build a mansion for his houseguest, so he asked the Wujin District to take up the project. The construction alone cost several hundred thousand sŏk of grain. Refusing to follow the order, Shi Zizhong said, “I govern the people for the emperor; how can I allow myself to become a man who privately builds a house for an individual? It is certainly not my business to flatter my superior by squeezing the sweat and blood of my people.” When Zhu Guangji was in charge of Mianzhou, there were a number of powerful families in his prefecture who privately took common people into their service. Zhu strictly prohibited this old practice. One day a man who introduced himself as a person employed by the house of a minister tried to coerce the residents to work on a farm. Zhu asked him if the farm belonged to the state or to an individual. The man replied that it was a personal property, but the old practice had allowed families of high social status to mobilize the people for their needs. Zhu rejected his argument and made a public notice that this practice was against the law. The following happened when I served as magistrate of Koksan. One day the governor sent me an urgent official dispatch that required my district to mobilize and send two hundred silver miners to Chaeryŏng County to join the work of constructing the embankment that was led by the Robust and Brave Division [Changyongyŏng]. I refused to follow the order, submitting my report to the governor. Then I received another official dispatch that required me to carry out the order immediately. The governor also wrote me a letter in which he said, “It is not advisable to continue to hold your personal opinion on the matter that concerns us these days. Besides, the status of Changyongyŏng is special among the military establishments. How can you conduct yourself in this manner?” I replied, “The world we live in at the moment is ruled by our sacred king. How can

167. Huian. 168. Keji. 169. 170.

An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziqian. He also served as prefect of Shi Dun, a scholar of the Song dynasty who associated with Zhu Xi. He was called Master Unknown. An army established in Suwŏn, a new royal city built by King Chŏngjo in 1791.

400

book VI

you say that it is not good to hold one’s own opinion? If the military division were other than the Robust and Brave Division, I might have followed your order. However, it would be no small matter if I mobilize the people for the Robust and Brave Division, incurring their complaints and resentment and thus allowing it to harm the virtue and dignity of our king.” Fearing that he had nothing to gain and that the situation might escalate, the governor passed over Koksan and ordered other districts to follow his order. The Supplement to the National Code rules as follows: “As to the new construction of embankments and dams, the people should first petition the magistrate. Then the magistrate personally examines the situation and, if he is convinced that the construction can bring benefits to the people, he reports to the Embankment Construction Agency. Following this process, he raises money and manpower in his district to accomplish the goal.” The Comprehensive National Code rules as follows: “When various palace agencies and government offices make requests for the dispatch of silver miners for the purpose of constructing and repairing embankments and reservoirs, the magistrate must prevent them [various palace agencies and government offices] from committing abuses of their privileges and strictly punish those who violate the law.” In the case of a corvée ser vice like carry ing a coffin, the people in the districts along the main road have the kye, a voluntary mutual assistance association for various purposes, including funerals. Because its members take turns carry ing coffins every month and are familiar with funeral proceedings, what the magistrate should do is to admonish the clerks in charge to do their jobs properly. Recruiting the people in the backward districts takes place once every ten years or so. The people, therefore, are not familiar with the requirements of their labor duties, and the clerks take advantage of their ignorance by taking bribes or physically abusing them. Keeping these circumstances in mind, the magistrate must prepare for what is to come, that is, how many people he should send to carry a coffin and which inn or post station he should send them to, making in advance a list of eligible people that excludes the old and sick. He should pay par ticular attention to the potential trickery of the clerks and law-enforcement officials. When Li Xingui was in charge of the district of Qinghe, he submitted a memorial to the emperor as follows: “The district I am in charge of is wide, but its residents are few. Because it is located at a strategic point, there is always a long line of envoys and officials who pass through our district, so the people are constantly conscripted to draw their boats, and the harm from this reaches the elderly and the children because there is hardly anyone left who can work 171. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Junxin.

Taxation

401

on the farms and grow the silkworms. Last year the Ministry of War gave an order that five people be assigned to pull a boat when state affairs are urgent, and when they are not, no one is to be summoned to contribute his labor service. However, that order is no longer kept these days. Because the limit on mobilizing workers is ignored, forty or fift y people are ordered to work on a boat, but no one dares to protest under pressure and coercion. Since the people mobilized to pull the official boats are often unable to keep up with a boat when a strong wind pushes it faster than they walk, and as a result, they lose their clothes and provisions that were stashed on that boat, I beseech Your Majesty to renew your imperial decree that you proclaimed last time.” The emperor granted his request. Transporting timber is also a great burden on the people. There was originally a convenient way to drag or lift heavy materials. Even though one may not be able to follow the good old ways fully, one can lift and carry tall trees with the manpower of only a few if he first builds a road and several vehicles equipped with pulleys. This is what I personally experimented with when I was magistrate of Koksan. It costs only 20 or 30 mun to manufacture a vehicle with a pulley system. Does it make sense if the magistrate mobilizes thousands of people to save such a small expense? What did the people do wrong? It is the magistrate himself who should be blamed. Every time hwangjangmok  pinewood is transported, the people residing along the main road are afflicted with whipping while a few clerks enrich themselves with bribes. This may appear a trifle, but the magistrate should not overlook it. The best time for transporting timber is the cold season, so it is important that the magistrate who is entrusted with this job not miss its timing. If the timber is intended for building houses, the magistrate should order the carpenters to examine the length of the logs carefully and saw them into a certain length at the foot of the hill. Then the task of transportation will be made much easier. However, the clerks, who have their eye on the top and bottom parts of the trees [hoping to profit from them personally], try to transport the trees in their entirety, using twice as much manpower as they should. Therefore, it is essential that the magistrate watch over them. Transporting tribute products causes great trouble to the people. In the administrative systems of the Tang and Song dynasties the levy of corvée labor and its exemption were very controversial, and the controversy centered mostly on the transportation of tribute. Although Sima Guang and Wang Anshi had both strengths and weaknesses in their arguments, they were equally concerned about the troubles that could make the people suffer. In the case of our country [Korea], 172. Hwangjangmok, literally meaning the tree with golden intestines, was regarded as one of the best-quality pinewoods and, therefore, was used to make coffi ns for royalty.

402

book VI

all the activities of transporting tribute are conducted through the roads with post stations, and therefore, they do not cause much trouble to the people. The tribute of Cheju Island, however, is carried on people’s shoulders to the villages near the road, and the cargo is passed on from village to village, and those who carry it cross mountains and valleys, shuttling like a spindle on a loom. Some people escape from the troublesome toil through payment for their labor duty, and others throw the tribute baggage off the road, shifting it to their fellow workers. Thus the tribute becomes a trouble to the people and damages the dignity of the state. When the tribute arrives at the yamen, the magistrate must determine its amount and calculate the distance to the next station to which it is to be transported, as well as the cost of transportation. If it costs 10 maces to carry one item of tribute baggage, the money should be levied equally on the people; then the burden of transportation will be less painful. Suppose that the tribute originally consists of 30 pieces of baggage, and the distance of transportation in the district is 100 li; then the wage for carry ing them is only 30 taels. If the 30 taels are divided equally among the people who live along the road, the money to be paid by each household will be merely a few pennies. (This money is levied only on the people residing within a distance of 2 li from both sides of the road.) If the carriers first pay what they owe to the government and later are paid their wages when they finish their jobs, there will be neither delay of transportation nor commotion in the villages; there will also be neither damage to the dignity of the state through the abandonment of baggage nor a need to mobilize the people in the middle of their farming activities. If the magistrate makes a guideline based on these principles and distributes copies of it to the concerned villages, the people will assuredly find it convenient. In my observation, the personal baggage of the magistrate of Cheju is often included in the tribute. Since mobilizing the people for personal purposes is clearly wrong, and mixing personal items with official tributes is against the law, this problem also needs to be exposed. The so-called impost on driving tribute horses [kumajo] is something like this. In the olden days when Cheju sent tribute horses, the islanders who transported them to the land returned to their homes as soon as they passed them over to the mainlanders. However, the mainland people did not know how to handle the horses, so they often lost them on the way or were seriously injured while they drove them. When this happened, they asked the islanders to drive the horses to Seoul, paying them with grain. They collected grain from various villages, and its amount depended on the distance [of the villages from Seoul]. 173. Cheju Island, famous for producing fi ne horses, was required to submit horses for its tribute payment. The first-class horses cost 20 sŏk of rice, and the ones below the fi rst class cost 15 sŏk.

Taxation

403

The magistrate, therefore, should find out the exact distance and make sure that the grain is levied accordingly. When the amount of money is less than they expected, the islanders of Cheju deliberately let the horses scatter so that they may trample rice and barley, and they take no action for days. The following happened when Vice Section Chief Sim Kyu served as magistrate of Chinsan. When tribute horses arrived in his district, he himself drove the tribute horses, wearing his official uniform, so the people from Cheju could not dare to scatter the horses. Because Sim took the horses to the border of his district and safely turned them over to his neighbor, the people of Chinsan praised him, and he is still remembered. Preserving ice in storage, in the case of a large district, costs 300 or 400 taels every year, which is a burden on the people. It requires that the people cut down trees, carry the straw, cut the ice, and carry it to the ice storage house, and in the process, the clerks harass the people with trickery, making their lives miserable. When I was magistrate of Koksan, I gave an order not to keep the ice. Then the clerk said, “What will happen if the new magistrate, your successor, looks for ice when you have to leave unexpectedly?” I told him not to worry and ordered him to dig shaded ground to make a small cave, which was about the size of two rooms or so of a large house, and plaster its walls with a mixture of lime, sand, and earth as if it were a regular storeroom. On a cold day I made a female servant in charge of supplying water draw spring water and fi ll the underground storage room full, paying her generously for the extra work. Because the weather was extremely cold, the water turned into ice as soon as it was poured into the room. Thus the water in the room soon became a large piece of ice, hard as stone or iron, and I had it covered with a straw mat. In the summer of the following year I pulled the mat off the ice and found it just as solid as it had been at the beginning. The ice was so solid that it could be broken only by an axe. This is the best way of making ice. The ice in the ordinary storage room, which is piled in pieces on top of each other, usually melts before the summer arrives because air comes in through the gaps. The ice created and preserved in the new way, however, can maintain its solidity even in the heat of the summer because, being made of one large chunk, it has no gap to allow air to seep in. This method of making ice, however, may not apply to the southern part of our country, which is warm during the winter. The cost of operating inside and outside ice storage houses in Seoul amounts to several hundred thousand taels every year, which means that a great deal of 174. Unknown. 175. From the beginning of the Chosŏn dynasty two ice storage houses were established in Seoul. One was called the Inside Ice Storage House (Naebinggo) and the other the Outside Ice Storage House (Oebinggo). They provided ice to the royal palace, as well as the officials in the palace.

404

book VI

money can be saved when the new way of making ice is adopted. I tried to submit my proposal to the government, but its implementation was never realized. To render assistance to efforts to prepare for a funeral is a fine custom. A request for contribution of labor to make temporary shelters on top of a tomb and to provide the three ingredients, lime, fine sand, and white earth, cannot be refused. However, in the remote corners of the countryside this type of funeral preparation and custom is seldom found. Therefore, when the magistrate orders the mobilization of the people for a funeral in the distant countryside, it often happens that officials recklessly collect money from the people to raise funds, or the people cut down trees without permission. Dispatching his clerks, the magistrate should admonish them not to let these abuses happen. Villages called kyŏnyŏch’on, which are designated to carry sedan chairs, are levied no labor imposts other than carry ing sedan chairs. However, if the magistrate is corpulent, those who carry him on their shoulders will have a tough time, sweating and gasping for breath. The magistrate, then, had better give them some drink money and comfort them for their hard work. Even when a mountain pass is not rugged, the magistrate has the carriers carry him on their shoulders because he cherishes his horses more than the men, which is extremely unbenevolent. This type of conduct and old practice must be abolished. If it is unavoidable to employ sedan chairs for the travel of his wife and daughters, the magistrate should always give the carriers some drink money. When his sons come and go, however, he should strictly order them to walk without using sedan chairs. The transportation of baggage is a tyranny on the people who carry it, but it is unavoidable. The only thing the magistrate can do is frequently to admonish travelers not to abuse the carriers excessively. General Practices That Are Produced by Wrongful Precedents Must Be Abolished Immediately; They Should Not Be Followed Just as They Have Been. When Zhao Zaili was magistrate of Songzhou during the Five Dynasties period, his avarice was so extreme that the lives of people were miserable. Later he was transferred to Yongxing, and the people who heard the news were overjoyed, 176. These villages were located at the foot of high mountain passes. Since the villagers were often mobilized for the ser vice of carry ing sedan chairs, they were exempt from other labor imposts. 177. An official of the Later Tang dynasty during the Five Dynasties period (907–960). His courtesy name was Ganchen. He also served as military commander (zhihuishi).

Taxation

405

saying, “It feels like a nail stuck in the eye fell off.” Zhao Zaili heard of this and volunteered to serve in the district of Songzhou once again. As soon as he arrived, he levied 1,000 maces on each household, which he called “nail-extraction impost” [badingqian]. He collected this tax every year from all residents, regardless of whether they were landowners or tenants. When Zhang Chong of the Southern Tang dynasty served as magistrate of Luzhou, the way he ruled was against the law. It happened one day that he was summoned to an audience with the emperor. The people of Luzhou said, “That man [quyi] may not be able to come back.” However, Zhang Chong returned and levied a new tax called quyiqian [“that-man” tax] on all households. In the following year he again went to see the emperor. Upon hearing the news, the people in the street were delighted and congratulated one another, touching the beards of one another. Zhang Chong returned and levied a tax called lusuqian [tax for touching beards]. A magistrate in our country was so avaricious that the people at night went up to the mountains and criticized him aloud. The next day the magistrate summoned his aides and said, “The reason that the noise was heard from the mountain was that the mountain spirit became angry. We have to offer sacrifices to appease his anger.” Then he levied 10 maces on each household and with that money bought a pig for a sacrifice, but he took the rest of the money for himself. The people once again went up to the mountains and shouted their complaints. The magistrate said, “That is because the sacrifice we offered last time was not enough to appease the spirit.” Then he levied 100 maces on each household and offered a sacrifice. After that the people were unable to make complaints against the magistrate. Th is also shows how a wrongful precedent is made. When Li Yunze was in charge of Tanzhou, he found that his predecessor, whose surname was Ma, had ferociously exploited people, levying silk under the pretext of collecting land taxes. He also collected house taxes. Calculating the number of rooms in a house, he levied 1 zhang and 3 chi of silk per room. As to the households engaged in farming, he provided oxen and collected 4 hu of rice every year. His taxation was so ruthless that the farmers had to pay their dues even after the borrowed oxen were dead. Thus they called it “tax on the dead oxen” [kugushui]. Li Yunze completely abolished these abuses. 178. Unknown. 179. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Chuifan. He also served as defense commander of Kangzhou. 180. Zhang and chi are both units of length measure. 1 chi is 331⁄3 centimeters and 1 zhang 31⁄3 meters. 181. Kugushui literally means “tax on the dry bones.”

406

book VI

Since the Grain Designated for the Relief of Labor Services [Choyogok] or the Monetary Fund for Labor Service [Poyŏkjŏn] Is Often Devoured by Powerful Families, the Grain and Money That Can Be Searched For and Recovered Should Be Levied, and Those That Are Impossible to Collect Should Separately Be Forgiven and Replenished. In the olden days there was a so-called monetary fund for labor ser vice [poyŏkjŏn], which was divided among the people. It also happened that the governor, raising funds that amounted to several thousand maces of money, purchased oxen and loaned them to the people. The people, at first, formed the kye, voluntary mutual assistance associations, and increased their capital. However, in the course of time a few wealthy families and cunning people appropriated the money for themselves, and only meaningless figures and records were left. The magistrate must thoroughly investigate and eliminate abuses like these and make the original kye continue to work through the revision of its compact. However, the losses generated because of the scattering of the people during a famine should not be collected; they should rather be forgiven and replaced so that the people can be provided with relief from the burden of their labor ser vices. In his memorial to the emperor, Discourse on Collecting the Taxes in Arrears [Lunjiqian zhuang], Su Shi stated: “Since the time of the founder kings of our dynasty, whenever decrees of amnesty were proclaimed, criminals who stole government property were also released from their imprisonment. Although I am not unaware of the fact that damage has been done to government property and of the danger of forgiving cunning people for their wicked crimes, the present situation is that the common people, being very impoverished, are not able to pay delinquent taxes even if they are flogged and tortured. If the government is lenient toward people who failed to pay their taxes, craft y clerks take advantage of the situation, and if it exerts extreme pressure on the people to pay their taxes, it will provide excuses to the bandits for their actions. Therefore, if all the delinquent taxes are forgiven, the people across the nation will be deeply impressed by the generosity of the government; then the people will not be tempted to join the rebels even if they face flood disaster or drought or the harassment of bandits. The government can reap real profits only by eliminating the false tax records. If the old tax records are allowed to remain, it is the gang of clerks who really reap the profits, who daily collect taxes from a hundred or a thousand households. If the delinquent taxes are forgiven, these people have nothing to do and lose their profits. If the tax collection is rigorously enforced, its impact extends from 182. Choyogok and poyŏkjŏn were funds established in order to help the people to meet their labor-service obligations. Thus it seems that they were similar in function to the public depository that replaced them later.

Taxation

407

A to B and from B to C, with no end, and the collectors arrive at the yamen with empty hands. Again, the deadline is extended three or five times, which is called boxian [violating the deadline], and finally 100 or 200 maces are collected. So the revenues that the state gains from the collection are extremely small, while the income of the clerks continues to grow. Hence phrases like ‘districts granted to the clerks’ [xianxu shiyihu] have been made. Even though there is a sage ruler on the throne, the people are not able to reap the benefits of his paternal benevolence. Instead, they are treated like the provisioners of those craft y clerks. How absurd! “When I moved my post from Yingzhou to Yangzhou, I passed through Haozhou, Shouzhou, Chuzhou, and Sizhou by boat, and these regions all overflowed with flax and barley. Withdrawing myself from the clerks who escorted me, I personally met with the elderly people in the villages. They said, ‘A year of good harvest is worse than a famine year. When natural disasters take place, the common people find ways to survive, saving their provisions and clothes; during a year of good harvest, however, they are unable to die even if they wish to because the clerks are standing at their gates in order to collect the delinquent taxes, and their bodies are bound to the flogging rack.’ Finishing this remark, they shed tears, and I also cried unconsciously. Confucius, as I heard, said, ‘The cruel government is more dangerous than a tiger.’ As I have tried to calculate, the number of clerks who are now working as tax collectors is no less than five hundred in each province. This indicates that 200,000 tigers are now prowling among the people throughout the whole kingdom.” If One Intends to Equalize Taxation and Labor Services Thoroughly, One Must Execute the Law on the Household Cloth Tax [Hop’obŏp] and the Head-Tax Law, Which Require That the Taxes Be Paid in Cash [Kujŏnb’ŏp]. These Laws Will Stabilize the Lives of the Common People. According to Real Facts about Equal Labor Services [Kyunyŏk sasil], there are four main ideas on reforming the law of taxation and labor ser vices: first, to levy 183. During the reign of Sukchong (1674−1720), there was an opinion among the officials that the military cloth tax should be levied on households instead of individuals so that the taxes could be collected even from the privileged yangban class. 184. Th is refers to the opinion that the military cloth tax should be levied on every individual and paid in cash. Th is measure was expected to increase the national revenue because it meant that the privileged yangban class was also required to pay taxes. Later there were complaints that the use of copper cash for collecting taxes was inconvenient. As a result, it was decided that the military tax was to be paid in cloth. 185. Th is work was compiled by Hong Kyehŭi, who played a leading role in legislating and implementing the Equalized Tax Law during the reign of Yŏngjo.

408

book VI

the cloth tax on households, not individuals; second, to levy the military cloth tax on kyŏl of land, not on either individuals or households; third, to collect the military cloth tax in cash instead of cloth; and fourth, to levy taxes on men of leisure who are neither Confucian scholars nor members of a yangban family. These four arguments, conflicting among themselves, are too singular to be unified into one law. C H A P T E R  : E NC OU R AGI NG AGR IC U LT U R E

Agriculture is beneficial to the common people. Although they themselves are supposed to know the ways to improve their lives through agriculture, they are not capable because of their ignorance. The former kings, therefore, taught and promoted agriculture to the people. I have observed that there were always rewards and reprimands in the laws made by former kings. There were always rewards in their encouragement of agriculture, and their encouragement was not made without rewards. Likewise, in their reprimands there were always punishments, and their reprimands were rarely given without punishments. In the law of the Han dynasty there was a statute about recommending officials who rendered ser vice to the development of agriculture, which clearly confirms the importance of encouraging agriculture. Nowadays officials are selected on the basis of their writing skill and compositions on heroes like Xiang Yu and the Duke of Pei [Liu Bang], which hardly contributes to the interests of the state, as well as the people. If we select officials from those who are the most dedicated to the work of agriculture and drive out those who are least concerned about agriculture from the district, the customs of the people will soon be enhanced, and the national strength will grow day by day. The planting manager [caoren], who appears in Rites of Zhou, examined whether or not the crops and soil were suited to each other. When he soaked crop seeds in water, he used oxen for the red and hard soil and goats for the reddish brown soil. (The water in which the crop seeds were soaked was made by boiling the bones of oxen and goats.) The paddy supervisor [daoren], who was responsible for the cultivation of rice, dug the ground and gathered the water by making dams and dykes; he drew in the water by making aqueducts and let it flow through ditches; he made the water 186. Th is refers to the hop’oron, the idea of levying the cloth tax on households instead of individuals, which was popu lar during the reign of Sukchong. 187. Th is refers to the kyŏlp’oron, the idea of collecting military taxes in cloth. The idea of levying military taxes on kyŏl of land later developed into collecting military taxes in coin or rice. 188. Th is idea is called yup’oron. The proponents of this idea contended that all men of leisure (hanyu), especially members of yangban families and Confucian scholars (yusaeng), should pay the military cloth tax.

Taxation

409

level even by using ridges and levees and held the water in a reservoir; and he released the water through small water channels and cultivated the field, holding a sickle. To make observations, those who are extremely ignorant are the people, and what is extremely sophisticated is agriculture. That is the reason that a superior man talented in agriculture must teach and guide the people, making them select the crops good for the soil and at the same time produce convenient tools and equipment that can facilitate their work of farming. Th is is the way to execute the law of agriculture. The people of our land, however, from old days till now, have engaged in farming as they pleased, never paying attention to the teaching of the superior man. This has led to wrong selection of crop seeds, poor preservation of the seeds, and the lack of rules in sowing seeds. Thus they sometimes plow land that they have already sowed or sow seeds without plowing the land. Since this type of weird and careless farming is practiced everywhere, it is no small matter. The ways of farming in China are quite different from ours. Their farming, as I believe, originated from the teaching of Suiren and has been handed down to the present time. If the magistrate sincerely teaches the people and makes them discard their primitive ways and understand the true nature of agriculture, and if he finally succeeds in making one of the districts produce a good result and other districts soon follow its example, the income of people, as well as the wealth of the nation, will increase with the least amount of effort. How, then, can we overlook the importance of enlightening the people about their agricultural activities? What is important in promoting agriculture is to teach the people to select the right crop seeds and sow them properly. In our country, when they sow 1 tu of rice seeds, only 7 sŭng of them sprout, and since the rice plants thinned out of those 7 sŭng of rice seeds amount to over 3 sŭng of rice, the grain that is wasted is great and the grain that is newly gained is little. If the magistrate can make the people sow rice seeds evenly in the land that extends 10 li on all sides or 37,000 kyŏng, he can produce 3 more sŭng of rice per mu; otherwise, he will lose the same amount of rice, and the total loss in the same area of land will amount to 3.2 million kok of rice. He who serves as magistrate must keep this in mind. Hu Dachu said, “The government made the promotion of agriculture into the law, which shows how the government is serious about agriculture. In keeping with the spirit of the law, on the fifteenth day of the second lunar month every year, the magistrate goes out to a place in the suburbs with the leaders and seniors in his district and reads to them a few words of exhortation that he has 189. Suiren is a Chinese mythical figure who is said to have taught people how to make fire with a fl int and cook their food with it. 190. 1 kyŏng (Ch. qing) is 16.37 acres.

410

book VI

written. However, the food on the table is luxurious, and the banquet, full of wine and food and female entertainers, continues until late at night. Then what is the real purpose of this meeting? Why should the magistrate hold such a meeting and wait until the new spring comes to promote agriculture? If the magistrate at the time of assuming his post explains in detail to the people about the importance of agriculture and the rites related to it and at the same time disciplines without fail those who raise disturbances or noises, the people will be able to settle down in their lives.” Since Wise Magistrates in Olden Days Regarded the Promotion of Agriculture as the Basis of Their Own Reputation and Achievements, the Promotion of Agriculture Is the Most Important Duty of the Magistrate. When Shao Xinchen became magistrate of Henan, he himself went out to the fields, encouraging agriculture and sericulture; also, staying in the villages, he constructed waterways and expanded the amount of arable land by 30,000 qing every year. The officials and people respected him so much that they called him Shaofu [Father Shao]. When Liu Yu  of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Youzhou, he wore threadbare clothes and hemp shoes, ate no more than two kinds of meat at each meal, and governed the people with benevolence, encouraging agriculture and sericulture. People were pleased to have him as their magistrate. Every year the harvest was so good that it produced 30 sŏk of rice, and over a million people, including scholars and their families from Qingzhou and Xuzhou regions, who had run away from disturbances, sought refuge in Magistrate Liu’s district, but they lived comfortably, forgetting that they had left their homes. When Qin Peng became prefect of Shanyang, he reclaimed 20 or 30 qing of paddy fields, personally measured the acreage of farmlands, examined the quality of the soil and divided it into three classes according to its fertility, and put everything on records and kept them in the villages in his district. As a result, craft y clerks, losing heart, were unable to practice trickery any further. Magistrate Qin also submitted a memorial and requested that other districts be made to follow his example. The emperor allowed his request by proclaiming an imperial

191. An official of the Han dynasty. 192. An official at the end of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Boan. He rose to the position of minister of war (dasima). 193. The source text gives the figure 30 sŏk, but this is far too small to be the harvest of the whole district. 194. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He also served as prefect of Yingchuan.

Taxation

411

decree that the proposal presented by Qin be conveyed to the Three Departments [Sanfu], as well as all prefectures and districts. When Ren Yan served as magistrate of Jiuzhen, he taught the people to cultivate the land by using a plow, assimilating the region of northern Vietnam into Chinese culture and making the influence of Chinese culture reach far down to the southern regions of Vietnam. The Vietnamese had been engaged in agriculture for over six hundred years, but for the first time they learned a new way of cultivating the land, which was burning the forest to enrich the soil with the ashes of burned trees and killing harmful insects by heating the ground. In the lands named baitian [lands for all kinds of crops] they sowed and planted all kinds of crops, mostly in the seventh month, and harvested them in the tenth month; in the lands named chitian [red lands, so called because of the red grains planted there] they also sowed and planted red grains [chigu] in the twelft h month and harvested them in the fourth month of the following year. This was so-called double-cropping a year. When Tao Kan became magistrate of Jingzhou, he found a man holding a bunch of unripe rice in his hands. Magistrate Tao asked the man why he was holding the rice, and the latter answered, “I just took it as I passed by.” Indignant at the man’s reply, the magistrate said, “Although you are not engaged in farming, you have harmed the crops of other people just for your fun.” Then he arrested the man and punished him by flogging. The people who heard this story exerted themselves more in farming, and their livelihood significantly improved. Gongsun Jingmao of the Sui dynasty became magistrate of Daozhou during the years of Kaihuang. Using his stipend, he bought cows, chickens, and pigs and distributed them to those who were too poor to make a living. He liked to go out alone on horseback to see how the people were doing. When he found a person who had saved money through his ideas and diligence, he rewarded him so that the man could be an example to others, and when he found a person who had made mistakes in managing his household affairs, he admonished him. Because of these efforts of the magistrate, the male residents cooperated more closely with each other in carrying out farming, and the women engaged in weaving produced more cloth by working closely together; thus a large village consisting of hundreds of households worked together like one family. When Zhu Xi governed Nankang, he wrote in his Treatise on Promoting Agriculture as follows: “The lands of our district are so sterile that their outer layer is 195. An unofficial collective reference to the top-echelon agencies of the central government, which were the Secretariat, the Department of State Affairs, and the Chancellery. It also refers to the Th ree Dukes (grand preceptor, grand mentor, and grand guardian). 196. An official of the Sui dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuanwei. He also served as prefect of Taozhou and Zizhou. 197. The reign name of Emperor Wen (581−600).

412

book VI

not more than 3 or 5 cun thick at most. Even if the peasants work hard on their farms without losing the right time, their harvest may still be less than that of other districts. What is worse, however, is that the people here are so lazy that they often miss the right time for sowing and neglect fertilizing their lands. They have no motivation to improve their living conditions and produce only enough provisions for themselves.” In his “Notice on the Promotion of Agriculture” [“Quannong pang”] Zhu Xi also stated, “Since we have had a good rain and all the crops are growing exuberantly, the farmers should pick weeds and apply manure without losing the right time, redoubling their efforts. I have already notified my deputies that after a month and a half I will inspect villages without prior notice and check whether the fields were properly weeded and manured. If I find that they were neglected, I will have their owners arrested and duly punished and never forgive them lightly.” The following happened when Liu Chang of the Song dynasty was in charge of Yangzhou. There was a village called Leitang where people lived by means of farming. In the previous year, however, the government had turned the village into a reservoir, and the residents had lost their lands and livelihood. Liu submitted a petition on behalf of those people to the superior office, as well as the imperial court, and finally returned the land to the people. Upon hearing what Liu had done, Du Yan was pleased and said, “What a wonderful prefect he is!” When Li Yunze became magistrate of Changsha for the second time, he found that rice was planted in the low-lying region of Huxiang, but nothing was planted in the elevated lands. So he ordered the people to plant millet in the idle lands that were lying waste, and since then, there have been no idle lands in the Hunan region. While serving as inspector, Zeng Quan was demoted to clerk [dianshi] of Renshui District. Diligent and talented in handling his job, he encouraged learning, fostered propriety, and promoted agriculture and sericulture. Often he went out to see if the farmers were doing their job properly; he reclaimed wasteland, producing a variety of crops; he planted trees that were needed for public works and construction; and he promoted commerce so that evaded taxes could be paid in full. As a result, the government was able to increase revenues, and the people escaped from extortion. In addition, with the surplus strength [revenues] he built freight ships for marine transportation and made coffins in order to help the people with their funerals. Within three years after he took office, each 198. Unit of length measure; 1 cun is 31⁄3 centimeters. 199. He became a presented scholar ( jinshi) during the years of Qingli (1041–1048) and served as drafter (zhizhigao). He was known to be learned, especially in Spring and Autumn Annals. 200. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Benqing.

Taxation

413

household became generous and each resident affluent. If one reflects on the ways in which he governed the people, what Zeng did was to save goods and property by making the best use of the strength of the people and the advantages of geographical conditions. The Secret of Promoting Agriculture Lies in Nourishing Its Foundation by Alleviating the Burden of Taxes. Tax Reduction Brings about Reclamation and Expansion of Land. Chen Jing of the Song dynasty became agricultural development commissioner [guannongshi]. Before his appointment he submitted the following memorial to the emperor: “As I traveled throughout the country in ordinary times, checking out the real situation of the peasants, I saw not only plenty of wasteland but also fertile lands that were abandoned without cultivation. Those are the places on which the government through royal edicts had already reduced taxes and extended the payment deadline on numerous occasions so that the people could return to their livelihoods. Nevertheless, the local governments at the lowest level continued to harass the people, and the sufferings the people had to endure increased even more. Whenever a family returns to its old home, it is immediately reported to the authorities and listed on the register of corvée ser vices, and frequent visits of law agents follow. Therefore, even if the people receive the benefit of tax exemption, it does not help them much in reality. The reason that the people abandoned their homes originally was poverty; they were hard pressed by private debts or the grain loan they had borrowed from the government. It was impossible for them to repay those debts. Once they abandon their homes and run away, their village investigates their property, including their houses, housewares, mulberry trees, jujube trees, and timber. Then they [village officials] calculate its value, and the property is divided among the creditors. Thus some of it is taken by local officials and the rest by regular creditors. Therefore, even if the people return to their old homes, there is nothing left for them, and it is still difficult for them to make their living. For this reason, the people keep on wandering, having no desire to return to their old places. If Your Majesty grants me this mission, I will gather those wandering people in the places that are abandoned without farming and persuade them to cultivate or reclaim the lands. It is not a good idea to levy taxes on them. If you allow me a free hand in this matter, I will make a separate household register and maps of the land. I will have the people engage in agriculture and sericulture; in addition to these activities, I will have 201. His courtesy name was Daoqing. He rose to the position of director of the Palace Library (pishujian). 202. Emperor Taizong (r. 976–997) of the Song dynasty.

414

book VI

them plant various trees, including fruit trees, and grow vegetables, as well as animals like goats, dogs, chickens, and pigs. I will distribute mulberry fields and farmlands to these people on the basis of the model of the well field and make them build their houses, forming local militia squads [baowu]. Then I will create special funds and a system in which the living persons are well served and the dead are given a decent burial, and the residents help each other on occasions of congratulations or condolences. At the same time I will also request that the Finance Planning Commission [Tiaolisi] wait for three or five years until the people establish a basis for their livelihood and feel attached to their houses and lands. Then it will enforce the law, making the people pay their tribute taxes and land taxes, and will finally incorporate their tax records into the regular ones administered by the Ministry of Revenue. Generosity like this is the way to reinforce the foundation of the country and make people respect the government. If the people lack the money to buy their food or farming tools, the government should be able to provide the money. I will delegate the payment and collection of taxes and loans to the Ministry of Revenue so that the taxes and loans are duly collected when the harvest is over in the autumn, and the final result will be reported to the government.” After reading this memorial, the emperor appointed him agricultural development commissioner. The best way to encourage the reclamation of abandoned land is to reduce the taxes on it. I will discuss this subject in detail at the end of the section on land administration. When Geng Ju was in charge of Changshu District, he made rules regarding the reclamation of wasteland and submitted a proposal to the central government as follows: “The taxes of our district are too heavy and are collected too fast. Thus the people abandon their lands, and once their lands are registered as abandoned, they can escape from taxation. As a result, they do nothing while their lands are fi lled with weeds, but they cultivate the lands hidden from view, fearing that they will be discovered. So activities like sowing and harvesting have disappeared from the fields in the village. Because this situation goes from bad to worse every year, who can predict how it will end? “I have visited the villages in my district, inspecting their irrigation systems, and have discussed with the residents the ways to reclaim land. So I would like to submit the new ideas I found as follows: ‘First, our district will try to attract and settle the vagrant people by enrolling them in the household register; second, the unpaid taxes they owe to the government will be completely forgiven; third, they will be provided with oxen and seeds according to their need; fourth, they will be exempted from miscellaneous labor ser vices as far as circumstances allow; fift h, 203. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Tinghuai. He also served as investigating censor.

Taxation

415

the wealthy landowners’ monopoly of land will be strictly prohibited; sixth, the exclusive possession of even small profits from cultivating fields of rushes and weeds will also be strictly prohibited; seventh, the deadline for tax payments will be clearly set; eighth, the burden of labor imposts will be distributed equally to all the villages; ninth, rogues and vagabonds shall be made to return to the farms; tenth, gamblers and idle people shall be made to return to the farms; eleventh, salt merchants not registered as the members of salt-producing households shall be made to return to the farms; twelft h, racketeers who make profits by instigating lawsuits shall be made to return to the farms.’ ” The Work of Promoting Agriculture Includes Not Only Agriculture but Also Gardening, Raising Livestock, Sericulture, and Weaving. The supervisor of villages [lushi] in Rites of Zhou states, “The commoners who avoid stock farming are prohibited from using sacrifices in their rituals; those who stay away from farming are not able to use rice in their rituals; those who do not plant trees are not allowed to use coffins when they are dead; those who do not grow silkworms cannot wear silk; and those who do not weave cannot wear hemp clothes even when they host a funeral.” When Huang Ba became prefect of Yingchuan, he ordered the personnel of the postal relay station to raise livestock, including chickens and pigs, and he used them to save widows and paupers. After that he selected a master [chichang] from the senior citizens and made him carry out various duties, including overseeing charity, agriculture, and sericulture; he also made him instruct the people how to save money and increase their property, and to plant trees and raise livestock, persuading them not to raise wild warhorses. The following happened when Gong Sui became prefect of Bohai. Because the uprising of bandits had already been suppressed, he encouraged the people to devote themselves to agriculture and sericulture. He made each person plant an elm tree, a hundred seed plants of shallots, fift y seed plants of scallions, and a patch of leeks and raise two female pigs and five hens. When he found people carry ing swords, he told them to sell their swords to purchase either cows or calves, according to the worth of their swords. He said, “Carrying that useless sword around is just like strapping a cow or a calf to your waist. Why would you want to do that?” Then, inspecting the villages in his district, he made the people go out to the fields during the spring and summer and work hard to harvest and 204. Th is refers to the “members of the Ministry of Education responsible for assigning people of the royal capital and the 6 districts of the royal domain to state-requisitioned ser vices” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, p. 326). 205. A general reference to those who teach farming and raising livestock.

416

book VI

save fruits and water caltrops for emergency during the autumn and winter. As a result, all the villages in his district became prosperous, and lawsuits ceased to be fi led. When Chou Lan became neighborhood head [tingchang] of Pu, he promulgated a law in order to improve the living conditions of the residents. Thus he made the people grow vegetables and fruits and raise chickens and pigs after establishing a minimum requirement through the law. When farmwork was over at the end of the year, he gathered the youths and made them study together. He also gathered a rough and frivolous gang of idlers and strictly ordered them to work on either agriculture or sericulture. He personally helped those who had a death in the family and saved the poor. His good works made the people changed and edified within a year. When Tong Hui became magistrate of Buqi, he ordered all individuals in his district to raise one pig and four hens, which they needed for offering sacrifices. He also made them plant trees for the purpose of procuring their own coffi ns. When Zhang Xu governed Bazhou, he found that many people in his district were idling away their time without working, so he ordered that each village make a record of the total number of its households, as well as the population of males and females. Then he assigned the residents to the work of planting millet, barley, mulberries, and jujube trees so that they could work together while investigating the number of pieces of weaving equipment, chickens, and pigs that they currently had. Whenever he had spare time, he visited the villages and inspected their records, and when a shortage was found in them, he punished the individuals who were responsible for it. Because of his efforts, the people in his district worked hard, and those who had formerly idled away their time disappeared. When Zheng Hun of the Wei dynasty became prefect of Wei Commandery of Shanyang, he found the people suffering from a shortage of timber. He ordered them to plant elm trees to make their fences and, in addition, five fruit trees. I have observed that when the Later Wei dynasty established the equal-field system [juntian zhidu] and distributed land to the people for the first time, it 206. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Jizhi. He was also called Chou Xiang. 207. Unknown. 208. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Th ree Kingdoms period. 209. Plums, apricots, jujubes, peaches, and chestnuts. 210. Also called the land-equalization system, it was first introduced around 485 by Emperor Xiaowen of the Northern Wei dynasty to foster the development of land and to ensure that no agricultural land lay neglected and to allow the common people to get a share of land to ensure their livelihood. The system was eventually adopted by other kingdoms, and its use continued through the Sui and Tang dynasties (Wikipedia).

Taxation

417

granted each adult person 20 mu of dry land, plus 50 mulberries, 5 jujubes, and 3 elms. When the land was not good for planting mulberries, it added an extra mu of land so that the recipient could plant fruit trees according to the law. The government encouraged the people to plant as many mulberries and elms as they could; however, it prohibited the people from planting mulberries, elms, jujubes, and chestnuts in the land that was to be returned to the government, and it punished those who violated this law (Book of Wei). In the olden days the magistrate’s way of promoting agriculture was like this. When Zhang Guaiya [Yong] became magistrate of Songyang, one day he saw a man sitting outside the gate of the fortress and later leaving for his home carrying vegetables on his back. He asked him, “Where did you get those vegetables?” The man said, “I bought them in the market.” Zhang was indignant at the man’s reply and said, “You live in the countryside but do not grow vegetables yourself? How can you be so lazy?” Then he punished him by lashing and had him return home. When Chen Youxue served as magistrate of Queshan, he governed his district with benevolence, promoting the welfare of the people and saving 12,000 shi  of grain for famine relief. He reclaimed 800 qing of vegetable fields and provided 500 oxen to the poor. He discovered 130 qing of farmland in the riverbed of Huanghe and levied taxes on it, and he provided 800 looms to the village women who were unable to weave because of the lack of equipment. He also built houses with a total of 1,200 rooms and distributed them to the poor, as well as public offices with 80 rooms designed to accommodate the clerks and functionaries belonging to the Six Sections [liucao]. He saved 600 taels of public funds and paid off arrears in taxes. In addition, he planted 38,000 mulberries and elms and opened 108 irrigation canals by drawing water from the Huanghe River. I believe that the magistrate’s achievements should be of this kind. In our country the most highly regarded achievement in the evaluation of the magistrate’s job performance is peace and tranquility with no mishaps: “Since the magistrate carries out his duty so quietly and spontaneously that it appears that nothing has happened in his district.” How ridiculous! This mentality would be ruinous to the country. 211. Book of Wei (Weishu) is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou. It covers the history of the Northern Wei dynasty from 386 to 535. 212. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as magistrate of various districts, including Queshan, and achieved outstanding results. 213. A measure of volume for grain; equivalent to the Korean sŏk. One shi of milled rice weighed approximately 175 to 195 pounds. 214. It is “a collective reference to clerical staff agencies in units of territorial administration from districts up to prefectures.” (Palais, Dictionary of Official Titles of Imperial China, 324). It can also be translated as Six Bureaus or Six Chambers.

418

book VI

Farming Is the Foundation of Eating, and Sericulture Is the Foundation of Clothing. Therefore, Encouraging the People to Plant Mulberries Is One of the Important Duties of the Magistrate. When Zhang Kan became prefect of Yuyang, he improved the people’s lives by promoting agriculture. Thus the people praised him and sang, “Mulberries have no side branches, and the shoots of barley have two ears. There is no end of joy in the rule of Magistrate Zhang.” This reminds one of what Zhu Xi remarked. While he encouraged the people to plant mulberries, he told them to remove side branches. When Fan Ke (or Fan Chong in different records) became magistrate of Guiyang, he found that the residents had no income from sericulture and weaving because they did not plant mulberries and were wearing clothes made of hemp or ramie. Reluctant to work and lazy, the people went around without shoes even though the skin of their feet was torn and bleeding. In the middle of the winter they cauterized those wounds. After he took office, Fan Ke made the people plant mulberries, produce their own shoes, and plant ramie and hemp; within a few years the people raised silkworms, made their own shoes, and enjoyed warm clothes and shoes. That the people in the southern part of the country today know how to grow mulberries, raise silkworms, and make hemp shoes is due to the instruction of Fan Ke. When Yuan Shu governed Hedong, he found that his district had many merchants but not many farmers engaged in agriculture and sericulture. He personally encouraged the people to take up agriculture and sericulture for their living, and within two years the lives of the people became affluent. When Zhang Yong was magistrate of Chongyang, the residents of his districts made their living by cultivating tea. He said, “Since the profit from growing tea is great, the government will soon take it over, monopolizing the tea industry.” Having said this, he ordered the people to replace tea with mulberries. The people at first found his order very painful. When the government monopolized the tea industry, the people in other districts lost their livelihood; however, the mulberries of Chongyang produced a million bolts of silk every year. When State Councilor Yi Wŏnik served as magistrate of Anju, he found that there were no mulberries in his district, while other districts in P’yŏngan Province were thriving through sericulture. The people told him that the soil of their district was not good for mulberries. Councilor Yi sent an order to all the subdistricts and made every household plant mulberries. Within a few years the 215. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Junyou. 216. Unknown. 217. An official of the Northern Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Mairen. He served as prefect of Hedong.

Taxation

419

mulberries grew to form a forest. The people still call those mulberries “mulberries of Minister Yi” [igongsang]. The Sericultural Experiment Station [Chamsil tohoech’ŏ] mentioned in the National Code grows mulberries and distributes them to the people. The largest households are given three hundred mulberries, medium households two hundred, and small households one hundred. The magistrate supervises the state of these mulberries and prohibits the people from cutting down mulberries without permission that grow in the lands without owners. Records of Tasan states: “Some of the mulberry and ramie fields should be owned and run separately by the government so that the income derived from them can supplement the public depository and the labor-service imposts of the people.” The magistrate should purchase at a low price extensive lands that remain abandoned and uncultivated to plant mulberries and ramie. Later he makes them revert to the public depository and reduces the burden of labor ser vice with the revenue derived from them every year. It Is Also the Task of the Magistrate to Produce More Effective Farming and Weaving Equipment So That the People Can Increase Their Productivity and Thereby Improve Their Livelihood. Zhao Guo instructed the people how to cultivate the land, and his method was to have an ox draw three plows and have one man guide both the ox and the plows from behind, sowing while moving. In that way one can sow 1 qing of land a day. The sowing machine somewhat resembles three plows. One puts the seeds in the machine and shakes it as he moves forward. This is how the sowing is done. Xu Guangqi stated: “The yokes attached to the plows used in the Liaodong region are 4 chi in length, and because they are very long, they interfere with each other when the plows make turns. When two oxen are used, two men pull them, one man plows the ground holding the reins, one man sows, and two men shake the sowing machine. So the two oxen and six men plow and sow only 25 mu a day.” When this is compared with the way devised by Zhao Guo, the difference is clear. 218. Also called Tohoe chamsil, it was established in each province to promote sericulture. 219. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu. He invented a new cultivation method called the “replacement-field method” (daitianfa). 220. Xu Guangqi (1562−1633) was a high official, agricultural scientist, astronomer, and mathematician of the Ming dynasty. A colleague of and collaborator with Matteo Ricci, the Italian Jesuit, he translated several Western texts into Chinese, including Euclid’s Elements. Later he was baptized as a Roman Catholic. He wrote Complete Book of Agricultural Administration (Nongzheng quanshu).

420

book VI

The following happened when Huangfu Long became magistrate of Tunhuang. The people in that region did not know how to make plows and sowing machines, so it took them more manpower and oxen when they sowed, but their harvest was small. When the new magistrate taught them how to use plows, the manpower and energy they spent on their farming decreased by half, and the grain they harvested increased by 50 percent. When Zhao Guo became food-provision official [sousu duwei], he employed talented slaves and retainers to manufacture farming equipment and ordered a 2,000-bushel official to select a few men knowledgeable in agriculture from district magistrates [lingchang], elders [sanlao], field supervisors [litian], and village personages [fulao], so that they could learn how to sow and grow seedlings, using the farming equipment that had been provided to them. Because people without oxen found it difficult to work in the rice paddy fields filled with water, Acting Chief Clerk Guang advised Zhao Guo to instruct men how to draw their plows by themselves. When Zhao Guo reported Guang’s new way of farming to the court, the king appointed Guang to the post of aide to the minister, and Guang taught the people how to plow by helping each other. So those who had a large amount of manpower were able to plow 30 mu of land a day, and those who had less manpower plowed 13 mu of land a day. As a result, much land was reclaimed. It is my opinion that today’s way of plowing by humans [taegyŏngbŏp] derived from the example set by Zhao Guo. “Diagram of the Plowing Machines” [“Daigeng tushuo”] states, “First, one prepares two pulleys and connects them to the plow with a long rope, and as two men alternately pull the rope to their sides while another person holds the plow, the soil is plowed automatically. During a year when cow diseases are widespread, it is advisable to use this method of plowing.” The following happened when Cui Shi became prefect of Wuyuan. Although the soil of Wuyuan was good for growing hemp and ramie, its residents did not know how to weave, so they made piles of thin grass and lay in them, and when officials visited their villages, they came out to meet them, wearing clothes made of

221. Unknown. 222. “A common reference to ling and chang; from Sung on, an unofficial generic reference” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 313). 223. “One of 3 appointees from among the resident population in the quasiofficial sub-District administration of a Township” (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 399). 224. It is not clear what the exact function of field supervisors was. 225. Fulao refers to a notable person in the village who supervised village sacrifices and civil engineering projects or the collection of taxes. 226. “Daigeng tushuo” is the title of a chapter included in Collected Diagrams and Explanations of the Wonderful Machines of the Far West (Yuan qiqi tushu), which was translated and compiled by Johann Terrenz (1576−1630) and Wang Zeng (1571−1644). 227. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zizhen.

Taxation

421

simple grass. Upon assuming his post, Magistrate Cui made weaving equipment, including looms, by selling the reserve grain and instructed the people how to make their clothes. As a result, the people were able to escape suffering from cold weather. An Sunam stated: “In irrigating the land, there is nothing better than water mills, and as to the water mills, none are better than the ones made in the West. Since operating water mills is simple and easy, one should ask a man of talent to devise a way of using them conveniently. If the water bed is low and the rice paddy is located on higher ground, the water mill should be established at the inlet of the water. Then the water can be drawn up to a higher place by assigning people to the task of operating the water mill.” Essays of Yusan [Yusan p’ildam] stated: “The farming machines illustrated in Xu Guangqi’s Diagrams and Explanations of Farming Tools [Nongqi tupu] are all simple and easy to make; nevertheless, our people are not interested in learning about them. The machines such as the harrow shaped like the character ெ, the breaker [yukdok], water-paddy-field breaker [yŏgyŏk], seeder [hojong], planter [nugŏ], ground presser [tungŏ], rice planter [angma], long shovel [changch’am], cultivator [yedo], and combine [yangsŏn] are all simple in their design but very important for the convenience of farming. The magistrate, therefore, should look into them and provide the people with the equipment they need for their farming. Besides, since the shovels, hoes, and sickles used by the Chinese are different in shape from ours, the magistrate should first examine whether they are useful for our purposes and, after experimenting with them, accept them, replacing the old practice with the new. Since Oxen Are Instrumental to Agriculture, the Government Should Always Promote Agriculture by Either Providing Oxen to the People or Encouraging the People to Lend Their Oxen to One Another. When Yan Fei of the Wei dynasty was prefect of Jingzhao, many of the residents in his domain had no oxen and vehicles. He made the people procure timber during their leisure season and ordered the artisans to make vehicles for them, and as for those who had no oxen, he made them raise pigs and dogs and sell 228. Th is is presumed to be one of Tasan’s works, but this is not certain. It is included in the Complete Works of Chŏng Yagyong (Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ). 229. Th is is similar to the breaker but is used only for the water paddy fields. 230. A piece of equipment made of gourd. A hole was made in the gourd to store and spread grain seed. 231. Th is was mainly used for reclaiming wasteland. 232. A farm machine that cuts and threshes grain. 233. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Th ree Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Wenlin. He also served as prefect of Pingyuan.

422

book VI

them to purchase oxen. The people at first regarded this as troublesome but were satisfied when each household came to own a vehicle and a large ox. When Zhang Quanyi governed Dongdu, he ordered the people in the villages to help their neighbors if the latter, lacking oxen to cultivate the land, appealed for assistance. When Zeng Quan became warden of Shui District, paying special attention to the poor, he lent oxen and farming equipment to those who could not afford to buy them and provided cotton to those who had no cotton so that they could cultivate cotton and make their own clothes. When Xu Jin of the Tang dynasty governed Shaozhou, he conducted investigations of abandoned public land and had the people cultivate it after providing them with oxen. He made them pay for their oxen with the income from the land they cultivated, which significantly increased the revenue of the district. The residents built a shrine in his honor during his lifetime. When Yu Chŏngwŏn became magistrate of Chain, the oxen of his district all died of disease. Using public funds, he provided the people with oxen needed for farming. As a result, every ten households had an ox, and they could be ready for their farming. Xu Guangqi’s Complete Book of Agricultural Administration Introduces the Ways to Raise Oxen and Cure Their Diseases in Detail. In a Year When Cow Diseases Are Widespread, the Magistrate Must Inform the People about Xu’s Prescriptions for Cow Diseases. In treating undulant fever of cows, one mixes 2 taels of ground zhen tea leaves with 5 toe of water and has the cow drink it. Xu’s book also says, “If the cow suddenly falls sick and shakes its head, beating its armpits, it will be cured if one immediately takes seven pieces of croton, peels their skin off, grinds them to extract oil from them, and has the cow drink the oil mixed with water.” “Another way of treating a cow’s typhoid is to feed a cow’s gallbladder to the sick cow. Another way of treating the same symptom of the cow is to burn an antiseptic incense called chinansikhyang in the cowshed. When cows start falling down one after another, one should suspect cow’s typhoid and have the cows inhale the smell of the burning incense. “If a cow is dying of stomach disease, one grinds hemp seeds and makes juice out of them, about 5 to 6 toe in quantity. After slightly heating the juice, he has 234. An official of the Liang dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. He rose to the position of grand preceptor of the Imperial Secretariat. 235. Little is known about him other than what is stated here. 236. Unit of volume measurement. Also called sŭng (Ch. sheng), 1 toe is 1 liter.

Taxation

423

the cow drink it. This treatment also works well for a cow that is dying of stomach problems after eating raw beans. “For treatment of a cow’s throat disease, one has the cow inhale the powder of honey locusts and strikes the bone near the tail with the sole of a shoe. “When a cow loses its appetite and its tail is burning dry, one grinds herbs like rhubarb, berry roots, and angelica into powder, mixes them with eggs and whiskey, and has the cow drink this.” Since Oxen Are Indispensable for Agriculture, the Magistrate Must Watch for Illegal Slaughtering and Promote Cattle Breeding If He Indeed Intends to Promote Agriculture. Discourse on Northern Learning [Pukhak ŭi] by Pak Chega states as follows: “In the Chinese custom they do not put a nose ring in a cow, except water buffaloes in the south, which are too wild. Once in a while we come across foreign cows imported through the markets in the northwest border areas; we can easily distinguish them from our local oxen, whose noses are relatively low in their ridges. When they are first brought to Korea, their horns are out of shape, but one can straighten them up and make them look nice by bending them. There are oxen whose skin is all green, but I have never seen them. The oxen in China are always bathed and groomed, while those in Korea are never bathed, so that their skins are stuck with their own waste until they die. There is a line of a poem in the Tang period that refers to oxen: ‘The blue vehicles varnished with oil move lightly, and the golden calves are fat.’ This poem indicates that the skin of the calves is shiny. “Besides, in China, unauthorized slaughtering of cattle is prohibited. In Beijing there are seventy-two butcher shops for pigs and seventy butcher shops for goats, and each butcher shop sells three hundred pigs, as well as more or less the same number of goats, every day. Although the Chinese consume a great deal of meat like this, they have only two slaughterhouses throughout the whole city. I found this out from a butcher whom I had met on the street, asking him many questions in detail. “The number of oxen slaughtered in our country amounts to five hundred a day. They are slaughtered during occasions of official sacrifices and memorial 237. Pak Chega (1750–1805) was a Sirhak scholar of the late Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ch’asu, and his pen name Ch’ojŏng. Distinguished in learning and having visited Qing China many times, he served as reviewer in Kyujanggak, the Royal Library established by King Chŏngjo. 238. The markets in the northwest border areas referred to are the ones in Hoeryŏng, Kyŏngwŏn, Chunggang, and Ŭiju, which are located in North Hamgyŏng and North P’yŏngan provinces. 239. The quoted passage is part of a poem titled “Song of Spring Morning” (“Chunxiao qu”) by Wen Tingyun (812−870?), a poet of the late Tang period.

424

book VI

rites, as well as special banquets granted to the armies; furthermore, they are also slaughtered by twenty-four slaughterhouses in the butchers’ areas and the Five Wards [Obu] in the capital, as well as by the butchers designated by three hundred districts scattered nationwide. In small districts oxen are seldom slaughtered every day, but in larger districts slaughtering takes place more frequently and in a larger quantity. In addition, one must take into consideration the numerous gatherings and ceremonies, including weddings, funerals, and local archery rites both in Seoul and in the countryside, as well as illegal slaughtering secretly carried out. Then the total number of slaughtered oxen across the whole country, according to my calculation, will amount to no less than five hundred every day. Since it takes ten months for a cow to produce a calf, and the cow must be three years old to produce a calf, the slow birthrate of cows cannot meet the daily demand of five hundred cows for slaughtering. So it is natural that oxen become increasingly rare. Therefore, the farmers who own oxen are so extremely few that farmers have to borrow them from their neighbors, and, because they borrow them on a daily basis, they are always late in plowing their rice paddies. If the government strictly prohibits the slaughtering of oxen, within a few years it will not happen that farmers miss the right time in their farming. “Someone says, ‘Since our country has no cattle other than oxen, meat will disappear from our tables if we prohibit the slaughter of oxen.’ This is not true. If the slaughter of oxen is prohibited, the people can pay more attention to other livestock, and livestock like pigs and goats will multiply. A pig dealer carries two pigs on his back and soon slaughters them, trying to sell their meat; nevertheless, he has a good deal of unsold leftover meat. This is not because the people dislike pork but because there is plenty of beef available for purchase. Someone also says, ‘Since the people are not used to eating pork or goat meat, they are concerned that they can be easily indisposed.’ This is not true, either. Food is made according to customs. The Chinese people [who consume a great deal of pork every day] have little problem with their health. Yulgok [Yi I], who had refrained from eating beef all his life, once said, “Is it right to eat both the grain produced by the strength of oxen and the meat of the oxen themselves?’ How true this is!” Essays of Tasan stated: “It is known that in the olden days there were no goats in Korea. This was not because of the climate but because of the custom. The 240. The Five Wards (Obu) are the five administrative divisions of the capital city (Seoul), which were established at the beginning of the Chosŏn dynasty. 241. Yi I (1536–1584), a famous scholar and statesman of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sukhŏn, and his pen names Yulgok and Sŏkdam. He served as minister of taxation, of personnel, of punishments, and of war. But he was more famous for his Neo-Confucian philosophy and for the many reform proposals that he put forward in regard to the economy and national defense.

Taxation

425

goats presently raised by the Office of Cattle and Livestock [Chŏnsaengsŏ] and the goats raised in Yulju Island are all prospering. When I look back to the days of my childhood, the number of goats raised by each village was no less than fift y or sixty. The progeny of those goats have now vanished because the feed for raising them was never provided by the government, and the government forcibly selected a herdsman from the granary slaves to take care of the goats. So it is natural that the number of goats decreases month by month and year by year. “When I think it over, there are a number of things that one must be careful about when he raises goats. If one gives them water too frequently, their noses will break out in sores, and if one drives them too fast, they inhale too much dust and get sick. (Letting them stay in one place too long should also be avoided.) If they are exposed to the heat of noon, they will have itches, and if they are allowed to eat grass covered with frost, they will have stomach troubles. Since they are vulnerable to cold weather, one must make pens for them as early as possible, and because they hate closed walls that obstruct their views and activities, they should not be put into a prisonlike place. If one lets them stay in water, their hooves will be twisted, and if one lets them sleep in a wet place, they will have stomach troubles. Hay must be always stacked around the pen (so that the goats can have it as they move around in the pen), and beanstocks should be provided for their feed. When they give birth, one must warm their pens at night by making fires, and when they shed their hair during the summer, one must shear their hair clean in advance. When goats happen to eat grass wet with dew and little spiders, they will surely die. Their skin problems can be cured if they are washed with black hellebore soaked in vinegar. Cases like this are too many to be recorded here. To look at the whole problem in perspective, when the feed is not sufficient and an epidemic is widespread, a multitude of goats die without having offspring, but this is common everywhere; it applies to the goats in our country, too. If there is a place in the district that is good for raising goats, the government must establish stock farms and have the people raise the goats and eventually spread them among the people.” To Look at the Matter from a General Perspective, the Priority in Promoting Agriculture Is to Assign Clear Responsibilities to the Officials. To Let Them Work without Dividing and Defining Their Missions Is Not the Way Used by Former Kings. Although the efforts to promote agriculture carried out by benevolent magistrates have been recorded in the annals since the times of the Han and Wei dynasties, their ways and approaches are so diverse and complicated that they hardly resemble those of former kings. According to the law of former kings, those who were engaged in farming did not conduct gardening, and those who were engaged in gardening did not take up farming, and the officials with various

426

book VI

functions and responsibilities, such as forest managers [yu], guardians of waterways [heng], directors in charge of weaving [pin], and supervisors of animal husbandry [mu], presented only the products they were in charge of. The laws of the Han and Wei dynasties made the farmers offer nine kinds of grain [jiugu], grow all sorts of vegetables, plant all sorts of fruits, raise six kinds of cattle and livestock [liushou], manufacture articles and supplies by processing eight kinds of materials [bacai], and produce fabric by spinning thread and weaving ramie. When farmers were required to do all these tasks, how could they possibly accomplish them all, and how could these laws be carried out as intended? Because I have lived among the people and observed them for a long time, I have found that the farmers did not grow vegetables at all, so they were unable to obtain a single root of scallion or leek unless they bought it. At first, I thought that the people in the countryside, being backward, did not know how to grow vegetables, but I learned later that they had neither the land to grow vegetables nor the time to grow them because of their other farmwork. Having no land except their front yard to grow vegetables, and having too much work to do at the same time, they had hardly a day for a break. Two characters, nong [agriculture] and sang [sericulture], have been spoken together from days of old, but if we look into them closely, those who are engaged in agriculture are not engaged in sericulture, and vice versa. If the magistrate encourages farmers to exert themselves in sericulture, they will certainly find it troublesome and will produce no practical result. Under circumstances in which cotton has already been introduced and clothes made of silk are not urgently needed, how can planting mulberries be a priority of the farmers? Chickens and pigs harm crops and vegetables, and raising goats and pigs requires bran and residue left after rice wine is drained. The farmers are exhausted as they work in the fields, plowing and weeding. How is it possible for them to make fences around their vegetable gardens and raise pigs while they struggle to raise their oxen? If the magistrate encourages the people to raise cattle and livestock, following the precedents set by the Han and Wei dynasties in days of old, the people will find it troublesome and will resent the thoughtlessness of their magistrate. Does this mean that we cannot even think of growing or raising all kinds of vegetables and cattle and livestock, which are beneficial to farmers? Since the laws and ordinances that came out after the Han and Wei dynasties were coarse and insensitive, and those of the Yin and Zhou dynasties that preceded the Han and Wei were thorough and precise, the laws and ordinances lightly produced 242. Millet, panicled millet, rice, sesame, soybeans, small beans, wheat, sorghum (liang), and water oats. 243. Horse, ox, goat, pig, dog, and chicken. 244. Pearl, ivory, jade, stone, wood, gold, leather, and feathers.

Taxation

427

without consulting the old ones made by the sage rulers will run into troubles, regardless of the magistrate’s good intention. On the other hand, if the newly made laws and ordinances do not conflict with those of sage kings in their design, there will be no problem if the magistrate puts them into practice even today. Liu Zihou in his Biography of the Gardener Guo Tuotuo [Zhongshu Guo Tuotuo chuan] stated as follows: “I have observed, living in the countryside, that the magistrates take pleasure in making ordinances complicated. Although it may appear that they are sincerely motivated by their love of the people, they in fact bring harm to them. The magistrate’s clerks visit the people every morning and evening and tell them, ‘The government wants you to hurry to plow your land, plant trees, and harvest as fast as you can. Get up early in the morning, spin thread, and start weaving. Take good care of your children, as well as your livestock, including chickens and pigs.’ Then they gather the people by beating drums and wooden blocks. Thus we poor people hardly have time for our meals from trying to entertain the officials, and under circumstances like these, how can we make our lives prosperous and cultivate our true human nature?” The Work of Promoting Agriculture in General Is Divided into Six Areas, Which Are Assigned to Directors with Respective Administrative Responsibilities. The Government Evaluates Their Per formance and Employs Those Who Do the Best Job of Promoting the People’s Livelihood. What is discussed here is not a priority of the magistrate that needs to be implemented right away. As I stated in “Treatise on the Land System” [“Chŏnje ko”], it can be seriously discussed only after the land administration is fully straightened out, all the laws and ordinances are well regulated, the collection of tribute payments, which is an important part of the magistrate’s responsibilities, is duly carried out, and every man and woman are fully employed in their respective fields. The purpose of this discussion is only to supplement what is missing in my treatise, Design for Good Government; it is not intended to require the magistrate to take action. The division of administrative responsibilities for the promotion of agriculture is as follows: land farming, which produces nine types of grain; fruit farming, which produces numerous fruits; vegetable farming, which grows numerous 245. Guo Tuoto, also known as Camel Guo for being a hunchback, was a gardener and servant hired by Liu Zongyuan (Liu Zihou). He was famous for his skill in growing trees, and the secret of his growing trees was to let the trees grow according to their nature. His way of gardening agreed with the idea of laissez-faire government advocated by Liu Zongyuan. 246. Th is refers to Tasan’s own discussion of the land system in Design for Good Government.

428

book VI

vegetables; women’s work, which produces cotton and silk; tree farming, which produces numerous kinds of timber; and animal husbandry, which raises six kinds of domestic animals. If craft, commerce, and enslaved debtors sold on the market are added to these divisions, there are nine areas of administrative responsibilities in all. The ways of evaluating job performance are as follows. Farming has nine areas to be examined: first, plowing; second, producing manure; third, sowing; fourth, harrowing ground; fift h, rice planting; sixth, weeding; seventh, harvesting; eighth, maintenance of embankments; and ninth, irrigation. The evaluation is based on these nine areas, but sowing in the case of dryland farming should be placed with rice planting, digging ditches with the maintenance of embankments, and the reclamation of abandoned farmland with irrigation. Fruit farming has nine areas to be evaluated: jujubes, chestnuts, pears, persimmons, plums, apricots, peaches, dates, and walnuts, which are nine fruits. The evaluation is conducted on the basis of the status of growing these nine fruits, but some of these fruits can be replaced by local products. So fruits like crab apples, apples called pinp’a, cherries, pomegranates, tangerines, gardenias, and Chinese quinces can be added for evaluation. Vegetable farming has nine areas to be evaluated: scallions, leeks, garlic, ginger, cucumbers, gourds, cabbage, mustard, and radishes, which are nine vegetables. However, some of these vegetables can be evaluated together with other vegetables not on the list (such as melons, watermelons, pumpkins, and wax gourds; melons and watermelons are evaluated with cucumbers, and pumpkins and wax gourds with gourds) or replaced by some other ones (such as mallows, lettuce, potatoes, and taros). Women’s work has nine areas to be evaluated: mulberries, wild mulberries, hemp, linen, jute, ramie, cotton, Chinese indigo, and red indigo. The cultivation of mulberry and lacquer trees should also be encouraged to benefit the people. Tree farming has nine areas to be evaluated: pines, firs, elms, pagoda trees, paulownias, willows, acorns, maples, and ginkgo trees. Trees like common bamboos native to the south and nutmeg can also be included in the areas of evaluation. Animal husbandry has nine areas to be evaluated: horses, oxen, goats, pigs, donkeys, chicken, geese, ducks, and fish raised in a pond. The most excellent households for farming are selected from various districts and villages, and three or four are usually selected from every eight households surrounding the middle block of the well fields, regardless of their social status. However, only households that cultivate 100 mu are eligible for selection. For every one hundred well fields one agriculture director is appointed, and he reports his findings to the district magistrate. Then the magistrate evaluates

Taxation

429

the reports from the agriculture directors, dividing them into nine grades; this process is similar to the regular evaluation system applied to officials. According to the ways of classifying the use of land in Rites of Zhou, the most centrally located land was called “the heart of the state” [guozhong], and the next inner part the “vegetable garden” [yuanchan]. The so-called ordinary field [changpu], therefore, was distinguished from the vegetable garden. Crops like vegetables and fruits ought to be cultivated in large districts or the walled towns, which have a better transportation system. In those places it is much easier to grow them since it is easier to find manure and easier to sell them. What good is it if they are planted in the remote countryside? Although the people in the cities can afford good vegetables and rare fruits, those in the countryside cannot. If the magistrate wants to encourage the cultivation of vegetables, he must recruit specialists in raising fruits and vegetables and have them live in the areas of the district capital; he must secure land near the fortress and have them grow vegetables and plant nine kinds of fruits after finding a space. A small town needs nine specialists, a medium-size town eighteen, and a large town twentyseven. The magistrate provides them with the land, as well as the capital, needed for their farming. Then he dispatches two supervisors to their vegetable and fruit farms, whom he has selected from military officers, and evaluates the performance of the specialists in charge of vegetable and fruit farms. The way of managing women’s work is much the same. Considering soil and climate and providing land, the magistrate recruits nine or twenty-seven female specialists and has them cultivate nine kinds of plants related to producing clothing. Trees like pines, firs, maples, and oaks grow in the mountains, and trees like elms, pagoda trees, paulownias, willows, Korean nutmeg, and ginkgo trees all grow in the fields. If there is one of the recruited people who wants to work as a specialist in forestry, the magistrate provides him with mountains or fields or wetlands so that he can plant a variety of trees in the areas to which he is assigned; he also has him plant trees at village entrances or on roadsides. Then the specialist assigns the trees to the residents of the village and has them take care of them. If some of the trees happen to die, the magistrate makes sure that the dead ones are replaced with new ones and evaluates the performance of the specialist of forestry on the basis of the reports of his supervisor. The way of managing animal husbandry is much the same. The magistrate provides cowherds with land in mountains, goatherds with islands, and swineherds with land near towns or on small islands so that they can build pens for their livestock. He also provides chicken farmers with unused land and makes them dig holes or install fences and covers so that their chickens may not damage crops. For those who raise geese or ducks, he provides land with streams or ditches, and land with ponds or marshes to those who breed fish. As for those

430

book VI

who raise horses, the magistrate provides islands on the sea to wealthy people and has them raise horses. It should be arranged that those who can raise over a thousand horses are allowed special treatment and privileges in their living conditions and public careers. If they are allowed to have privileges to such an extent that their accomplishment is recorded and they are offered a military position by the Board of War and transferred to other posts just like regular military officers, there will be many people who will volunteer to raise horses. The evaluation of livestock farming, including oxen and goats, is conducted in the way discussed above, but that of donkey farming is conducted in the way applied to that of horses. Those who perform outstanding jobs in the evaluation are awarded precious goods locally produced, as well as certain positions in the local government (such as head seat and granary supervisor). Gathering evaluation reports from various districts, the governor selects three persons after comparing all the candidates (in Yŏngnam and Honam regions six people are selected) and recommends them to the Ministry of Personnel. The Ministry of Personnel again gathers the evaluation reports from each province and finally selects two-thirds of the candidates. It assigns the first-time appointees selected in the areas of crop farming, women’s work, forestry, and fishery to the Land Management Office [Kyŏngjŏnsa], and those selected in the areas of fruit and vegetable farming and animal husbandry to the Military Affairs Agency [Muwŏn]. When they successfully carry out their jobs for two years, their status is established as members of the Eastern File [Tongban], and they are promoted to chief of a post station and supervisor of animal husbandry; or their status is established as members of the Western File [Sŏban], and they are promoted to securitygroup head and military commander of a walled town. (These positions are equivalent to the present-day garrison commander or the lesser garrison commander.) If this policy of evaluation and selection of officials is duly implemented, the offices of the six departments [yukgwa] will be made permanent within less than ten years, and there will be an abundance of food of all kinds, including grain, fruits, and vegetables beyond the level of our consumption; plenty of 247. In his Design for Good Government Tasan proposes an ideal system of managing land and the establishment of a government agency responsible for the new idea. The name of that agency is the Office of Land Management. 248. Also called Mugŏwŏn, this is the old Military Training Command (Hullyŏnwŏn), which the author renamed in his reform proposal, Design for Good Government. 249. Civil officials. 250. Military officials. 251. Land farming, fruit farming, vegetable farming, women’s work, tree farming, and animal husbandry.

Taxation

431

timber that cannot all be used; so much fabric and silk that not all can be worn or dyed; and enough cattle and fish to fill up the whole country. What in state affairs could be more important than enriching the nation and promoting the livelihood of people like this? Some people may protest, “The so-called stipend is supposed to be granted to a man of virtue. Is it then a good way to encourage agricultural development by placing on the roll of officials common people like farmers engaged in agriculture and stock farming who command no respect for their social status?” Here is my reply to them: “They are wrong. What is the so-called civil ser vice examination? Is it really the right way to select officials, since it counts only writing skills and futile talk dealing with historical figures like Xiang Yu and Pei Gong or some foolish poems and phrases about the windy and dusty world? Should we honor and reward such people, providing stipends and registering their names on the official record? Men like Hou Ji and King Yu were originally engaged in farming, but they were not prevented from obtaining public office because of their profession, and Qin Feizi, an expert in horse raising, rose to the position of marquis. When the Duke of Zhou  established public offices, officials like the agriculture master, the garden master, the breeder of sacrificial animals, and the commandant of the royal stud enhanced the livelihood of the people by personally working in the field or raising cattle. Public offices in the old days, therefore, were different from those at the present time that are vainly attached to their names. In the early Han dynasty officials were selected through two categories of civil ser vice examinations: one was agriculture [litian] and the other fi lial piety and integrity [xiaolian]. Thus Tian Qianqiu  became grandee of the twentieth order [tonghou] because of his outstanding job in agriculture, and Bu Shi rose to the position of minister because of his specialty in stock farming. If the officials currently occupying the six departments carry out their duties with profound sincerity and diligence, and even if they are allowed to be promoted to the position of state councilors, regardless of their original social 252. A royal horse trainer and breeder, he was rewarded with Qin City, which later became the state of Qin. 253. The brother of King Wu of Zhou. He assisted his brother in defeating the Shang dynasty and ruled the Zhou as regent after his brother died early. Extremely learned and wise, he annotated and completed Book of Changes and established Rites of Zhou. He was deeply admired by Confucius. 254. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty, a new civil ser vice examination system was introduced that was designed to select a man of fi lial piety and integrity. 255. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu. He served as counselor in chief. 256. The highest of twenty titles of honorary nobility conferred on meritorious subjects (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 554). 257. An official of the Han dynasty. He served as censor in chief.

432

book VI

status and vocation, not to mention the offices of post-station chief, supervisor of animal husbandry, security-group head, and commander of a walled town, this indicates that the government simply follows the old precedent. These talented officials should be gradually employed and promoted to the position of magistrate according to the steps provided by the law. The missions of the six offices, however, cannot take their due effect in less than ten years. Since the magistrates who are appointed for a two-year term these days are like travelers, they had better not hurry to start a large project under these circumstances, raising an uproar.” The National Code states: “The Board of Taxation annually selects those who have done an outstanding job in agriculture, sericulture, and stock farming, placing their names on the record and encouraging them by making reports of their achievements.” I have observed that the original spirit in the national law of the early years of our dynasty was like that, and it was certainly worth imitating; however, it is impossible to recover it now[because the original spirit has disappeared]. The way to encourage people is to reward them according to their ser vices. If their ser vice is small, they should be given a reward; if it is great, they should be appointed to public offices. There is no better way. On the Day of the Vernal Equinox Every Year, the Magistrate Sends Out a Public Notice to Each Village in Which He Promises to Reward or Punish the Residents on the Basis of Their Progress in Farming. The magistrate’s notice reads as follows: “Since there is a competition in poetry and prose writing, why should there not be a competition in farming? Since the earlier rice planting is done, the better its result is, those who intend to do it early should plant rice early, and those who intend to plant rice early should plow the ground early. I promise you that on the tenth day after the Grain in Ear I will personally visit the villages or send my men to inspect the progress of rice planting. When I find villages that have already completed rice planting, I will reduce their taxes by 2 p’un per household and reward the village representatives, heads of the community compact, and superintendents, as well as elderly people over seventy years of age. As to the villages that are latest in their rice planting, I will increase their taxes by 1 p’un per household (the reward should be heavy and the punishment light) and let the village representatives, heads of the community compact, and superintendents drink a penalty cup. (They are required to visit the village that finished rice planting early and drink a bowl of tap water before the head of the village.) When a shortage occurs in the original amount of the public depository, the government will make up for it (because the government collected

Taxation

433

an additional impost of 1 p’un). Therefore, I admonish you to finish your work on time.” The magistrate’s message will certainly stimulate the people to work harder and produce good results, preventing them from being left behind in their work. When they plant barley in the autumn, the magistrate does the same, dispatching a notice on the day of the autumnal equinox.

VII

Rites and Ceremonies

C H A P T E R  : SAC R I F IC E S

The Sacrifices Conducted by Local Districts Consist of Three Altars [Samdan] and a National Shrine to Confucius. The Magistrate Who Offers Sacrifices Must Be Keenly Aware of Their Purpose Because That Will Make Him Purified and Pious. “The Law of Sacrifices” [Jifa] states as follows: “When Gonggongshi took control of nine states, his son was director of wetlands [houtu]. Because his son performed an outstanding job, the people established his tablet in the temple and worshipped him as a god of the soil. When Lishanshi [Yandi Shennong] took over the world, his son Nong took charge of agriculture and successfully propagated hundreds of kinds of grain crops. As the Xia dynasty declined, Qi, the ancestor of the Zhou dynasty, took over the work of Nong and was also worshipped as a god of grain.”

1. A chapter titled “Jifa” in Book of Rites in which various gods to be worshipped are introduced. 2. One of the primogenitors who introduced important aspects of Chinese culture. He is a figure who was chronologically between Fuxi, one of the Th ree Sovereigns, and Shennong, a demigod of agriculture. 3. Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Yuzhou, Yongzhou, Youzhou, and Bingzhou. 4. Also called Lieshanshi, he is Yandi Shennongshi, a legendary figure or deity of agriculture in the history of ancient China. 5. The Li Ki [Book of Rites], Part 4, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, XX, 208.

434

Rites and Ceremonies

435

Commentary on the Chronicles of Zuo [Chunqiu zhengyi] states: “Since the word pei [㒼] means that one accepts sacrifices along with other deities, great men are enshrined with the gods, the original objects of worship, under names borrowed from the deities. She is originally the name of a deity of the soil, and Ji is that of a grain deity. So those who are enshrined are naturally called Sheji [the guardian deities of the state].” According to Rites of Zhou, those who are in charge of the sun and moon are heavenly gods, and those who govern the soil and grain are earth deities. However, both the heavenly gods and the earth deities are heavenly gods. This is shown by the fact that Shi Yin referred to a deity named Rushou as a celestial god although he had been regarded as an earth deity. Heaven created all things and made all deities take care of them. Those who are entrusted with the soil and grain are higher in the hierarchy of gods. Since the law of our state also honors the guardian deities of the state like Julong and Jiqi when offering sacrifices, this is in accordance with the ancient custom [of China]. The only thing is that since the guardian deities like Sheji are outside gods universally worshipped, they require blood sacrifices, but the blood sacrifice is similar to the sacrificial practice that buries the victim in the ground [yimai]. According to the “Law of Sacrifices”: “The king, for all the people, erected an altar to [the spirit of] the ground, called the grand altar, and one for himself, called the royal altar. A feudal prince, for all his people, erected one called the altar of the state, and one for himself called the altar of the prince. Great officers and all below them in association erected such an altar, called the appointed altar.”  Kong Yingda in his commentary stated: “Only the villages with more than one household of great officers, scholars, and common people can establish the temple and honor the guardian deity of state She.” I have observed that the local districts of our country are similar to the feudal states of ancient China, and therefore, it is right and proper to establish those 6. Also called Chunqiu zuochuan zhengyi, this is part of Correct Meaning of the Five Classics (Wujing zhengyi) edited by Kong Yingda (574–648), a scholar of the early Tang dynasty. 7. The grand scribe of the Zhou dynasty during the Spring and Autumn period. 8. Rushou belongs to “metal” in terms of the Five Elements (Wuxing), “west” in direction, and the “god of autumn” in season. 9. The son of Gonggongshi, a demigod who took charge of managing wetlands. 10. The gods related by blood to those who offer sacrifices are called inside gods; however, the guardian deities worshipped by the state or the districts, such as heavenly gods, Sheji state gods, and deities of mountains and streams, are called outside gods. 11. In blood sacrifice the hair and blood of sacrificial animals were offered to the god, and when the sacrifice was fi nished, the offering was buried in a certain place; the act of burying the offering was called yimai. 12. The Li Ki [Book of Rites], Part 2, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, XX, 206; words in brackets are Legge’s interpolation.

436

book VII

guardian deities in our land, too. When Zigao became magistrate of Fei [the town granted to the Ji family], Zilu said, “There are (there) common people and the altars of the spirits of the land and grain.”  Since the spirits of the land and grain were honored in the local districts of ancient China, the worship of those spirits has long been established. In ancient China there were temples for those spirits even in the subdistricts and villages. Thus we have the anecdote of Chen Ping, who divided the meat fairly among the villagers after offering sacrifices. The worship of the spirits of the land and grain in the little villages, however, is no longer practiced in China. The “Law of Sacrifices” states: “The king, for all the people, appointed (seven altars for) the seven sacrifices.” The fift h spirit among the seven is called “Great Spirit Li.” It also states: “A feudal prince, for his state, appointed (five altars for) the five sacrifices.” The fift h deity is called Gongli. Then the law finally states: “A great officer appointed [three altars for] the three sacrifices.” The first of them is called Zuli. According to Zhengyi Commentary, “Great Spirit Li are the ghosts of the ancient kings who had no descendants of their own; Gongli are the ghosts of the ancient feudal princes who had no descendants of their own; and Zuli are the ghosts of the great officers who had no descendants of their own.” The

13. Gao Chai, a disciple of Confucius. Zigao was his courtesy name. 14. One of the three powerful families who ruled the state of Lu during the Spring and Autumn period. 15. Zhong You, a disciple of Confucius. Zilu was his courtesy name. 16. “Xianjin,” in Analects, 246. 17. A military strategist and one of the merit subjects of the Han dynasty who rendered a great ser vice in founding the Han dynasty. He rose to the position of councilor in chief during the reign of Emperor Wen. Before he rose in eminence, he was praised for evenly dividing the meat after having a sacrifice in his village. On that occasion he boasted that he could govern the state as well as he divided the meat if he was given an opportunity. 18. The Li Ki [Book of Rites], Part 4, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, XX, 206. Sacrifices to seven spirits are related to seven major human concerns: lifespan, retribution, house, gate, travel, household, and food. 19. Ibid. The five spirits overlap the seven spirits, except the two that are in charge of household and food. 20. The ghosts of the feudal princes who have no descendants. 21. The Li Ki [Book of Rites], Part 4, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, XX, 207; words in brackets are Legge’s interpolation. The three groups of spirits are Zuli, the discontented ghosts of his predecessors who had died without posterity; Men, the ghosts at the gate of the Great Officer’s city; and Xing, the ghosts on the roads leading from it. 22. Zhengyi here refers to Kong Yingda’s Liji Zhengyi [Commentary on Book of Rites]. Kong Yingda (574–648) was a great scholar of the Tang dynasty. By the order of Emperor Taizong, he produced commentaries on Spring and Autumn Annals, Classic of Poetry, Classic of History, Book of Rites, and Book of Changes.

Rites and Ceremonies

437

Chronicles of Zuo states: “When the ghost of a dead person has a place to return to and rely on, it does not become an abandoned ghost [ligui]. When it has no place to go, however, it harms the people, and therefore, the people offer sacrifices to appease it.” I have observed that the word “ghost” [li, ཙ] signifies “lie” [า], which means “lay out.” In the olden days the people used to offer sacrifices to the memorial tablets that were displayed on the table without a hierarchical order [zhaomu]. In those days only those who had no descendants could become abandoned spirits. Nowadays those who were drowned, burned, crushed, or executed are all regarded as abandoned spirits and are offered sacrifices. So the ghosts without descendants in the olden days and the ghosts without descendants at the present time are not exactly the same. Since that law is similar to the Buddhist sacrifice called suryukjae or poch’ŏng, I speculate that the changed law originated in its contact with the new Buddhist tradition. According to the Chronicles of Zuo, there is a record as follows: “When Zichan [Gongsun Qiao] of the Zheng visited the state of Jin, Han Xuanzi [Han Qi] asked him, ‘Our king has fallen ill after dreaming that a yellowish bear was coming into his inner quarters. What kind of abandoned spirit is that?’ Zichan replied, ‘In the old days King Yao punished Kun by death at Mt. Yushan, and the god [Kun] was changed into a yellowish bear and entered Lake Yuyuan. He was honored in the state sacrifices held at the suburbs of the capital city during the Xia dynasty and continued to be honored throughout the following three generations. Did it not happen, I wonder, that the sacrifice to him was forgotten after the state of Jin became the leader of the feudal states?’ “The people of the state of Zheng were in a panic, saying, ‘The ghost of Boyou has appeared.’ Zichan said, ‘If a ghost has a place to return to, he will not become an abandoned spirit.’ He also said, ‘Common men and women become abandoned spirits when they die a violent or unexpected death, not to mention Liang 23. Zhaomu is a hierarchical order in arranging the memorial tablets of ancestors. The tablet of the progenitor is placed in the middle, and those of the father and the son are placed on the left and right, respectively. The column on the left is called zhao, and the one on the right mu. 24. Suryukjae, also called suryukhoe or suryukdojang, is a Buddhist Mass that is held in order to offer sacrifice to the lonely spirits and ghosts who died of starvation. It first began during the reign of Wudi of the state of Liang, and in Korea it was first held by National Preceptor Hyegŏ during the reign of Kwangjong in the late tenth century. 25. Poch’ŏng in Buddhism indicates the power of the masses or asking for the cooperation of the people. 26. He was killed by Shun during the time of King Yao for failing to regulate floods. 27. Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhengyi, “Shaogong 7 nian,” 762. 28. Liang Xiao, the grand master (dafu) of the state of Zheng. Boyou was his courtesy name. He was extremely avaricious, was killed by his political opponent, and was known to have become an abandoned spirit (ligui) after his death.

438

book VII

Xiao, a descendant of our former king Duke Mu, who ruled the state for three generations. Born and bred in a state of affluence, he absorbed the spirit of material goods to a great extent but prematurely died an unexpected death. So there is nothing to be surprised about his becoming an abandoned spirit.’ ”  The people say that a man like Zhang Xun became an abandoned spirit after his death, and all their talk is based on the theory of Zichan, which was already mentioned above. (According to the current law of our country, sacrifices are offered to fifteen spirits who have no descendants to offer sacrifices, as well as to the village guardian spirits and abandoned spirits, all at the same altars.) Lu Wuguan in “The Record of Restoring the Temple of the Guardian Spirit in the District of Ningde” stated as follows: “The people in the olden days offered sacrifices to Xianse and Xianmu, the gods of agriculture and horse raising, and offered sacrifices at their gates and fireplaces at home. Since the fortress [cheng] protects the people, preventing evil from entering and controlling the traffic of people for the sake of the whole community, its ser vice to the people is very significant. How can we be so rash as to abolish the practice of offering sacrifices, arguing that the sacrifice to the guardian deity of the district is not very old in history? Will the decision bring peace to the mind of the people? Since the Tang dynasty all the local districts have offered sacrifices to the guardian spirit of the district, and they still continue to offer sacrifices with the utmost sincerity. When the magistrate performs the sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the district, its ritual procedure is more dignified than that of others. Although the sacrifice to the spirit of land and grain is known to have prestigious status, it is only a matter of following the rule of sacrifice. In offering sacrifices for the purpose of eliminating calamity and praying for blessing, the guardian spirit of the district is the only object of worship and no one else. Then one must be more serious about honoring the guardian spirit of the district. The district of Ningde is fi lled with poisonous fog and harmful elements generated from poisonous creatures such as frogs, snakes, and lizards. For this reason the sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the district is more stately than those of other regions. The temple used 29. Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhengyi, “Shaogong 7 nian,” 763. 30. An official of the Tang dynasty. During the rebellion of An Lushan he tried to defend Suiyang but, without relief from outside, finally died after a few months of resistance. When there was a food shortage during the siege of Suiyang, he fi rst killed his family, including his wife and children, to feed his army. He was finally captured and executed by the rebels. 31. Lu You (1125–1210), a poet of the Southern Song dynasty. Wuguan was his courtesy name. During his lifetime he and his family were deeply committed to saving the country from the threat of the Jurchens, who had already captured Kaifeng, the capital of the Northern Song. 32. Shennong, the god of agriculture. 33. The deity in charge of raising horses. He was known to be the fi rst man who raised horses and was deified later as a horse deity.

Rites and Ceremonies

439

to be located on the slope of the West Mountain but later was relocated to this place [Ningde] in the first year of Shaoxing [1131] by Magistrate Zhao Shenzhi. In May of the twenty-fift h year of Shaoxing [1156], Magistrate Chen Shu restored and expanded the temple to a much larger scale, and the residents, impressed by the grand scale of the temple, became more devoted to the worship of the guardian spirit of the district.” Lu Wuguan also stated in “The Record of the Temple of the Guardian Spirit of Zhenjiang Prefecture”: “General Ji Xin of the Han dynasty died in Xingyang. In the first year of Qiandao [1165], Magistrate Fang Zi of Zhenjiang Prefecture said, ‘Our prefecture from the old days has worshipped Ji Xin. Although we do not know how this custom originated, since neither things scary to the people nor diseases break out where the people live, we believe that this good luck is due to the secret help provided by the spirit of Ji Xin.’ ” I have observed that since the sacrifice to the guardian spirit of the district is not included in the “eight sacrifices” [bala], the worship of the guardian spirit is not an ancient custom. Since many counties and districts have no fortresses, is it not strange that people who do not live in the fortress still honor the guardian spirit of the fortress? The worship of Ji Xin, particularly in this sense, does not mean anything. In the ninth year of King Munjong of the Koryŏ dynasty [1055], a garrison called Sŏndŏkjin was newly constructed, and inside the garrison a shrine named Sungwisa was built in order to honor the guardian spirit of the fortress, where sacrifices were offered during the spring and autumn. According to The Ceremonies of the Five Rites [Oryeŭi], the memorial tablet of the local guardian spirit is placed on the right-hand side of the deity who is in charge of the wind, clouds, thunder, and rain, both facing the south; on the occasion of offering sacrifices to abandoned spirits, the presacrifice ceremony [palgoje] is held at the altar of the local guardian spirit. Also, on that occasion the memorial tablet of the local guardian spirit is placed on the altar of abandoned spirits.

34. An official of the Song dynasty; little is known about him other than what is stated here. 35. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Junyi. 36. A loyal subject of Emperor Gaozu of Han, the founder of the Han dynasty. When Gaozu was in danger in Xingyang, surrounded by the forces of Xiang Yu, he helped his sovereign escape the enemy safely, sacrificing his own life. 37. The reign name of Xiaozong (1162–1189), the eleventh emperor of the Song dynasty. 38. An official of the Song dynasty; little is known about him other than what is stated here. 39. In ancient China sacrifices were offered to eight different deities who were in charge of various things, all related to agriculture. 40. A ceremony held before the official ceremony in which the master of ceremony reported to the spirits on the ceremony to be held. The presacrifice ceremony held at the altar of the local guardian spirit was held three days before the sacrifice to abandoned spirits.

440

book VII

The written address that is read at the presacrifice ceremony is as follows: “On a certain day of a certain month, we intend to establish an altar in the northern section of the town and offer sacrifices to all the spirits who have no sacrificial offerings. We wish that you would use your divine power and bring them all to the altar.” This written address is intended to make the local guardian spirit assemble various abandoned spirits. According to The Ceremonies of the Five Rites, the memorial tablet of the local guardian spirit is placed on top of the altar during the sacrifice to abandoned spirits, facing south, and the tablets of the abandoned spirits are placed on the lower level, divided into two groups and facing each other. The memorial tablets of those who were killed by swords and spears, those who were killed by water, fire, and bandits, those who were robbed of their property and killed under threat, those who were killed after their wives and concubines were forcibly taken away, those who were innocent but were unjustly executed, and those who died of natural disasters and epidemic diseases are all placed on the left of the altar. The memorial tablets of those who were killed by poisonous insects, those who were frozen or starved to death, those who were killed in battle, those who hanged themselves in an urgent situation, those who were crushed to death by crumbling walls or houses, those who died in childbirth, those who were killed by a thunderbolt, those who were killed by falling from a higher place, and those who died of illness without leaving heirs are all placed on the right of the altar. The Sacrifice at the Confucian Shrine Should Be Conducted by the Magistrate in Person. He Must Lead the Participating Scholars with Utmost Sincerity, Purifying Himself by Taking a Bath. Because not many people participate in other sacrificial ceremonies, disorder is not a serious concern. However, during the sacrifices held at the Confucian shrine of the county school, the number of participants who are mostly lowranking elites or high-ranking commoners [hansanin] can exceed a hundred, not to mention the officiants and assistants at the ritual ceremony. So it happens that lowborn people who labor in the fields or frequent the market force their way into the ceremony, reeking with the foul smell of garlic and scallions and wine and carry ing themselves in a repugnant manner. Disturbing the ceremony, they often make noises and, when the ceremony is over, even fight one another, using their fists or pulling hair until the whole school is ringing with their shouts. The magistrate, therefore, cannot help but watch out for the clerks of the county school who take bribes to allow people of low status to join the 41. The class of people who were exempt from corvée ser vices.

Rites and Ceremonies

441

groups of officiants and assistants at the ceremony. Although the number of officiants and assistants was originally set and specified, the clerks of the county school, in conspiracy with the clerks in charge of rites in the local government, privately issue official permits to undeserving people, and this practice must be stopped. Ten days before the sacrifice at the Confucian shrine the magistrate should send an official dispatch to the county school and order the school authorities to submit a list of names of those who are to participate as officiants and assistants at the ceremony. He makes sure that they are first selected from the reputable members of yangban families and men of integrity without preparing the official permits for them. Once the list is submitted, the magistrate checks the reputation of the individuals and finally allows the permits with official seals to be issued to the candidates on the list. In addition to the assistants at the ceremony, about twenty people among the low-ranking elites and high-ranking commoners should be allowed to join the ranks of the officiants at the ceremony. However, those who are not on the list should be prohibited from entering the red gate [hongmun], and those who violate this rule must be punished. Two days before the ceremony the magistrate sends one of the low-ranking clerks or his servant to the county school to check whether there are people who eat garlic, drink wine, and wear their clothes in an untidy and unruly manner. If names are submitted, he discusses ways to punish the individuals according to the degree of their offenses. If the selected individuals are not among the congregation in the county school and wander the streets of the town, the magistrate immediately orders them to be driven out, prohibiting them from participating in the sacrifice. One day before the ceremony the magistrate goes out early to check the sacrifice, as well as the vessels for the rite. He humbly enters the Hall of Great Accomplishment [Taesŏngjŏn], where the memorial tablet of Confucius is established, as well as side halls where the tablets of famous Confucian sages are enshrined, and makes sure that everything, including tables, vessels, the display of sacrifices, and the state of cleanliness, is all in proper order. In the evening before the day of the ceremony the magistrate takes a bath, and when the day of the ceremony finally arrives, he conducts the ceremony with humility and dignity. Although it may be difficult for the magistrate to attend regularly the rite of incense burning that is held on the first and fift h day of the month, it is advisable that he personally perform the rite on the first day of the month at the beginning of the four seasons. 42. The main gate to a temple or other types of official buildings. Since it was painted red [hong], it was called hongmun or hongsalmun.

442

book VII

When It Happens That the Confucian Shrine Is in Disrepair, the Altars of the Spirits of Land and Grain and Abandoned Ghosts Are Broken Down, the Sacrificial Robes Are Not in Good Shape, or the Sacrificial Vessels Are Unclean, the Magistrate Must Repair or Clean Them So That the Spirits May Not Be Offended. When Li Fan governed Qianzhou, he built a new Confucian temple and ordered the artisans to remake the clay statues of ten Confucian sages starting from Yanzi to Zixia. Furthermore, he ordered the portraits of sixty disciples of Confucius and the great sages in later years, including Gongyang Gao, Zuoqiu Ming, Meng Ke, Xun Kuang, Fu Sheng, Mao Gong, Han Sheng, Dong Sheng, Gao Tangsheng, Yang Xiong, and Zheng Xuan, to be installed on the wall, and he personally performed the rite of sacrifice at the county school, leading the subordinate officials and Confucian students. The elderly in the district greatly admired their magistrate, and their children exerted themselves more in their studies. (Xia Xidao, magistrate of Fanchang, also made the statues of ten Confucian sages, including Zixia and Zilu.) When Lin È governed the prefecture of Suzhou, many of the clay statues in the Confucian shrine were in disrepair. Someone suggested that they should be restored to their original shape, but Lin È said, “They are nothing but chunks of

43. An official of the Tang dynasty. 44. Yan Hui, a disciple of Confucius. 45. A disciple of Zixia and the author of Commentary of Gongyang. 46. A scholar of the Spring and Autumn period and the author of Chronicles of Zuo. 47. The Chinese phi losopher better known as Mencius. 48. The Chinese phi losopher better known as Xun Zi or Xunzi. Unlike Mencius, he was skeptical about the goodness of human nature. 49. A scholar of the Han dynasty who tried to restore ancient texts, including the Classic of History (Shangshu), that had suffered the so-called Burning of the Books. He successfully hid the book and spent his life transmitting it to posterity through his interpretations and commentaries. 50. Mao Chang of the Han dynasty, who was famous for his interpretations and commentaries on Classic of Poetry. He was also called the Venerable Younger Mao because his predecessor, named Mao Heng, was called the Venerable Elder Mao. 51. Han Ying, a scholar of the Han dynasty and the author of Commentary on Han Poetry (Hanshi waichuan), a book of anecdotes about earlier personages and times. 52. Dong Zhongshu (179–104 B.C.), a Han dynasty scholar who played a crucial role in promoting Confucianism as the official ideology of the Chinese imperial state. One of his works is Rich Dew of Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu fanlu). 53. A scholar of the Han dynasty who transmitted the Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial. 54. A phi losopher of the Han dynasty. Unlike Mencius or Xunzi, he believed that human nature was neither good nor bad and wrote a few books, which include Great Mystery (Taixuan), Words to Live By (Fayan), and Dialect Dictionary (Fangyan). 55. Zheng Xuan (127–200) was a scholar of the Later Han dynasty. 56. Unknown.

Rites and Ceremonies

443

clay, not sages. Since Confucius was born long before Buddhism came into China, how can he recognize those clay statues? Even if those clay statues were in good shape, they would need to be removed. Since they fortunately collapsed by themselves, why should it be impossible to replace them with wooden ones?” Thus saying, he replaced the clay statues of Confucius and his disciples, as well as the other sages, with wooden ones. When Dong Yi ruled Yunzhou, there was no school in his prefecture. Therefore, he secured a place with a good view on elevated ground and built a school. He started building the hall for purification and sacrifice, classrooms, resting places, kitchens, bathrooms, storerooms, and the stable, one after another. The following is from “The Statement of Pledge” [“Yueshuwen”], which Zhu Xi wrote when he was magistrate of Zhangzhou: “The ceremonial robes of the officiants who conduct the sacrifices to Confucius and the spirits of land and grain that are held in my district were made so long ago that they are not in accord with the original ones specified by the ritual regulations. So I intend to make a new set of sacrificial robes and caps separately, which are as follows: a cap with six sets of stringed beads in the front [liuliumian] that is worn by the officiant who offers the first wine cup [chuxianguan]; a cap with four sets of stringed beads in the front [siliumian] that is worn by the officiant who offers the second wine cup [yaxianguan]; a cap without stringed beads [wuliumian] and the outer ritual garment [yishang] that are worn by the officiant who offers the last wine cup [zhongxianguan]; a large hanging belt [dadai]; an inner robe [zhongdan]; an apronlike garment with hanging decorations [shoupei], knee pads [bixi]; a leather belt [gedai]; and a pair of shoes and socks. However, it will not do if we make these things using the models of what we now have. Since the importance of performing the sacrifice in the proper way is emphasized in the official dispatch from the Court of Imperial Sacrifices [Taichangsi], I want you to borrow each set of sacrificial robes and have a capital agent named Yang Sigong and an official named Yang Xian who works in the Visitors Bureau [Kesi] take them to the prefecture of Linan. When the new robes are made, I will have them brought back to our district and circulated.” I have observed that the sacrificial costumes presently used in the county schools are so old and dirty that they are in really bad shape. The so-called ceremonial cap is pasted with some yellowish stuff and has no strings, which looks very crude. The decorative strings attached to the backs of the ceremonial robes are dyed with some blue and red stuff at random, and the jades affi xed to them are missing. A piece of scarf called kongnyŏng pangsim that is worn around the neck is twisted and loosely hung down. When the people 57. Unknown. 58. A sacrificial uniform made of two pieces, a jacket on top and a skirt at the bottom.

444

book VII

stand under the bright light during the sacrifice, wearing these strange vestments, they look like ghosts themselves, and it hurts my eyes. What the superior man should be concerned with is personal dignity. If his dignity is destroyed, what can he expect further? The sacrificial robe worn by the magistrate should be the one that he used to wear when he served in the court in Seoul, and the vestments worn by the officiants at the sacrifice should be made by the magistrate before the sacrifice; furthermore, they must be orderly, clean, and tidy, all in accordance with the regulations. Otherwise, the sacrifice cannot be performed properly. When Di Su became magistrate of Gucheng, he repaired the temple of Confucius, provided vessels and equipment needed for sacrifices, and personally offered sacrifices both in the spring and autumn along with the people of his district. As a result, the young people studied much harder, and the residents were greatly edified. When Hong Ch’ŏjŏng became magistrate of Muju and arrived at his post, he immediately asked about the health of elderly residents and sent them wine and meat. Because he also remade sacrificial vessels that were in disrepair and assembled youths and exhorted them to devote themselves to their studies, all the residents, both young and old, were delighted and eagerly followed him. If There Is a Royally Chartered Private Academy in His District, Which Is Provided with the Supplies for Sacrifices by the Government, the Magistrate Should Try Not to Disappoint the Scholarly Community by Carrying Himself with Sincerity and Integrity. In the case of royally chartered private academies, the supplies for sacrifices are provided by the government, and their expenses are paid from the public grain. I have observed, however, that the clerk in charge of the kitchen, who often lacks sincerity, uses cheap meat and vegetables instead of good ones for the sacrifice. If this sort of thing happens, the magistrate must strictly reprimand the man in charge and make him follow the originally established rule, providing as many supplies as possible. Sometimes it happens that the magistrate provides the supplies for sacrifices to the private shrines that are not royally chartered for a personal purpose. Once he grants a special favor like that, it becomes a precedent for years to come. The abuses of private shrines increase day by day and worsen month by month so that 59. Probably Di Li, an official of the Song dynasty who was famous for integrity. 60. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Injo. He was the son of Hong Myŏnghyŏng, who sacrificed his life during the Manchu invasion of 1636.

Rites and Ceremonies

445

a district that extends a hundred li has as many as dozens of private shrines. What happens there is that they [private shrines] establish a row of memorial tablets of illustrious family members in chronological order and honor them after endowing them with certain prestigious honorific names, such as Humble Cottage [Kyŏmam], Humble Shed [Nulhŏn], Pine Shack [Songjae], and Bamboo Pavilion [Chukjŏng], and citing their outstanding filial piety or heroic death in war. The number of honored ancestors created in this way often reaches as many as twelve or thirteen. Or in the case of a famous minister at the beginning of the dynasty whose descendants failed to prosper, the lowborn people in the remote countryside try to honor him, turning him into their own ancestor. They deceive the royal inspector by forging their family records. Since he is only a passing traveler, the inspector has no time to conduct a thorough investigation of the case submitted by the concerned family. Convinced that the family has been unjustly treated by the government, the inspector reports to the court for rectification of the problem. As soon as the government accepts its plea and recognizes the problem, the family spreads the news around its district and starts building a private shrine to honor its ancestors. The residents in that district keep silent although they know the facts, and the magistrate, who lacks intelligence, fails to detect anything wrong. So it happens that a family low in social status pretends to be an illustrious one and is not ashamed. Building private shrines was originally prohibited by law. Under circumstances in which the magistrate hardly has time to suppress wrongdoing, is it appropriate for him to help the private shrines by encouraging sacrifices? However, abolishing the custom that was handed down incurs the resentment of the people. What the magistrate should do, then, is to express a token of his respect by sending some incense and candles. As for other supplies necessary for the sacrifice, he should never provide them even if he is faced with strong criticism throughout his district. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates as follows: “When unauthorized new private shrines are allowed to be built, which is a violation of the law, the governor shall be punished by imprisonment in the State Tribunal, the magistrate shall be deprived of three certificates of official appointment, and the Confucian student who proposed the idea shall be banished to a remote place. When a man establishes a memorial tablet in a royally chartered shrine without reporting to the court, the magistrate of that man’s district should be dismissed.” 61. Every time high-ranking officials were promoted, they received certificates of appointment. To be deprived of three certificates, then, meant demotion by three ranks. 62. Sok taejŏn, “Yejŏn [Laws on Rituals],” Chamnyŏngjo [Miscellaneous Ordinances], 260.

446

book VII

I have observed that the system of private academies originated in the Southern Tang dynasty and gradually developed in the era of the Song dynasty. So the private academies like Yuelu, Shigu, Songyang, and Shuiyang were provided with books and hanging boards by the emperor. The primary purpose of establishing private academies was learning, not sacrifices to and worship of spirits. However, when Zhu Xi repaired the Bailudong Academy and established the memorial tablet of Lianxi in the shrine of the academy, the other Chinese private academies followed Zhu Xi’s model, and when Chu Sinjae founded the Paegundong Academy and established An Munsŏng in the shrine, all our private academies followed the precedent set by Zhu. Nowadays, however, private academies have changed into shrines and have no trace of the original academies. When Zhu Xi served in the prefecture of Nankang, he sent an official letter to the people in which he said: “I made searches for the remains of the shrine for Tao Kan, and as for the shrines of Grand Mentor Xie [An], Recruit for Office Tao, and Zhu Lianxi, I intend to make further investigations.” I believe that it is also the duty of a benevolent magistrate to trace the legacy of old sages and reveal the things that are concealed from the eyes of the people.

63. Originally established by the Tang dynasty poet Li Bai in 831, it received imperial favor from Emperor Taizong (976−997) of the Song dynasty. However, it was rebuilt and expanded by Zhu Xi in 1179 when he served as prefect of Nankang Prefecture. 64. Zhou Dunyi (1017−1073), a Chinese Neo-Confucian phi losopher of the Song dynasty. Lianxi was his pen name. 65. Chu Sebung (1495−1544), an official of the mid-Chosŏn period. Sinjae was his pen name. In 1543 he founded the first private academy in Korea, named Paegundong Academy, in Yŏngju, North Kyŏngsang Province when he was serving as magistrate of P’unggi County. The academy was later awarded royal favor and renamed Sosu Academy (1550) at the request of Yi Hwang, then the magistrate of P’unggi. 66. An Hyang (1243−1306), a Neo-Confucian scholar and official of the late Koryŏ dynasty. An Munsŏng was his posthumous title. His name was originally Yu but was changed later to Hyang. Frequently visiting Yuan China, he brought Neo-Confucianism to Koryŏ (Korea). and spread it to promote education, which had been in decline. Chu Sebung established a memorial tablet to him in the shrine of the academy. 67. Xie An (320−385), a great statesman of the Jin dynasty (265−420). His courtesy name was Anshi, and his formal title was Duke Wenjing of Luling. Although he was not a military official, he successfully defended the country against the attacks of the former Qin, the rival state of Jin. The grand mentor (taifu), according to Hucker, was esteemed as the paramount post in officialdom (Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 477). 68. Tao Qian (365−427), an eminent pre–Tang dynasty poet who is better known by his pen name, Yuanming. The title of recruit for office (zhengshi) was a common reference to someone who was summoned to the court for possible ser vice in officialdom. Tao Qian was divided between his ambition and his desire to retreat to lead a quiet life; thus he spent the last twenty years or so of his life in the secluded countryside.

Rites and Ceremonies

447

The Reconstruction or Repair of the Temples [for Dynasty Founders and National Heroes] Should Also Be Carried Out as in the Cases Mentioned Above. There are, for instance, the Kija Temple in Pyŏngyang, the Sungdŏk Temple in Kyŏngju, the Ch’ungmin Shrine in Sunch’ŏn, and the T’anbo Temple in Kangjin. Temples and shrines like these are everywhere, but maintaining them and repairing sacrificial vessels is the responsibility of the magistrate. The benevolent magistrate is the one who pleases the deities in the shrines. The shrine for the deity of the Chinese Southern Sea is located in the Sea of Guangzhou, 80 li from land. Because the prefect did not visit the place in person, always making excuses for his poor health, the buildings of the shrine were washed by the rain and wind; the sacrifices offered looked lean; the wine, which was prepared for the occasion, tasted sour; and the procedure of the sacrifices was not in accord with the rule. When Kong Kui became prefect, however, he personally visited the shrine every year, repaired its yard and altar, mended two walls both on the right and the left, and fully equipped the room for purification and the kitchen with all the necessary utensils. The Benevolent Magistrate Makes Sure That the Sacrifice Is Not Lean or Defective and That the Sacrificial Grain Is Prepared Early. Every district or county raises so-called goats for public purposes. They are mostly goats and are not too difficult to breed. When I was little, I lived in the countryside, following my father, who was a local magistrate. I remember that 69. A shrine dedicated to Kija, the founder and Korean king of the ancient Kija Chosŏn dynasty. According to the records, he left China when the Shang dynasty was toppled by the new leaders of the Zhou dynasty and founded a new kingdom of his own in the Korean Peninsula. The formal name of this temple is Sunginjŏn (Hall for Venerating Benevolence). 70. A shrine dedicated to Hyŏkgŏse, the founder of the Silla kingdom. It was established in 1429, the eleventh year of Sejong, and sacrifices were offered in the spring and autumn twice a year. 71. A shrine dedicated to Admiral Yi Sunsin, the hero of the Imjin War (1592−1597), who saved the country from the Japa nese invasion. It was established in 1601, the thirty-fourth year of Sŏnjo. 72. Th is is presumed to have been a temple in Kogŭm Island dedicated to Guan Yu (160–219), a heroic warrior who helped warlord Liu Bei found the kingdom of Shu during the Later Han and Th ree Kingdoms periods. Later he was deified and worshipped as a martial god by the Chinese and by people elsewhere, including Koreans. This temple was built during the Imjin War (1597) when Admiral Yi Sunsin and Chen Lin, the naval commander of Ming China, stayed in Kogŭm Island. Believing that the spirit of Guan Yu helped their war efforts, Koreans in gratitude built a temple in his honor and later established the memorial tablets of Yi Sunsin and Chen Lin in the temple along with that of Guan Yu. 73. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Junyan, and his posthumous title Zhen. He served as prefect of Huazhou and eventually rose to the position of minister of rites.

448

book VII

there were several dozen goats that were raised for sacrifices. However, their number has decreased so drastically that there are hardly any left these days. In order to raise goats for public purposes, there should be land for the breeder of sacrificial animals, as well as some financial reward for him. However, the goats are now raised by granary slaves, and their salary for a whole year is only 20 or 30 sŏk of grain. Since they are made to supply the government with cucumbers and vegetables, in addition to raising horses, with what energy can they raise the goats for sacrifices? For this reason, the goats in their care are always starved and frozen to death. If the government makes new waterways and reservoirs, it can secure some public lands that will provide relief to the people for their taxes and labor ser vice, and if it can set aside a few kyŏng of land for raising livestock, there will be no problem in raising the goats for sacrifice, as well as other livestock, including pigs. It is the duty of the magistrate to offer a large and fat sacrifice so that the god may be pleased. It is not possible to perform the sacrifice with wine and meat purchased at the market. The people nowadays buy goats and pigs for the purpose of offering sacrifices, which is clearly inappropriate. In every county and district there is land for the school [hakjŏn]. I think that it would be a good idea to set aside a few patches for the purpose of sacrifices and save the harvested grain in a clean jar. When the time for the sacrifice arrives, the local government pays for it with the rice in the kitchen of the yamen. If the Wrongful Practice of Superstition Is Handed Down in the District, the Magistrate Must Persuade the Residents to Abandon It. Since Yulgok declined to compose the ritual prayer to the Daoist deities, and Chŏng T’ak refused to provide incense to the shamans employed by royal concubines, the superior man should not demean himself in his conduct. If there is a temple that is clearly suspected of illicit rituals, the magistrate should not participate in them even if they have been handed down through the ages. When Di Renjie of the Tang dynasty became pacification commissioner of Jiangnan, there were a number of illicit shrines in the Wu and Chu states. He destroyed 1,700 shrines, saving only 4 temples that served King Yu of the Xia 74. Although Chosŏn Korea adopted Confucianism as the state ideology and religion to replace Buddhism of the Koryŏ dynasty, Daoist sacrifice was also unofficially practiced in the royal court and in Daoist temples in Seoul. The sacrifice was dedicated to five major stars and various constellations that were ruled by Daoist deities. The ritual prayer at the sacrifice was written on blue paper; so it was called ch’ŏngsa (words written in blue). 75. A state councilor and scholar of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reign of Sŏnjo. 76. Extremely talented in administration, he governed his district very efficiently. In 688 he toured the Jiangnan Circuit, which was south of the Yangzi River, and found that the region was

Rites and Ceremonies

449

kingdom, Taibo and Jizha of the state of Wu, and Wu Yuan, who were all deified and worshipped by the residents of those regions. A passage in “The Record of Abolishing the Sacrifice at the Shrine of Xiang in Bizhou” written by Liu Zihou states as follows: “In the region of Bizhou they have worshipped the deity Xiang. Duke Xue of Hedong, being appointed magistrate of the region, observed the local custom, examining the map of his district. Then he was surprised to find an illicit shrine. He said, ‘The deity Xiang was arrogant as a son and craft y as a brother. The fact that he has received sacrifices through the ages despite his infamous moral character is against our intention to edify the people.’ Then he immediately ordered that the shrine be destroyed and its memorial tablet thrown into the river. The people sang, ‘Who made us blind to follow the dirty and confused custom? The duke opened the door for us after a thousand years of darkness.’ ” When Wang Zhi governed Caizhou, the people in his district had worshipped Wu Yuanji according to their old custom. Wang said, “How can a traitor receive sacrifices in a shrine? Men like Duke Wenhui of Liang [Di Renjie] and Commander in Chief Li rendered favors to the people of Caizhou. How can you not honor them?” Then he ordered that the shrine of Wu Yuanji be destroyed and that new shrines of the two men be built. When Chen Xiliang served as magistrate of Yudu, the shamans collected money from the people every year in order to offer the so-called spring sacrifice fi lled with too many temples dedicated to unusual deities. So he destroyed about 1,700 temples, saving only a few. 77. The elder uncle of King Wen of the Zhou dynasty. The rulers of the state of Wu believed that they descended from Taibo, who moved down to the state of Wu after conceding his throne to his younger brother Jili, whom he thought was wiser than himself. Taibo became the progenitor of the state of Wu. 78. The youngest son of Shou Mong, the king of the state of Wu, Jizha conceded his throne to his elder brother, although his father wanted him to take over his throne. 79. Better known as Wu Zixu (526−484 B.C.), a famous statesman and tragic hero of the Wu state. Although he was born in the Chu state, he fled to the state of Wu and rendered great ser vice in making the Wu a powerful state. Th is was possible because he gained the trust of Helu, the king of Wu. However, he failed to gain the trust of King Fuchai, son of Helu. Although Zixu warned against the danger of trusting King Gougian and the state of Yue, Fuchai would not listen to him. Instead, he ordered him to commit suicide. As Zixu predicted before his death, the state of Wu was defeated, and King Fuchai also committed suicide. 80. Stepbrother of Emperor Shun. He attempted to kill Shun but failed. Bizhou is a district in Heilongjiang Province. 81. Xue Ju, the founding emperor Wu of Qin, a short-lived state at the end of the Sui dynasty. 82. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Jingwen. Being learned and talented in literature, he served as director of the National University (taixuezheng). 83. A rebel who rose in Caizhou against the Tang dynasty. 84. Probably Li Guangyan, who suppressed the rebellion of Wu Yuanji.

450

book VII

[chunji], saying, “Unless the sacrifice is offered, a fire will break out.” Joining the shamans, the people also made a noise, crying out that three old men in red dresses were setting a fire. When Chen Xiliang prohibited the sacrifice to the spirits, the people dared not resist his order, and the fi re did not break out, either. Chen abolished several hundred shamanistic shrines and turned the shamans into peasants. Thus as many as seventy households of shamans became peasants. When Liu Guinian governed Wuling, he found that the people of the Chu state engaged in the worship of spirits. There was a spirit named Pan Xianweng, and the people offered sacrifices to this spirit during the holidays, sounding gongs and waving spears. Liu ordered Commandant Du Shiyan to destroy the temple that enshrined Pan Xianweng, along with Pan’s statue. He also confiscated the weapons and punished the people who led the sacrifices to this spirit. When Wu Lu became assistant magistrate of Nankang, there was a sorcerer in the district. Every time he offered a sacrifice, a snake suddenly came out of the gate, and the people regarded the snake as a god. Wu Lu arrested the sorcerer, reprimanded him, and threw the statue of the spirit into the river. The superstitious practice finally stopped. When U T’ak of the Koryŏ dynasty became record keeper [sarok] of Yŏnghae Prefecture, he found that the residents were extremely committed to the sacrifice to the spirits named Spirits of Eight Bells [P’allyŏngsin]. Upon arriving at his post, he destroyed the statues of the spirits and threw them into the sea. The superstitious practice finally stopped. Kim Yŏnsu of the Koryŏ dynasty governed the county of Ch’ŏngp’ung, and his governance was clean and simple. Previously the residents had made a wooden statue and worshipped it as a god. During May and June every year they set up the statue in the guest house and held a massive sacrificial ritual that drew all the residents in the district. Thus it caused noise and disorder for many years. Upon arriving at his post, Kim immediately arrested the shamans and the chief orga85. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Ganlao. 86. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Deji. 87. An official of the late Koryŏ dynasty. His courtesy name was Ch’ŏngjang, and his pen name Idong. A distinguished Neo-Confucian scholar, he served as chancellor of the National Academy. 88. The worship of the Spirits of Eight Bells was known to be practiced in the mountain-pass area called Wiryŏng, which was located on the border of Yŏnghae and Yŏngyang districts. According to popu lar belief, the newly appointed magistrate of Yŏnghae always died when he heard the bell sound while crossing the mountain pass, which was on the way to his post. U T’ak heard the bell sound, reprimanded the spirits, and drove them away. 89. An official of the Koryŏ during the reign of Ch’ungnyŏl (1274–1308). He visited the Yuan court several times as envoy.

Rites and Ceremonies

451

nizers of the event. When he punished them by lashing and burned the wooden statue, the uncanny practice of sacrifice came to an end. When Hwang U ruled the district of Yŏngch’un, the daughter of the chief of the local yangban association was sick with demons. The shaman said, “Some time ago a runner named so-and-so died and became one of the demons under the control of Sŏnghwang, the guardian deity of our district. The girl’s sickness has to do with this man’s death.” Indignant at the shaman’s words, Hwang said, “How can such a thing possibly take place?” Then he ordered the clay statue of Sŏnghwang to be flogged and thrown into the stream, and soon the girl recovered her health. When Hong Yunsŏng was magistrate of Naju, there was a shrine to the deity Sŏnghwang in his district. Because the people indulged excessively in their worship, Hong burned the shrine and destroyed it. When Chŏng Ŏnhwang became magistrate of Andong, the residents believed in miracles and strange wonders regarding the local deity named Princess of Silla and the Deity of the Gold and Copper Hairpin [Sillagongju Ogŭmjamsin], whose worship traced back to the old Koryŏ period. Years earlier, when Kim Hyowŏn had been magistrate of Andong, Kim had burned and destroyed the shrine, but later yamen clerks and residents had restored the shrine and their religious ceremonies. Thus on the day of Tano the shamans and performers, joined by huge crowds, including yamen clerks, carried the statue of the deity and toured around their district. People called them “Tano Envoys” [Tanosa]. The people, driven by their religious excitement and frenzy, joined the parade to the degree that some of them were financially ruined; nevertheless, they did not regret what they had done, and no magistrates could dare to stop the age-old custom. Magistrate Chŏng Ŏnhwang assembled the Confucian literati community and burned the weird costumes used in the ceremony. The uncanny practice finally ceased. 90. An official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn period; little is known about him other than what is stated here. 91. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Suong. He rose to the position of chief state councilor. 92. Although the author states that this local deity existed in Andong, it was actually worshipped in Samch’ŏk in Kangwŏn Province. The deity was a hairpin made of gold and copper, not a statue. It was wrapped in silk and placed in a chest. The chest was kept in the shrine of Sŏnghwang, and on the fi ft h day of May every year it was taken out to be venerated in a public ceremony. It is known that the ceremony continued for three days. 93. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Inbaek, and his pen name Sŏngam. A disciple of Yi Hwang, a famous Neo-Confucian scholar, he served as section chief of the Board of Personnel. He fell into discord with Sim Ŭigyŏm, a member of the royal family and a fellow bureaucrat, and their personal animosity led to the factional fights between the Easterners and the Westerners. 94. A traditional festival observed in Korea on the fi ft h day of the fi ft h lunar month.

452

book VII

When Yi Hyŏngsang  became magistrate of Cheju, there was in his district a shrine called Kwangyang Shrine. It was the custom of the local residents to pray at the shrine. When Magistrate Yi burned and destroyed the shrine, those who heard the news said that he did the right thing. They said that Yi’s work was worth comparing with that of Kim Ch’i, a former governor of Kyŏngsang Province who had destroyed the Shrine of T’aebaek Mountain Deity. The Prayer for Rain Is a Ritual Designed to Bring about Rain by Praying to Heaven. However, the Prayer for Rain Nowadays Is Performed without Sincerity and Orderliness, Which Violates Propriety. Making a deformed person whose face is lifted upward stand in the sun and pray for rain and intimidating the shamans into praying for rain are practices found in the old records. In Huainanzi there is a record that people made a dragon with clay to pray for rain, and in the Record of Guangzhou they pasted mud on the back of a stone cow to pray for rain. They also put reptiles or lizards in a jar filled

95. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reigns of kings from Hyojong to Yŏngjo. His courtesy name was Chungok, and his pen name Pyŏngwa. 96. The shrine of the guardian deity of Mt. Halla in Cheju Island. 97. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sajŏng, and his pen name Simgok. 98. Th is shrine was located on the border between Kyŏngsang and Kangwŏn provinces, and the name of the mountain deity was Paekduong (White Head Spirit). Those who believed in this deity visited the shrine and offered a cow. They left their cow in the shrine and hurried home. The people dwelling at the foot of the mountain took the cow and ate it. Then they performed a ritual ceremony entertaining the deity, starting from the eighth day of the fourth lunar month to the fi ft h day of the fi ft h lunar month, which was the Tano festival. 99. The Li Ki [Book of Rites], Part 3, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, XXVII, 201. The practice refers to the following passage: “In a year of drought duke Mu called to him Hsien-ze, and asked him about it. ‘Heaven,’ said he, ‘has not sent down rain for a long time. I wish to expose a deformed person in the sun (to move its pity). What do you say to my doing so?’ ‘Heaven, indeed,’ was the reply, ‘does not send down rain; but would it not be an improper act of cruelty, on account to expose the diseased son of some one in the sun?’ ” 100. Compiled under the patronage of Liu An, the king of Huainan of the Han dynasty, this book is a collection of essays presented as debates between the king and his guests at the court. Mainly based on the Daoist philosophy of Laozi, it dealt with order and confusion, rise and fall, good and bad fortune, and uncanny things and events since the beginning of human history. 101. Th is book is attributed to a man named Gu Zheng, but his dates are unknown. It is mainly a record of local customs. According to one of the episodes in the book, there was a pond in the mountains located in the county of Yulin. In the middle of that pond there was a stone cow. In a year of severe drought the people killed a cow and mixed its blood with mud in the pond. Then they pasted the mud on the back of the stone cow and prayed for rain. When the rain fi nally fell, it washed off the mud on the back of the cow, and the weather became clear.

Rites and Ceremonies

453

with water in order to pray for rain. The magic of summoning five stars for the sake of rain originated from Guan Lu, and the idea of employing five dragons for rain was ascribed to Shennong. The ways of praying for rain, though handed down from old times, have had neither sincerity nor propriety. When magistrates are faced with drought nowadays, they try all sorts of ways to solve the problem, such as ordering the people to make a dragon of straw, paint it red, and let the children drag it around, beating it with sticks, or to dig a ditch until the underwater mud is turned out, or to bury bones and chant a spell, and so forth. Since these things are too strange without rules and propriety, one cannot but lament. When drought takes place, the magistrate must make himself clean by taking a bath and purify his mind with sincere wishes for the help of the gods, strictly refraining from all vulgar and gross customs. During the reign of Duke Jing of the Qi state there was a severe drought, so Duke Jing wanted to offer sacrifice at Mt. Lingshan, but Yanzi, his counselor, said, “Mt. Lingshan originally took rocks as its body and grass as its hair. If Heaven denies it rain for a long time, its hair will burn and its body will become hot. So Mt. Lingshan itself would want rain more than anybody else, would it not? It is of no use to offer the sacrifice for rain.” Duke Jing wanted to offer the sacrifice to Hebo, the deity of the river. Yanzi said, “Hebo takes water as his country and fishes and turtles as his people. If Heaven denies him rain for a long time, the river will soon be dry. Would he not then want to have rain? It is of no use to offer the sacrifice for rain.” Duke Jing asked, “What can we do, then?” Yanzi replied, “If you leave the palace and stand in the sun, joining Hebo and other spirits in worries over the drought, I think that we might have some rain.” When Duke Jing went out to the field and spent three days there, exposing himself to the sun, Heaven finally granted rain. I have observed that since Duke Jing reduced the burden of taxes for the people, nothing works better in praying for rain than reducing the excessive burden of taxes and bringing justice to those who are unfairly imprisoned. There were over a thousand people who were involved in the imprisonment case of Ying, the 102. People put two lizards in two stone jars after fi lling them with water and sealed them tightly. Then they had little children under the age of ten beat the jars with bamboo sticks day and night. They thought that this would bring rain. 103. Jupiter, Mars, Saturn, Venus, and Mercury. 104. An astrologer and magician of the Wei state during the Th ree Kingdoms period. 105. The five dragons stand for five directions (wufang). They are the Green Dragon of the East, the Red Dragon of the South, the Yellow Dragon of the Middle, the White Dragon of the West, and the Black Dragon of the North. They are found in a book titled Book of Shennong Praying for Rain (Shennong qiuyushu). 106. Duke Jing (547–490 B.C.), a ruler of the Qi state during the Spring and Autumn period. 107. Spring and Autumn Annals of Master Yan (Yanzi Chunqiu).

454

book VII

king of the Chu state. When Yuan An became state councilor of Chu and released all those prisoners, Heaven granted rain. When an imprisonment case of the Wuyuan region was prolonged indefinitely, Yan Zhenqing, then investigating censor, solved the case, and Heaven finally granted lots of rain. When drought occurs, the magistrate must make it an urgent priority to reduce the burden of taxes for the people and settle unfair imprisonment cases that afflict them. Dai Feng was appointed magistrate of Xihua, and that year there was drought in his district. He prayed for rain with no success. So he made a pile of straw and tried to kill himself by setting fire to the straw. As the fire spread, rain started pouring down, and the people living both near and far were deeply moved. In my view, what Dai Feng did was against propriety. He could avoid death only because the rain fell in a timely fashion; otherwise he could have burned himself to death. If he ran away because of fear of burning, that would be to deceive Heaven, and if he chose to die by fire, that would be to force Heaven. Since to deceive Heaven is not right, and to force Heaven is to disrespect Heaven, how can he achieve propriety by performing the ritual? When Yu Chonggui governed Jiujiang, there was no rain from summer to autumn. Upon arriving at his post, he and his family prayed for rain, having only a vegetable diet. Sometime later rain finally came down, and the people were relieved because they were able to harvest some crops. Grateful to their magistrate, the people touched their foreheads with their hands as a sign of gratitude and respect, calling him a Buddha. When Son Sunhyo became governor of Kangwŏn Province, there was a severe drought. He prayed hard for rain, but despite his efforts the drought continued. He said, “It is because we still lack sincerity and have failed to do our best. There is no reason other than that.” Then he purified himself by taking a bath and personally offered a sacrifice for rain. In the middle of the night he was awakened by the sound of rain. Delighted and grateful, he said, “I must express my gratitude to Heaven.” Then he put on his court dress and went out to the yard to feel the rain. As the rain gradually became stronger, one of his men covered him with an umbrella, but Son told him to remove it, so his clothes became completely wet. 108. Ying was born as the sixth son of Emperor Guangwu of the Later Han dynasty and was made the king of the Chu state. When he was young, he liked traveling, and in his old age he enjoyed associating with Daoist and Buddhist wizards. Later, falsely accused of treason, he committed suicide. 109. An official of the Later Han dynasty. 110. Yan Zhenqing (709−785) was an official of the Tang dynasty famous for his calligraphy. Born to a well-known academic family, he served as investigating censor and governor of Pingyuan. A man of integrity and loyalty, he fought against the rebel armies of An Lushan and won several battles. Later he was promoted to minister of works, and minister of justice. 111. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Pingzhong.

Rites and Ceremonies

455

Yi T’aeyŏn, who served as governor of Chŏlla Province, believed that both floods and droughts were closely related to the way of the gods [sindo]. Therefore, he requested that the government provide him with incense and a ritual prayer and offered sacrifices at a number of places across the country, which included even the mountains and streams not on the government record. Previously there had been a tragic accident in which thousands of soldiers had been drowned in the southern sea. On the night before the day designated for offering the sacrifice for rain, the sound of wailing shook the sea, and heavy rain started falling. People said that this was the result of the magistrate’s sincerity. Master Sŏngho said as follows: “The so-called u [㞮] signifies praying for rain for the growth of crops, as well as praying for rain during a drought. One of the examples in the ancient days is the six points of self-examination made in the forest of mulberry trees [sanglin liushi], which I believe is u in a real sense. The people of later ages make mock dragons and pigs in offering sacrifices for rain. How can they impress Heaven with such stuff ? During the time of the Liang state they always did seven things that they believed were essential to prayers for rain: fi rst, dealing with unjust imprisonment cases and unemployment; second, saving abandoned and lonely people, including widowers, widows, orphans, and the elderly without children; third, reducing the burden of taxes and labor imposts; fourth, recruiting wise and talented people for the government; fi ft h, expelling the avaricious and wicked; sixth, arranging meetings of single people for marriage; and seventh, abstaining from luxurious foods and the playing of music. However, people these days only stay away from fi ne foods and regulate imprisonment cases that are problematic, completely ignoring the rest, which indicates that the sincerity of moderns is much less than that of ancients.”  The Prayers for Rain Must Be Newly Written. Sometimes Magistrates Just Use the Ones Used Previously, but That Is Quite Improper. The text of prayers mostly reads well and sounds well when its sentences are composed of four characters. When the numbers of characters and phrases are 112. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chŏngsuk, and his pen name Nuljae. He also served as governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng and P’yŏngan provinces. 113. During the seven years of great drought, King Tang of the Yin state entered a mulberry forest and prayed for rain, making self-examinations on six points: first, whether his rule was consistent; second, whether his people were employed; third, whether his palace was too luxurious; fourth, whether he conducted state affairs on the basis of the words of women; fi ft h, whether bribery was rampant; sixth, whether men of trickery were prospering. 114. Selections of Master Sŏngho’s Learned Talks (Sŏngho sasŏl ryusŏn) by An Chŏngbok, vol. 4.

456

book VII

irregular, the reading sounds awkward. Besides, the readers of the prayers in the countryside, who are clumsy, are not able to read properly unless the sentences are made of four characters. Even if the text of prayers is not composed of four characters, it should observe the rules of rhyming. Since Su Dongpo in his “Prayer Offered to Lord Ouyang” [“Ji ouyanggong wen”] employs rhyming characters such as gui [㱠], shi [ᖅ], wei [∌], zhi [▩], yi [␪], yi [ኻ], shi [᫤], and li [≿], it is worth imitating the practice of using rhymes in composing prayers. Zhu Xi’s written address to the deity for rain reads as follows: “The Supreme God [Shangdi] sent you to this region in order to bring benefits to the people. The people, however, are now in serious trouble. If you do not heed their sufferings, how can you deserve to be called God?” The following is the text of a prayer for rain composed by Chang Yu when he served as magistrate: “Who is to be blamed for a drought that is this severe? Not a drop of rain has fallen since spring and summer. Since the millet and other crops are all dry and barley does not grow ripe, how can you heal the people when they are sick and starved? Although the dragon, a spiritual creature living in the waterfall of Yongch’u, is supposed to puff the clouds and have the rain fall, displaying its power and benevolence, it chooses to seclude itself and turn away from what is happening. Does it intend to abandon the people and let them starve to death? Since the present magistrate failed to fulfi ll his duty and incurred the wrath of Heaven, the one who is to be punished is the magistrate, not the innocent people. So we humbly offer you a fat sacrifice and clean wine. If you will be pleased to take them, demonstrate your magical power, shaking the sky with thunder and lightning, and fi nally make the rain drench the thirsty earth and revive all the dying things under the sun, we will never cease to offer sacrifice and honor you.” This is a prayer addressed to the dragon deity: “The famous mountains, soaring high to the sky, are the object of faith of all people in the district. Although they are hidden from human eyes, they bestow countless benefits on the residents down below. The weather, which is very capricious and cruel, infl icts drought on the crops. If the drought continues a few more days, the crops will be gone. The dragon in the fall of Yongch’u, which is enjoying its sleep too much, does not hear our outcries. Unless you, deity of mountains, who are merciful, help us, who can take care of these poor people? Please take the sacrifices that I offer and revive all the creatures on the verge of death with torrents of sweet rain.” 115. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chiguk, and his pen name Kyegok. He was known to be a distinguished writer. He once served as magistrate of Naju and rose to inspector general, minister of rites, minister of personnel, and fi nally second state councilor.

Rites and Ceremonies

457

This is a prayer addressed to the mountain deity. When O Toil served as magistrate of Sŏngju, he offered the sacrifice at a mountain peak called T’aejaam, and the text of the prayer that he composed was as follows: “Where illustrious deities stay is where the spirits of the earth assemble. The sky above is sublime with its immensity, and below stand numerous mountain peaks. The guardian mountain of our district is renowned enough to be included in geography books. Commanding the elements of nature, the guardian deities produce rain and clouds, bringing a good harvest and happiness to the people. The people of Sŏngju rely on the secret help that the guardian deities provide. However, drought now hits the land and prevents the crops from growing. Although the sky is cloudy, the rain does not come; instead, the sun shows up bright and hot. Once in a while there is a little drizzle, but it is more like a cup of water poured on burning hay in a carriage. All the fields are sizzling, and the streams have dried up. The time for planting rice has been lost, so there is no hope for harvest. Every household has run out of its provisions, and the official in charge of encouraging agriculture is only tearful with no words. Losing support from Heaven, the poor people face only another year of poor harvest. Merciful deities, how can you allow this to happen? Having assumed a magistracy that is beyond my ability, I am worried day and night. Unless you help us, who will? I have prepared sacrifices and wine, modest but full of sincerity. Please listen to my plea and come down to taste them. Use your power and order nature to send rain quickly. Let your people have something to eat and not be ashamed of you.” When Yi Tansang was magistrate of Chŏngp’ung County, he offered the sacrifice for rain at Mt. Kŭmsu, and the text of the prayer addressed to the mountain deity was as follows: “He who is extremely invisible is a god, and he who is extremely visible is a man. Although this invisibility and this visibility are different, they are the same in principle. Therefore, when a man feels, the god also feels. So I wish that the god would listen to my prayer as I present a humble sacrifice with all my sincerity. Mt. Kŭmsu is towering, and Dragon Pond is deep. You always raise clouds and rain, and the benefits that you bestow on the people are immeasurable. Because the benefits that are essential to the lives of people spread wide to every corner of our district, who would not acknowledge and admire them as the gifts of the god? These years, however, why are you gods less generous in bestowing those benefits on men? Since there is little to harvest, the people are often hungry. This spring people successfully planted seeds and saw their rice and barley growing, so they expected a good harvest. But an unexpected 116. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was Kwanji, and his pen name Sŏp’a. He also served as minister of war. 117. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reigns of Sukchong and Hyŏnjong. His courtesy name was Yunŭng, and his pen name Chŏnggwan.

458

book VII

drought, which lasted a few months, blighted their hopes. The sprouts gradually withered, and all the seeds shriveled up. A passing drizzle in the morning is not enough to quench thirst everywhere. Although the dark clouds seem to produce rain, a sudden gust of wind quickly scatters them away. What is seen is only the scorching sun. How can this be possible? Since our king is sleepless with worries, a man in charge of the district must take the blame. Despite hard times like these, you forgot to bestow your grace and benefit on humans for years, and the people are thrown into despair, letting out only sighs. If you happen to be angry, punish me and take the lives of my children. Otherwise, have mercy on us and give us rain. Revive things and let them benefit from your grace. There is no time to lose for your grace to be proved. Why should you spare your generosity and abandon our district? Therefore, I personally offer you this sacrifice, although it is modest. Please taste it and bless us with rain.” The prayer for rain composed by Ch’ae P’aengyun, which was presented at Dragon Pool, read as follows: “O pool, deep and sacred! You drink clouds and spit out thunder, which fi ll the world with benevolence. If we people survive, you will enjoy our gratitude. Why does the drought have to continue for more than a month and a half? There is mist in the morning and breeze in the evening, but the earth is dry, with no drop of water. Since the water in the waterways is dried up, there is nothing that the people can do. The plants and trees are seared to death. How can you delay the rain any longer? The summer solstice has already passed, and it makes us more ner vous. Since I am in charge of the district, my worries are more intense than the pain of burning in a fire. If the living creatures all die and disappear, on whom can the deities depend? You should stop acting shamefully and release the rain as fast as you can.” The prayer for rain composed by Kang Pak, which was offered at Mt. Hŭngnim, read as follows: “The loft y mountain at a distance is the guardian of our district. It is what the people below depend on and the home of renowned deities. When the clouds gathered on top of the mountain like the eyebrows of moths, that was a sign of rain. This is what we have learned from our elders, and that used to be true all the time. This is entirely the magical work of deities, as the name of the mountain reveals. If we want to ask for rain during the drought, on whom can we depend except the mountain deities? The people of this district, who were foolish in olden days, made the mistake that the name of the mountain failed to be included in the official list. Since we ourselves called for a great disas118. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chunggi, and his pen name Hŭiam. He served as censor in chief, and second minister of war. 119. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chasun, and his pen name Kukp’o. He served as chief of the Bureau of Slave Administration. 120. The character lim (㟊) of Mt. Hŭngnim originally stood for a rainy spell, so the name of the mountain means “a mountain bringing a long spell of rainy weather.”

Rites and Ceremonies

459

ter, how can we expect help from the deities? The present drought also has to do with the anger of the deities. It is more than a month since we last had rain. The disaster for farms is the sigh of our people, and the sigh of our people is my own heartache. The deities seemed to be impressed by the sacrifice, which was offered with sincerity and anxious sighs. Thus it appeared that the clouds portended imminent rain, but they gave way to the scorching sun once again. When I arise and look around the fields, the crops are withering. As my worries, as well as the situation, became worse and worse, I asked the residents of my district why these things were happening. I pleaded with them to tell me what mistake I had made. So here I am, leading the people to offer you this sacrifice. I beseech you to punish me, not my people. How can you abandon us and stop doing what you used to do [to help us]? We trust that you will listen to our plea and send rain again. If your helping hand is delayed a little longer, we will be devastated, and now is the right time. If you indeed listen to our plea and drench this burning drought with rain, my people and I will not dare to forget your benevolence. We will start laying the groundwork for your altar, establish a shrine with a fence, and offer you sacrifices with sweet-smelling grain. Please do not ignore what I am saying, because it is all true and sincere.” The Ritual for Ending Solar and Lunar Eclipses Must Be Performed in a Majestic Way, Not in an Arbitrary and Careless Manner without Sincerity. The phenomena when the sun and the moon obscure each other are due to the changes in the position of the celestial bodies, which are in motion. Since they are predictable in advance, these eclipses were not regarded as natural disasters from the beginning. The calendar was already introduced as early as the time of Emperors Yao and Shun, which indicates that the people knew about eclipses. Nevertheless, the sudden eclipses of the sun and the moon generate fear and anxiety, and therefore, people offer sacrifices and beat drums, indicating the significance of the natural anomaly. What they do now in the counties and districts when eclipses take place is to let the Buddhist monks perform the ritual. They beat gongs and an instrument called p’an, chanting aloud the names of the sun and moon deities and jumping with excitement. This is not an attitude of fearing the disaster but of disrespect of Heaven, which seriously violates propriety. The magistrate, according to the precedents established by the central government, should take a seat in the middle of the yard, wearing a light-colored robe with a black belt and having a musician beat a drum three times and repeat this 121. Th is appears to indicate pak, a wooden musical instrument, which is made of six to nine pieces of wood strung together with a leather string made of deerskin. The sound is made when these pieces of wood are knocked against one another.

460

book VII

nine times. The magistrate sits straight with an attitude of sincerity and reverence while he orders the people right and left to be quiet and keeps on waiting until the sun and the moon regain their original brightness. If this ritual is performed at the shrine of the state deity, it will be more in accord with the old law of ritual. The Spring and Autumn Annals states, “During the time of eclipses one beats the drum and offers sacrifices at the shrine of the state deity.” C H A P T E R  : E N T E RTA I N I NG GU E S T S

The So-Called Entertainment of Guests [Bin] Is One of the Five Ceremonies. If the Food for Entertaining Guests Is Excessive, That Is a Waste of Goods; If It Is Meager, the Entertaining Itself Loses Its Meaning. The Former Kings Regulated the Rules of Propriety of Entertaining Guests So That the Entertainment Would Be Neither Excessive Even in the Case of Generosity nor Insufficient Even in the Case of Unfriendliness. So It Is Essential to Go Back to the Days When the Rules of Propriety for Entertaining Guests Were Formulated and Reflect on Their Original Idea. There were certain rules of propriety for those who visited foreign countries or entertained guests from them. The size and number of dishes on the dining table were all different according to the status of the guests, and to make both the host and the guest strictly observe the differences was the original purpose of those who made the rules of propriety. When ministers and great officers in the old days visited neighboring countries as envoys, they were extremely cautious about receiving hospitality. If they were served with more wine vessels or dishes on the table than they were supposed to be, they were distressed and did not dare to take them in peace even if the excess was only a vessel of wine or a dish of food. When Zhao Wuzi visited the Zheng state as an envoy, he received special treatment and was served with five cups of wine and two dishes of food [which was more wine and food than suited his rank]. Zhao declined the excessive hospitality, accepting only one cup of wine (the first year of Duke Zhao’s reign,

122. The five ceremonies, which originally appear in the “The Canon of Shun” in Classic of History, consist of auspicious ceremonies ( jiri), which include various sacrificial rituals for state guardian deities and ancestors; inauspicious ceremonies (xiongli), which include national mourning and funerals; military ceremonies ( junli), which include departure and welcoming ceremonies of the army; entertainment of guests (binli), which includes ceremonies of welcome for foreign envoys; and festive ceremonies ( jiali), which include tribute ceremonies and ceremonies of royal succession. 123. The dishes and wine cups varied in their shapes and sizes. In the source text the names of different dishes are listed in the following order: bian, dou, lian, and xing. 124. Zhao Wu, a minister of the Jin state during the Spring and Autumn period.

Rites and Ceremonies

461

Chronicles of Zuo). When Ji Sunsu stayed in the state of Jin, the host increased the number of dishes to serve his host better. Ji declined the hospitality and left the room, saying, “Since I am an official low in rank, I cannot dare to accept such an honor.” When Zhou Gongyue was entertained in the state of Jin, he found on the table a dish of pickle made with irises; he said that he did not deserve it and declined to take it throughout the banquet. When Guan Yiwu was entertained in the state of Zhou, he always insisted on having the treatment of a low-ranking minister. The reason that they humbled themselves in accepting hospitality or treatment was that there existed a clear code of conduct as guests, which they regarded as inviolable. In our days, when the governor inspects his domain, each district tries to entertain him with nothing but the best food and wine. Showing no limit or discipline in entertainment, it uses as many as ten times the amount of food and drink that is served to the emperor. Since what was established in the Five Rites of State [Kukcho oryeŭi] was too modest and strict to suit people who were eager to entertain their guests, the rules of entertaining guests eventually broke down, as we can see at the moment. The Items of Food Served at State Banquets in the Old Days Originally Had Five Grades, Starting from the Emperor Above to the Rank of Barons Below. These Ritualistic Hierarchies Were Observed on All Occasions, Whether the Ceremonies Were Auspicious or Not. The most honorable table of food and wine, called tailao, has two grades. The first consists of 9 ding  vessels, 9 offerings of wine in a jue mug (7 or 5 offerings were possible), and the food contained in various vessels such as lian, xing, zu, dou, and bian. The food consists of 8 lian, 7 xing, 9 zu, 8 dou, and 8 bian. (This table of food and wine is for emperors and feudal princes.) 125. Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhengyi, “Zhaogong yinian,” 701. 126. A powerful minister of the state of Lu. His posthumous title was Wu. He was also called Ji Wuzi. 127. A minister of the state of Zhou during the reign of Xiang. 128. A famous statesman of the state of Qi during the Spring and Autumn period. He is better known by his courtesy name Zhong. He introduced various reforms to strengthen the state. 129. A sacrificial vessel that has two handles on the rim and is supported by three or four columnar legs. It was originally a cauldron for cooking and storing meat. 130. A wine cup with three legs. 131. A vessel for rice, noodles, or rice cake. 132. A vessel for meat or vegetable soup. 133. A vessel for cooked meat. 134. A vessel for wet foods such as kimchi and sweet rice drink (sikhye). 135. Vessel for dry foods such as dried meat or fish.

462

book VII

The table right below the first in its grade and dignity consists of 7 ding vessels, 3 offerings of wine in a yue mug, and food consisting of 6 lian, 5 xing, 7 zu, 6 dou, and 6 bian. (This table of food and wine is the one used by dukes for their barons or great officers.) The table of food and wine called shaolao, which is smaller and less prestigious than tailao, consists of 5 ding, 3 offerings of wine in a yue mug, and food contained in 4 lian, 3 xing, 5 zu, 6 dou, and 6 bian. (This table is the one used by great officers.) The table of food and wine called tesheng, which is lower in grade and dignity than the previous ones, consists of 3 ding vessels, 3 offerings of wine in a yue mug, and food contained in 2 lian, 3 xing, 3 zu, 4 dou, and 4 bian. (This table is for the literati.) The modest table of foods and wine called tetun, which is the lowest in prestige and grade, consists of 1 ding vessel, 1 offering of wine in a yue mug, and food contained in 2 lian, 1 xing, 1 zu, 2 dou, and 2 bian. When I look back, years ago I learned about the five grades when I compiled my book, Treatise on the Sacrificial Rituals [Cherye ko]. I gathered various ceremonial rules and rules of decorum regarding weddings and gifts, receiving foreign envoys, the preparation of shaolao and tesheng tables, ritual vessels, ceremonial costumes, funeral and mourning rituals of the literati, postfuneral ceremonies of the literati, and so forth. The hierarchy of the ritual foods corresponds to that of ceremonial costumes. The emperor wore a dress and cap called qiumian, dukes gunmian, marquises and earls bimian, viscounts cuimian, solitaries and ministers ximian, and great officers xuanmian. The patterns and colors of these costumes and caps were designed to stand for the social status of those who wore them; hence the distinctions among them were strictly enforced. So there is little difference in hierarchy between the costumes and the ritual foods that include tailao, shaolao, tesheng, tetun, and so forth. When in olden days an imperial envoy visited the states of feudal princes, he was served the foods of the highest grade. Our law of ritual ceremonies, however, requires us to use the foods one degree lower than that of China. When the governor visits the district, therefore, the magistrate is not supposed to treat him with food and wine that are above the degree of shaolao. Since the various goods for shaolao have already been introduced in the section on frugality (see “private sacrifices”), it will not be necessary to go over 136. Tasan wrote a number of books on rituals and ceremonies, including Four Commentaries on Funeral Rites (1804), An Examination of Ancestral Rites (1808), Marriage Ritual Procedure (1810), Essentials of Mourning Ceremony (1817), and others. Treatise on the Sacrificial Rituals seems to refer generally to some of these works. 137. Th is was because Korea was regarded as a tribute state of China. 138. Th is refers to a part in Chapter 5, Frugality, which is not included in this translation.

Rites and Ceremonies

463

their details again. It will be very advisable for the magistrate to entertain the governor with the food and wine of shaolao on the basis of the law of ritual ceremony. If he finds it difficult to follow the old law, he had better choose the least sumptuous grade of food and wine among those listed in the records of the district. If this second choice is still too difficult to carry out, he had better take the middle one between the highest and the lowest grades of food. If one violates this code of conduct, he proves himself a man who tries to promote himself by flattery and food. What can I say about such a man? The Governor’s Inspection Tour in Our Days Is One of the Great Abuses under Heaven. Unless It Is Rectified, the People Will Not Survive Because of Their Burden of Taxes and Labor Services. A book titled Words of a Mountain-Dweller [Sangŏ pang’ŏn] stated as follows: “When the governor visits the districts in his domain for inspection, his carriage carries a tall banner and a large parasol. The men who follow him beat drums and blow a large horn while he sits in an open carriage pulled by two horses, wearing a cap decorated with jades. In his entourage there are two clerks in charge of the treasury, two recorders, and two more personnel to support them. In addition, there are dozens of guards, as well as hundreds of servants and slaves who take care of his carriage, horses, baggage, and other miscellaneous matters. Furthermore, he is greeted by tens or hundreds of clerks and guards at every stop of his inspection tour. The horses carry ing the men are as many as a hundred, and the horses carry ing the baggage are also a hundred. Dozens of women in fi ne dresses follow, and two officers carry ing arrow pouches on their shoulders run in front, and three guards escort in back. Furthermore, the chief of the post station follows the governor, and the heads of local offices also join the entourage of the governor on horseback. In addition, four or five men on horseback who wear pouches with military insignia and decorations also follow the governor quietly. They are joined by another four men who carry a variety of colorful torture equipment and make the people scared. But this is not all. Those who carry torches, candles, and lanterns, which are for use in case of need, number several hundred; those who carry whips and keep the people from approaching too close to the governor, who cry out their grievances, are eight; the people on the roadside who come out to watch the carriage of the governor, who lament or envy, are several thousand or hundred. Wherever the 139. A book that is attributed to Tasan but does not survive. Like Essays of Tasan and Record of Koksan, it seems to have been absorbed into his major texts like Design for Good Government and Admonitions. The statement quoted in the text is found in the section “Discourse on the Governor” in the first volume of the Complete Works of Chŏng Yagyong.

464

book VII

governor’s carriage arrives, his men discharge cannons and make people scared. The table of food and wine served to the governor is ten times that of tailao, the most honorable table of food and wine; however, if any food on the table happens to be seasoned inadequately with salt or to be too cold, those in charge are punished by flogging. Those who carry out floggings are ten men or so, and the offenses punishable by flogging are as follows: failure to clear the stones on the road, which make the horses trip; failure to prevent troublemakers from making noise; when it happens that the number of entertaining women who come out to welcome the governor are few; when items like the folding screen, emblems, and mats are crude looking; when the torchlights are dim; when the heating of the room is not adequate; and so forth. “When the governor arrives and his quarters are decided, the governor orders the clerks and functionaries to send out official dispatches to all the counties and districts that require them to pay the taxes by selling their reserve grain. If the price of grain per sŏk is set at 150 p’un, he reproaches the officials and orders them to raise it to 200 p’un. If the common people bring their grain, he has it thrown on the ground, demanding that the price be raised to 200 p’un per sŏk. The following spring he divides the 200 p’un per sŏk into three equal portions and distributes them to the people little by little, saying, ‘Th is is the payment for a sŏk of grain.’ Since there are many rich merchants in the seacoast districts, the governor orders all the grain in the granaries to be sold for cash when the price of grain goes up, while the grain piled in the warehouses in the mountainous districts is transported to the seacoast with such incredible speed that it seems to have feet of its own when the governor arrives. As a result, the money that the governor makes in this way amounts to more than several hundred thousand p’un when you try to calculate its total. “He exiles those who bring lawsuits over grave sites or protest his misrule while setting a ransom for those offenders, which is as much as 4,000 p’un. The ransom for those who slaughtered sick cattle without permission is 3,000 p’un. So the governor’s income from the ransom money alone amounts to several million p’un. “His abuse of power does not stop there. The powerful local families and cunning clerks commit all kind of irregularities, manipulating the law by forging official documents. Although he discovers their crimes, the governor shuts his eye to them, saying, ‘You do not need to take care of the fish in the pond.’ He also simply dismisses the crime of a person who mistreats his parents and brothers or commits adultery, which violates the morality esteemed by society, saying only, ‘There seems to be a certain exaggeration in the words of those who brought the information.’ Even when he finds that some of the local magistrates steal grain or taxes in the same way as he did, he not only forgives them but highly commends them in the evaluation of their job performance, deceiving the king. This is the

Rites and Ceremonies

465

so-called governor’s inspection. The dignity that his carriage displays is magnificent, but his actual conduct shows quite the contrary. The common people are only confused.” I have observed that land taxes are increasing day by day. When asked, the people reply that this has to do with the governor’s inspection. They complain that the public depository taxes are excessive. When asked, they reply that this has to do with the governor’s inspection. The local government cannot reduce the number of clerks nor eliminate kyebang villages that are designated to provide money to the clerks themselves. When asked, the people reply that this has to do with the governor’s inspection. The population of potters is scattered day by day, the taverns are bankrupt, the villages of artisans are run down, and the Buddhist temples are declining. When asked, the people reply that this has to do with the governor’s inspection. Fishermen lose their fish, farmers their chickens, merchants on the seacoast their abalones and clams, residents in the mountains their hemp and buckwheat. When asked, the people reply that this has to do with the governor’s inspection. Unless the law concerning the governor’s inspection is reformed, the people cannot be saved from their troubles. Since Serving Naech’an, a Special Table of Food and Wine Served Separately from the Formal One, Is Not the Way to Entertain a Guest Properly, It Will Be Appropriate to Eliminate Its Title Even Though It May Be Difficult Not to Serve It under the Circumstances. When the governor arrives in the district during inspections, he is served with the formal dinner called taech’an, a large table of food and wine. He is also served with a special table of food that is called naech’an, and this is the only food that the governor actually eats. Since the women [of the magistrate’s family] are supposed to stay in the inner quarters, how can they get involved in public affairs? It is not appropriate for the ladies in the inner quarters to prepare the food for an honored guest who visits for the purpose of state affairs. So the magistrate cannot but be worried about entertaining his honored guest since the guest and his followers are so used to nothing but the best food that they cannot swallow anything that does not suit their refined tastes. It is then inevitable that the ladies in the magistrate’s inner quarters should prepare the food. However, he has to remove the traces of the ladies’ work and the signs of his special care for hospitality, wishing only that his guests will be fully satisfied with the food itself. That way, he will not be ashamed of himself. As to the treatment of security officers of the governor, he should strictly order the cooks only to prepare food that is clean and tasty. If he ignobly tries to ingratiate himself with them, he will not be able to avoid their sneers and scorn; he should not put himself out of countenance.

466

book VII

During the reign of Sŏngjong a man who had served as governor was recalled to the royal court and became a royal secretary. The king asked him, “I heard that you evaluated the magistrates on the basis of the quality of the food they served. Is that true?” The man replied, “It is true.” Displeased with the reply, the king asked again, “How can you hold an official responsible for food that is only for the mouth and the stomach?” The man replied, “If an official is incapable of satisfying his guests with food, he will also fail in carry ing out other work.” I think that what this man said is very disgraceful and despicable. Since there are officials who pretend to work hard while they are only concerned about enriching themselves, the human calamities that make the state sick and the people suffer are more severe than floods or wild beasts. Essays of Tasan states: “According to what I have heard, in a district in the south they raised a fat cow in the stable for over a month, feeding it with sesame paste for the purpose of entertaining the governor when the time of his inspection approached. So the cow became fat and its meat very tender and delicious. The governor, who found a difference in the quality of the meat, was so pleased that he gave the highest grade to the magistrate of the district in the evaluation of the latter’s job performance. How lamentable! Since customs have deteriorated to this level, it is hard to serve as magistrate. “The following is found in the biography of Wang Ji in the Book of the Jin [Jinshu]: ‘One day the king visited Wang’s house and found the steamed pork dish very delicious. When the king asked the reason, Wang replied, ‘The pig was raised with human milk.’ ” (The pig, according to another story, was steamed with human milk.) Is there any difference between raising a cow with sesame paste and raising a pig with human milk? Since the Rule for Serving Food to the Governor Is in the Record of Our National History in Relation to the Admonitions of the Former Kings, It Should Be Observed with Sincerity and Not Be Violated. In the ninth year of his reign [1683] King Sukchong dispatched a royal instruction to the eight provinces, and its content was as follows: “Since the preparation of food during the governor’s inspection causes abuses and disturbances, there will be no problem if the governor takes only a horse and one or two military guards with him. When I was reading various old and new books on the relief of famine these days, I found a record written by one of the disciples of Zhu Xi when his master became commissioner for famine in the region of Zhedong: ‘He spared no efforts day and night in investigating the real situation that the people were in and visited even the remote mountain villages, disregarding his sleep and food. Every time he left home, he always used a simple carriage, refused to have followers, carried all the things necessary for his travel, and never allowed

Rites and Ceremonies

467

himself to become a burden to the provinces and districts he visited. Therefore, although the districts under his jurisdiction were wide, none of them knew about his secret visit. For this reason, the officials in those regions had to be alert and wary day and night, and some of them, unable to bear enormous tensions and pressures, abandoned their jobs. However, because of his secret inspections, numerous people were saved. Later Zhu Xi had an audience with Emperor Xiaozong. Upon seeing Zhu Xi, the emperor comforted him, saying, ‘I am fully aware of the hard work that you have done in Zhedong.’ How can we then not follow the good example set by him?” Despite the admonition of King Sukchong, however, the people these days have increased the reception and entertainment of the governor as much as ten times. Since the ritual of entertaining a governor is close to that of entertaining a royal prince, to say nothing of the abuses to the people, its excesses must be restrained. Even when our king went out, the line of royal carriages, guards, and followers, except the parade of soldiers belonging to the five divisions, did not extend to 5 li. The carriage of the governor is no smaller than the royal one in scale; is this appropriate? The courtesies called chunghwang (covering the middle of the road with yellow soil) and ch’igŏ (lighting the road with torches on both sides when the king’s carriage passes by) are special honors allowed only to the king. Nevertheless, there are many who violate this rule. How foolish they are! The following happened when Meng Kang of the kingdom of Wei became prefect of Hongnong. When he went on inspection tours, he dispatched his aide in advance to the districts he would visit and told them not to send men to welcome him. Furthermore, concerned about the inconveniences that his visit might cause to the residents, instead of staying at an official guest house, he slept in the open air, spreading hay for his blanket and pillow. Since the way in which governors carry out their inspection tours these days reminds one of Yanzi’s warning on the governor’s abuses of his power, “The rulers yield themselves to the current and are utterly lost,”  how can we not follow the example set by Meng Kang? Zheng Xuan stated: “When a man becomes a high official, he demands that he be treated more respectably, expects the people who welcome or bid farewell to 140. An official of the kingdom of Wei (220−265). His courtesy name was Gongxiu. He served as Secretariat supervisor. He also wrote a commentary on the Book of Han (Hanshu). 141. Yan Ying, the famous chancellor of the Qi state during the reign of Duke Jing. 142. Yanzi’s warning, summed up in four characters, liu lian hyang wang (Ὦ㏻Ⲡஷ), derives from “King Hui of Liang II” in Mencius. Mencius explains the meaning of this phrase as follows: “Descending along with the current, and forgetting to return, is what I call yielding to it. Pressing up against it, and forgetting to return, is what I call urging against it. Pursuing the chase without satiety is what I call being wild. Delighting in wine without satiety is what I call being lost” (Legge, Works of Mencius, 160).

468

book VII

come out farther, and wants them to address him with a more respectable title or wants to see them more deferential in bowing and taking a seat. He also wants serving goods to be more luxurious, food and wine to be more abundant, his followers to look more dignified, and the inquiry about his health to be conducted more cautiously. As a result, all the residents in his domain suffer enormous burdens and damages in the process of entertaining him. Even if he visits the districts in the countryside as a royal representative for the purpose of providing relief, the inconveniences of the people who entertain him are not insignificant. Furthermore, whatever he does is concerned only with useless formality and outdated practices. He sends out functionaries, fierce like tigers and wolves, to post stations and harasses the counties and districts by issuing numerous official dispatches, while he is deaf and blind to the sufferings of the people, as if he were enchanted by a demon, as the people say. This is a betrayal of the grace of the king and a challenge to Heaven, which is already indignant, because it brings suffering to the people and disasters to the children yet to be born. We must warn ourselves against such conduct.” Master Sŏngho stated: “The royal envoys dispatched to the counties and districts, according to the law of the state, were supposed to report to the king when the food they were served was not abundant. Because those who received bad reports from the royal envoys were dismissed, the magistrates spared no money in making the entertainment of the royal envoys as extravagant as possible. But the cost of entertainment had to be drawn from the people, and it became one of the great harassments to the people. The multilayered colorful rice cake called t’ujŏng, therefore, became a custom, and taking advantage of this, ferocious clerks exploited the people, which was very despicable. If the government looks into the rules concerning the entertainment of officials and makes sure that the size and number of serving vessels, as well as the quality of food according to the rank of the guests, are not excessive, it will benefit the people by reducing their trouble in the future.” All the Rules Regarding the Banquets for Honored Guests Must Be Made According to the Precedents of Old Rituals. Even If They Are Not Fully Fixed as the Law, Propriety Must Always Be Sought. In the case of high officials such as state councilors and ministers who belong to the first rank, as well as the supreme commander [ch’ech’alsa], the New 143. The supreme commander (ch’ech’alsa) was a high-ranking official appointed on a temporary basis during a time of national crisis such as war or rebellion. He was dispatched on behalf of the king to troubled regions and supervised civil and military activities. One of the state councilors was usually appointed to this post.

Rites and Ceremonies

469

Year’s embassy to China [hajŏngsa], officials who travel a long distance to greet foreign guests [wŏnjŏpsa], officials who entertain Chinese envoys in Seoul [kwanbansa], and so forth, the most prestigious food and wine [tailao] should be served for the formal banquet and the next most prestigious food and wine [shaolao] for dinner; as to the officials of the upper end of the hall who belong to the first, second, and part of the third ranks, or officials below the third rank, such as governor, pacification commissioner, consolation and reassurance commissioner [wiyusa], and commissioner of ordering and organizing [chŏldosa], shaolao should be served for the formal banquet and the table of tesheng for dinner; officials like secret censors, metropolitan examiners from Seoul, officials for entertaining Japanese envoys, and secretaries of diplomatic delegations should be treated in the same way, although their rank is not high; in the case of lowranking officials, such as lieutenants of the State Tribunal [kŭmbulang], officials who proclaim a royal amnesty [pansagwan], the staff officers of the Border Defense Council [pibyŏllang], and royal messengers [sŏnjŏngwan], who are relatively low in rank, tesheng should be served for the formal banquet and tetun for dinner. These rules can be observed only after the ministers submit their draft to the king and the law is finally proclaimed. Even if no such law has been proclaimed and is available now, the magistrate should be able to understand and keep in mind how the ancient rituals by the sage kings were promulgated. Then he can figure out the proper number and sizes of ritual vessels, such as xing, zu, bian, and dou, imitating the rites performed by the Duke of Zhou and Confucius. If the magistrate is indeed eager to follow their examples, it will be nice. The ritual food and wine of the grandest scale [tailao] in the old days consisted of three sacrificial animals and nine ding vessels, and those of the nextgrandest scale [shaolao] two sacrificial animals and five ding vessels. In addition to these sacrifices, chickens, fish, dried fish, tender meat, and organ meats can be served in ding vessels. Since there are not many goats in our country, oxen are indispensable in order to have a ceremonial banquet. There is no reason not to use oxen, pigs, dried fish, chickens, pheasants, organ meats, fish, and abalones in fi lling up ding vessels, whether there are seven or five of them. The lian is a vessel for cooked rice. However, since the ritual banquet, according to our present custom, does not include rice, the eight lian vessels should be

144. The office that existed in the Chosŏn dynasty in order to welcome Chinese envoys. The court selected the concerned officials from those who belonged to rank 2 and dispatched them to the northern border to escort the envoys from China. 145. When the Chinese envoys arrived in Seoul and stayed at the guest house, the officials appointed kwanbansa entertained them. They were selected from those who belonged to rank 3. 146. Th ree sheng or three sacrificial animals consist of oxen, goats, and pigs. 147. Goats and pigs.

470

book VII

fi lled with six kinds of rice cakes, as well as noodles and dumplings. Since the ceremonial dinner does not include rice cakes, the rice in the dinner should not exceed the two kinds of rice, red and white, even if it belongs to the dinner of the grandest scale. The xing is a vessel for soup. Soup made of vegetables is called geng, and soup made only of meat is called huo. The so-called seven xing, therefore, should be xinggeng, which is soup made of seven kinds of vegetables and meat. The zu is a vessel for cooked meat. In the old days the meats for zu vessels were prepared with those of sheng sacrificial animals and those from ding vessels. However, in our days it is not really necessary to adhere to this rule; meats that are boiled, steamed, roasted, or cooked rare, as well as fish, abalones, chickens, pheasants, and so forth, will all be acceptable as long as they are all of different kinds and are served in seven vessels. The dou is a vessel for holding wet foods. Wet foods such as kimchi, sweet rice drink, or fried or boiled food (ones similar to fruits preserved in honey nowadays) should be served in eight small dishes, which will make eight dou. The bian is a vessel for holding dry foods. Dry foods such as dried meat, dried pheasant meat or abalone, dried fish, dried fruits, and fried cakes made of wheat flour, honey, and oil should be served in eight vessels, which will make eight bian. Book of Rites states, “That the number of ding and zu is odd, and that of bian and dou is even, stands for yin and yang.”  Also, if we examine the precedents in old records, the number of wine was odd, and that of rice was even. Therefore, the wine consists of nine cups, starting from one and three cups. The rice, likewise, is served in two lians, four lians, and eight lians. Xing and zu are three and five each, and bian and dou are six and eight each. All of them have to do with the principle of yin and yang. The Family Rituals of Zhu Xi [Zhuzi jiali] also advocates the rule of six dous and six bians, but the people in our time make the numbers of bian and dou odd when they offer sacrifices. This is not appropriate. Since in our days lian vessels have changed into bo, xing into wan, zu into didie, dou into ou, and bian into die, these changes [both in names and forms] are also the work of time. If, under the circumstances, the names and numbers of ritual foods and vessels are strictly observed without violating the original spirit of propriety created by the ancients, the table of sacrifice will look dignified. The changes and differences in outward appearance, therefore, are not really a matter of importance one should be concerned about. What has been discussed so far is all about the ritual food and wine of the grandest scale. The lower grades of food and vessels below this need to be mod148. Red rice (hongban) may indicate rice with red beans. 149. “Offering Sacrifices” (“Xiao tesheng”).

Rites and Ceremonies

471

erately reduced so that six lians, for instance, should be made of four kinds of rice cakes, and four lians should be made of two kinds of rice cakes. As for the rest, one can analogize without being too much restricted by the rule. However, the rule of yin and yang, as well as even and odd numbers, should not be violated. The Benevolent Magistrates in the Old Days Did Not Dare to Transgress Propriety and Decorum in Entertaining Their Superiors. Their Exemplary Actions Are All Recorded and Handed Down. The following happened when He Yiyu of the Tang dynasty became magistrate of Yichang. Prefect Cui Pu visited Yichang to mobilize the people for his springtime festivity. When he made them pull his boat to the sea, Magistrate He Yiyu himself joined them and pulled the boat in front of them. Surprised to find the magistrate among the common people, Prefect Cui asked why the magistrate was among them. Magistrate He replied, “It is now springtime, when the people are terribly busy in plowing the land or raising silkworms. However, I have nothing much to do. Thus I came here to work on behalf of them.” The prefect felt uneasy and immediately left on horseback. When Xiao Jie of the Five Dynasties period became magistrate of Qiyang, he never allowed himself to be worried about pressure from his superior. One day in late spring he received an official dispatch from the prefecture that required him to mobilize ferryboats and wait for the prefect’s inspection. Indignant and thumping the letter with his fist, he said, “The seedlings of rice now have five sprouts, and the silkworms have slept thrice. Does he not know how busy people are at this time of the year? How can he find time for his boat riding?” The prefect felt ashamed and gave up his idea. When Yan Maoqing conducted inspections and toured the districts in his jurisdiction as superintendent of salt distribution, he displayed his power. He was accompanied by his wife, who rode in a sedan chair carried by twelve women. The magistrates, who were awed by this display of power, either prostrated themselves or crawled in his presence, decorating his toilet with colorful silk and his chamber pot with platinum. However, Hai Rui, magistrate of Xunan District, made the welcoming reception of Superintendent Yan and his 150. He also served as magistrate of Luojiang. 151. Unknown. 152. When the seedlings of rice have five sprouts, it happens that the silkworms have slept three times. Th is is the busiest time of the year for farmers who plant rice and grow silkworms. 153. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as right vice censor in chief. According to History of Ming (Mingshi), he indulged in luxury.

472

book VII

entourage as simple as possible, protesting that because his district was very impoverished, it was unable to afford a sumptuous welcome to his guest. Although Yan Maoqing was extremely angry at the magistrate’s aff ront, he had no choice but to leave quickly because he had often heard about the uncompromising integrity of Magistrate Hai. The following happened when Liu Nanhuan stayed home after his retirement. An investigating censor demanded that the district clerks serve him with extravagant food, which became a burden on the finances of the districts. Liu Nanhuan said, “I will teach him a lesson since he is my former student.” When the censor visited him at his house, Liu did not provide him with any meal from morning till noon. His guest was naturally very hungry, but the meal that finally came out consisted only of boiled rice with millet and a bowl of soybean curd. He devoured three bowls of rice with millet and realized that he had eaten his fi ll. A little later, fine dishes and wine came out and were placed in front of him, but because he was too full, he was unable to touch them. When Liu Nanhuan strongly urged him to take the food, the censor replied, “I am already too full to eat them.” Then Liu said, “All foods are originally neither good nor bad. It is easy to eat them when you are hungry and hard to know their taste when you are full. What makes food tasty is time.” The censor followed the admonitions in Liu’s remark and thereafter never dared to reprimand any men because of food. The following happened when Liu Tianhe served as regulator general of three border garrisons [sanbian]. At that time Liu was raising in his post a grandson and a nephew who were both fatherless. One day these two youths happened to pass by Huazhou, and one of their servants beat a gatekeeper with a stick. The gatekeeper appealed to the magistrate of his district, and the latter was so indignant that he not only did not treat them as his guests but also shut the gate against them, intending to drive them away. Having neither shelter nor food, the two young men had to run away and beg for food on their way home. The magistrate reported in detail to Liu Tianhe, who was his superior, what had happened in relation to his grandson and nephew. Upon arriving home, the two youths appealed to the wife of Liu Tianhe with tears. The lady felt very sorry for them. Sometime later the magistrate of Huazhou visited Liu Tianhe on official business, and all the people in Liu’s household closely watched the visiting magistrate, expecting that Liu would reprimand

154. Unknown. 155. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yanghe, and his posthumous title Zhuangxiang. He achieved notable results while serving as minister of war. 156. The garrisons in Yanan, Ningxia, and Gansu. The office of regulator general in charge of these three military garrisons was created in the tenth year of Xianzong’s reign (1474) (History of Ming).

Rites and Ceremonies

473

him for his mistreatment of the two youths. To their surprise, however, Liu received the magistrate very courteously and later specially recommended him to the imperial court. Zheng Xuan stated as follows: “In the old days there was a magistrate who was a man of strong character and integrity. One day it happened that the governor came to visit his district, and he went out to meet him at the gate. While he was waiting, a clerk behind him said that it was seven o’clock in the evening, which was the time to close the gate. The magistrate immediately ordered that the gate be closed. The messenger of the governor finally arrived but was unable to enter. The magistrate said to the messenger through the gap in the gate, ‘Since by law the gate is to be closed at this hour, I hope that His Honor will understand. I will greet the governor tomorrow morning.’ ” The following happened when Sun Fu was in charge of Jinzhou. A highranking official in the court happened to pass through his district and wanted to enter the gate of the fortress at a late hour. Sun Fu said, “Since there is a law on running the fortress, it is not possible for me to make a personal decision on your case.” He refused to open the gate. Although Visiting Officials Who Pass through His District May Not Be His Superiors, the Magistrate Should Pay Them His Respects as the Custom of Propriety Requires, Entertaining Them with Sincerity and Respect. That Does Not Indicate, However, That He Should Yield to Improper Requests from His Guests. Jiang Yan of the Tang dynasty served four consecutive terms as magistrate and was famous for his benevolent administration. One day Guo Ziyi passed through Jiang’s district, leading his army. He admonished his troops as follows: “Since Jiang Yan is magistrate of this district, the treatment he will provide will be very simple. I think that we will be lucky if we can have only some rice with vegetables. Do not disturb his cleanness.” The following happened when Sun Fu was in charge of Xiafu. Because Xiafu is the strategic point that connects the east and west of the country, his district constantly had visitors, and the clerks had a hard time providing them with food and entertainment. Nevertheless, his predecessors had not been able to reduce the scale of entertainment for fear of causing trouble. Under these circumstances, Sun Fu drastically cut down expenditures for guests, and the officials and guests who had heard about Sun Fu’s integrity neither made requests for special favors and 157. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhihan. 158. Serving so many consecutive terms was unusual. After years of outstanding ser vice as magistrate, he rose to the position of chamberlain for law enforcement. 159. A famous general of the Tang dynasty who suppressed the Anshi Rebellion.

474

book VII

treatment nor complained about him. As a result, the livelihood of the people of Xiafu improved, and later the new practice even became the law of that region. The following happened when Pak Munbu was magistrate of Yŏnghae. He always visited and entertained officials who passed through his district on poststation horses even when they were lower in rank. Someone said to him, “Your Honor is higher in rank. Is it really necessary that you pay your respects to visitors lower in rank?” He replied, “The man is my guest, and I am his host. Why does rank have to be so important between a guest and a host? If my guest harasses my people on the pretext of carry ing out official business, how can I not interfere? If I treat him generously, I am sure that he will be impressed and return the favor to us.” As a result, visitors were pleased, and the clerks were able to escape harassment from visiting officials. The following happened when Lord Wanch’ŏn, Yi Sunsin, served as administrator [p’angwan] of Ŭiju. Because it was located on the border with China, his district had many envoys traveling to China. It happened that one of the envoys who passed through his district made improper demands and tried to exploit the people. Believing that the demands were wrong, he refused to provide him with anything except some travel expenses. Deeply resenting the treatment he had received from Yi Sunsin, the envoy on his way back home tried to retaliate against Yi by using some other matter as a pretext. Yi immediately threw away the official seal in his care and went home. The following happened when Chang Yu, who served concurrently as minister of personnel and director [taejehak], was relegated to the position of magistrate of Naju. When he was in the royal court in Seoul, he was known to be somewhat arrogant. Not long after he started serving in Naju, a lieutenant of the State Tribunal visited his district to arrest a man charged with crimes. Chang put on his formal uniform and on horseback paid a visit to the guest house where the lieutenant was staying, saying, “Since a man carry ing out royal orders visited my district, it is not appropriate to use the sedan chair.” Then he greeted the lieutenant with profound courtesy. The lieutenant, utterly bewildered and scared, prostrated himself, profusely sweating, and finally said, “How can Your Honor harm your dignity like this?” Chang replied, laughing, “If you were now in Seoul, you would not dare to present your business card to my house. However, since I am now serving in an outside post and have a guest who carries a royal order, it is appropriate for me to treat you like this.” 160. Little is known about him other than what is stated here. 161. Yi Sunsin (1554−1611), a military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. Because he rendered a great ser vice in repelling the invading Japa nese army during the Imjin War, he was awarded the title of Sŏnmu Merit Subject Th ird Class and Lord of Wanchŏn. He should not be confused with another Yi Sunsin, an admiral and the national hero of the Imjin War.

Rites and Ceremonies

475

Magistrates in the Old Days Dared to Restrain Powerful Eunuchs from Committing Abuses, and Even under an Extreme Circumstance in Which the King’s Carriage Passed By, They Dared Not Try to Ingratiate Themselves to Win Royal Favor by Harassing the People. The following happened when Han Jiang was in charge of Shengdu. When a eunuch who arrived in the region of Shu carry ing an imperial order engaged in selling some items of merchandise, the local magistrates bought them at a higher price in order to win his favor. Reporting this to the court, Han Jiang requested that the emperor stop the eunuch’s activity. Emperor Yingzong regarded Han’s act as commendable. The following happened when Li Ji was in charge of Hangzhou. A eunuch named Jiang Deyuan was the most powerful person in the country at that time. It happened that Jiang Deming, the brother of Jiang Deyuan, passed through Hangzhou to carry out an imperial order, but Li Ji prepared no elaborate welcome for his guest. His aides, who were worried, asked him, “Since Your Honor is a wise person, how can Your Honor not be afraid of misfortune even though you may not want to seek fortune?” Li Ji replied, “I did not neglect entertaining Jiang Deming, nor did I entertain him extravagantly. Is this not sufficient? What more do you want me to do?” Later Jiang Deming himself was not able to dare to harm him. The following happened when Cheng Hao was in charge of the district of Fugou. When a eunuch named Wang Zhongzheng inspected the community self-defense system [baojia], his power was fierce like burning fire. So the magistrates of local districts tried to please him with tribute and entertainments, and the secretary of Fugou District asked Cheng Hao to do the same as the others. Then Cheng replied, “Our district is poor. How can we follow the examples of other affluent districts? The law prohibits us from collecting money for such a purpose. Since we have only a blue tent, perhaps we can use it.” Wang Zhongzheng, well aware of Cheng’s honesty and integrity, never visited Cheng’s district even though he often passed by its border. The following happened when Xue Xuan became chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review [Dalisi] of Nanjing. When Jin Ying, chief eunuch of the palace, passed through Nanjing in order to carry out an imperial mission, all the ministers and high officials in Nanjing except Xue Xuan gathered at the river to see him off. Jing Ying thought Xue Xuan benevolent and said to his friends when he returned to the capital, “The only good official among those in Nanjing is Xue Xuan.” 162. An official of the Song dynasty and a contemporary of Wang Anshi. 163. A central government agency responsible for reviewing reports of judicial proceedings at all levels of territorial administration (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 468). 164. An official of the Ming dynasty during the reign of Xuanzong.

476

book VII

The following happened when Yang Jin was in charge of the district of Dantu. At that time there was an imperial commissioner [zhongshi] inspecting the Zhejiang region. He arrested the magistrates wherever he went and threw them into his boat until they bought their liberty with bribes. When the imperial commissioner was about to arrive in Dantu, Yang Jin ordered a couple of men who were excellent swimmers to wear formal uniforms and go out to greet the commissioner. The commissioner who saw them was furious and said, “Where is your magistrate, and how dare you come to greet me?” He immediately arrested the two men, but they quickly jumped into the river and swam away. Yang Jin then took a little time and finally went to see the imperial commissioner and said to him, “I heard that Your Honor had thrown two men into the river and left them to die by drowning. We now live in a time of peace under the rule of a sage emperor whose law is stately and strict. How can you harm the lives of people like that?” The imperial commissioner, now scared, apologized courteously and departed. The following happened when Wang Yingzhen was appointed to a post outside the capital and became magistrate of Sizhou. Emperor Wuzong traveled to the south for inspection, and when his carriage arrived in Sizhou, the magistrates of local districts were all ner vous. Only Wang Yingzhen was calm and unperturbed. He said, “It is hard to predict exactly when the imperial carriage will arrive in our district. Under the circumstances, if we mobilize and dispatch the clerks in all directions, there will be nothing but tricks and exploitation.” In other districts, on the other hand, over a thousand people were mobilized only to hold torches, and they spent more than a month waiting. In the process the people died of hunger and cold. However, Wang Yingzhen ordered the people to bind the torches to posts that were placed between the elms and the willows and made each individual take charge of ten of them. When the imperial carriage finally passed through his district, the long line of those torches looked even more orderly than the ones in other districts. Wang Yingzhen tried to save the people from their burdens even in greeting the emperor; however, the magistrates at the present time, in welcoming the governor, abuse the people as if they were dogs and chickens. They should be ashamed of themselves. The following happened when Jiang Yao was magistrate of Yangzhou. When Emperor Wuzong traveled to the south for inspection, Xue Bin, magistrate of Huai, ordered the riverside houses to be removed for convenience in drawing the 165. Unknown. 166. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zisu. 167. Placing torches between trees instead of letting individuals hold every one of them was a way of saving manpower and expenditures. 168. An official of the Ming dynasty.

Rites and Ceremonies

477

boats and, furthermore, extorted cotton and silk from the people to make pulling ropes, which caused a great disturbance in the Huai regions. Jiang Yao, on the other hand, did not dismantle the riverside houses when the carriage of the emperor passed through his district of Yangzhou. He said, “The riverbanks are not the area on which the emperor sets his feet; they are also the roads for the fishermen. Why should the houses on them be demolished? If this is wrong, I will take responsibility.” Those who destroy graves and houses for the carriage of the governor must be ashamed of themselves. The Entertainment of Chinese Imperial Envoys Is Called Chich’ik. Chich’ik Is an Important Affair for the Provinces in the Northwest. The notice of the visit of the Chinese imperial embassy is called ch’ikgi. When the ch’ikgi arrives, the concerned districts are thrown into turmoil. They have many things to prepare, and all the necessary items are divided and assigned to the affluent residents in the district so that they can go out to procure them in time. The main items are mats, folding screens and tents, canopies and curtains, wooden bedsteads, guest houses and quarters for foreign envoys and their entourage, red and blue paint, dishes and vessels, ovens and cauldrons, tiger skins, deer meat, beef and pork, fresh fish, dried fish and meat, sharks and abalones, rice and flour, oil and honey, salt and soybean sauce, pickled fish or meat, all kinds of paper, lanterns and candles, and so forth. In addition to these, there are items like hay for horses, firewood, roads, and bridges, which are too many to enumerate. The way to secure all these items is to appoint well-to-do people as supervisors and have them purchase them with their own money before the deadline. A supervisor for each item always recruits several persons, and in order to recruit those several, he must harass ten households. Those who are first appointed buy their exemption with bribes, and those who replace them take bribe money after receiving their letter of appointment. The way they conduct themselves under these circumstances reminds one of fish gasping out of water or surprised animals whose eyes are rolling, running away from their hunter. Since the magistrate takes one or two bribes whereas his clerks take ten or a hundred times more, the people are gripped with panic, crying and running away, as if a war has broken out. So not a soul is unshaken, and great harm is done to the livelihood of the people. When the ch’ikgi first arrives at the office of the magistrate, the clerks and military officers rush in to join the meeting. They may look worried, but they are ecstatic in their hearts. Maintaining a stately and dignified countenance, the magistrate must immediately summon law-enforcement officials and order them to go out to all the subdistricts and villages and put up public notices so that all kinds of tricks can be eliminated from the start.

478

book VII

The public notice to be posted reads as follows: “The present magistrate makes the following announcement. I presume that you are all aware of the news that a Chinese imperial envoy is visiting us. To follow the old custom, we are supposed to select representatives from the affluent residents in the district who will take charge of various goods that are needed to treat the guest. This practice has caused serious damages to the people. However, it is my intention not to follow the old practice; I will make some of the clerks and law-enforcement officials in our district take over this job. If they need support in accomplishing their mission, the government will provide it; if the government is unable to provide it, I will distribute the burden to all the residents instead of dozens of households. I cannot allow those few designated people to bear the whole burden. Since this is my intention, I want you to feel at ease. If there is anyone who tries to cheat or threaten innocent people, taking advantage of the old custom, I want you to be careful not to fall into his trap and waste your property. Since I make this announcement in advance, every village leader or head must inform his fellow neighbors of my message so that none of them may be kept in the dark.” Once this notice is drafted, the magistrate summons liaison officials of all the subdistricts and admonishes them as follows: “I want you to deliver this message as fast as lightning. Since I will set a time limit, measuring the distance of your places, you will not dare to miss the deadline. You will be required to submit the report of the head of your area that the public notice was duly received.” The next thing that the magistrate should do is to summon the clerks and lawenforcement officials and persuade them as follows: “The visit of the Chinese imperial embassy takes place only once in several decades. Would it be a good custom to take advantage of this opportunity to exploit the people? Since the monetary gain that you may have is not your stipend, what harm is it to you even if you lose it? The directors in charge of supplies for entertaining the envoys will be chosen from the residents of our district. Since my decision is made, I hope that no one will complain about it. I trust that you will do your best to serve the country, all united in heart and soul, and to reduce expenditures by carry ing out your duty with integrity and sincerity. If there is a shortage that is difficult for you to repair, the government will make up for it so that you will suffer no damage.” Then the magistrate appoints a director in chief, selecting the person who is the most reputable among retired clerks and old schoolteachers. Then he says to the director in chief: “What is important in carry ing out your mission is not to trouble the people. Since the success of the job entrusted to you depends on you, it is important to choose the right people to work with you. It will not be necessary to have many supervisors who are in charge of supplies; five or six will suffice, and have them take care of a few items per individual. And try to find them among the residents of our district.”

Rites and Ceremonies

479

Then he decides the number of supervisors through discussion, makes the letters of appointment, and finally receives courtesy calls from them and discusses the matter with them. Let me introduce an incident that happened when I was magistrate of Koksan. When the ch’ikgi notice first arrived, a steward of the county school, carry ing a sheaf of papers, came to see me and said, “According to the old custom, the notice of the visit of the imperial embassy is supposed to be kept safely in a chest, and two Confucian students watch over it without sleeping. Then two personnel for requisitioned ser vice [silch’a] and two reserve personnel for the same purpose [yech’a] are dispatched, and the examination that they are required to take in advance takes two months. So there are always things to be presented to patrol and military establishments for their favors. Therefore, 160 students of our district collected money, each person contributing 1 tael, and handed it over to the four personnel. I would like to ask you to sign this paper.” I replied, “Since it is not a matter of importance, do not bother to report on it.” Several months later the Chinese imperial embassy crossed the Yalu River. This time one of the supervisors came to see me and said, “The matter has become very urgent. What should we do regarding the students?” I replied, “There is no need to make haste.” When the time finally arrived, the supervisor once again came to see me and said, “The matter has already become too urgent. What should we do regarding the students?” Then I gave him two student caps that I had prepared and said, “Find two men among the clerks and have them wear these caps. If they put on these caps and act like students, who will suspect them?” Thus saying, I gave him 2 taels for his expenses. Quite pleased, the clerk took the caps from me, and there was no problem. The socalled expenses for entertaining the Chinese embassy, which they say are 1,000 or 100 maces, are all like this. If you look at a thing like this, you can imagine the rest. Let me introduce one more incident. One day the director in chief of entertaining the Chinese imperial embassy came to see me and said, “Since, according to the old custom, we have sent 60 taels to P’yŏngsan, which was collected for the construction of a bridge, I am afraid that we have to send the money this time, too.” When I took a look at the topography of the town, the stream was pretty wide, so that the three neighboring districts used to build jointly a makeshift bridge for the Chinese envoys at the time of their visit. However, the upper part of the stream, which was only 20 or 30 paces away, was very narrow. That, in my opinion, was a good spot to build a bridge, and it took only a few hired men, which was even better. When I ordered that the bridge be built, the clerks of P’yŏngsan were surprised and begged me to revoke my order, promising that they would no longer request money. This incident shows that the purpose of making the 169. A county in Hwanghae Province. The district of Koksan was supposed to send the men and supplies to P’yŏngsan to greet the Chinese imperial embassy.

480

book VII

makeshift bridge was to collect money from nearby villages, as well as neighboring districts, for their own purposes. Many of the expenditures related to the entertainment of the Chinese imperial embassy were originally more or less like this. The following happened when Pak Wŏndo was administrator of Hwangju. Because the district was located at a strategic point and the magistrates and administrators of Hwangju were constantly replaced, trickery among the clerks was always rampant. When Chinese envoys visited or returned, they inflated the list and quantities of the goods in order to make profits in conspiracy with suppliers. Well aware of this trickery, Pak Wŏndo launched an investigation as soon as he took office. He discovered two thousand bolts of cloth tax stolen by the clerks and arrested a merchant who had conspired with the clerks. He threatened to execute him. The merchant, terrified but hoping to be released, immediately confessed his crime of falsely enumerating the supplies needed for entertaining the envoys. When Pak examined the list of supplies and their costs, he found that the total cost was less than half that in the past. He released the merchant and made a detailed record of what he had confessed with regard to the supplies. When Chinese envoys later visited his district, he used that record in preparing food and gifts, which were neither superfluous nor wanting. Furthermore, on the basis of that record, the rules for entertaining Chinese envoys were made permanent, and both the government and the people were able to survive. The following happened when Yi Kyŏngjik  was magistrate of Suwŏn. There was a kind of dried pheasant meat called kapgŏnch’i that was designated as a tribute food provided to Chinese envoys, and it caused trouble to a number of districts. Yi submitted a memorial to the royal court: “The Chinese do not regard that food as precious, whereas the cost of procuring it is twice that of other foods. It is advisable, therefore, not to serve that food from now on. In addition, the chinaware used by the Royal Cuisine Office [Saongwŏn] is both too large and different from that in China.” Yi Chŏnggwi, who was in charge of entertaining Chinese envoys, agreed and followed that advice. The following happened when Kang Yuhu became magistrate of Chŏngju. When Chinese envoys arrived, all the officials were eager to please the guests. 170. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chunghŏn, and his pen name Chukch’ang. He also served as third minister of justice. 171. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sanggo, and his pen name Munsŏk. He rose to the position of minister of taxation. 172. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His pen name was Wŏlsa. He served as minister of war, and of rites. 173. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yŏsu, and his pen name Okgye. He also served as governor of Hwanghae Province and was chosen as a clean official. 174. A town in North P’yŏngan Province. It should not be confused with Ch’ŏngju, which is located in North Ch’ungch’ŏng Province in the southern part of Korea.

Rites and Ceremonies

481

Kang, on the other hand, remained calm and refused to accept the requests of the envoys if they were excessive. Naturally the officials, including the head in charge of entertaining the Chinese envoys, were worried, but Kang said, “I will take responsibility.” When the Chinese envoys finally made a request, he refused it directly, and the envoy, who was very shocked, just laughed. The following happened when Min Chillyang was magistrate of Sŏngch’ŏn. Zheng Mingshou (originally a Korean who surrendered to China), who came to Korea as a Chinese envoy, became angry with Min and sent military guards to arrest him. When this kind of incident occurred, the magistrate was usually supposed to run away, and the government dismissed him to appease the envoy. Instead of running away, Min said, “I am not a coward,” and, repelling the military guards, went directly to the Chinese envoy. When he confronted the Chinese envoy face to face, standing straight and staring at him, the envoy was surprised and asked, “Who is this man?” One of his attendants replied, “He is the son of the late minister so-and-so.” Envoy Zheng said, “He is the man who almost killed me many years ago, and this time his son tries to kill me.” Thus saying, he dared not harm him. The people who heard of this were all surprised. According to a story handed down, the following happened when Hŏ Chŏk served as magistrate of Ŭiju. Hŏ had Chŏng Myŏngsu, who visited Korea as a Chinese envoy (Chŏng was originally a Korean but was captured by the Chinese during a military campaign against Qing China), bound to the flogging rack, saying, “Since his fat and flesh were made in Qing China, and his bones in our country, all his fat and flesh should be returned, but his bones must remain.” Then he ordered that Chŏng’s skin be peeled off. When Chŏng begged for his life, Hŏ finally quit his proceeding. This story is too incredible to believe. It is highly unlikely that such an event could have occurred, given the situation at that time in history. O Yungyŏm was magistrate of Anju when King Sŏnjo passed away [in 1608]. An emissary from Liaodong China visited Korea to participate in the memorial ser vice. The magistrates of the districts near the travel route of the Chinese envoy waited for him, taking off their funeral garments. Only O Yungyŏm refused to take off his, saying, “Since the emissary from Liaodong China is different from the imperial envoy in his status, it is more appropriate to wear our funeral garments.” The Chinese emissary was angry to hear this and quickly passed by. 175. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as magistrate of Sŏksŏng and T’aean. 176. A Korean who betrayed the country during the reign of Kwanghaegun. His Chinese name was Zheng Mingshou. When the Ming government requested that Korea send an army to fight against the Manchus, Chŏng joined the army led by Kang Hongnip. During the military campaign he was captured by the Chinese but survived by making himself an informer about the Korean situation. Thus he played a crucial role when the Manchus invaded Korea in 1636, but he was murdered by Koreans years later.

482

book VII

Later the Korean court sent official dispatches to follow the example of the magistrate of Anju, and those who had taken off their mourning dress were all ashamed of themselves. The Chinese emissary also apologized before he returned to his country. The following happened when Cho Sehwan was magistrate of Tongnae. His predecessors, according to the old custom, used to entertain the Japa nese, wearing splendid costumes. Cho said, “How can you impress the enemy with colorful costumes?” Then he met with the Japa nese, wearing just his regular clothes. In the summer of 1799 [Chŏngjo 23], when I returned to Seoul upon finishing my term as magistrate of Koksan, King Chŏngjo granted me an audience at the Hall of Illumination [Chunghŭidang]. The king asked me about the abuses related to the entertainment of the Chinese imperial embassy, and I answered in detail, explaining the real situation. After withdrawing from his presence, I drafted a proposal titled “A Proposal for Establishing Standard Rules Concerning the Entertainment of the Chinese Imperial Embassy” [“Chich’ik chŏngnye posŏl”] and presented it to the king. The king told me to take it to Yi Sisu, who was then in charge of entertaining the Chinese emissaries, and discuss the matter with him. Yi Sisu said, “If you really intend to make standard rules for entertaining the Chinese emissaries according to your proposal, all the state guesthouses and post stations starting from Hongjewŏn in Seoul all the way up to Yongmangwan in Ŭiju should be torn down and built anew. The scale of the guest houses should be differently designed according to the status of the guests. Thus the height of the columns and the length and width of windows should be exactly like the measurements recommended by the rules and regulations. Once these things are fi xed, the standard sizes of furniture, decorations, draperies, folding screens, and so forth can be made. Unless these things are accomplished, it is not possible to make the standard rules and regulations.” As this remark indicates, there were heated discussions and debates over my proposal, and the project was finally abandoned. However, the ideas that I proposed may be worth consideration, so I write them down for posterity’s sake.

177. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ŭimang, and his pen name Such’on. He also served as governor of Chŏlla Province. 178. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Ch’iga, and his pen name Kŭpgŏn. After serving as minister of taxation and of rites, he fi nally rose to the position of chief state councilor. 179. The guest house for Chinese envoys located in Hongjedong, Sŏdaemun-ku, in Seoul. Before Chinese envoys visited the royal palace to see the Korean king, they rested here, changing their clothes. 180. The guest house in Ŭiju for Chinese envoys during the Chosŏn period.

Rites and Ceremonies

483

Hwanghae Province’s Standard Rules Concerning the Entertainment of Chinese Imperial Embassies The entertainment of Chinese embassies is an important state affair. Since the notices of the visits of Chinese imperial embassies are often urgent and the supplies for their entertainment are difficult to procure, there must be certain rules and regulations that provide guidance to the local governments. Unless there are rules and regulations of this kind, the local districts will always be unsettled. However, we now have very many rules and regulations, such as the ones made in Musin and Ŭlmyo years [1788; 1795] and the directives for escort commissioners who travel a long distance to welcome the Chinese envoys and for military garrisons, as well as precedents handed down in P’yŏngan and Kyŏnggi provinces. This situation makes the people confused because they do not know which ones to follow. The districts that had seven post substations made their preparations for entertaining the Chinese envoys according to the precedents made in Ŭlmyo year but had to change all the arrangements when the governor ordered them to follow the precedents made in Musin year. Thus they changed red into blue and a circle into a rectangle. About two weeks later they learned that neighboring P’yŏngan Province had adopted the precedents made in Ŭlmyo year and, in certain cases, had created its own, which had little to do with the rules and regulations of both Ŭlmyo and Musin years. Since P’yŏngan Province is like this, Hwanghae Province would not be much different. The people of Hwanghae either adopt the precedents made in Musin and Ŭlmyo years or imitate the new precedents created by P’yŏngan Province. When this happens, the things they do despite their efforts turn out to be embarrassing and cost far more than they should. This should not happen in a country that has laws [on entertaining envoys]. What we should do now is to establish a uniform and comprehensive law by consolidating all the existing rules and regulations, including the ones made in Musin and Ŭlmyo years, and make sure that all the districts and guest houses, starting from Ŭiju to Hongjewŏn, strictly follow it. Those who violate the law, making the entertainment either excessive or insufficient, must be severely punished because the entertainment of Chinese envoys is a serous matter for the state. Here I intend to submit a summary of what should be included in the final version of the rules and regulations. In the present rules and regulations there are too many useless and worthless words and provisions. These should first be eliminated or simplified. Then the three provinces should jointly make the rules, publish them in a book, and distribute them to all their districts. It is also important that escort commissioners 181. Hamgyŏng, P’yŏngan, and Hwanghae provinces, through which the Chinese embassies passed.

484

book VII

and governors not excessively interfere in enforcing these rules by sending official dispatches or their representatives to the districts. 1. The pavilion where the imperial message is enshrined, according to the old custom, is supposed to have two folding screens with the pictures of a dragon and a tiger on the left- and right-hand sides, and in its main wall, this year [1799], another screen with the same pictures. If pictures of a dragon and a tiger were originally drawn on the side walls on the left- and right-hand sides when they were first painted, I believe that it will be redundant to place folding screens with the same pictures. Since the main wall has tables for books and incense in the front, a folding screen is certainly necessary; however, the side walls will look better without folding screens. 2. The wooden tablet called kwŏlp’ae is usually made when the deadline is close, so its shape is gross, its engraving is crude, and the length and width are different according to the districts. Some of them are gold plated, and the others are just painted with yellow; some of them are wrapped in a cloth, and the others are left with no covering. In my view, this is extremely inappropriate. It is not too late to make the kwŏlp’ae tablets all alike in size, neither too big nor too small, and have them gold plated and wrapped in a yellow cloth. 3. Although the banquet held in the garden in honor of the Chinese envoys was canceled this year, the foods served in the garden are often so far from the reach of the envoys that they cannot be noticed; even if there are some that the envoys like to have, there is no possibility that they can actually touch them. Since the foods are what we eat and drink, is this arrangement appropriate? Besides, the banquet held in the garden costs a great deal of money. Especially in the case of the districts several hundred li from the post stations that have to provide goods like timber, straw, and mats, the expenditures and the efforts to transport them are much heavier. Therefore, it is advisable that the escort commissioners who go out to greet the Chinese envoys at the national border hold a welcoming banquet inside the guest house instead of in the garden. The banquet in the garden should be abolished permanently. 4. Since the Chinese envoys and their interpreters do not like things like flyswatters, fans, and incense burners that are placed on their banquet table, these things must be eliminated right away. Since the guests do not like them while the host pays dearly to procure them, it is somewhat similar to a situation in which the guest dislikes the soup while

182. A wooden tablet in which the character kwŏl, which means “royal palace,” is engraved.

Rites and Ceremonies

485

the host runs out of soybean sauce. From now on, such things should all be eliminated, and the incense burners had better be placed on the desk. 5. Wooden ashtrays painted with lacquer do not look good. Since fire is placed on the wood, they are problematic, and more important, the Chinese guests dislike them. They should be eliminated right away. All the ashtrays from now on should be made of brass, and once they are made, they can be used permanently. Therefore, we can save money by not having to make them again. 6. To disregard the difference in the number of foods served to the Chinese envoys and their interpreters is inappropriate. It not only annoys the envoys but also makes the interpreters uncomfortable. So it is a general opinion that the number of foods for the interpreters should be reduced. The tiger skin on the floor is of no use. When the Chinese enter the room, they all sit on chairs. Then why is the tiger skin necessary? Since the rooms for the envoys are relatively a little larger than those for interpreters, it really does not matter whether the tiger skin is furnished. The interpreters’ rooms, however, are too small to place it. From now on, the tiger skin should be provided to the interpreters only when they are in the hall and never in their private rooms. In the post stations threefold cushions are furnished, and on top of them a tiger skin is laid. However, since the envoys and their entourage all sit on chairs, what is the use of multilayered cushions under the tiger skin? From now on, twofold cushions should be laid on the chairs and on top of them a tiger skin, and the layers of the cloth mat [chiŭi] spread out on the floor should be doubled from one to two. The quarters for the interpreters in the post stations should be made a little smaller. Then the expenditures for drapery will also be reduced. 7. The foods served on a tray, according to the old custom, used to be presented separately according to their kinds. However, this year, because they were put together on one tray and various dishes were mixed, they did not look good, and the Chinese envoys appeared to be quite displeased. They did not touch pork dishes at all because their way of cooking them is different from ours; they did not like honey cookies (these are called mili or yakgwa in Korea) either, because they were not used to them. What they looked for was only porridge. From now on, we will place on a large tray two bowls, one for porridge made of either pine nuts or sesame and the other for sweet punch made of dried persimmons, pears, and chestnuts; next to them, three plates, one for honey cookies, another for steamed rice cakes made of jujube and chestnuts, and another for kahyo (dried pheasant meat, dried fruits, dried halibut and abalone, etc.). So the foods on the whole tray consist of two bowls and three dishes. Only wine is served separately. However, a difference in the number of dishes

486

book VII

should be made between those served to the envoys and those served to their interpreters. 8. There is no difference between the envoys and their interpreters in furnishing the bedrooms. The blue silk draperies lined with red and embroidered with insignia, as well as the red quilts on their beds, are the same. From now on, however, it is advisable to make some changes in the furnishings of the interpreters’ bedrooms. The blue silk draperies should be lined with purple, and the red quilts should be replaced with blue ones. 9. When the banquet is held in the hall, the silk-covered lanterns are hung on the tips of the eaves, but there are too many of them. From now one, it is advisable to reduce their number regardless of the envoys and their interpreters. 10. The dustcovers installed on the ceilings of the guest house and post-station quarters all vary in distance from the ceilings, so the distance between the ceilings and the dustcovers could be several feet or only a foot. If this distance is not uniform, the cost of the wallpaper and drapery either increases or decreases. Nevertheless, the government now pays for these expenses regardless of the difference of that distance, which is like paying for shoes regardless of their sizes. When the dustcover is installed too high, it requires almost twice the blue silk drapery that extends from the bottom of the floor to the ceiling. The government does not pay for extra silk. From now on, it is advisable to make the distances between the dustcovers and the ceilings all uniform and equal regardless of the guest house and poststation quarters. The proper height for the installed dustcovers will be about that of an average man standing straight on the bed. The lower the dustcovers are installed, the less the drapery and wallpaper will cost. Then only the difference of width will remain. Furthermore, it is much easier and costs less to install the dustcovers lower, and during the cold season the rooms are much cozier and more comfortable. Since foreign guests will appreciate that, making changes in the dustcovers is inevitable. 11. The wallpaper that has been used has been of two kinds: one with a design of water chestnuts, which was recommended by the rules and regulations of Musin year; the other has been white silk paper, which was adopted by the rules and regulations of Ŭlmyo year. The purpose of designating specific wallpaper was to save on expenses. The wallpaper with water chestnuts is simply paper with a flower design on it and, therefore, is much cheaper than the white silk paper, which has silk in it. From now on, the wallpaper with water chestnuts should be the only one authorized to be used. 12. Although it is known that the local magistrates who are selected as officials to welcome and entertain Chinese envoys are to pay the expenses on their own,

Rites and Ceremonies

487

this idea originated only from a phrase in the record of old precedents; it is not a provision in the original rules and regulations. Even if the emissary dispatched to inquire about the health of Chinese envoys [munansa] and the officials temporarily recruited for various commissions from the king [kangmu ch’asawŏn] are selected from the local magistrates, they should be provided with expenses like the officials who greet the Chinese envoys at the post station. The rules and regulations concerning these officials are not the same, although they are all local magistrates. Providing ser vices to numerous escort commissioners who have been temporarily recruited is one of the great abuses. Suppose that the magistrate of Koksan was appointed an official who inquires about the health of Chinese envoys, and the magistrate of P’ungch’ŏn was appointed head of the officials temporarily recruited for various commissions from the king [toch’awŏn]. When they arrived at the post station of Hwangju, the district of P’ungch’ŏn would send the money to pay the expenses [kongga] for entertaining the guests to Koksan, and when they arrived at the post station of P’yŏngsan, the district of Koksan would send the money to pay the kŏngga expenses to the district of P’ungch’ŏn. Since the money is sent back and forth from A to B and from B to A, noises and complaints about the amount of money are bound to occur, and most of all, the whole thing looks absurd. From now on, the local magistrates who are temporarily recruited for various commissions from the king should never mention the matter of the kŏngga expenses. In the case of the officials who welcome and entertain Chinese envoys and those who inquire about the health of Chinese envoys, it is difficult not to provide them with money for expenses even though they are temporarily recruited for their mission because they carry out royal orders. 13. The officials with such titles as protector general [hohaeng taejang] or officials escorting the letter of the Chinese emperor [paech’ik ch’awŏn] are in fact not really necessary. Since the governor escorts the Chinese envoys, he is actually the protector general. Why do we need another official to carry out the same duty? If a local magistrate who is already appointed escort commissioner is also made to serve as an official who escorts the letter of the Chinese emperor, it does not look good. From now on, the governor who escorts the Chinese envoys should carry out the duties of the protector general concurrently. As for the officials who escort the letter of the Chinese emperor, they should be selected from the magistrates through whose districts the Chinese envoys have already passed. It will be very convenient if those local magistrates are made to escort the Chinese envoys to the next post station by turns. 14. That all of the governor’s aides [pijang] turn out at one time is really one of the serious abuses. When they visit the districts, following the governor, the people in the districts try to please them to the best of their ability; as a matter of fact, there is not much difference in their treatment of those aides and of the governor

488

book VII

himself, who is their superior. Since the aides find fault with all kinds of things under the pretext of official business when they are discontented, the district officials are all the more anxious to entertain them. So the servants who work in the districts often say, “The first-rate foods go to the aides, the second to the governor, and the third to the Chinese envoys.” This saying is handed down from the old days. From now on, a rule should be made that no more than two aides accompany the governor and no ser vices be provided to them. If they are also made to bring their own provisions with them and are prohibited from using post-station horses, many of the abuses will be eliminated. 15. The ser vices provided to the governor, such as food and accommodations, were originally specified in punp’an but, in the rules and regulations made in Musin year, were arbitrarily distributed to various districts that had post stations in their jurisdiction. The welcoming reception and the entertainment of the Chinese imperial embassy are matters of importance for the state. All the details related to this mission and the concerted efforts of those who are involved in it should be based on sound rules and regulations, which are essential to good preparation for and successful discharge of this duty. Arbitrarily dividing and distributing various tasks at the last minute, which is happening these days, therefore, is quite embarrassing. In the process, the districts with post stations try to evade their share of duties, shifting their responsibility to others. Besides, although the districts recruited for the entertainment mission are supposed to entertain both the Chinese envoys and their own governor along with his entourage, each magistrate on his own should make separate preparations, which causes great abuses. Furthermore, it is extremely inconvenient to transport back and forth the banners, six musical instruments [yukgak], seats, folding screens and tents, dishes and vessels, and other items to post stations that are several hundred li away. From now on, the needs of the governor and his entourage should be provided by chief escort officials at post stations, and more important, rules had better be made about these things so that the whole cost can be paid from the original budget for entertaining the Chinese envoys. 16. Since post-station runners, who have committed wicked and ferocious abuses for a long time, try to depend only on bribes, the low-ranking officials of the district are all afraid of them as if they were tigers. The reason that troubles occur is all because of these post-station runners. 183. The meaning of this term is unknown. 184. Six kinds of Korean instruments: drums, two-headed drums called changgu, Korean fiddles called haegŭm, flutes, and a pair of Korean pipes called t’aep’yŏngso.

Rites and Ceremonies

489

From now on, the expenses for food and other ser vices to the post-station runners should be paid only in cash, and the money should be delivered in advance to the chief of the concerned post station, counting the number of runners. 17. It is extremely unreasonable to fi x the exact amount of the expenditure for entertaining the Chinese envoys permanently by the rules and regulations. Since the excess or shortage of that expenditure cannot be determined in advance, how can one determine the exact amount? It may be more reasonable to set an approximate figure for each district and province. 18. The expenditure for the reception of Chinese envoys was originally supposed to be set aside in order to deal with unexpected visits of Chinese envoys, but the rules and regulations of individual districts and provinces are all different on this. Some districts, in an extreme case, even run a moneylending business by using the fund that is set aside, turning the profit into the monthly stipend of their magistrates. If you look at one thing, you can tell three other things. Even if the budget for entertaining Chinese envoys is generously established, it will still cost twice as much to make preparations in an emergency. When the visit of Chinese envoys is over, the deficit amounts to several thousand catties or 1,000 taels. This is all natural because that is the way things work. Even if the government prohibits appointing influential residents directors in chief, the financial loss will ultimately be made up by the common people. And if the loss is to be made up by the magistrate, it will still be unreasonable, and the dignity of the government will suffer damage. What we should do from now on is to set aside one-third of the fund for entertaining Chinese envoys for use in an emergency and to loan the rest of the fund to civilians at an interest rate of 0.02 percent per month. The income generated in that way over several years should be put aside and never be loaned at interest. Once the deficit of the whole expenditure for entertaining Chinese envoys is calculated, the limit on the income generated from moneylending can be determined. 19. The precedents concerning the entertainment of Chinese envoys are so different from district to district that it is difficult to cite them all. Some districts dispatch their representatives to manage the fund through conducting trade, or they privately establish a Chinese envoys entertainment fund [ch’ikgo] and have its managers make up the shortage of the fund. The rules and regulations regarding the temporary law-enforcement officers [kŭmnan changgyo] who control traffic during the visit of Chinese envoys, banner-holding military guards escorting their carriage [ponggi muhak], and Confucian students carrying the imperial message [paech’ik kyosaeng], as well as eggs, raw pheasant meat, recruited horses [moma], milch cows, roads, bridges, torchlights, a group of lantern holders [ch’ongnonggun], and couriers [chuhaenggun], are all problematic, and the errors in

490

book VII

them are not just one or two. Since many of the rules and regulations can be used as a pretext for exploiting the people, the government must make the local districts conduct a thorough investigation of this matter and voluntarily report about the problems that they may have. Some of them have old precedents but did not use them this year, and others may have started making new precedents although they have old ones. The reports on the problems should be detailed and should present ideas for solutions. Some districts may have violated the law, but if the government, instead of pressing hard, repeatedly persuades those who are responsible to expose real facts, how can the magistrates dare to conceal them? The magistrates of the districts that keep Chinese envoys entertainment funds may be reluctant to reveal all the facts. If it is necessary to run such a fund, the scale of its lending activities must be reduced. As for the problematic rules and regulations of various kinds, if the magistrates should be required to state them at the end of their reports, which are made after the visit of the Chinese envoys is over, and the governor looks into them, the abuses of the people will not be the same as in the past. 20. The prices of goods produced in inland towns and in sea villages are different, and this must be reflected in making rules and regulations. How can the price of deer meat in the mountain villages and that of fish in the seacoast be the same? Although commodities produced in distant places are naturally more expensive because of the cost of transportation, our rules and regulations do not consider this fact from the beginning; therefore, this must also be rectified. 21. Since the provincial government puts excessive pressure on the people of various districts to bring the required goods to the post station much earlier than the deadline, the people often waste their time, as well as their money, which amounts to as much as 20 or 30 taels per individual. The rules and regulations should provide a clear guideline on this matter. It should be stated that the people who received a notice of the schedule [concerning the visit of the Chinese envoys] report to the post station three days before the actual visit of the envoys, and the practice of examining or investigating the goods and personnel, which is usually done by the governor’s aides far in advance of the deadline, must be abolished permanently. This will make the lives of people easy and state affairs run smoothly. 22. As to the various procedures for entertaining Chinese envoys who carry a death message, there is no provision not only in the rules and regulations but also in the Five Rites of State. Now is the time to prepare some guidelines to be included in the rules and regulations. 23. Since painting or repairs [of guest houses and other accommodations for Chinese envoys] are not the kind of work that is done in a par ticular time of the

Rites and Ceremonies

491

year or period, money for expenses for these tasks should be available even after the accounting of the budget is closed. For instance, when painting and repairs are done three years after the visit of Chinese envoys, the cost is 60 taels, and 90 after six years. It will then be more appropriate that these expenses be paid after including them in the regular budget. Since it is not possible to retrieve the money already paid in Pyŏngjin year [1796], and the new paint job was done by special order from the provincial office, it would be extremely inappropriate for the government not to finance such projects. 24. Things that cannot wait until the following fiscal year after the amendment of the rules and regulations should be sold off. Work like raising or lowering the dustcovers in the ceilings of the rooms for the Chinese envoys had better be carried out during the time of leisure. 25. There is always a place called ch’emaso between every two post stations [ch’am], a stopping place where one changes horses for continuing his travel. When the distance between the stations is too great, travelers, including the Chinese envoys and their entourage, have to suffer the inconvenience of hunger, and if it is too small, there will be the problem of changing horses too often. According to what the interpreters say, the distance between Anju and Sukch’ŏn is nearly 80 li because of the lack of bridges, which makes the travelers detour. This route, however, has only one stopping place. So there is no one who does not complain about his hunger, including the envoys themselves. On the other hand, the distance between Ch’ongsu and P’yŏngsan, and between P’yŏngsan and Kŭmch’ŏn, is only 30 li; nevertheless, they change their horses, which causes waste and abuses. From now on, the distance between post stations should not exceed 50 li, and there should be a stopping place at a midpoint of the route. If the distance between the post stations is only 30 li, there will be no replacement of horses, and if the distance is less than that, the expenditure on horses needs to be reduced much more. The traveling route of the Chinese envoys from Ŭiju to Hongjewŏn, therefore, had better be entirely readjusted. 26. If traveling envoys happen to fall ill on the road but cannot find medicine in the village they arrive at, they will be at a loss. While there are too many formal proprieties and protocols, the practical aspects of entertaining the envoys are mostly neglected. From now on, the Palace Physicians’ Court [Naeŭiwŏn], starting from Ŭiju, should provide the interpreters

185. Towns in P’yŏngan Province in northern Korea. 186. Towns in Hwanghae Province in northern Korea.

492

book VII

with all the medicines for the envoys during an emergency and make them return the medicines later if there are any leftovers. C H A P T E R : E DUC AT I NG T H E PE OPL E

(In olden days the grand minister of education taught the people, and the musician in chief [dasile] taught scions of state [guozi, or sons of the nobility and high officials]. Educating the people is the duty of the Ministry of Education [Diguan]. When I drafted the rites of the state, I made the rules and regulations concerning the education of people belong to the Ministry of Education; however, since the well-fields nowadays are not equally regulated and the legal system remains incomplete, the so-called education of the people [jiaomin] only exhorts the people to follow good customs and observe the local community compact. I intend to put these things in the section on the rites.) The Office of Governing the People Is Nothing but Educating the People. Regulating Agricultural Productivity Is for Educating the People; Bringing Justice to the Administration of Taxation and Labor Services Is for Educating the People; Establishing Districts and Installing Magistrates Is for Educating the People; and Making the Laws and Preparing the Rules and Ordinances Are Also for Educating the People. Since All These State Affairs Have Not Been in Good Order and Therefore Have Been Unable to Educate the People Properly, There Has Not Been Any Good Government for a Hundred Generations. According to Rites of Zhou, the precinct mentor [zushi] gathered the people together on the first day of every month, read the law of the state, selected the outstanding individuals who practiced filial piety, fraternity, and peace with in-laws, and made a record of the outstanding individuals. The ward head [dangzheng] gathered the people on the first day of the first month of the four seasons, read the law of the state, and chose and recorded the names of those who excelled in virtuous conduct and accomplishments. The township head [zhouchang] read the law of the state on New Year’s Day, inspected the moral conduct and accomplishments of the people, and examined their mistakes and wrongdoings. The district

187. A member of the Ministry of Education; “head of 100 families constituting a precinct (zu) in local self-government of the populace” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 528). 188. The leader of the ward, “a local self-government unit in the royal domain with a Head (cheng) who was reportedly popularly elected; consisted of 5 Precincts (tsu) totaling 500 families” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 486). 189. A man with the rank of ordinary grand master in each township (chou), which consists of 2,500 families (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 178).

Rites and Ceremonies

493

grand master [xiangdafu] received the law of edification from the minister of education [situ] on New Year’s Day and publicly announced it in his district. I have observed that during the time of the Zhou dynasty the government gave the people assignments on a monthly basis and often supervised them as if it were evaluating their moral virtue and investigating their personal wrongdoings and evil conduct. This is what is called xiangsanwu and xiangbaxing, which the local government employed for teaching and ruling its people. The rule of the prince can be possible only after these rules are properly ordered and executed. Since the magistrate’s term nowadays is three years at the longest and one year at the shortest, the magistrate is merely a passenger. If one considers that the result of benevolence can rise after a generation, and rites and music after a hundred years, the task of instructing the people is beyond the capacity of the passengerlike magistrates. However, if a man who is already a magistrate just stands and watches, without making efforts to save the people from degenerating into the state of barbarism and savagery, he is actually neglecting his duty. Therefore, how can he stop exhorting the people to learn and practice good customs and cultivate the local community compact? In the olden days the royal domain of the Son of Heaven was 1,000 li in all directions, and such rules for instructing the people were confined only to the immediate environs of the royal capital. The district grand masters, township heads, ward heads, and precinct mentors were all officials belonging to the Six Districts [Liuxiang], which are similar to the Five Wards [Obu] in Seoul. Outside the Six Districts [Liusui] there were no rules in relation to the instruction of the people. Since the Six Districts were located outside the royal 190. A member of the Ministry of Education who served as general administrative head of a district (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 233). 191. The local government’s three areas of instruction, which consisted of six virtues (knowledge, benevolence, piety, justice, loyalty, and wisdom), six modes of behavior (fi lial piety, friendship, fraternity, serving in-laws, carry ing out duties, and charity), and six arts (rites, music, archery, governing, writing, and computation). 192. Punishments for Eight Offenses (Baxing), which consist of undutifulness to parents, discord in the family, mistreatment of parents of one’s spouse, lack of brotherly love, abandonment of official duties, avoidance of saving the people, fabrication of false rumors, and the creation of social disturbances. 193. Located in the immediate environs of the royal palace, they were ruled by the district grand masters with the rank of minister. Since one district (xiang) consisted of 12,500 families, the total number of families belonging to the Six Districts was 75,000. 194. Seoul, the capital of Chosŏn Korea, was divided into five administrative units: east, west, south, north, and center. The royal palace was in the center. 195. The district (sui) was “the largest unit of local orga nization of the population outside the royal domain, comparable to a hsiang (District) within the royal domain, each theoretically consisting of 12,500 families in 5 Townships (hsien or chou)” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 461).

494

book VII

capital, there were no par ticular laws of popular education except guiding the people according to local customs and traditions so that they themselves could help each other; in their cases the law made no reference to moral conduct and arts and skills because it was difficult to give out assignments every month to hardworking farmers and make them practice what they learned. Only in The Great Tradition of Classic of History [Shangshu dachuan] is there a statement like this: “Since mallets and hoes have already been stacked away and the year’s works of farming has been finished, it is now time for the private academies to start their classes. The day to start the classes is set forty-five days before the winter solstice, and during this period matters concerning farming are taught.” Nevertheless, it is not certain whether the law concerning the education of the people actually existed at that time. The counties and districts nowadays are the equivalents of the marquisates, the states of the feudal princes. Since the instruction of the marquisates was always available within the capital cities, those who studied the Way [Dao] resided inside the capitals, learning the ways of governing the people, and those who took farming as their vocation lived outside the walls of the capital city, working on plowing the land. This is what Guanzi said about the people: “They live together with their own kinds: literati with literati, and farmers with farmers.” The rulers in later ages, however, had no laws to allocate the residence of the people. As a result, the people live scattered all over the place, just like the birds and beasts. Since nowadays the farmers live in the towns and the literati in the countryside, it is impossible to differentiate the two classes of people by the places of their residence. Because teaching and admonishing the people are the duties of the literati who study the Way, they should teach the farmers who work in the field during the winter, making them practice filial duty as Mencius taught; teaching the people when they are free from their farmwork should be done according to the doctrine of Fu Sheng. Organizing the People into a Unit of Five [Wu] and Regulating Them with a Local Community Compact Are Also Old Customs Handed Down from the System of District, Ward, Township, and Precinct. Since This System Has Already Proved to Be Beneficial, It Is Advisable to Carry It Out. When Han Yanshou became prefect of Dongdu, he appointed heads of five households [wuchang] and made the wicked unable to reside in the district by promoting fi lial behavior and brotherhood and making the residents report to 196. A book attributed to Fu Sheng. 197. A local mutual-responsibility group during the time of the Zhou dynasty that consisted of five neighboring households (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 568).

Rites and Ceremonies

495

him immediately if anything urgent had happened. Although at fi rst this system appeared to be cumbersome, the troubles in pursuing and capturing criminals disappeared eventually. The local community compact in later ages was generally based on this system. The following happened when Cheng Mingdao governed Jincheng. When the people living in the countryside visited the town center, he always told them about the importance of fi lial piety, brotherhood, loyalty, and trust. Next, calculating the distance of villages, he created local militia squads [baowu] so that the people could mutually assist one another in carry ing out their labor ser vice or in overcoming disasters, repelling wickedness and falsehood from their community. Furthermore, he had the lonely and sick taken care of by their families and relatives, and if there were travelers who happened to be sick while passing through the villages in his district, he also had them looked after. The community compact proposed by the Lü brothers of Lantian District [Lüshi xiangyue], states: “Those who join the community compact mutually exhort virtuous conduct, admonish against mistakes, associate with each other, and try to save people from disasters. If there is anything that is good and deserves praise, it should be put on record; if a man commits a mistake or violates the rule of the community compact, his name should also be put on record. If a man commits mistakes three times, he is punished; if he remains unrepentant despite his punishment, he is to be banished.” A magistrate who has loft y ideals but lacks ability is always inclined to execute the law of the community compact, but in that case the harms that he causes exceed those brought about by thieves. Powerful local families and landlords are appointed guardians of morality [chipgang], and they call themselves either head or censor in chief [hŏnjang] of the community compact, employing their men under the titles of public agent [kongwŏn] and rotating member of the community compact [chikwŏl]. They recklessly wield their power, scaring the people and extorting wine and grain from them, and there is no limit on their demands. They always uncover the faults and weaknesses of the people that are often hidden and ask for bribes and rewards to solve their problems. Thus, wherever they go, they are treated with wine and meat, and the families who host them make a fuss over them for solving their legal problems with the authorities. They also pass out labor ser vice to ignorant people and make them work for their farms. Furthermore, since the magistrate allows these men to handle lawsuits and 198. A local community compact made by Lu Dajun and his brother, the residents of Lantian District during the Song dynasty. Th is compact was later revised and edited by Zhu Xi and exerted a great influence on the development of the Korean local compact system. The community compact was a form of village self-government. 199. The rotating member with the title of chikwŏl refers to the those who carried out the work of the community compact by taking turns on a monthly basis.

496

book VII

makes them conduct investigations or submit reports on violations of the community compact, their abuses of their power and privilege are endless. There are two factions in Posŏng County: one is the faction of the county school [kyop’a], and the other is that of the community compact [yakp’a]. The former consists of those who frequent the county school [hyanggyo], and the latter of those who are in charge of the community compact [hyangyak]. These two factions dislike each other so much that they always fight and accuse each other. Thus the good custom of the district deteriorates from bad to worse, and it is now the worst in the province. If one judges from this, the community compact is not a matter that can be discussed lightly. It can be accomplished only when it is taken seriously. The following happened when Chen Xiang became magistrate of Xianju. (In the Elementary Learning [Xiaoxue] Chen Xiang is called Master Guling.) Located in a remote corner of the country, the people of his district were little educated, so he wrote a book that encouraged learning and had the people read it. Then he said, “In my district he who is a father should be just (thus he is able to straighten out the problems in his household), an elder brother brotherly, a younger brother respectful, a son fi lial; a husband and a wife should love and trust each other (their love grows when they go through poverty; if a man abandons or neglects his wife, or if a woman remarries after the death of her husband, their love and trust are suspect); a man and a woman should observe distinctions in their roles and conduct (since a man has his wife, and a woman her husband, there is no difficulty in observing the distinctions); children should be educated (education enables them to learn about propriety and a sense of shame); and a village should have a custom of courtesy (during the holiday seasons villagers visit each other, and during festivities order and decorum are observed among the old and young in taking seats and greeting). Furthermore, faced with poverty and disaster, kin and relatives mutually assist one another; and in the case of weddings and funerals, neighbors lend their support. People exert themselves in agriculture and sericulture, staying away from stealing, gambling, and lawsuits. The wicked do not scorn the kindhearted, nor do the rich swallow the things that belong to the poor. While walking the roads, one yields his way to others (the young to their elders, the low in status to persons of higher status, the one with light baggage to those carry ing heavier baggage, and the one who walks for those who approach); the one who plows his field yields the footpath to his neighbor (he does not quarrel with his neighbor to take a little patch of land attached to the footpath dividing their fields or paddies); and finally, the elders should not be 200. A district in South Chŏlla Province. 201. A book compiled by Zhu Xi and his disciple Liu Zicheng to instruct young children on Confucian tradition.

Rites and Ceremonies

497

allowed to carry heavy loads while they are working (the young people should carry the burden, not allowing their elders to handle it). If these things are duly observed, the custom of courtesy and propriety will be realized.” The elders who listened to what Chen said were deeply impressed and followed him eagerly. When Zhu Xi stayed in Zhangzhou, he showed the statement of Chen Xiang to the residents and said as follows: “I wish that the people belonging to the same security group [bao] mutually recommend good things while admonishing against bad things, obey their parents with fi lial piety, respect their elders, live in good harmony with their relatives, provide aid to their neighbors who need help, dedicate themselves to their work in accordance with their social stations, stay away from stealing from others or indulging in drinking and gambling, avoid quarrels and lawsuits, neither take things forcefully from one another nor commit violence against or deceive one another, take care of themselves physically while being careful and patient in doing what needs to be done, and fear the law of the nation. I want you to submit a formal report to me if you find fi lial sons, exemplary grandsons, good stepfathers, and faithful wives in the security group so that I can publicly honor them with official commendation for their conduct, which is required by the law. I also want you to report about those who conduct themselves to the contrary so that I can undertake investigations and duly punish them. Since the other injunctions stipulated by the local community compact are already being enforced separately, no one should fail to observe them.” If the rules and regulations of the local community compact are like these, they will certainly serve their purpose. However, there will be a problem if they are hastily instituted and enforced without much consideration and discussion of their potential abuses that are handed down from the old days. So it is advisable to select several kinds of exemplary conduct from the local community compacts made by Lü and Chen, as well as the public admonishment by Zhu Xi and The Five Human Relationships Illustrated [Oryun haengsildo], make them into a book in Korean script hangŭl, and distribute copies of it to a number of subdistricts. Each subdistrict then selects a hundred or so youths (120 in a large subdistrict, and 80 in a small one) and makes them study it. Lectures and recitations on the articles of the local community compact will be held every 10 days for a period of 120 days starting from the Onset of Winter to the End of Hibernation [Kyŏngch’ip] and are to be led by the youths who studied the text of the community compact. When their lectures and recitations are finished, they go out and recommend them to the people, explaining their essential aspects. Lawsuits among the villagers are one of the things that the local community compact strongly discourages. If someone brings a lawsuit against his neighbor, 202. A book compiled by Yi Pyŏngmo by royal order of King Chŏngjo (1797). 203. Around March 5 to around March 20.

498

book VII

the magistrate writes down his name in his daily record. When there are many who bring lawsuits, he chastises their children as a way of reprimanding them. On the other hand, when lawsuits decrease, he compliments the people and encourages peace among them by awarding citations. The magistrate also makes searches through extra channels to find fi lial sons, exemplary grandsons, and persons who live in harmony with their families and relatives and rewards them separately. As to those who neglect their duty of filial piety, lack brotherhood, and are foolish enough to accumulate evil actions, he takes a quick and decisive measure to stop them from making more mistakes, which will greatly help enhance the customs of the people. It should never happen that powerful local families or wicked people are allowed to run the operation of the local community compact. Yi I in his diary titled Sŏkdam ilgi [Diary of Sŏkdam] said to the king as follows: “Many of your subjects have recently appealed to you to allow the law of the local community compact to be implemented urgently, and Your Majesty granted their request. However, that decision in my view is premature. Nurturing the people [yangmin] is a more urgent priority at the present time than educating the people [kyomin]. Since the living conditions of the people have never been worse than in these days, what needs to be done first is to relieve the people from abuses and then to implement the law of the local community compact. Figuratively speaking, educating the people can be likened to nutritious rice and meat. No matter how good they are, they are of no use if the people are too sick to eat them.” Yu Hŭich’un said, “What Yi I says makes sense.” Hŏ Yŏp asked Yi I, “Why did you recommend the suspension of the local community compact?” Yi I replied, “It is said that only after the people are well provided with food and clothes can they learn the way to conduct themselves. The people are now suffering from hunger and cold. How can you teach them good manners?” Hŏ said with lamentation, “How can you say so? The fortunes of the state depend on the rise and decline of its morality.” Yi I asked him, “Do you really believe that we can have a time of peace and prosperity if we just educate the people and make them learn about good customs through practicing the rules and regulations of the local community compact even though their lives and livelihood are hard and in danger? Is there any precedent throughout history 204. Also called Diary of Royal Lectures (Kyŏngyŏn ilgi), this is Yi I’s personal record of state affairs, which he kept on a daily basis over the period of seventeen years from 1565 (Myŏngjong 20) to 1581 (Sŏnjo 14). Sŏkdam was Yi I’s pen name. 205. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was T’aehwi, and his pen name Ch’odang. He served as sixth royal secretary and governor of Kyŏngsang Province. In 1568 he visited Ming China as a member of a Korean embassy and upon his return proposed that the government implement the law of the local community compact. He is famous for having distinguished children, including Hŏ Kyun and Hŏ Nansŏlhŏn, who became famous writers.

Rites and Ceremonies

499

in which good customs thrived while the people led lives of misery? Even the relationship between father and son, however close it may be, will deteriorate if the father relentlessly pushes his son to exert himself in his studies, lashing him day and night, although he is suffering from extreme hunger and cold. Given that, how can you expect the people to do better?” Hŏ Yŏp said, “The people of today are either good or bad, and I tend to believe that the good exceed the bad in number. Because of this, it is possible to carry the local community compact into effect.” Upon hearing this remark, Yi I laughed and said: “Since you are a good person, you seem to see only the good. Since I am not like you, I seem to see only the bad. However, according to the classics, ‘The people follow the one who teaches them through his conduct but fight with the one who tries to teach them through his words.’ Did it never occur to you that there will be fights and quarrels in executing the law of the local community compact?” Yi I said: “Although the local community compact established by the Lu brothers has sound principles and rules, they are mainly for the literati who share the same ideas and values, not for members of the general populace, who are ignorant. Leading his colleagues, Zhu Xi tried to lecture on the rules of the local community compact to the local people but never succeeded. People today, deep in distress, have lost their original good nature. Fathers and sons do not care for each other, and brothers and wives and children are all scattered and separated from one another. Under these circumstances, how can you impose on the people the rules and regulations of the local community compact, which were originally intended for the literati? The fact of the matter is, as people say, that the pristine rule of ancient days cannot replace the disorder of the Qin dynasty, and performing a martial dance wielding a shield and an ax cannot break the siege of Pingcheng. “Furthermore, it is difficult to find the right persons for the job of head of the community compact and clerk [zhiyue], and the men of influence in the local community compact can harass the people by taking advantage of their position. In that case, who is going to control those people? If the local community compact is implemented now, the lives of the people will certainly become much worse. Scholars like Hŏ Yŏp, being ignorant of the world, only long for the old days without questioning the relevance of their ideas; he is unaware of the fact that there is a priority in governing the state. It is a mistake, therefore, to rectify degenerate customs with the rules of local community compact, is it not?”

206. A place where a military confl ict between Han China and the Xiongnu took place in 200 B.C. Emperor Gaozu’s army, stationed in Pingcheng, was surrounded by the forces of Xiongnu for seven days, completely cut off from his main army somewhere else. After suffering intensely from the shortage of supplies, he fi nally succeeded in escaping from the enemy because of the idea of Chen Ping, one of his advisors, who sent a secret emissary to bribe the queen of Modu, the enemy leader.

500

book VII

If the Magistrate Recommends the Exemplary Conduct of Old Sages to the People, Making Them Accustomed to It, That Will Be of Great Help to Their Cultivation and Edification. The National Code states: “The Three Bonds Illustrated [Samgang haengsildo] shall be translated into the Korean alphabet and taught to wives and children both in Seoul and in local regions by the people like literati, heads of families, elders, and instructors of the local community compact. If there is anyone who is distinguished in learning, as well as conduct, the governor should recommend him to the king for reward and commendation.” In Chŏngsa year [1797], King Chŏngjo ordered The Five Relationships Illustrated [Oryun hangsildo] to be revised and expanded and distributed to the counties and districts nationwide so that it could be taught to women and children. I believe that The Five Human Relationships Illustrated is already available with explanations in Korean to accompany the illustrations. The idea of this book can be traced back to the old days when the general populace was taught through the drawings of the criminals who were punished. Upon learning about right conduct and duly impressed by it, the people will exert themselves. A copy of this book will be quickly worn out and unreadable if it is shown to ten thousand households, so it is advisable to calculate the whole number of households in the district first and to distribute a copy of the book to every hundred households; thus ten copies for a thousand households, a hundred copies for ten thousand households, and so forth. The following happened when Feng Yuan became magistrate of Liquan. Finding the local customs cunning and craft y, he wrote a book titled Awakening the People from Ignorance [Yumeng], which consisted of fourteen volumes on various subjects, including loyalty and fi lial piety, humanity and justice, encouragement of learning, and exhortation of agriculture. He distributed a copy of his book to every village. When Qi Lun was in charge of Taihe District, he composed fift y volumes of Instructions for the People [Yumin]. Since his book was easy to read, it accomplished its purpose well. The following happened when Minister Kim Seryŏm served as magistrate of Hyŏnp’ung. Upon arriving in his district, he established the rules and regulations of the county school and polished the articles of the local community com207. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Daozong, and his posthumous title Zhangjing. He served as vice minister of taxation. 208. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongyan. 209. An official of the mid- Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Towŏn, and his pen name Tongmyŏng. He also served as governor of P’yŏngan Province, inspector general, and minister of taxation.

Rites and Ceremonies

501

pact with great care. This produced the desired effect in a year, and his district was well governed. When he became governor of Kyŏngsang Province, he reinforced and expanded the system of the local community compact to all the counties and districts in his domain, gathering literati in the county schools and promoting learning and arts and, at the same time, employing distinguished scholars for the instruction of the literati in the locality. To Punish a Man without Teaching Him Is to Entrap Him. Even If He Is Terribly Unfilial to His Parents, One Should Try to Teach Him First. If He Still Refuses to Change His Ways Even Though You Have Taught Him the Proper Way, Then He Can Be Put to Death. When Chou Lan became neighborhood head [tingchang] of Yangsui, he worked hard to civilize the people. There was a man named Chen Yuan who treated his mother very badly. When his mother appealed to Chou Lan, Chou summoned her son and reproached him, explaining why his conduct was reprehensible. Then he gave him a copy of Classic of Filial Piety [Xiaojing] and made him read it. Realizing his past wrongdoings, Chen went to his mother and said, “When I lost my father early in my life, you raised me with loving care. According to an old saying, a bad calf butts its mother’s breast with its head, and a spoiled son with no manners swears at his mother. I beg you to forgive me. From now on I will show you how I have changed.” The son and the mother wept, looking at each other. Chou Lan practiced fi lial piety as he promised and soon became an outstanding scholar. The following happened when Yang Yanguang became magistrate of Xiangzhou. There was a man named Jiao Tong from Fuyang who abused his parents because of his bad drinking habit. His younger cousin brought a suit against him. Instead of punishing the man, Magistrate Yang took him to the Confucian shrine in the county school and had him see a statue of Han Boyu, who was crying while he was being punished by his mother. It was not pain that caused him to cry; it was his sadness after realizing that the strength of his mother was not like in the past because of her old age. Jiao Tong finally realized his mistakes and was deeply ashamed of his wrongdoings. Magistrate Yang sent him home with admonitions, and the man changed his way of life and became a fine scholar. 210. Legge, Works of Mencius, book 1, “King Hui of Liang, Part 1,” 148: “When they thus have been involved in crime, to follow them up and punish them;—this is to entrap the people.” 211. An official of the Sui dynasty. His courtesy name was Xiuzhi. He served as prefect of Qizhou and Xiangzhou. 212. A man of the Han dynasty who was famous for his fi lial piety.

502

book VII

The following happened when Fang Jingbo was magistrate of Qinghe. A mother brought a suit against her own son. Lady Cui, Magistrate Fang’s mother, said, “Raised in a remote countryside, the woman’s son does not know how to behave to his mother. How can you reproach him harshly?” Then Lady Cui invited the mother to have dinner together with her and had her son stand at one side and watch Magistrate Fang serving his mother. In less than ten days the mother and son, now repentant, asked to be allowed to return to their home. Lady Cui said, “You look ashamed but are not serious in your heart.” Then she made them stay for another twenty days or so. At that point the mother once more begged for permission to go home, crying and pounding her forehead on the floor as a sign of sincerity. Lady Cui finally granted her request, and her son later became well known for his filial piety. The following happened when Kim P’iljin became magistrate of Husŏng. A man in his district named Yi In was accused of impiety to his parents and banished to a remote corner of the country. His father, Sangik, often came to the yamen and appealed the injustice of the punishment of his son. The magistrate was very cautious in dealing with the case because Yi In’s crime was regarded as the most serious among the five penalties [ohyŏng], and he finally decided to reopen the case for further investigation. Thus he discovered that nearly twenty people had signed as witnesses against Yi In, and they were mostly officials and the relatives of Yi In who lived in the same village. Reporting his investigations to the governor, Magistrate Kim cited the case of Chou Xiang [Chou Lan] and stated as follows: “The reason that the authorities did not punish a son who had abused his mother very badly, despite the fact that his mother had brought a suit against him, was that reconciliation and forgiveness take precedence over punishment. The reason that the authorities try to make the people avoid drastically breaking the close relationship between fathers and sons has to do with strengthening the customs of propriety by educating them on moral principles.” Deeply impressed by this statement in the report, the governor said, “This indeed reminds me of the true attitude of upright officials in the olden days.” He soon made a report to the royal court and brought about the release of Yi In. The following happened when Pak Seryang became magistrate of Sinch’ang. A man who had terribly mistreated and abused his mother was imprisoned in the local jail after his mother brought a complaint to the authorities. His neighbors joined her and pleaded with the magistrate not to forgive him. Distressed by 213. An official of the Later Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Changhui. He was known for his fi lial piety. 214. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Taeok, and his pen names P’yŏng’ong and P’ungae. 215. Capital punishment, exile, penal servitude, beating with a heavy stick, and beating with a light stick.

Rites and Ceremonies

503

their remonstration, Magistrate Pak said, “He is also a man like us. It is not auspicious to kill him without giving him a chance to learn morality.” Then through parables he taught the accused man about the right ways of human behavior between a mother and a son, and the man begged for forgiveness after realizing his wrongdoings. Magistrate Pak released him and sent him home to serve his mother, and the man later became known for his fi lial piety. The following happened when Kang Yuhu became magistrate of Chŏngju. There was a yamen clerk who had lost track of his mother fi fteen years earlier, since she had been driven out of his house by his father. Magistrate Kang told the story of Zhu Shouchang to the clerk, persuading him to search for his mother. He also warned, “If you refuse to do what I said to you, you will surely die.” Deeply impressed by the magistrate’s sincerity, the clerk eventually found his mother and became a devoted son. When Hu Tinggui served as assistant magistrate of Qianshan, he strictly prohibited clandestine brewing at home. A daughter-in-law accused her motherin-law of illegal brewing at home. Hu Tinggui reproached her and said, “Did you serve your mother-in-law with due filial piety?” She replied, “Yes, I did, Your Honor.” Hu said, “If so, I suppose you will be able to take punishment for your mother-in-law.” Then he ordered her to be lashed, and after that his work of edifying the people was well accomplished. Even If a Man Lacks Fraternity and Is Unashamed to Sue His Brother for Property, the Magistrate Should Try to Teach Him First Rather than Kill Him. When Han Yanshou served as regional commissioner, he arrived in Guling during his inspection tour. There were brothers who were engaged in lawsuits against each other because of land. Very shocked and disappointed to hear the case, Han said, “It is my own fault. As a man in charge of the county, I have failed to lead my people in the right direction, allowing a situation in which brothers sue each other. I am the one who should take responsibility and resign.” Then he shut himself in the inn under the pretext of illness without attending to his official duties, only reflecting on his mistakes. The people in the town were now extremely ner vous, not knowing what to do. The director [ling], aide [cheng], bailiff [sefu], and elder [sanlao] of the district bound themselves as if they were criminals and waited for the judgment. When this happened, the relatives of the two 216. Zhu Shouchang was a native of Tianchang in Song China. His mother was a concubine of his father and married another person after his death. Thus he was separated from his mother for fi ft y years. Resigning from his public office, he started looking for his mother and fi nally found her, along with his two brothers. His fi lial piety was praised by celebrated writers such as Wang Anshi and Su Shi. 217. Unknown.

504

book VII

brothers, the originators of the lawsuit, took turns reproaching them. The brothers eventually repented their mistakes and begged for forgiveness by cutting off their hair and baring their torsos. They yielded the land to each other and swore that they would never fight to the end of their lives. Extremely pleased with what had happened, Han Yanshou invited the two brothers to a meal with wine and meat and complimented their change of heart. The following happened when Su Qiong was appointed prefect of Nanqinghe. Among the residents were the brothers of Yi Puming who fought against each other over land, but their case remained unsettled although many years had passed, and the number of witnesses they called exceeded a hundred people. Su Qiong called in the two brothers and said, “What is most difficult to get under Heaven is a brother; what is easiest to get under Heaven is land. If you succeed in obtaining the land but lose your brother, how would you feel?” While the magistrate tried to persuade them with tears, all the witnesses on the spot joined him in weeping. The two brothers bowed their heads and begged for time to think about their reconciliation. They soon returned home to live together after having lived apart for ten years. (This happened during the reign of King Wenxiang of the Qi state.) The following happened when Zhang Changnian was prefect of Runan. When the brothers of Liu Chongzhi divided their family property, they could not come to an agreement because of a cow. Hence they brought a suit to the authorities. Saddened by the fact that brothers sued each other for only a cow, Magistrate Zhang said, “You came to fight each other because there is only one cow for both of you. If there are two cows, you will not need to.” He immediately bought a cow and gave it to them. Upon hearing this, the people in his district admonished each other about rightful conduct, showing respect and making concessions. In my opinion, however, the decision made by the prefect is problematic because he rewarded men who deserved disciplinary action. In the years of Kisa [1809] and Kapsul [1814] there was a poor harvest. Being a civilian at that time, I saw with my own eyes that sons who failed to serve their parents were rather few; on the other hand, ones who deserved punishment for lack of brotherly love were countless. A man bought a new piece of land while his younger brother, who lived next door, cried for food. Although the younger brother and his starving family were close to death, they could not get a single grain of rice from the elder brother. Since there is no reason that the authorities cannot arrest such men if they really want to, they should arrest several people 218. The Qi state here refers to the Northern Qi state of China during the Spring and Autumn period. 219. Unknown.

Rites and Ceremonies

505

like that in every subdistrict and punish them in the way admonished in “Announcement to Prince Kang” [“Kanggao”]. Then the custom will become more generous, and this approach may be far better than the local community compact in producing desired results. When Ma Gongmin  became magistrate, there were brothers who did not cease fighting over their property. Magistrate Ma brought a big mirror from a warehouse and had the brothers look into it together. They saw that their faces resembled each other, and their beards and hair were all white. Both of them wept aloud to realize their mistakes and went home, yielding the right-of-way to each other. The following happened when Chen Hanqing of the Song dynasty was temporarily in charge of Weinan District. There were two brothers who were engaged in legal battles for a piece of land. Although the authorities always ruled that the elder brother was right, the younger brother did not abandon his efforts and continued his legal proceedings against the other. So Chen Hanqing went out to see the land in contention and examined the documents related to it. He ruled that the land should belong to the elder brother, although the documents supported the claims of the younger brother. The elder brother apologized and said, “I feel sorry for what I have done. I thought about returning the land to my brother many times but failed to take action for fear of punishment.” The younger brother said, “I have had plenty of land from the beginning, but I sued my brother because of what I thought was right. Since I am now vindicated by the court, I want to give the land to my brother.” Then the two brothers held each other by the hand and wept. Because of this incident, the people of the district relied on the words of Chen Hanqing in deciding right and wrong in the matters they were concerned with. When He Wenyuan governed Wenzhou, there were brothers who sued each other because of words from their wives. He Wenyuan in his sentence stated, “Only because of the sweet sounds that cuckoos make in the shadow of the flowers are the high-flying geese in the sky separated from each other.” Upon hearing these words, the two brothers repented and reconciled. 220. “Announcement to Prince Kang” (“Kanggao”) is a chapter of Classic of History that is known to have been written by King Cheng, who subdued Guan Shu and Cai Shu and appointed Kang Shu as marquis of the state where the people of the Yin dynasty resided. According to another source, it was written by the Duke of Zhou to admonish King Cheng and Kang Shu. 221. Ma Sen, an official of the Ming dynasty. Gongmin was his posthumous title. He served as chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review and governed the people with benevolence. 222. His courtesy name was Shian. He served as vice director of the Department of State Affairs. 223. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Juchuan.

506

book VII

The following happened when Ham Uch’i became governor of Chŏlla Province. Two brothers from a distinguished family quarreled over cauldrons. Each wanted to have the larger of the two cauldrons in his house, and they fi nally brought a suit to the authorities. Extremely indignant, the governor ordered a clerk to bring those two cauldrons to the court, saying, “I will break them into pieces right away and give them to these two brothers after equally dividing the pieces according to their weight.” Submitting themselves to the decision of the governor, the two brothers finally abandoned their legal battles. The following happened when Second Tutor [p’ilsŏn] Yun Chŏn was magistrate of Iksan. When two brothers were engaged in lawsuits against each other, Magistrate Yun reprimanded the younger brother, asking, “Why did you sue your brother?” The younger brother replied, “My elder brother refuses to share the property with me, which our father left for both of us.” Then Yun asked the elder brother, “Why did you not divide the property with your younger brother?” The elder brother replied, “I could not dare violate the order of our father.” Magistrate Yun reproached the elder one as follows: “It is undeniable that your younger brother is guilty. However, it is also wrong that your father did not recognize him as his rightful son. In the olden days there were cases in which people did not follow the order [of their parents] when it was deemed wrong and unjust. It is right for you to divide the property with your brother even if it legally belongs to you. Although both of you deserve to be punished by the law of ‘Eight Offenses,’ I believe that it is also not right to punish you without first teaching you about your offenses.” When Magistrate Yun released the brothers after these admonitions, they came back to him the following day and made a request to divide their property. The following happened when Lü Tao was appointed magistrate of Tongliang. The three sisters of the Pang family conspired to steal the land that belonged to their young brother. After he grew up, the young brother tried to recover his land from his sisters by appealing to the authorities but failed and eventually

224. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. A son of Ham Chŏnnim, a dynasty foundation merit subject, he was appointed bailiff (kamch’al) without taking the civil ser vice examination and eventually rose to the position of sixth state councilor. 225. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Maesuk, and his pen name Huch’on. P’ilsŏn is the title of an office belonging to the Crown Prince Tutorial Office (Seja sigangwŏn). 226. Undutifulness to parents, discord in the family, mistreatment of parents of one’s spouse, lack of brotherly love, abandonment of official duties, avoidance of saving the people, fabrication of false rumors, and creation of social disturbances. The punishments for these offenses were established during the Zhou dynasty. 227. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuanjun, and his pen name Jingde. Opposing the new policy of Wang Anshi, he was exiled to Shuzhou.

Rites and Ceremonies

507

became a farm servant. When Lu Tao interrogated the sisters, they confessed their wrongdoing. Crying and bowing to the magistrate, the man in his gratitude wanted to donate half the land to a Buddhist temple. Lu Tao admonished him as follows: “Your three sisters are your blood. When you were little, they took care of the land for you. Otherwise, your land would now be in the hands of others. Then why do you not give half your land to your sisters rather than to the Buddhist temple so that you can enjoy a good relationship with them?” The man cried and followed his advice. Since the King’s Efforts at Edification Hardly Reach the Districts in the Remote Border Areas, the Magistrate Must Make Great Efforts to Promote and Implement Good Customs. There was a man in the land of Cheng who did not wear a mourning dress although his brother had died. When he heard that Zigao was to rule the land, he finally wore his funeral garment. So the people of Cheng said, “The silkworm spins its cocoons, but the crab supplies the box for them; the bee has its cap, but the cicada supplies the strings for it. His elder brother died, but it is Zigao who made him the mourning for him” (“Tangong” in Book of Rites). The following happened when Chen Fan became magistrate of Lean. There was a man named Zhao Xuan who lived for twenty years or so on the ground where he had buried his dead father. Because he was known for fi lial piety, he enjoyed the status of a celebrity in his district and province, receiving invitations as an honored guest. Magistrate Chen Fan visited the man and was surprised to learn that his five sons had all been born during his mourning period. Extremely indignant, Magistrate Chen said, “The reason that the sages made the rites was that the wise should submit themselves to their superiors even though they felt their superiors were inadequate, and the unworthy should follow their superiors, pushing themselves eagerly. It was also because the people tended to be negligent in offering sacrifices to their ancestors, and the function of rites was to prevent them from committing such a mistake. Your living on the grave and raising children, therefore, is outrageous from the standpoint of rites. Nothing in the world can be more deceptive and misleading than your way of living.” With this remark Magistrate Chen punished the man. When Zhu Xi was in Zhangzhou, he stated in an essay titled “Admonitions on the Conduct of the One in Mourning” [“Xiaoyu jusangwen”]: “In his letter 228. One of the disciples of Confucius. 229. Legge, Sacred Books of the East, Pt. 3, Li Chi [Book of Rites], 200–201. 230. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongju. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Gaoyang.

508

book VII

Presented Scholar Lü Weifu mentioned that he wore a regular scholar’s robe [lanfu] and a cap made of silk [zaoshajin] when he was in mourning for his mother. Having already amended the law, government authorities expressed their concern with regard to Lü’s conduct and warned him. As I have heard, the sage [Confucius] said, ‘The filial son in his mourning period feels uncomfortable when his clothes are beautiful; he is not pleased although he listens to music, and he cannot enjoy foods, however tasty they may be.’ This state of feeling deserves to be called the mind of a filial son. He also said, ‘Because a child can leave the bosom of its parents after three years, the three-year mourning period is universally accepted. Yu, did you not receive love from your parent for three years?’ For this reason, old sage kings made funeral rites in accordance with the bond of human relationship, establishing a system of living quarters, clothes, food, and so forth. During the middle age there was a law for those who had to serve in the army during their mourning period, requiring them to dye their uniform black, which already tarnished the original intention of sage kings. According to the law, however, those who in their mourning period wear regular clothes or are engaged in performing music, forgetting their sorrow, are to be punished by three years of penal servitude; those who are engaged in indecent activities, one year of penal servitude; and those who enjoy music or participate in banquets, a hundred strokes of beating with the heavy stick. Since these injunctions know no age and the custom upholds them, they indicate that those who rule the country still desire to maintain public order and propriety. From now on, those who are in mourning for their parents must wear proper mourning dresses and black hoods made of coarse cloth, as well as headbands and girdles made of hemp. Furthermore, they should avoid drinking, eating meat, and entering the inner quarters of their spouses. If they observe these rules for three years, they will be able to repay a little of their gratitude to their parents. So one must be anxious to respect and follow the due rites prescribed by the sages.” When Hŏ Cho became magistrate of Yŏngwŏl, he found that local residents observed only a hundred days of mourning for their dead parents. Hŏ Cho recommended that they observe three years of mourning for their parents and provided them with the supplies necessary for funerals and sacrifices, which eventually brought about a change in their funeral customs. 231. Little is known about him other than what is stated here. 232. Zai Yu, a disciple of Confucius. His courtesy name was Ziwo. Good at speaking, he complained that the three years’ mourning for parents was too long. Then he argued that one year was long enough. Displeased by his remark, Confucius said, “A superior man, during the whole period of mourning, does not enjoy pleasant food which he may eat, nor derive pleasure from music which he may hear. He also does not feel at ease, if he is comfortably lodged. Therefore he does not do what you propose.” Th is exchange is found both in Analects (“Yanghuo,” chapter 21, 327–328) and Records of the Grand Historian (“Biographies of Confucius’ Disciples,” 157). 233. “Yanghuo,” in Legge, Confucius, 327–328.

Rites and Ceremonies

509

The following happened when Second Minister without Portfolio Ki Kŏn became prefect of Cheju Island. Following their old customs, local residents buried their dead parents right away with no funeral rites. Before he took up his new post, Ki Kŏn first ordered yamen clerks to teach the people how to make coffins, prepare the body for burial, and finally commit it to the earth. So the burial customs for dead parents in Cheju and the edification of the people in general actually started from Ki Kŏn. One day Ki Kŏn had a dream in which three hundred people or so prostrated themselves in the yard, laying their heads on the ground toward him. They said, “Because of the special favor of Your Honor, our bones could be saved from being exposed to the ground; however, we were unable to repay you until now. This year you will have a distinguished grandson.” What they said indeed turned out to be true. (Before this incident happened, all of his three sons were without children. That year one of his sons, Ch’uk, had a son named Ch’an, who later became fourth royal counselor.) The following happened when Ren Yan was prefect of Jiuzhen. The residents of his district were ignorant of the proper relationship of father and son and husband and wife. Ren Yan made arrangements for men and women so that they could find spouses according to their age. People said, “It is through the kindness of our prefect that we have our children,” and they named their sons by using the character ren, the surname of the prefect. In the History of the Northern Dynasties there is a record as follows: “When Xue Shen became prefect of Huzhou, male children, in accordance with the customs of their barbaric state, left their parents once they were married even if their parents were alive. Xue Shen said, ‘How can a son be allowed to live separately from his parents because he was married? This is not only the fault of the barbarian custom but also a mistake of the magistrate.’ Then he personally persuaded and led the people to serve their parents and live in harmony with their brothers and relatives; at the same time he dispatched officials to the subdistricts to instruct the people on propriety and rituals. As a result, the work of civilization was accomplished, and the barbaric custom became like that of China.” Although Yang Zhijian liked learning, he was very poor, so his wife asked for a divorce and a document for his agreement. Yang wrote a poem and gave it to her for the document she had requested. His wife took his poem to the local government office and requested a certificate authorizing her divorce. At that time Yan Lugong [Yan Zhenqing] was in charge of the district. He ordered that the woman be lashed twenty times for destroying the good custom and at last granted her request for a divorce. At the same time, greatly disturbed by the poverty of Yang Zhijian, he sent him rice and silk and appointed him a military officer so that the people living near or far could know about what had happened. Because of this 234. An official of Northern Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Fohu.

510

book VII

incident, no wives in the Jiangzuo region deserted their husbands for several dozen years. It Is Also the Magistrate’s Duty Actively to Promote and Publicize Filial Sons, Faithful Wives, Loyal Subjects, and Men of Integrity to the General Public. Upon taking office as magistrate of Jiyin, Zheng Mao publicized those who practiced fi lial piety and fraternal love and treated those who were wise and talented with marks of distinction. In History of the Southern Dynasties there is a statement as follows: “When Wang Dan, whose pen name was Shixing, became military commander of Jiangling, he found that an old resident named Zhen Tian was outstanding in his moral conduct. When Wang Dan reported to the court on Zhen Tian’s integrity, the king through a royal decree marked the gate of the man’s house and granted him an official title.” Ding Gongzhu of the Tang dynasty looked exhausted as he carried earth to make a tomb for his father, who had recently passed away. His neighbors were worried that he might die in the middle of carry ing out his fi lial piety. When the governor reported Ding’s exemplary conduct of fi lial piety to the court, the emperor sent a decree to the local magistrate to provide the man with provisions and place a sign of fi lial piety on his gate. When Zhu Xi first arrived in Nankang, he stated in his public notice as follows: “If we look at the Gazetteers [Tujing], the men in former ages such as Superior Grand Master of the Palace Sima Hao, Adjutant of Minister of Education Sima Yanyi, and Magistrate Xiong Renshan of Yichun were all famous for their fi lial piety. In the beginning of our dynasty the Hong clan of Yiwen made its name for filial piety for many generations, and a widow named Chen received a citation from Emperor Taizong for her loyalty to her dead husband. These people had the honor of receiving personal letters from the emperor, as well as special privileges, including signs of fi lial piety on their gates and exemption from compulsory labor ser vice. Precedents like this show the beauty of the custom that promotes filial piety.” 235. An official of the Jin dynasty. His courtesy name was Linshu. 236. A military official of the Song dynasty. 237. His courtesy name was Pingzi. He rose to the position of chamberlain for ceremonials. 238. An official of the Chen state. He is referred to by his courtesy name, Wensheng. He served as minister of war. 239. A son of Sima Hao. 240. Unknown. 241. According to History of the Song (Songshi), Hong Wenfu, a resident of Nankang, had a large family living in one house, which consisted of all the members of his clan for six generations.

Rites and Ceremonies

511

The following happened when Kang Yuhu became magistrate of Kanggye. When King Sŏnjo escaped to P’yŏngan Province from the invading Japanese army, Yi Myŏngha, magistrate of Kanggye, died during the war and was buried in the district of Kanggye. Upon learning this, Magistrate Kang immediately ordered that a tombstone be established to mark his grave and that a grave keeper be appointed with the privilege of exemption from compulsory labor service. The people of P’yŏngan Province were pleased to hear the measure taken by their new magistrate (Collected Works of Uam ). When Kwŏn Chŏk  was magistrate of Kanghwa Island, he established a gravestone at the tomb of Yi Kyubo, which was in Mt. Chingang, and prohibited logging and putting cattle to pasture there. When Yi Sui became magistrate of Kŭmch’ŏn, the graves of six martyred ministers, including Sŏng Sammun, were in the west of Noryang. Yi Sui set up tombstones and hired two households to take care of the graves. The following happened when Cho Sehwan became magistrate of Tongnae. Upon hearing that the magistrate was very poor, the king bestowed 30 taels of gold on him. When the gold arrived, Magistrate Cho used it to renovate the shrine of Song Sanghyŏn and hired a slave to keep the shrine. Magistrate Cho also completely removed from the slave records the descendants of Sŏngmae, an official slave who had died in a battle against the Japanese. Long-Standing Abuses, Such as Admiring and Encouraging Extreme Actions or Unbalanced Expressions of Loyalty That Are Practiced in the Name of Filial Piety and Loyalty to a Husband, Should Be Discouraged. What is called fi lial piety is the utmost in human relationships. It means respecting the will of parents and serving them with a gentle countenance. 242. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. 243. Uamjip, the collected works of Song Siyŏl (1607−1689), published in 1717 by royal order of Sukchong. 244. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kyŏngha, and his pen names Ch’angbaekhŏn and Namae. He also served as minister of rites. 245. Yi Kyubo (1168−1241) was a famous poet of the Koryŏ dynasty. His courtesy name was Ch’ungyŏng, and his pen name Paegungŏsa. He served as grand academician of the Hall of Worthies (Chip’yŏnjŏn) and as vice grand councilor. He wrote Notes on Poems and Other Trifles (Paegun sosŏl) and The Lay of King Tongmyŏng (Tongmyŏngwang p’yŏn), as well as numerous poems. 246. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. In the sixteenth year of Yŏngjo’s reign he was appointed tomb guardian, and seven years later magistrate of Kŭmchŏn. 247. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty who was tortured to death for protesting the usurpation of King Sejo, who deposed his young nephew, King Tanjong. 248. A magistrate of Tongnae who died heroically in battle when the Japa nese invaded Korea in 1592. His courtesy name was Tŏkgu, and his pen names Ch’ŏngok and Hanch’ŏn. He was posthumously promoted to the position of minister of personnel.

512

book VII

However, some people tend to believe that the ordinary way of serving their parents is not sufficient to make itself known to their neighbors and district, so they cut off their fi ngers or part of the flesh from their thighs for the purpose of serving their parents or husbands. Although such acts cannot be imitated by everyone, they are neither the kind of fi lial piety practiced by Emperor Shun and Zeng Zi  nor that advocated by the Duke of Zhou and Confucius nor that proved through the nine classics [jiujing]. The superior man indeed fi nds it difficult to speak about this kind of thing unless he is prepared to risk misunderstanding. Miracles like sparrows voluntarily flying into a net or carp jumping out of ice for the purpose of aiding filial sons or bamboo shoots sprouting in the dead of winter for a sick mother or a nut pine withering and dying because of the sad tears of a fi lial son are the kinds of things that can happen once in a thousand years. However, in the reports made by private families or district offices on the fi lial piety of individuals, stories of miracles similar to the ones just mentioned are often found. I hardly believe that the miracles allowed by Heaven can be that numerous. A little blemish purposely hidden in an act of goodness can endanger the goodness itself, no matter how little it may be. One who truly wants to practice fi lial piety must bear this in mind. When a man of simple honesty and crude temper happens to lose both of his parents at one time, he holds a bamboo stick in his left hand and a paulownia stick in his right hand, wearing two headbands on his cap and four girdles on his loins, until he finishes his three years of mourning. Sometimes people extend their mourning period beyond three years. When people act like this, it is advisable that the magistrate instruct them in the proper rules of mourning, citing the classics on the rites and precedents made by sage kings. 249. Chinese phi los opher and a disciple of Confucius. His original name was Zeng Shen, and his courtesy name Ziyu. He is credited with the authorship of Classic of Filial Piety (Xiao Jing). 250. Book of Changes, Classic of Poetry, Classic of History, Book of Rites, Spring and Autumn Annals, Classic of Filial Piety, Analects, Book of Mencius, and Rites of Zhou. 251. Th is refers to an old anecdote about a man named Wang Xiang. Because Wang Xiang was extremely fi lial to his stepmother and wanted to serve her with the best foods he could fi nd, fish jumped out of water and sparrows flew into his house in the cold winter. 252. When a fi lial son named Meng Zong shed tears, bamboo shoots emerged from the ground in the dead of winter, and a pine-nut tree at a grave withered and died as Wang Cui shed tears. 253. When a parent dies, one normally holds one stick and wears one headband. This should be the custom even if both parents die at the same time. However, some men choose to hold two sticks and wear two sets of headbands to emphasize their sorrow, which in Chŏng’s view is too extreme and exaggerated.

Rites and Ceremonies

513

It is also not appropriate that the district office recommend a man living far away from the court who wears a funeral garment made of crude hemp cloth and mourns for the dead in the royal family, wailing day and night for three years, assuming that the man is loyal and righteous. When the king passes away, ordinary people in the palace are supposed to wear a funeral garment called chaech’oe for three months, and people in the capital wear white mourning clothes for three years. How, then, can a man who is not a high official or a courtier wear a funeral garment made of crude hemp cloth? The magistrate must also be careful about praising and publicizing a faithful wife. It stands to reason that a woman takes her own life if she is in danger of losing her chastity at the hands of bandits or barbarians. However, if a woman who was widowed early and is unable to continue her miserable life any longer decides to take her own life by hanging or poisoning, overpowered by her immoderate temper, she should not be recommended for the honor of loyal wife. The magistrate, therefore, needs to look into the case very closely. A woman who has committed suicide after receiving reproaches from her mother-in-law or a word of insult from her brother-in-law because of her illness, or a woman who is too sensitive to endure the miserable state of her life and therefore has failed to plan ahead, should not be included in the list of honor. The woman who should really be commended is she who, notwithstanding all sorts of hardships, serves her parents-in-law with sincerity and maintains the house of her husband by raising his young children. That deserves to be called true loyalty. Although this type of loyalty to a husband may not be very impressive to the people, the magistrate should try to expose the light hidden from the eyes of the people and make it shine for the edification of the general populace. In the case of those who went to war as members of the Righteous Army but were killed in battle without rendering even a small ser vice, the ministers and governors [at the time of the Imjin War] all reported their sacrifices to the court. Although several hundred years have passed since the war, however, people still submit reports to the court, trying to add some details or make up exploits of an individual. Many of those reports should not be trusted. When those reports are actually submitted, the magistrate does not have to express his suspicion bluntly but had better look into them closely and not fall into the mistake of deceiving the king by prolonging fact-finding investigations as long as he can. A veteran of the Imjin War claims that he served as a tomb guardian of Chŏngnŭng, a royal tomb in Chŏngnŭng, Seoul, but did the tomb exist at that time? (The royal tomb in Chŏngnŭng was restored in the middle of Sukchong’s reign.) Sometimes people purposely bury a memorial stone in front of a tomb and later dig it out and claim that the tomb is a historical landmark. The ways of

514

book VII

deception are too numerous to uncover, and a magistrate or royal messenger can easily deceive the king unintentionally by making reports and recommendations. How can we not be afraid?

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Examples and Pre ce dents Concerning the Rules of Propriety When it happens that a filial son endangers his life by cutting off the flesh from his thigh or a loyal wife takes her own life although the circumstances in which her death occurred hardly appear desperate, that person is excluded from commendation. A filial daughter who serves her parents who have no other children all her life without marrying is to be commended and publicized on the basis of the precedents applied to filial sons. A married woman who died while resisting rape or feeling ashamed of being molested by a man or a widow who chose to remain unmarried all her remaining life is to be commended and publicized by provincial authorities. A young girl taken into a family as a future daughter-in-law who took her own life, refusing molestation and sexual assault by her future husband, is to be commended and publicized by a sign set up in her parents’ home, following the precedents applied to loyal wives. Female servants, maids, nuns, and women in general who took their own lives in order to preserve their honor and chastity are to be commended by setting up signs. Those who live in harmony with the members of their family, which consists of several generations, should be recommended by local authorities and publicized with signs set up on their houses.

I have observed that the rules concerning the commendation of fi lial sons and daughters, as well as loyal wives and chaste women, are well orga nized in China, and they basically look like those illustrated above. (The ways of rewarding individuals, according to the Chinese law, are various: monetary awards, building monuments, bestowing hanging boards with inscriptions, and setting up stones with inscriptions. On the other hand, individuals are rewarded in our country in only one way, by placing signs at their gates.) What is important in commending and publicizing fi lial sons and loyal wives is to understand the fundamental principles underlying the rules of law; hence recommending extreme displays of actions related to fi lial piety or loyalty to a husband or maintaining a woman’s honor ought to be avoided.

Rites and Ceremonies

515

Although the Customs of a Degenerate Age May Seem Unalterable, It Is Still Possible to Change People for the Better and Cultivate Better Customs. The following happened when Lu Gong of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Zhongmou. A chief of a commune borrowed an ox from a man in his village but refused to return it to its owner. When the owner sued the chief, Lu Gong ordered him to return the ox to its rightful owner, but the chief continued to keep it for himself. Lu Gong lamented, “My efforts to cultivate the people no longer work here.” When he decided to leave his post, unloosening the seal with a string, all the clerks in the yamen tried to hold him back. Upon learning what had happened, the chief of the commune was ashamed of his wrongful conduct and went into a jail by himself after returning the ox to its owner. Around that time Yuan An, magistrate of Hanan, ordered a yamen clerk named Fei Qin to inspect the district. Fei Qin found a boy watching a pheasant. He asked, “Why did you not catch the pheasant?” The boy answered, “It is still a young bird.” Deeply impressed, Fei Qin reported this to Magistrate Yuan An: “Now harmful insects do not cross our borders, enlightenment reaches down to the level of beasts, and our children possess benevolence; these three things are very uncommon.” When Yuan An reported this to the court, the emperor was also impressed. When Cheng Baizi was appointed assistant magistrate of Shangyuan and fi rst arrived in his district, he found a man trapping birds with a limed pole. He took away the pole from the man, broke it, and told him not to catch birds in this way again. When he quit his post and returned home, he boarded his boat in a suburb of the district. Then he heard several people in the boat talking about catching birds with limed poles. They said that no children had dared to catch birds ever since the assistant magistrate had broken the limed pole of the man. Th is indicates that the orders of the magistrate can be obeyed without being too strict. C H A P T E R : PROMO T I NG L E A R N I NG

The School in the Olden Days Was a Place Where Propriety Was Practiced and Music Was Taught. However, Because Both Propriety and Music Have Deteriorated, the Current School Education Consists Merely of Reading Books. The states ruled by feudal princes in the old days all had royal academies [xuegong], and their curricula were hardly different from those of the National University [Taixue] in the capital, where the imperial court was located. They taught 254. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongkang. The story here is introduced in the biography of Lugong in the Book of the Later Han.

516

book VII

“three virtues and three kinds of conduct” [sande sanxing] and “six arts and six rites” [liuyi liuyi], and the virtues [de] basically consisted of moderation [zhongyong] and fi lial piety and fraternal duty [xiaoyou]. The pedagogical methods for these curricula were memorization and recitation [fengsong] and dialogues made of questions and answers [yanyu]. During the spring and autumn rites and music were taught, and during the summer and winter poetry and calligraphy. The most dominant curricula were music, dance, stringed instruments, and singing, and therefore, the manager of music [dianle] was in charge of education during the age of Yao and Shun, and the music director [sile] during the age of the Zhou. The county schools in our days derive from those established by the feudal princes in the olden days. However, music and dance had already disappeared in the classroom; so had stringed instruments and singing. Looked at this way, the so-called promotion of learning [hŭnghak] is a futile cause that only appears plausible. The stringed instruments were kŏmungo and lutes, and songs [ka] were folk songs [feng] and festal odes [ya]. Because the disciples of Confucius in their teaching gave priority to playing stringed instruments and singing, Zilu used words like shengtang and rushi when he played the lute. Shengtang is music for high officials, and rushi is music for the audience in the hall. In studying poetry [Classic of Poetry], Bo Yu made a reference to the “Odes of Zhou and the South” [Zhounan] and “Odes of Zhao and the South” [Zhaonan], which were meant to be sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments, not just read and understood as poetry. Since singing and playing stringed instruments have already disappeared, it stands to reason that the school should be abolished. However, if the virtue of moderation is taught, fi lial piety and fraternal duty are practiced, poems and essays are recited and read, archery is practiced once in a while, and local wine-drinking rites are performed, these activities may well be regarded as the promotion and development of education.

255. The palace master (shishi), a member of the Ministry of Education or the Offices of the Earth (Diguan) in Rites of Zhou, states, “The palace master educates the crown prince in the three virtues and the three kinds of conduct.” The three virtues are perfection, intelligence, and fi liality, and the three kinds of conduct are fi lial piety, fraternal duty, and obedience (Shisanjing zhushu, 210). 256. The palace protector (baoshi), a member of the Ministry of Education or the Offices of the Earth, taught the six arts and the six rites. The six arts were rites, music, archery, charioteering, calligraphy, and mathematics; the six rites were sacrifices, guests, the court, funerals, military ceremonies, and vehicles (Shisanjing zhushu, 212). 257. Feng indicates the songs or airs, which are 160 in total, in Classic of Poetry. 258. Ya refers to festal songs or odes in Classic of Poetry which were sung at court festivities or at more solemn court ceremonies.

Rites and Ceremonies

517

The National University [Taixue] in the olden days promoted fi lial piety by performing the rites of propriety in serving elders, respect for elders by observing seniority, and compassion for the underprivileged by performing the rites of feeding orphans. This is why fi lial piety, fraternal duty, and compassion became the principal tenets of the National University. Keeping this in mind, the magistrate should promote fi lial piety and fraternal duty by performing the rites of propriety for elders, as well as the local wine-drinking rites, at the county school. If there are people who sacrificed their lives for the country during foreign invasions, he must take care of their children and make the government’s concern for orphans manifest; unless he is mindful of that, the government system remains incomplete. When many years have passed since the disturbances took place, it will be appropriate for him to visit the descendants of those who dedicated their lives to the country and in the spring hold a banquet at the school in honor of their forefathers. That is a good way of promoting loyalty to the country. So-Called Literature Is Nothing Other than the Education of Elementary Studies [Sohak]. Does This Imply That the Notion of Promoting Learning, Which Developed in Later Ages, Is Identical to the Education of the Elementary Studies? Literature and elementary studies were in olden days inseparable. The elementary studies were mainly based on six types of formative principles in Chinese characters [liushu]: pictographs [xiangxing], ideographs [huiyi], logical aggregates [zhuanzhu], borrowing [jiajie], phonetic complexes [xiesheng], and associate transformation [zhishi]. In promoting literature, the study of these formative principles is crucial, but the education of our country in this area is still backward. The following happened when Duan Jian was in charge of the district of Fushan. He published and proclaimed Elementary Learning and made the people recite it. The customs of that place had been mean and vulgar, but with the arrival of Magistrate Duan they began to change drastically. As a result, all the villages were full of singing sounds with stringed instruments and recitations of Elementary Learning. Later Magistrate Duan was transferred to the prefecture of Nanyang. There he summoned the educational officials of the prefecture and districts to a meeting and made them mutually help each other, explaining to them the intention of the ancient sages who had devoted themselves to learning. 259. Transference, in which a character, often one with a simple, concrete meaning, takes on an extended, more abstract meaning (Wikipedia). 260. Th is means an “indicative principle” which enables one character to be combined with another, but a second group of characters may represent words not exactly pictorially but in some other representational manner. 261. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Keda, and his pen name Rongsi.

518

book VII

In addition, he established a new academy called Zhixue Shuyuan and lectured on the essential aspects of the Five Classics and the texts produced by various Confucian scholars in the region of Lianxi [Lian Stream]. The following happened when Ding Ji  governed the district of Xinhui. Publishing Hongwu Ritual Regulation [Hongwu lizhi] and consulting The Family Rituals of Zhu Xi [Zhuzi jiali], he selected elderly people who could instruct the people. When he made the sons and daughters of respectable families gather at the school and memorize the text of the Elementary Learning every day, personally explaining the meaning of the text, the local customs markedly changed. The following happened when Cho Kŭksŏn became magistrate of Onyang. The government at that time, with the purpose of promoting education nationwide, made all the provinces and districts teach the children a primer called Tongmong and made those who had failed to master the text after three months of training learn martial arts. Suspecting that the new educational policy was too harsh and strict, the people did not send their children to the school, so Magistrate Cho made a request to the governor to change the policy. He said, “Even in the age of the Three Dynasties [Xia, Shang, and Zhou], three years were considered necessary for making a scholar. A period of three months is too short for evaluating the achievements of individual students. Why do you not allow the students time to realize their talents more fully?” When the governor finally granted his request, Magistrate Cho summoned the elders of his district and explained the true meaning of promoting learning, and they were all pleased and followed his orders. The magistrate ordered all the children whose age was above eight to learn the Elementary Learning and made them gather at his yamen office twice a month, personally teaching and testing them. His efforts soon resulted in producing effects in promoting learning in the locality. 262. Book of Changes, Classic of History, Classic of Poetry, Book of Rites, and Spring and Autumn Annals. 263. Lianxi is the name of the stream in Zhu Dunyi’s hometown, which was in the province of Hunan. It is also the honorific name of Zhou Dunyi, a scholar who influenced Zhu Xi, the architect of Neo-Confucianism. 264. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Yancheng. 265. At the beginning of the Hongwu emperor of the Ming dynasty, an administrative handbook on rituals was published in order to straighten out the popu lar customs of the Yuan period, which were regarded as mixed up and confusing by the new dynasty. 266. Th is book consists of general principles of rituals (tongli), the capping ceremony (guanli), weddings (hunli), funerals (sangli), and sacrificial rites ( jiri). The capping ceremony is the comingof-age ritual in which a hat closely resembling that of an adult male is granted to a young man. 267. A primer for children written by Pak Semu (1487−1554), a scholar of the mid-Chosŏn period. Its full title is Tongmong sŏnsŭp, which means “primer for young children.” 268. The golden age in Chinese history.

Rites and Ceremonies

519

Learning [Xue] Means Learning from a Teacher. Since Learning Is Possible after Having a Teacher, One Can Discuss the Rules of Education after Inviting a Virtuous and Learned Man and Making Him One’s Master. All the county schools of China have instructors called jiaoshou. Our county schools [hyanggyo] also used to have instructors [hundo] until the middle age, but the office of instructors has now disappeared. If one wants to gather the students and educate them, it is absolutely necessary that one first seek a man of great learning and make him his master, but this is not very easy. The National Code states as follows: “As to the magistrates who are little interested in seeking outstanding instructors for the county schools in their domain, the governor should make an investigation and use its result as a reference in evaluating their job performance.” When Suqiong of the Qi state was magistrate of Qinghe, every spring he invited great Confucian scholars such as Wei Kailong and Tian Yuanfeng and made them teach at the county school. He also made officials attend their lectures, using their spare time. The following happened when Lord Han Wen [Han Yu] became magistrate of Chaozhou. At first, the residents were too ignorant to understand the importance of education. Hence he invited Zhao De, a literary licentiate, and made him instructor of the people, and because of his efforts, scholars who were serious both in learning and behavior began to be produced, and their influence spread to the general populace. When education became settled among the people, Chaozhou was known as one of the districts that were easy to govern. When Zhang Yong governed Yizhou, the schools were in a state of decay. Learning that native scholars like Zhang Ji, Li Dian, and Zhang Kui were all distinguished in their learning and behavior, he treated them with respect, encouraging them to take the civil ser vice examination. Later all of them passed the examination and served as high officials in the government. As a result, the scholars of Yizhou came to learn the importance of encouragement, and respect for letters [wenfeng] increased day after day. When Lü Gongzhu was controller general of Yingzhou, where Ouyang Xiu was prefect, Jiao Qianzhi was serving as the deputy of Prefect Ouyang. Lü Gongzhu invited Jiao Qianzhi to teach the students. When his students made mistakes, no matter how small they were, Jiao had them sit down in front of him 269. Kyŏngguk taejŏn [National Code], “Yejŏn” [Laws on Rites], Chamnyŏng [Miscellaneous Ordinances], 303. 270. The office of controller general was created to supervise the prefects. The controllers general reported to the central government without the knowledge of prefects under their command.

520

book VII

face-to-face. Sitting straight, he did not say anything all day long until it became dark outside. When the students were scared and repented their mistakes, Jiao finally relaxed his stern countenance. When Hu Yuan served as instructor [jiaoshou] in both Suzhou and Huzhou, he always wore his official uniform no matter how warm the weather was, strictly observing propriety between teachers and students. When he taught the classics, he explained in detail certain points that he believed to be crucial, and they were generally about self-cultivation. He taught that one must learn how to control oneself if one wants to rule others. Over a thousand students all followed the teachings of the classics, practicing compositions day and night. When Hu Yuan served as instructor in Huzhou, he established two departments in the academy: the Department of Classics [Jingyizhai] and the Department of Practical Studies [Zhishizhai]. For the former he selected students who were talented and openhearted; for the latter he made individual students select one major subject, as well as one minor subject, such as, for instance, statecraft, warcraft, use of water, or arithmetic. Since his students were scattered in all directions and carried themselves properly in the way they were taught, whether they were wise or foolish, talented or not, people were able to recognize them without asking who they were and who their teacher was. The following happened when Shi Zizhong governed Youxi District of Jianzhou. Because they were remotely located, the schools in the district of Youxi had been in decline for a long time, and the local scholars were so lacking in experience that they did not know how to pursue their studies. Upon taking office, Shi Zizhong asked his old friend Lin Yongzhong, whose pen name was Gutian,272 to teach the students, whom he had selected from the sons of local residents who wanted to study. On the first day of classes he gave lectures on the teachings of old sages, personally leading accessory clerks [zuoshi], guests, and visitors. From then on, every five days he went up to the upper hall [of the academy] and beat the drum, asking the students about their progress in their studies. Sometimes he discussed with those students the nature of justice and integrity and how they could be best employed for humanity. As the reputation of the school grew, people from other districts requested that they be admitted to the academy, bringing provisions with them, so he extensively expanded the buildings of the academy, purchasing ten thousand books and incorporating several hundred mu of additional land into the academy. When the construction of the new buildings was finally completed, he performed the local wine-drinking rites and the dedication ceremony, consulting 271. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Yizhi, and his posthumous title Wenzhao. He rose to the position of supreme erudite (taishang boshi). 272. Unknown.

Rites and Ceremonies

521

the precedents for proper rites. Because of his efforts, the scholars finally learned to cultivate themselves, and the local customs also began to change. When Zhu Xi was in Zhangzhou, he issued the following public notice that was intended to invite the scholars in his district to teach at the county schools: “Having examined the state of the prefectural schools and county schools, I find that their curricula have been better orga nized in recent years; however, because the people in charge in both the prefecture and the county did not know how to treat the wise men respectfully, the students were unable to find instructors who could guide them. Judicial Intendant [zhilu] Huang Congshi of Xinting Province, in my observation, is a man of talent and exemplary conduct with magnanimous character, devoting himself only to his studies and avoiding associating with the rich and powerful, so there is not a man of discretion in the district who does not hold him in great respect. If we invite him with respect and humility to take up the position of director [zhenglu] of the provincial school and concurrently supervise the education of district schools, the students will be greatly impressed, and local education will prosper. Instructors [xuezheng] Shi Yunxiu and Shi Hongqing, despite their advanced age, are still so diligent in their studies and careful in their conduct that people are afraid of them. Nominee for Office [gongshi] Ren Yijian and Literary Licentiate Li Tangzi are so precise in their studies and investigations and discreet in their conduct that each step of their activities and development is worth observing. Although Chen Chun, nominee for office, and Yang Shixun, student of the National University, are young, they already know where they are headed in their studies. Xu Yu, a student from Yongjia County, is steadfast in pursuing his studies, seeking a master to guide him. These scholars are the ones with whom I am well acquainted. If we invite them all with special propriety, the students in this district, whether they study or take a break, cannot help but benefit from the influence of their outstanding teachers. When this happens, faith and righteousness are promoted, and the works of virtue are accomplished, which are in fact the government’s original purpose in educating people and discovering talent. Probably there will be more learned scholars who are advanced in age and distinguished in their conduct, commanding respect among the local people but reluctant to seek honor and advancement in life, hiding their talents. We must continue to search for them, making inquiries and collecting information.” To invite wise men to teach the students at the school, in my view, is the first step in promoting education. However, in the case of our country, this issue can be discussed only in Kyŏngsang Province;273 it will not be easy in other places. 273. Kyŏngsang Province, also called Yŏngnam, was famous for producing a number of outstanding scholars and fostering a strong tradition of Confucian morality.

522

book VII

When Yao Shan  governed Jianxing Prefecture, there was a man named Yu Zhenmu who was respected by the people for being learned in the classics. On the fi rst and fi fteenth day of every month Yao Shan always invited him to the prefectural school and made him lecture on the classics. At that time there was another scholar named Qian Qin  who was well respected for his integrity. One day Yao Shan sent rice to Yu Zhenmu, but because of some mistakes in the process his gift was sent to Qian Qin, and even worse, Qian just took it as if it were rightfully his own. Yu Zhenmu said to Yao Shan, “Master Qian, as I know, usually refuses to take things that he feels improper. The reason that he took your gift must have to do with his respect for Your Honor.” After this conversation with Yu Zhenmu, Yao Shan thought about visiting Qian Qin at his place. Coincidentally, at that moment a message from Qian Qin arrived, and it read, “I would like to make an appointment with Your Honor at the provincial school on the fi rst day of the following month.” On the appointed day Yao Shan fi nally met with Qian Qin, making him take the seat of honor, and asked for his advice on matters of state. Qian replied, “What you request is the duty of a scholar. How can I dare to avoid discussing matters concerning the state in the presence of Your Honor?” Then he took out a piece of paper and handed it to Yao Shan without further conversation. After Qian left , Yao Shan read the paper and found that it was about strategies to repel the enemy and win wars. When Hwang Chullyang became magistrate of Sŏngju, he repaired and greatly enlarged the Confucian shrine. At that time O Kŏn, a reputable scholar, happened to be the instructor of the place. The two men soon developed a good working relationship, finding much in common. Thus they agreed that they would select a certain number of students and divide them into four grades. Then Magistrate Hwang had O Kŏn take charge of their education. He instituted a monthly meeting with the students of O Kŏn in which he made them recite, while turning theirs backs to him, the text that they had studied and expound its meaning from various perspectives. He also scrutinized the way in which they conducted their studies and rewarded them according to the progress they made. Magistrate Hwang established a private academy in a mountain valley called Konggok [Valley of Confucius] that was on the east side of his district, and a pavilion called Nokbongjŏngsa [Deer Peak Pavilion] in the district of P’algŏ. Hwang’s education was carried out on a wide variety of topics, and the men of talent he produced were numerous. 274. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Keyi. He also served as administrative clerk (zhishi) of Suzhou. 275. His courtesy name was Jizhong. Being a scholar of loft y ideals, he enjoyed a life of poverty. 276. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period and a disciple of Yi Hwang. His courtesy name was Chagang, and his pen name Tŏkgye. He served as section chief of the Board of Personnel and as copyist of the Bureau of State Records.

Rites and Ceremonies

523

Repairing the School, Managing Its Property, and Furnishing Books Are Things of Which a Wise Magistrate Must Be Mindful. The school established by Youyu Shi used to be called a barn for storing provisions [milin]. If there is a school, there must be students, and if there are students, there should be food to feed them. Unless provisions are supplied, it is not possible to produce scholars. Nowadays the lands for the provincial and district schools are not small, and in every district there is enough property that was individually saved for the county schools. Nevertheless, the county school is nearly bankrupt, while the magistrate does not pay much attention to it. A band of rogue students who frequent the school in groups of three or five extorts wine and rice from the school, and those who run the school are busy only in stealing school property in league with the guards of the storehouse. If the magistrate intends to do a good job with regard to the county school in his district, he must first look into its current financial state and increase the assets of the school substantially. Only after that can the matter of inviting distinguished instructors and gathering students be discussed. When three days have passed since his inauguration, the magistrate should summon the steward of the county school and ask him about the harvest of the school’s lands in the previous year. He should also make inquiries about the amount of rice produced from the school lands and order him to place it on the record. Then he has his aides review the record and determine the expected fi nal income from the harvests after further questioning and adjustment of figures. When this is done, the magistrate tells the chief of the local yangban association: “Starting from today, one must have an official seal for approval before he spends money for the school. Not a penny or a grain of rice belonging to school property should be appropriated without authorization. No food should be provided to those who frequent the school without purpose; exceptions may be made on the first and fifteenth day of every month for [those who come to] burn incense. If anyone violates this order, I shall hold you responsible.” The Supplement to the National Code stipulates: “The lands for each provincial and prefectural school are 7 kyŏl, those for each county and district school 5 kyŏl, and those for each private academy with a royal charter 3 kyŏl. All these school lands are to be supervised by the local magistrate.” Since the magistrate by law is supposed to supervise all the local schools, how can he dare to neglect paying his attention to them? The reason that local districts are uncivilized in their customs and backward in learning is that they have no books to read. The books to be included in the 277. Another name of Shun, the legendary Chinese emperor who succeeded Yao.

524

book VII

library are as follows: Commentaries on Thirteen Classics [Shisanjing zhushu], Twenty-three Official Dynastic Histories [Ershisandai shi], History of Three Kingdoms [Samguk sagi], History of Koryŏ [Koryŏsa], Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns [Kukcho pogam], Comprehensive Institutions [Tongdian] by Du You, General Treatises [Tongzhi] by Zheng Qiao, Comprehensive Study of Institutional History [Wenxian tongkao] by Ma Duanlin, Supplementary Comprehensive Study of Institutional History [Xu wenxian tongkao] by Wang Qi, and Administrative Encyclopedia of Korea. The magistrate should do his best to purchase and furnish those books for the school, make sure that the locks and keys are well kept, now and then ventilate the room for the books, and check whether the rules and regulations are duly observed when the books are drawn out to be read or lent to individuals. When Li Xiang became magistrate of Yihuang, he established a county school for the first time, furnished it with a wide range of books, including the classics, histories, the works of the Hundred Schools of Thought [Zhuzi baijia], and literature of all kinds, and produced a number of talented scholars.

278. At the end of the Song dynasty the Th irteen Classics and their commentaries began to be published in combined form, and in the twenty-first year (1817) of Emperor Jiaqing’s reign a scholar named Ruan Yuan produced an authoritative text after revising and editing all the texts available up to his time. Consisting of 416 volumes, the Thirteen Classics are Book of Changes; Book of Shang; Classic of Poetry; Tradition of Mao; Rites of Zhou; Ceremonies and Rites (Yili); Chronicles of Zuo; Commentary of Gongyang; Commentary of Guliang; Analects; Book of Filial Piety; Progress to Correctness, a Chinese Dictionary (Erya); and Book of Mencius. 279. Th is refers to the standard Chinese history. 280. A history of three ancient Korean kingdoms, Koguryŏ, Paekche, and Silla, that was compiled by Kim Pusik (1075−1151). 281. The official history of the Koryŏ dynasty, published in the early Chosŏn dynasty (1451). 282. A history of human institutions compiled by Du You, a scholar of the Tang dynasty. It covers history from the earliest times down to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty. 283. An institutional history of China compiled by Zheng Qiao, a scholar of the Song dynasty; it is an encyclopedia that includes imperial biographies, Confucian classics, music, astronomy, geography, economics, selection of state officials, minerals, and many other topics. Zheng Qiao served as ju nior compiler of the Palace Secretariat and was learned in Evidential Learning. 284. Compiled by Ma Duanlin (1254−1324), a scholar of the Song dynasty, this is basically an expanded version of Zheng Qiao’s encyclopedia, General Treatises (Tongzhi). It especially provides comprehensive details concerning the social and political systems of the Song dynasty. 285. An encyclopedia compiled by Wang Qi, a scholar of the Ming dynasty. He served as assistant administration commissioner of Jiaxi. 286. An official of the Song dynasty. 287. Literally “all phi losophers hundred schools,” the term refers to the phi losophers and schools that flourished from 770 to 221 b.c., an era of great cultural and intellectual expansion in China.

Rites and Ceremonies

525

The following happened when Kwŏn Supyŏng became magistrate of Kwangsan. Before he took his post, the district school had been on a low and narrow patch of ground inside the fortress walls, and the school’s buildings were in bad shape. So he secured a piece of land that was two li west of the fortress, where he built a new school, consulting the best models that he could find. He also purchased with his own money two or so kyŏng of land that was in front of the school from a resident, made this land into rice paddies and vegetable gardens, and built quarters for servants who would work for the school. Later he purchased additional land from the residents and gave half of it to the school and the rest to the meetinghouse for the local literati [samajae]. He also provided 100 bolts of cotton, 100 sŏk of rice, and 20 sŏk of beans for the expenses of the students and furnished the Four Books and the Five Classics, the works of a hundred schools of philosophers and writers, and literary dictionaries [yunshu]. Because of his efforts, Confucian studies gained momentum, and the people’s moral conduct, cultivated through education, became much improved. The Magistrate Must Select a Man of Integrity and Good Taste and Have Him Head the County School, Treating Him with Respect and Propriety. Those who run the county school consist of a headmaster (in the south he is called toyusa), a master of ceremonies [changŭi], and two appearance monitors [saekjang]. In remote border districts true scholars [sajok] are few, whereas members of the local blue-blood clique are many. The former usually do not associate with the latter because they feel that it is a shame to mix with them. When this happens, the local blue-blood clique monopolizes the county school, making it into a den for its gatherings. These people, who are ignorant, often get together and form factions of their own, expose hidden weaknesses of others when they are engaged in conflicts, and ferociously fight each other for their selfinterest as if they were engaged in a fight for political power. They also spread false rumors to the governor, conspiring with craft y yamen clerks, and offer bribes to the magistrate by making a connection with his favorite entertaining woman, always associating with yamen clerks through frequent meetings and drinking, and in the middle of these activities having fights day and night. What they are really interested in is making their fortune through bribery by drawing 288. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty. He served as vice director of the Bureau of Military Affairs. 289. The saekjang were selected from the students who lived in the National Confucian Academy, the county schools, and the Four Schools (sahak) in Seoul. The Four Schools were public schools for young children over age seven. They were established in four places in Seoul according to the four cardinal directions. 290. Well-educated men who had held public office (and their descendants).

526

book VII

a member of a wealthy family into their scheme and making him the headmaster of the county school who takes charge of sacrifices. Fully aware of these problems in the local customs, the magistrate must find a scholar who can run the county school with integrity. When the post of headmaster is vacant, it is natural that the magistrate should find a well-qualified person. However, a person who does not frequent the district capital but devotes himself to his studies and enjoys a reputation for his learning is usually reluctant to take the post even though he is fully qualified in terms of his family and social status. So it is advisable to find a person who never served in that post. If the magistrate with his sincerity can persuade a potential candidate to accept the job, it will be fine; however, if he is unable to do so, he should seek a candidate among the landed gentry. It is not impossible to find a suitable person. Once he finds a suitable person for the post of headmaster, the magistrate sends an official dispatch to the county school as follows: “As to those who are scholars but frequent the houses of yamen clerks and entertaining girls, carry ing themselves in a despicable manner, I will conduct investigations through various channels and strictly punish them by eliminating their names [hwangch’ŏm] from the list of scholars. So they must be careful. This rule applies equally to the students who currently attend the county school.” During occasions like the incense-burning ceremony, the anniversary of Confucius, the local wine-drinking rite, and examinations for students, the magistrate should see the headmaster but avoid seeing him apart from his official duties. A person who often requests an interview with the magistrate always has something on his mind, a craft y design, which is not hard to recognize. If there is one of the personnel of the county school who committed a crime, the magistrate must remove the name of that person from the list of the Confucian community and report to his superior official; only after that can he physically punish him. Nowadays, in punishing lawbreakers, the magistrates do not distinguish the members of the Confucian literati from ordinary people like slaves, and those who are punished in this manner, ignorant of propriety, just take their punishment for granted. I tend to believe that this way of indiscriminate punishment is inappropriate, and that those who hold the status of Confucian scholars deserve better treatment, just like those who are from illustrious families. Hu Dachu said: “The county school is a place where public affairs are discussed. At the end of the rite performed for the worship of Confucius, the magistrate meets with the Confucian students. On that occasion he displays a 291. Hwangch’ŏm literally means “affi xing a yellow seal.” When a name or a record was erased, a yellow seal was put on it.

Rites and Ceremonies

527

benevolent countenance and speaks to them in a courteous manner, asking them about good or bad things they find in the local customs or seeking their opinions on the public policies that he is pursuing. As to supplying the school, he tries to make supplies abundant, and as to preparing for examining the students, he is always diligent. If he finds a student excelling in talent and manner, he especially encourages him; if there is one who is involved in a civil suit, he tries to protect him; and if he punishes those who insult scholars, the scholars will be pleased and respect him.” When the magistrate deals with lawsuits, he must always be impartial. If he intends to protect one of the parties, the one who is weak will suffer the damage. The following happened when Song Sangin became magistrate of Andong. In the process of interrogation about a default in the grain borrowed from the government, one of the Confucian students died of torture. An aide [podŏk] named Yi submitted a memorial reporting on the incident, which resulted in the dismissal of the magistrate. Pak Chigye said, “When my late father served as magistrate, wearing his official uniform, he allowed an interview even to those who were scholars only in name if they submitted a request in accordance with the rule of propriety. If they broke the law, however, he never failed to punish them by whipping. When the crimes they committed were very serious, he first ordered that a list of charges be made and placed on the record of the county school and finally proceeded to the punishment.” A letter of appointment to the headmaster of the county school [follows]: When Zhu Xi was in the military prefecture of Nankang, he stated in a letter of appointment that was intended to invite a headmaster of the village school: “Bailudong Academy in the past used to have a headmaster. When I observe Instructor [xuelu] Yang Rixin, he is well advanced in age and virtue, and he established order and discipline in all things when he served in the village, leading and representing the students. He is outstanding, therefore, both in his achievements and in his potential and deserves a special invitation with due respect. Hence this letter of appointment is presented to Yang Rixin, a nominee for office [gongshi], with a request that he would take charge of Bailudong Academy.” It is not appropriate, in my view, to place the names on the crossbeam of the schoolroom, which is called pup’yo [sign], instead of presenting letters of appointment to the individuals such as headmasters, instructors, and masters of 292. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sŏnggu, and his pen name Sŏgwak. He also served as magistrate of Namwŏn. 293. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chiin, and his pen name Chamch’i. He also served as sixth royal secretary.

528

book VII

ceremonies. The government is anxious to confer the letter of appointment, but scholars tend to regard the letter as a shame. If the magistrate sends down a letter of appointment, quoting the one made by Zhu Xi, the abuses and disorder like attaching the names in the morning and taking them down in the evening, which are taking place in the present county schools, will probably disappear. In the Ninth Lunar Month the Magistrate Should Perform the Ceremony of Nourishing the Aged and Teach the People How to Serve Them; in the Tenth Lunar Month, the Local Wine-Drinking Rite, Which Is Intended to Teach the People How to Respect Seniors and Superiors; and in the Second Lunar Month, the Ceremony of Looking After the Orphans, Which Is Intended to Teach the People How to Take Care of Those Poor Children. The ceremony of nourishing the aged was already discussed in the section on the “Love of People” [“Aemin”]. The local wine-drinking rite [hyangnye] was originally a wine-drinking rite performed in the capital [kyŏngnye]. In olden days the royal palace was divided into nine sections whose shape appeared like a well-field [஬⏛]. In the center there was the main royal palace, and in front of the main royal palace was the royal court. Behind the main royal palace there was a market, and on the left and right six districts [hyang], divided into two groups, faced each other. So xiang [㒙, district] is xiang [ᄢ, facing and entertaining]. Five wards [dang] made a township [zhou], and five townships a district [xiang] Th is is similar to pang [ᆎ] in the perimeter of our royal palace, which is made of several li [㔓], and pu [㒂], which is made of several pang. (Six districts are equivalent to five pus.) Hence the local wine-drinking rite was, in fact, the state wine-drinking rite held in the capital, and the local archery rite [hyangsarye] was the state archery rite [kyŏngsarye]. Nowadays the people, ignorant of the systems in antiquity, perform the local wine-drinking rite and the local archery rite only in the local counties and districts, and never in Seoul, simply mistaking districts [xiang] as distant districts from the capital [ye]. Th is is wrong. Since the local counties and districts in our days are similar to old feudal states, and the local magistrates in our days correspond in their role and status to the district grand masters and township heads, the magistrate should take the role of a host in performing those ceremonies, carefully consulting the systems that are both old and new; then he will be able to do his job without making mistakes. Zheng Xuan said, “These ceremonies, according to the law of the Zhou dy294. According to the Ministry of Justice in Rites of Zhou, ye are the districts that are 200 to 300 li from the capital, and xiang are the districts that are 300 to 400 li away.

Rites and Ceremonies

529

nasty, were performed in the fi rst lunar month, and according to the law of the Han dynasty, in the tenth lunar month.” Since our current system is based on the model of the Han dynasty, it will be proper to follow the law of the Han dynasty. The rites and ceremonies in antiquity were so complicated that the great King Chŏngjo ordered the publication of Integrated Edition of the Local Rites and Ceremonies [Hyangnye happ’yŏn] and proclaimed it to the counties and districts throughout the country. The ceremonies in the new book, however, still seem complicated, and since The Ceremonies of Five Rites, which served as one of the major references for the new book, is too brief in its details, I hereby offer my own commentaries on the rites and ceremonies. Every Now and Then the Local Archery Rite and the Game of Pitch-Pot Should Be Performed. Since the local archery rite [hyangsarye] is the most complicated among the ancient rites and is extremely difficult to perform, the magistrate must consult the Integrated Edition of the Local Rites and Ceremonies and try to perform the rite according to the rule, taking the gap between antiquity and the present age into consideration. The rite of pitch-pot [tuhouli], the scholars’ arrow-throwing game, is the most detailed and clearly described among the rites included in Book of Rites; therefore, it will not be too hard to perform it if one consults the Book. The rules like lugu or xuegu, however, need not be observed elaborately; it will suffice to use only one drum whenever arrows drop in the pitch-pot. Although it is difficult to perform the local wine-drinking rite and the archery rite very often because of their magnitude, the rite of pitch-pot can be performed easily because of its simple procedures. The courtesies like declining [yirang], ascending and descending [chengjiang], advancing and withdrawing 295. A book published in 1797 by royal order of Chŏngjo with the purpose of revitalizing local rites and ceremonies of antiquity. It was compiled by seven scholar-officials, including Yi Pyŏngmo. 296. Here Tasan offers his ideas on ritual in detail; however, they are too lengthy to be included here. 297. One of the important rites included in Book of Rites. “Anciently it was the rule for the feudal lords, when they would practise archery, fi rst to celebrate the ceremony of the Banquet, and for the Great officers and ordinary officers, when they would shoot, fi rst to celebrate the ceremony of the Drinking in the country districts. The ceremony of the Banquet served to illustrate the relation between ruler and subject; that of the District-drinking, to illustrate the distinction between seniors and ju niors” (Sheyi). 298. The original text on these rules of the ceremony of archery in Book of Rites has been lost.

530

book VII

[jintui], making good arrangements [zhouxuan], using proper language [xiuci], and making a good appearance [zhirong] will also reinforce one’s dignity if they are studied and practiced. If the magistrate chooses one of the days during the spring and autumn and personally performs the rite at the county school, leading the students and teaching them the spirit underlying the ritual ceremony, some of the participants will certainly be impressed and will make the opportunity a great turning point in their lives. C H A P T E R : M A I N TA I N I NG S O C I A L H I E R A RC H Y A N D OR DE R   

Discriminating between High and Low Social Status Is Indispensable in Stabilizing the People. When Rank or Status Loses Its Gravity to the Degree That It Becomes Ambiguous and the Social Hierarchy Falls into Disarray, the People Will Be Scattered, and the Society Will Be Out of Control. The Book of Changes states, “Discriminating high and low social status stabilizes the aims of the people. Li [treading cautiously, ᒓ] is li [propriety, ⚨].” The Book of Rites also says, “The relationship of the king and his subjects, and of men of higher rank and lower rank, cannot be regulated without the rules of propriety.” In the olden days sage kings marked the qualities of myriad things by contemplating their forms and surveying their patterns, and Huangdi, Yao, and Shun secured good order in their domain simply by regulating their garments. Since they instituted distinction of grades in virtually everything, such as official uniforms, tassels of banners, vehicles, grooves in the roofs, sacrifices, foods, and so forth, the distinction between high and low social status was clear and duly observed. This was the way in which the sages ruled the world and stabilized their people. Discriminating between high and low social status used to be no less strict in the customs of our country, and people knew who they were and acted accordingly. In modern times, however, when the power of nobles has declined because of partiality in dealing with offices, titles, and stipends, wealthy clerks and people have begun to demonstrate their power. The luxuriousness shown in their houses, the furnishings of their horses, their clothes, and their foods all have exceeded the boundary of propriety. Since men of low status thus look down on those of high status, and the latter have become helpless in the face of such a degree of classlessness, how can one bring the people together into one body and vitalize it to make the blood circulate? Discriminating between high and low social status is an urgent priority. 299. The literal translation of the title in the source text is “discriminating between high and low.”

Rites and Ceremonies

531

Since There Are High and Low in Clan Status, the Difference Should Be Duly Observed; Since There Are Strong and Weak in Power, the Status and Circumstances of Individuals Must Be Taken into Account. These Two Things Are So Essential That Neither of Them Can Be Abolished. In antiquity there were four principles in governing the state: first, to love one’s family and relatives; second, to show respect to the high and noble in a manner befitting their social status; third, to treat seniors in a manner befitting their age; and fourth, to deal with the virtuous in a virtuous manner. To love one’s family and relatives is benevolence [ren]; to show respect to the high and noble in a manner befitting their social status is righteousness [yi]; to treat seniors in a manner befitting their age is propriety [li]; and to deal with the virtuous in a virtuous manner is wisdom [zhi]. In addition to the love of one’s family and relatives, social status, age, and benevolence are three things to be respected [sandazun], and this is a universal principle of all ages. What does it mean to show respect to the high and noble in a manner befitting their social status? The status of one who becomes a superior man through his ser vice to the state is noble; the status of one who becomes a small man through making his own living is low. The status of men, therefore, has only two grades: high and low. However, if the descendants of the superior man follow the Way [Dao], devote themselves to learning, and observe the rules of propriety, they still deserve to be treated as nobility even though they never serve in the state. Nevertheless, the descendants of lowborn people dare to treat them disrespectfully, and this is the first thing that needs to be rectified. Although the aides of the magistrate [hyangsŭng] are not officials, they have served as aides to the magistrate through successive generations. Thus they can be compared with the grand masters of small feudal states such as Teng and Xue. Therefore, the commoners and slaves, who are people of humble station, should pay respect to them with due propriety. This is the second thing to which attention must be paid. It often happens that lowborn people like commoners and slaves make fortunes and buy the position of head seat through bribery; they forge their genealogy, changing their fathers and grandfathers; they marry members of noble families by offering them land and maidservants; and they find holes and byways to establish a connection to the magistrate. Such people should be disciplined and suppressed and should never be nourished. However, it is not ill advised for the sake of virtue to encourage and nourish those among them whose conduct is commendable and promising. If the farmhands in the village, being intoxicated after having a drink, make a row, their mistake must be dealt with in an appropriate manner no matter how slight their mistake may be. This is the third thing that must be straightened out.

532

book VII

Having lived among the common people, I have realized that compliments and condemnations of the governance of the magistrate originate mostly from his way of discriminating between high and low social status. Under the pretext of loving people, some magistrates tend to be inclined to suppress the strong while protecting the weak. Thus they treat the nobility with little respect and overly protect the common people, causing resentment among the nobility, as well as the decline of good customs. Zhang Nanxuan stated: “In order to govern, one must first try to be fair. If one fails to be fair, he can easily make a mistake even though his purpose is well intended. It is no doubt admirable to suppress the strong and raise the weak, but one must be aware that a mistake can be hidden even in this way of thinking. If one makes his mind as clear as a mirror, the good and the bad will be revealed as they are. Why should he try to prejudge people?” Hu Dachu also said: “Those who are engaged in state affairs at the present time tend to believe that it is indisputably right to restrain the powerful and assist the helpless. If this tendency is allowed to grow, however, it will happen that tenants will defy their landlords, tough servants or wild maids will make light of a weak child or a widow in the household, a craft y gang of people will pretend to be helpless, and street gangs in the district capital will hold the literati in contempt. Then how can one prevent such abuses of the lower classes in the days ahead?” There are men of power or large families who have reigned over a village for many years, and one or two among them, being ignorant, do evil things for their own profit. They harass the people, extorting money from them through usury. Often using violence like pulling them by their topknots and beard, forcing them to kneel on [jagged pieces of] tile, or torturing them by burning their heels, they make the people, now totally ruined, abandon their village and become their enemy. The magistrate should stop those evildoers from practicing further evils by either admonishing or threatening them. If they still refuse to reform themselves and keep on acting as in the past, the magistrate should not spare them from punishment and should not allow the principle of discriminating between high and low social status to interfere. Sometimes it happens that some members of the local gentry or naengjok [“the tribe of the cold”], while engaged in farming, recklessly mix with farmers, exchanging jokes and enjoying rude language; sometimes they get drunk and become involved in fighting in the market streets or near the brooks in the village, uttering dirty words. However, once they sober up, they put on the robe 300. Zhang Shi, a scholar who associated with Zhu Xi. He was commonly referred to as Master Nanxuan. 301. The term refers to yangbans whose condition no longer allows them to maintain their privileged status.

Rites and Ceremonies

533

of a Confucian scholar and appeal to the magistrate to straighten out the wrongs that they had to endure. If the magistrate trusts only their words and punishes the farmers who were involved in the brawl with them, the people will not accept the decision. Therefore, sometimes the magistrate should be careful not to allow the principle of discriminating between high and low social status to interfere with his judgment. In short, it is the magistrate’s concern when commoners hold nobles in contempt, and it is also the magistrate’s concern when the strong abuse the weak. Since handling these matters requires tact, it is difficult to explain them in words. What is clear is that subordinates do not first commit wrongs unless their superiors make mistakes. If the magistrate, therefore, gets men to realize their mistakes, which are inappropriate to their rank and status, and makes them feel ashamed of themselves, and later punishes those who treated their superiors with disrespect, there will be no complaints. The State Affair of Discriminating between High and Low Social Status Is Not Confined to the Discipline of Commoners; It Also Involves Watching for the Transgressions of the Middle Class against the Upper Class. Because government offices have not been awarded to those who live in the border region for a hundred years, the descendants of old literati have become unable to maintain their dignity, losing all their property. When this has happened, influential local families have now replaced them as a new power and, employing all kinds of tricks and slanders, try to persecute them to avenge their old grievances against them. Listening to baseless rumors, a newly appointed magistrate says that it stands to reason to put down a certain family in so-and-so village because it has been a powerful one from the beginning. Also accepting the wicked words of his aides, the new magistrate is anxious to put such a family under his control. Is this right? If it happens that the influential local families look down on the nobles, they deserve to be punished severely. This is why it is important for the magistrate to discriminate between high and low social status among the people. Because the customs of our days are undergoing drastic changes day by day, petty clerks of no account try to avoid paying respect to the nobles when they come across them on the road. Their sons and grandsons, who are not yet in the position of their fathers and grandfathers, dare to call the nobles in the village by their names as if they were their associates, showing little respect to them, which indicates the change of customs in our time. The magistrate must strictly admonish his yamen clerks not to allow their children to make this mistake. The magistrate says to the clerks, “I have heard that your arrogance and perverseness have grown more and more serious for several decades. If I happen to

534

book VII

hear the same complaints once again, you will be severely punished.” He repeats this warning and persuasion a few more times, and if they still continue to violate his instruction, he strictly punishes them. Then the community of literati will be very pleased, and that is hardly comparable with the disciplinary actions taken against the commoners. This is very crucial in administering the state affair of discriminating between high and low social status. If there is anyone among the literati who is cunning enough to associate deliberately with powerful yamen clerks with the purpose of securing the position of chief of the local yangban association, the magistrate had better leave him alone instead of exposing him. If a younger person shows disrespect to elders, and a common soldier ignores his commander, their conduct needs to be investigated. If their trouble is brought to the court, the magistrate should first look into their age and rank. When the two parties in the lawsuit are equal in social rank, the elder person is given an advantage, while the younger one is disciplined. However, when a man higher in rank and younger in age disregards propriety in dealing with one lower in rank and older in age, he also must be disciplined. Since ordinary soldiers are required to observe propriety toward their superiors such as platoon leaders and company commanders, and slaves should not be impudent to yamen clerks and lawenforcement officers, all these things testify to the importance of discriminating between high and low social status. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates as follows: “Commoners and slaves who are guilty of assaulting a member of the literati shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for three years. If their assault causes physical damage, they shall be punished by one hundred strokes and life exile to 2,000 li” (“Regulations on Interrogation and Torture”). Transgressing the Proper Limit by Making Personal Property, Such as Houses, Carriages, Clothes, and Utensils, Excessively Luxurious Must Be Prohibited. When Zhao Xinchen was magistrate of Lingling, he prohibited luxurious weddings and funerals and exhorted the people to lead a life of frugality. When some children of officials of the local government were indulging in games and play, neglecting agriculture, which they were supposed to perform for their living, he immediately dismissed their parents. That brought about edification of the people to such a great degree that the officials and the people lived in harmony with each other. So the people called him Father Zhao [Zhaofu]. 302. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Yuandi (49–33 B.C.). His courtesy name was Wengqing. He rose to the position of nine chamberlains ( jiuqing) and tried to reduce extravagance and luxury in the court.

Rites and Ceremonies

535

When Zhou Ji was in charge of Anqing Prefecture, he established the rules of marriages and funerals, which prohibited extravagance and punished those who violated the due date for those ceremonies. As a result, the customs of his district drastically changed (History of Ming). The Great Ming Code stipulates as follows: “In all cases concerning the houses, carriages, clothes, and other objects of officials and commoners, each has its gradations. If the sumptuary regulations are violated and the limitations are exceeded, officials shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick, and they shall be dismissed from their appointments and not be reassigned. Commoners shall be punished by fift y strokes of beating with a light stick; only the household heads shall be punished. In each case artisans shall be punished by fift y strokes of beating with a light stick, and the illegal items they made will be confiscated.” The Supplement to the National Code stipulates as follows: “The front of the outer garments worn by commoners should be made four ch’i above the ground, and their back side three ch’i; the sleeves are to cover the wrists, and their width is eight ch’i and the linings five ch’i. Likewise, the length and width of their underclothes are reduced in accordance with their outer garments.”  The National Code states: “Except the spouses and daughters of royal families, and the mothers, wives, daughters, and daughters-in-law of chief officials [tangsanggwan], as well as the brides of officials [ŭmgwan] who are appointed without taking state civil ser vice examinations, no one is allowed to ride in a sedan chair with a canopy [okgyoja], and the violators of this statute shall be punished by eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick.”  The regulation concerning the members of three law-enforcement agencies [sambŏpsa] in Seoul includes an article on riding in a sedan chair. Although the medical personnel of the Bureau of Doctors [Samŭisa], interpreters, meteorologists, and accountants and legal staff draw stipends from the government, their wives and daughters are not allowed to ride in a sedan chair unless they 303. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Daheng, and his pen name Yuzhisheng. He also served as regional inspector of Sichuan. 304. Jiang, The Great Ming Code, Article 194, “Violating Sumptuary Regulations on Clothing and Houses” (“Fushe weishi”), 116−117. 305. “Sumptuary Regulations on Clothes,” Laws on Rites. Ch’i is a Korean unit of length measure equivalent to the Chinese cun. It should not be confused with the Chinese chi, which is 10 cun or about a foot. 306. High officials of the upper end of the hall above rank 3. 307. “Regulations on Prohibitions,” Laws on Penal Affairs. 308. The Board of Punishments, the Office of Inspector General, and Hansŏngbu (Superior Prefecture of Seoul). 309. A general reference to the officials in the Bureau of Mathematics and minor officials in various law agencies (kŏmyul).

536

book VII

served as magistrates or high officials of the upper end of the hall above rank 3. In the case of yamen clerks and merchants, their wives and daughters are prohibited from using sedan chairs even if they belong to the Border Defense Council or the Palace Library. When I was magistrate of Koksan many years ago, I observed its custom, by which even during their honeymoons the female members of the family of a yamen clerk never rode in a sedan chair, not to mention one with a canopy. When I stayed in Yŏngnam, I found that its custom was much the same. However, the womenfolk of the yamen clerks in the Honam region alone all ride in sedan chairs with canopies, letting down colorful bead screens and being escorted by their servants, who shout to make a way ahead. If they fi nd a poor scholar walking in their way, the escorting servants all of a sudden shout at him to make him step aside, and a man [clerk] on horseback who follows his wife in the sedan chair quickly passes by. Th is rudeness is not limited to the womenfolk; it is also displayed by the elderly [members of yamen clerks’ families]. As the decline of old families and famous clans becomes serious day by day, the sedan chairs that they use are so worn out that they are bound by ropes of straw; the destroyed canopy is replaced by a mat, the drapery by a dress, and the bead screen by a cut-off fish trap. They place the sedan chair on the back of a cow, and the chair is shaken from left to right as the cow moves forward. Then the bridegroom, lacking help, has to hold it to keep it from falling off, and the sedan chair appears like a boat on the sea. If their sedan chair happens to come across one belonging to a powerful yamen clerk on a narrow road, it is pushed away and turned over to fall down over the hill or is thrown into a brook, and a child in the sedan chair, who is thrown out of the chair, piteously cries, but the other sedan chair just disappears as if nothing has happened. These are the things we hear about nowadays. Since yamen clerks are increasingly arrogant and avaricious, and the living conditions of the literati are increasingly declining, which renders society desolate, this malady largely has to do with the magistrate’s conduct. Involved in the tricks of his yamen clerks, the magistrate dares not speak a word that may offend them. The secret inspectors are well aware of the problem but are reluctant to rectify it. The magistrate must realize that great unrest is bound to break out if he fails to pay attention to the situation in which moral obligations continue to decline, so it is advisable to prevent the problems from happening in their early stage. The problems with the disregard of social status may appear trivial at the present time, but they can be deadly if they are allowed to grow. The National Code stipulates as follows: “Men and women belonging to the class of commoners are prohibited from using the following items: dresses in red, dresses in purple, purple red belts, gold and silver, white celadon wares painted

Rites and Ceremonies

537

in blue, colorful silk, jades, corals, agates, ambers, lapis lazuli, saddles with brass decorations, stirrups called sapdŭngja, and the fur of martens.”  “Except the womenfolk of high officials above junior second rank, people who use seats with flower designs, red lacquerware, embroideries with flowers and phoenixes, and flowers made of gold and silver paper, and people who use various silks and seats made of fur, shall be punished by eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick.”  The clothes, tableware, and saddles of local yamen clerks these days are so luxurious and daring that they know no limit. The products imported from China and Japan are distinctively either red or green, all made of silk and gold and silver. What should we do about them? A yamen clerk of Kangjin named Ch’ae so-and-so wrapped his urine pot with marten fur because the copper, the material of the pot, was cold during the winter. Secret Inspector Yi Ijang discovered that when he stayed at Ch’ae’s house as an overnight guest. On the following day he declared a sentence that Ch’ae be beheaded and his head publicly displayed. He ordered the beating of the drum three times, piercing the ears of the condemned criminal and spraying ashes on his face. When they arrived at the place of execution, however, the inspector decreed that only the penalty corresponding to the crime be applied, reducing more serious charges. (The corresponding penalty is one hundred strokes of beating with the heavy stick. The penalty for yamen clerks and officials is the same.) The National Code stipulates as follows: “The fabric of commoners’ clothes shall be made of 9 warps [sae], the literati’s straw hats of 50 plaits [chuk], and the commoners’ straw hats of 30 plaits. The literati shall wear the hats like mamirip and pujungnip, and the commoners, the hats like chukjingnip and sŭnggyŏllip.”  In my view, wearing straw hats is an old custom. However, it is obvious that at the time when the regulations were made, gradations were instituted for all the items that both literati and commoners used or wore. But since everyone these days, including ministers from above to the yamen clerks down below, wears semoch’ŏm hats, which are produced in Cheju Island, over three hundred times a year, what can we do about this? 310. Kyŏngguk taejŏn [National Code], “Hyŏngjŏn” [“Laws on Penal Affairs”], 473. 311. Ibid. 312. A descendant of Yi Saek, a famous scholar of the late Koryŏ period. He served as second minister. 313. Although this quoted passage, according to the source text, is from the National Code, it actually derives from the “Regulations on Prohibitions,” Laws on Penal Affairs, in the Supplement to the National Code. 314. A hat with a wide brim that is made of fi ne horsehair.

538

book VII

The National Code stipulates as follows: “The officials of the lower end of the hall below rank 3 who use saddles inlaid with silver lining, and the commoners who set up oversized stone monuments in their ancestral tombs (human statues are prohibited, and a pair of stone columns and a tombstone should not exceed two feet in length), shall all be subject to strict punishment.” Although this is what the law says, both yamen clerks and lowborn commoners these days use saddles inlaid with silver lining, and the stone monuments that they set up in their ancestral tombs are no less impressive than those of noble families. This indicates how presumptuous they are in transgressing the law of propriety. On ordinary days there is no need to hurry to punish those who violate the law in this way, causing a stir. It is better to wait until they are caught for some other violation of the law. If at that time this charge is added to their crimes, the violators will realize that the gravity of the law is dreadful indeed. Since the Slave Law Was Amended, Customs Have Significantly Changed, and This Is Not Good for the Interests of the State. Since the Sinhae year [1731] of Ongjŏng [Yŏngjo], the children born of the wives of private slaves, who were originally born of commoners, have been allowed to keep the status of commoners, which their mothers used to enjoy. Since then the upper class has been weakened and the lower class strengthened, which has led to a situation in which the control of the state has become difficult as the discipline of the people has crumbled and their sense of community has deteriorated. To provide one clear example, when the Imjin War broke out, the people in the south were able to mobilize the Righteous Army from hundreds of slaves in their households; however, during Hong Kyŏngnae’s rebellion it was difficult to recruit a single slave even though old families and famous clans held meetings to resolve the crisis. This instance alone well indicates that society has really changed. 315. The source of this quotation is the Supplement to National Code, not National Code. See “Regulations on Prohibitions,” Laws on Penal Affairs, 438. 316. According to the National Code (Laws on Penal Affairs, “Public Slaves”), all children born of slaves were required to inherit the status of their mothers. However, when slaves took wives with the status of commoner, their children were given the status of their fathers. Th is meant that the children of female slaves became slaves as soon as they were born, as well as the property of the one who owned their mother. If they had mothers born of commoners but their fathers were slaves, they were still required to be slaves, as well as the property of the one who owned their fathers. However, the application of this law had not always been consistent, and during the reign of King Chŏngjo the privilege of mothers in the slave law was permanently reaffi rmed. 317. A civil disturbance led by a man named Hong Kyŏngnae (1780−1812) and others in 1811 during the reign of Sunjo. Protesting against the deep-rooted discrimination against the populace of P’yŏngan Province, Hong led the people to rise against the government, but his rebel army was eventually defeated, and he himself was killed in battle after two years of confrontation.

Rites and Ceremonies

539

It is the class of literati that the state can depend on, but their loss of power is too apparent to be denied. If a national crisis breaks out and people rise in rebellion, who will be able to stop them? This shows that the revised slave law was a change for the worse. The local gentry nowadays all have become strong, and the descendants of old families have lost their dignity. The person who arrives as magistrate, however, tries to suppress the strong and raise the weak in dealing with lawsuits, mistaking the old families as parties of the strong. This is a serious mistake. He must realize that the world has completely changed and must try not to lose the hearts and support of literati any further. Essays of Tasan states, “Although the people in former generations said that the law of hereditary slave status is unique to our country, this is far from being true.” There is a passage in Chronicle of Zuo: ‘A man named Fei Bao is a slave. Since his name was included in the royal decree written in red [danshu], he requested that his record be thrown into the fire.’ This proves that hereditary slavery existed even in the laws of the Three Dynasties [Xia, Shang, and Zhou]. According to the ‘Life of Chen Sheng,’ there is a statement, ‘Let Zhang Han release the convicts in Lushan and attack the Chu army, mobilizing all the children of slaves.’ On this statement there is a commentary that states, ‘One who is born a slave in the household is like a born slave in the household [jianshengnu] in our days’. This also indicates that the slave law of the Qin dynasty recognized hereditary slavery. “In ‘The Life of Wei Qing,’ Wei Qing says, ’It would be extremely fortunate for one like myself who is born a slave to avoid being flogged on his bottom.’ This shows that the law of the Han dynasty also authorized hereditary slavery. In the

318. Danshu is a generic name for the royal decrees written in red ink which were bestowed on the officials. However, according to Chronicle of Zuo, “Criminals are made official slaves and their crimes are recorded in red ink.” 319. A biography of a rebel called Chen Sheng that is included in the Book of Han (Hanshu) by Ban Biao and Ban Gu. Chen Sheng and an army colleague named Wu Guang, fearing punishment for their failure to discharge a military order on time, turned rebels and made themselves the leaders of a popu lar uprising. The success of their military campaign, however, turned out to be very brief. Their army, consisting mostly of peasants, was defeated by the trained Qin soldiers led by Zhang Han. 320. A military commander of the Qin dynasty who successfully suppressed the rebel army led by Chen Sheng and Wu Guang. Later he became a general of Xiang Yu, the ruler of the West Chu, but was defeated by Han Xin, the general of Liu Bang’s army. 321. A biography of General Wei Qing that is included in the Book of Han. Wei Qing was born as an illegitimate child from an adulterous relationship; nevertheless, he became the most renowned general of the Han army. He rendered a great ser vice in repelling the Xiongnu and gained the respect and trust of Emperor Wu. However, always conscious of his humble origin, he tried to maintain a low profi le. The quoted statement was Wei’s reply to a man who predicted his great career.

540

book VII

second year of Xianqing of the Tang dynasty [651], there is a passage in an imperial decree as follows: ‘When one releases his slave in order to make him a free man, the head of household must personally sign the document.’ This is another indication of existence of the hereditary slave system, and this law continued to extend to the Song and Ming periods. “The Great Qing Legal Code [Da Qing Luli] states, ‘One who is born in a slave status is a slave all his life and his slave status is handed down to his descendants generation after generation. Since their personal documents tend to be lost in the course of time, it is not necessary to verify their status by means of those documents as long as there is substantial evidence that can prove their identity.’ This is the old slave law handed down from the times of the Song and Ming dynasties. “Commentary on Idiomatic Phrases [Lianwen shiyi] states, ‘He who is the husband of a female slave is called zang, and she who is the wife of a male slave huo.’ Since it is clear that the husband of a female slave or the wife of a male slave is zang or huo, how can the offspring of zang and huo be made commoners? Emperor Shizu of the Yuan dynasty attempted to change the slave law of Koryŏ because Koreans who had a slave in their family throughout eight generations were not allowed to serve as officials in the government. If a man or a woman was born of a parent who was a slave, according to the Koryŏ law, their children still had to remain slaves even if their parents were freed from their slave status. The purpose of this law was only to allow slaves the possibility of becoming commoners, not to reform the hereditary slavery system. Nevertheless, King Ch’ungyŏl made a serious request to the Yuan government that no changes be made in the old slave law of Koryŏ. The words and expressions employed in his letter to the imperial court of Yuan were very plaintive and pitifully urgent because the king believed that a slight change in the law could endanger the future of his state. Unless he had such a conviction, he would not make such a request. Therefore, the revised law of Sinhae year [1731] is not only not in accord with our old law but also disagrees with the intention of Emperor Shizu of the Yuan dynasty. “The common people, being foolish and ignorant of propriety between the king and his subjects or lacking instruction from teachers and friends, can easily turn into rebels unless nobles and families of high standing set up discipline to guide them. Since the year of Sinhae the nobles have continued to decline, while lowborn commoners have become increasingly tyrannical as the social order of 322. Xianqing is the reign name of Emperor Gaozong (656–660). 323. The early criminal law of the Qing dynasty, which was published in 1740, the fi ft h year of Qianlong. 324. A collection of idiomatic expressions compiled by Wang Yan, a scholar of the Qing dynasty. 325. The twenty-fi ft h king of Koryŏ. He reigned from 1275 to 1308.

Rites and Ceremonies

541

high and low status has deteriorated, and instructions and commands have been unable to be carried out. Hence, once a disturbance breaks out, it will be like the collapse of clay hills or the roof tiles falling and breaking in pieces, and no one will be able to stop them. Since the king is far away from the spot of trouble, and the magistrate is like a traveler passing by, how can one solve the crisis unless there is a way to control the ignorant populace in the villages? Therefore, I firmly believe that the slave law should be restored to its original state; otherwise the state cannot be saved from disorder.

C H A P T E R : SE L E C T ION A N D E X A M I NAT ION

Although the Civil Service Examination Makes a Man’s Heart Weary There Is No Choice but to Recommend It until a Better Civil Service Recruitment System Is Introduced. This Preparatory Civil Service Examination Is Called Kwaye. The third among the seven duties of the magistrate is developing school education [hakgyohŭng]. Not knowing what this means, vulgar officials substitute the civil ser vice examination for the development of schools. To engage in the process of recruitment through the civil ser vice examination at home is called sunje, and to go out to participate in literary competitions is called paegiljang. The total number of candidates for the sunje process is not more than twenty or thirty in the case of districts that are famed for producing literary talent [munŭp], and it does not exceed five or six in the case of districts that have a poor record of producing such talent [chilŭp]. The number of examination papers that are gathered amounts to a thousand pages at the most, and five hundred at the least. Even illiterate people, who are engaged in making firewood and feeding cows and thus are incapable of reading and writing, present their examination papers, which were prepared by someone else. Often occupied with his official duties, the magistrate fails to pay close attention to this trickery, and the examiners whom he invited, sitting next to him, recklessly mark the sentences that they like or dislike, while his attendants and favorite entertaining women conspire to tamper with the examination. Furthermore, his office is busy to a degree of utter disorder with matters like providing a banquet for successful candidates or presenting them with awards. As a result, people who feel resentful revile the magistrate, throwing dirt and stones at his office. The magistrate immediately orders military officers to arrest those disorderly rebels who failed to pass the examination, and their wailing shakes the air. The prison is soon filled with people with cangues on their necks, and the street is fi lled with sticks and cudgels for punishment. How easy it is to create disturbance in an otherwise peaceful world. Those who are served a lavish banquet and take away the awards are mostly a gang of yamen clerks, and the rest are woodcutters and cowherds. The civil ser vice

542

book VII

examination, which originated from Zuo Xiong, continues to be handed down today, making numerous people demonstrate vulgar petty talents like entertaining clowns. Even if there had been strict control over this age-old practice, it would still have been insufficient to regulate all the potential problems, which appear to be more serious than at any time in the past. So the situation is like dreaming in a dream. How lamentable this is! The local literary competition related to the civil ser vice examination [paegiljang] is also a burden on the people. Since those who live 20 or 30 li from the district capital where the examination is held should arrive before the designated day, it costs them travel expenses, including drinks, meals, tobacco, shoes, examination papers, brushes, and ink sticks, which alone exceed 100 maces for two persons. If it happens that five or six in a family decide to take the examination, the total cost amounts to 300 maces , which is enough to buy a calf. If thoughtless youths in the family are excited and anxious to try their luck in the examination, there is no way to stop them. Whenever a public notice of the competition is posted, the heads of poor families cannot help making faces because of the financial burden they have to bear. This is clearly an extra problem to be concerned with. Since there are no rules and regulations on properly carry ing out the civil ser vice examination on the national level, the burden of expenses per household reaches as much as 3,000 maces, and since there are no ordinances in relation to the civil ser vice examination on the local level, the expenses per household amount to 300 maces. Without proper rules and ordinances, it is hard for the people to survive. A Prescribed Number Should Be Fixed before the Competition, and a List of the Candidates Should Be Made through Recommendation and Some Test. When This Process Is Completed, the Kwaye Examination Will Be Ready to Be Conducted. If we look at the Chinese system of selecting scholars through examination, they tested the candidates’ knowledge and literary competency with regard to the varieties of traditional literature, particularly sophisticated literary genres and styles that are generally called six types of literary style or writing [liuti] or nine types of literary styles [jiuti]. The candidates were required to study them all, and their grade depended on how many styles they had mastered. In our Korean system the examination is based on six types, but the areas that are tested 326. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Shun (125–144). He proposed adding the civil ser vice examination to the existing system of selecting officials through recommendation. 327. Poetry, rhapsodies, memorials, measures, treatises, and replies. The first two are verse, and the rest are prose.

Rites and Ceremonies

543

for the first and second stages of examination [sogwa and taegwa] are not the same, and the test areas of the first and last parts of the examination [ch’ojang and chongjang] are also all different. Hence if one succeeds in passing only one area, he passes the whole examination. For this reason, even a dull-witted scholar in a remote corner of the country spends his whole life studying only one area, relying on his luck. Hence one who studies poems avoids rhapsodies, and one who studies yi [␪] ignores yi [⩇]. (The former deals with questions about the Four Books, and the latter with questions about the Five Classics.) The applicants for the examination have increased because the requirements are already light, and this is the reason that the recruitment system is always in danger of corruption and disorder. The county school selects the candidates who are good at only one skill in its testing. In munŭp, a district famed for producing successful candidates, it selects a hundred, and in chilŭp, a district with a poor record of producing successful candidates, fift y or sixty. Those who are known to be distinguished are exempt from testing, and the rest of them who are relatively less known are given a test. Those who are unable to produce a piece of quality writing should be thrown out. If there is one who claims that he was unfairly excluded from taking the examination, he should be given a chance in the presence of the examiner. When dozens of candidates are finally selected through this examination, they are made the members of the prescribed number for the future civil ser vice examination and are listed on a separate record under the designation of sarimsaeng. If one of them dies, his place is fi lled by another; if anyone has a death in his family, he is temporarily replaced; if there is anyone who is ill or traveling far away from home, he also is temporarily replaced. So the number of examination papers gathered through the evaluation process should neither exceed nor fall 328. In the first and second parts of the sogwa examination for classics licentiates, the contestants were required to write essays on one of the Five Classics and one of the Four Books. In the fi rst and second parts of the sogwa examination for presented scholars, they were required to write essays on one of the rhapsodies (pu) and one area from old poetry (kosi), epitaphs (myŏng), and proverbs (cham). In the first part of the advanced taegwa examination, the contestants at the beginning were required to write essays on two texts from the Four Books, the Five Classics, and treatises (non); in the middle, one from rhapsodies, eulogies (song), epitaphs, proverbs, and documents (ki), as well as one from memorials (p’yo) and commentaries (chŏn); and at the end, an essay on policies and measures (taech’aek). The second taegwa examination was not much different from the fi rst except that the text to deal with was a commentary on the Four Books and the Th ree Classics (Classic of Poetry, Classic of History, and Book of Changes). In the palace examination (chŏnsi), a written essay about one area from measures, memorials, commentaries, eulogies, and royal decrees (che or cho) was required. 329. The advanced taegwa examination consisted of two stages, which were called ch’osi and poksi. Both examinations were again made of three steps, and the test subject of each step was different.

544

book VII

short of the prescribed number, and that number should always be fully satisfied. Poetry, rhapsodies [rhyming prose], memorials, measures, treatises, and replies are called liuti, six types of literary style or writing. The first-grade contestants are those who are good at all six types of writing. Those who are competent in less than four types belong to the second grade. Those who are good at only one or two are given the lowest grade. The test results of all participants should be recorded, and here are some examples: Student [yuhak] Yi Kimun: 25 years old; resides in Yuch’ŏlli; capable of taking all six types of writing for the examination (presented written replies with regard to the Four Books). Student Kim Sŏngŭn: 26 years old; resides in Songsalli; capable of taking only five types of writing for the examination (rhapsodies, memorials, essays on policy, treatises, and replies to the Five Classics). Student Ch’oe T’aesŏng: 35 years old; resides in Chisŏngni; capable of taking only four types of writing for the examination (odes, essays on policy, treatises, and replies to the Four Books). Student An Sanghyŏn: 41 years old; resides in Sŏulli; capable of taking only three types of writing for the examination (verses, memorials, and replies to the Four Books). Student Chŏng Wŏnp’yo: 38 years old; resides in Towolli; capable of taking only two types of writing for the examination (verses and replies to the Four Books). Youngster [tongmong] Pak Sangdong: 18 years old; resides in Haengwolli; capable of taking only one type of writing for the examination (verses). Youngster Yun Choyŏl: 18 years old; resides in Ch’ŏngp’ungni; capable of taking only one type of writing for the examination (replies to the Five Classics). In the sunje competition all six types of writing are set for the examination. However, a person who is recorded to be capable of taking only one type of writing for the examination is not allowed to present two examination papers, and a person who is recorded to be capable of taking two types of writing is not allowed to present three examination papers.

330. “Unofficial term meaning ‘youthful student’ that has been interpreted by Shikata Hiroshi and others as indicating yangban status, but Song June-ho believes that while the term was assigned to men who later passed the munkwa examinations and became officials, not all did so; thus, some, but not all men designated as yuhak could be deemed members of the yangban” (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 1192).

Rites and Ceremonies

545

In the paegiljang competition three types of writing are usually set for the examination. Those who are capable of taking three types of writing are allowed to present three examination papers within a day, but the papers have to be presented separately, and each of them is evaluated when the examination is over. This rule also applies to those who are capable of taking two types of writing for the examination. Those who have already presented their examination papers should not be allowed to stay in the examination hall. The sunje competition is to be held three times a month, and at the end of three months, when the ninth competition is finished, there should be an overall evaluation of the work of participating candidates and small-scale rewards according to their achievements. The paegiljang competition is held once a month, and at the end of twelve months, when the twelft h competition is finished, there should be an overall evaluation and large-scale rewards. Since the participants have worked hard all year long, one cannot help but be generous in rewarding those who deserve prizes. It would not be appropriate to reward successful candidates with items like paper or brushes that appear to be too trivial. The three first-prize winners should be awarded one bolt of hemp or cotton cloth good for making a robe, along with supplementary prizes such as fine ink slabs, beautiful desks, nice fans, and new pairs of shoes; the six second-prize winners, belts and various other supplementary prizes; the nine third-prize winners, new pairs of shoes and various other supplementary prizes; and the twentyseven fourth-prize winners, nice fans and other supplementary prizes. It is also advisable to reward the first-prize winners with good books of special value. The property of the county school, if it is well managed with frugality, can generate extra income. There are also always some items of property or valuables that it is not desirable for the local government to possess or keep, and thus it is not justifiable either to keep them or throw them away. If the county school uses this type of property for preparing prizes and awards, there will be no shortage of funds. In the following spring the list of candidates for the civil ser vice examination should be updated, eliminating the dead or those in mourning and fi lling their places with new members. If a person who has been capable of taking one type of writing for the examination contends that he is now capable of taking two types of writing, his words should be placed on the record; if a person who has been capable of taking three types of writing now contends that he is capable of taking four types of writing, his words should also be placed on the record. However, these people must be tested in the presence of the examiner, and their claims should never be accepted lightly. Although the approaches illustrated above are basically good, the people in neighboring districts may complain that they are too restrictive. One way to

546

book VII

solve this problem, if one is serious about this matter, is to request that the county schools of four neighboring districts select thirty students of their own and send them to the kwaye competition on a designated day. If each of the four neighboring districts sends thirty students, and another thirty students from the present district join them, the students from five districts will participate all together in the competition. The students of the district that wins the fi rst prize are all awarded prizes. In the case of the district that wins the second prize, only those who passed the examination are awarded prizes; in the case of the district that comes in third, only those who did well in the examination are awarded prizes; in the case of the district that wins the fourth place, there is no award except for the person who wins the highest honor. None of the participants belonging to the district that fi nishes last in the competition will be awarded a prize even if the winner of the highest honor is among them. Th is approach will greatly boost the morale [of the students and the community at large]. Competitions like this, however, should be held only once a year on a fine day during either the spring or the autumn, and not too frequently. The so-called kŏjop causes great abuses. The kŏjop is an intensive training of students for kwaye competitions. Twenty or thirty students are selected and study together either in the county school or the Buddhist temple for ten days or a month. Since this practice, however, only wastes the property of the county school or causes damage to the Buddhist temple, it should be stopped. The person who wins top honors treats his fellow students with wine and food, and then a new member does the same in appreciation of his new membership. They drink, talk aloud, and fight from start to end, making a scene of utter confusion. This is why the practice of kŏjop should be discouraged. Because Literary Styles Have Become Vulgar in Recent Years, the Rules of Versification Are Frivolously Ignored, and the Compositions Thus Made Fall Short of a High Standard, Showing Excessive Strain in Their Expressions and Presentations. This Must Be Corrected. Since poetry [shi] and poetic prose [fu] originally required not only the learning of the classics and statecraft but also rhetorical skill that encompassed the Hundred Schools of Thought, engraving on the heart of the people myriad things in the world, they developed into the art of making compositions in later ages. The nature of the literary composition is too fantastic and unreliable, so it is advisable not to be overly preoccupied with it. Because it has already been established, 331. The source text is not clear about what exactly “doing well” in the examination means. However, it seems to imply that it was used as opposed to passing the examination.

Rites and Ceremonies

547

however, it cannot be denied that it is still important, and therefore, literary style, which is in disarray, should be rectified. From the first year [1735] of Qianlong, a new literary style suddenly emerged that required that three lines [in a four-line stanza] be rhymed, and that the one in the middle show an antithesis. There was no such rule of prosody even a hundred years ago. This is a problem. When Pyŏn Ch’unjŏng first composed a poem for a civil ser vice examination, he imitated the prosodic rules of “Song of Xiangyang” by Li Bai: (Astride a fine horse that cost a thousand pieces of gold I call a young concubine. Sitting together on the saddle and laughing I sing a flower falling from an apricot tree. Looking at the Han River at a distance, the heads of ducks look green, Which reminds me of the grapes just starting to ferment.)

The rhyme of the poem is supposed to be level tone, but the actual tone of the poem is rising tone or falling tone, which sounds awkward. What is the reason? The rhyme of the Chinese characters belonging to rising and falling tones should be matched with the ones belonging to level tone (matching the characters like qie and lu in the poem is inappropriate); nevertheless, the tones and rhymes throughout the whole poem show contradictions, not to mention the use of entering tone [rushing]. Since King Chŏngjo ordered the compilation of Comprehensive Prosody Authorized by the Royal Library [Kyujang chŏnun], which allowed the use of entering tone in composing a poem in the civil ser vice examination, the upper part and lower part sound different. When one reads the upper part, the sound and echo appear impressive; but when one comes to the lower part, one finds that it sounds like hitting wood, and its echoes sound lifeless, like hitting the earth. This is not an insignificant mistake. So it is also a problem. The rhyme of level tone should parallel the character whose tone is zesheng, but nowadays this rule of poetic prosody is not found even in leisurely recitations, not to mention in civil ser vice examinations. Th is is clearly a problem. Some argue that there is no need of rhyme for rhapsodies [fu], but I have never heard of such a thing since The Lament [Li Sao]. These days they observe the rule of prosody only with regard to the final consonant and pay no attention to level tone and other tonal pitches corresponding 332. Pyŏn Kyeryang (1369–1430), an official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. Ch’unjŏng was his pen name. Extremely talented in literature, he served as minister of rites and director (taejehak) for over twenty years. He also participated in the compilation of Veritable Records of King T’aejo and the revision of History of Koryŏ. 333. The original text reads as follows: ༐㍠㥬㤷ᥦᑛ጑ / ➏ᆓ㞡㠙ḯⴘᱭ / 㐥┫₆Ề㬖㢄 ⥄ / ᜞జⴭ⳿ิ㓼㓞. 334. A general term for rising, falling, and entering tones. 335. A poem by Qu Yuan (ca. 340 B.C.−ca. 278 B.C.), a patriotic poet of the Chu state.

548

book VII

to the level tone, simply saying, “The prosody of rhapsodies was originally like this.” This is a problem. Since the prosody of pianliwen, rhymed prose characterized by parallel style and ornate language, is not different from lushi, regular verse focused on strict tonal patterns and thematic structure, one must observe the rule of rhyming in both pianliwen and lushi. (Since Mt. Guan is hard to pass over, / I wonder whether all of us here are travelers who lost their way. / Having made friends accidentally in this alien place, / we are all travelers far from home.) This is evidenced in all pianliwen works of the Tang and Song periods. For instance, the poetic prefaces, ranging from those in the “Preface to a Collection of Poems on the Gallery of Prince Teng,” “Epitaph on the Gravestone of Confucius in Yizhou,” and “Praise of Ganyuan Palace” to those of memorials to express gratitude or congratulation [xiehe piaojian] and inquiries about the emperor’s health [qiwen], all follow rhyming and metrical rules. Even the memorial for celebrating the new year [hezheng wenbiao] sent by the state of Ryukyu in recent years has been drafted on the basis of the rules of prosody; only the people of our country, however, because of wrong information that has been handed down, continue to make mistakes in making poetry. “The Open Warning against Rebel Huang Chao” [“Tao Huang Chao xiwen”] and the epitaphs in various Buddhist temples written by Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn, as well as the Buddhism-related texts of Koryŏ scholars and the memorials in the early Chosŏn period, all followed the rules of prosody, but something has gone wrong since then, which I do not know how to explain. Around that time Deputy Director Yi Sŏwu produced a piece of writing and named it yulp’yo, paying great attention to rhyme. Although it was commendable that he used rhyme in his composition, it was also a mistake that he particularly called his work yulp’yo. Since the rhyming prose of four- and sixcharacter lines [siliu pianliwen] originally did not have a model because it appeared late, how can there be yulp’yo, an example of such writing? Answering the questions related to the classics [jingyi] that are set for the civil ser vice examination is a small skill and was originally nothing but a set of words; however, people nowadays expand them to as many as six or seven paragraphs, which is weird. This produces needless repetition and phraseologies. After the 336. A literary style that is known to have been more concerned with style than with substance. It flourished during the Six Dynasties and Tang periods. 337. A famous poem by Wang Bo, an early Tang poet. It is classified as a good example of pianliwen, which depends on rhythm but does not have formal restrictions regarding the number of characters in a sentence or the number of sentences in a paragraph. Prince of Teng’s Pavilion (Tengwang ge) is located along the Gan River of Nanchang City, which was then called Hongzhou (Wikipedia). 338. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yunbo, and his pen name Songgok. He served as second minister of works. 339. A memorial written in rhyme.

Rites and Ceremonies

549

word minghu, mad talk and reckless remarks follow, mocking the sacred books of sages. Since there is no way to stop this, it is indeed lamentable. There is another bad practice dating back several decades, and that is drawing the titles of poetry and rhymed prose from the commentaries on the books of classics [for the civil ser vice examination]. How can teachings about human nature, principle, and the Way be mixed together with poetry? Although a wrongful example was set, it has been passed from one to another and imitated. Thus even in the countryside students follow this practice. As a result, the dignity of writing has increasingly deteriorated to such a degree that the vulgarity and crudity of writing cannot be tolerated any longer. To go back to the works of the early middle period, for instance, those of Paeksa, Hanŭm, Samyŏn, Toam, and others, which are well known, are all of excellent literary quality. If they were asked to write their answers under the titles that are given in the current civil ser vice examination, they would not be able to produce writing of the same quality, which is both clean and original. It is hard to understand why the officials of academies and institutes [kwangak] allow such a situation to happen. Even children’s songs and proverbs reveal what goes on in the world. Although the civil ser vice examination is secular, its quality and dignity should be given careful consideration. Even though the students and instructors of the county school profess their respect of classical learning, should officials continue to pose such questions for the civil ser vice examination? It is not right to do so. The Youngsters Who Are Intelligent and Have a Good Memory Should Be Separately Selected and Educated. Literary knowledge or disposition depends greatly on its beginning. If a boy who starts his education at the age of eight mistakes “house” for “family” or “sleep” 340. One had to compose the answers to jingyi questions according to a standard format that started with restating the issue before the examinee expressed his own opinion. The word minghu was used as a marker dividing the restatement and the examinee’s personal opinion. 341. The mid-sixteenth century of the Chosŏn dynasty. 342. Yi Hangbok (1561–1618), who served as second state councilor and contributed to the war effort during the Imjin War. Paeksa was his pen name. 343. Yi Tŏkhyŏng (1561–1613), who served as chief state councilor and rendered great ser vice in overcoming the crisis of the Imjin War. Hangbok was his pen name. 344. Kim Ch’anghŭp (1653–1722), a learned scholar and writer. Samyŏn was his pen name. 345. Yi Chae (1680–1746), who served as director (taejehak) and inspector general. Toam was his pen name. He was a great authority on Neo-Confucianism and was especially known as an exponent of the Nangnon school (ὔㄵ). 346. A collective reference to the Office of the Royal Lectures, the Palace Library (Kyujanggak), the Office of Special Counselors, the Office of Royal Decrees, the Bureau of State Records, and the National Confucian Academy.

550

book VII

for “dozing,” this early preconception can become a misconception that is hard to eliminate to the end of his life. If he moves on to study Brief History of Ancient China by Zeng Xianzhi [Zengshi silue], Selected Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government [Shaowei tongian], A Hundred Chinese Poems for Elementary Students [Paengnyŏngu], and Poems for Children [Kyŏngmongsi] while his mistake remains fi xed in his mind and habit, it will be too late to correct it later. Only in the case of young children with talent whose age is below twelve is it not too late to straighten out the mistakes that they might have made; therefore, they should be trained separately, and other children, who are older than they are, should be taught in the regular way according to the custom. Since the wrongful habits of children can be straightened out only in their young age, the ones whose beards grow thick and whose bones have become hardened have little hope for success even if one dedicates himself to teaching them until his hands melt and his hair burns off. In every subdistrict of counties and districts there are dozens of villages, and for approximately every four or five villages there is a private elementary school [sŏdang or sŏjae] run by an instructor who teaches dozens of children, although his qualifications are often dubious. The magistrate orders these instructors to select outstanding students whose age is around ten, evaluating them in three categories: the most outstanding are those who can recite three or four thousand characters, turning to face the wall, after learning and reading them ten times or so; the next are those who can recite two thousand characters, turning around in their seats, after learning and reading them twenty times in a day; and the lowest in rank are those who can recite one thousand characters, turning around in their seats, after learning and reading them thirty times in a day. Those who are less remarkable than these in their performance cannot be called outstanding. The magistrate sends a dispatch to the county school that requires submitting a list of outstanding children. Then the county school sends letters to all the private elementary schools in subdistricts in order to find out if they have such children. If they have, it asks the instructor of the concerned school to report the names of his students, their age, and the textbooks they have learned up to that 347. A Chinese history written by Zeng Xianzhi of the Yuan dynasty. Also known as Shiba shilue, it was commonly used as a history textbook for elementary education during the Chosŏn period. 348. Also called Tongjian jieyao, it was written by Jiang Zhi of the Song dynasty, and the text was based on Sima Guang’s Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government (Zizhi tongjian), which was written for the purpose of inculcating principles of governance in rulers. 349. The original title is Paengnyŏn ch’ohae, and it was written by Kim Inhu (1510–1560), a Confucian scholar in the mid-Chosŏn period, for the purpose of teaching young children in the local schools. 350. Its author is unknown.

Rites and Ceremonies

551

time, as well as their academic ability, that is, how many characters they can handle and how fast they have learned them, and so forth. When the reports from private elementary schools have all been gathered, the county school submits a final report to the magistrate. When the report from the county school arrives, the magistrate chooses a day to test the listed children personally. He has the instructors of private elementary schools hand out new texts to their students and make them demonstrate their ability by reciting the text. If their demonstration agrees with their record in his hand, the magistrate puts their names on a separate record and allows them to participate in examinations like the sunje and paegiljang competitions. In the first month of the four seasons the magistrate summons those selected children and gives them assignments for study for a period of three months so that they can read and memorize them. After three months he tests them on what they have studied, evaluates them, and rewards them on the basis of their performance. If there is anyone who was left out in the selection of talented students and requests to be tested because his talent has suddenly awakened in a few months, the magistrate gives him a chance to prove himself by personally testing him. If he discovers an extraordinary talent, it is his obligation to take that young man with him when he returns home after he finishes his term as magistrate and then shape him into an instrument that can be put to good use by the state. This is what the magistrates in old days did. It Is a Great Honor for the Magistrate That the District of Which He Is in Charge Becomes Famous for Continuously Producing Persons Who Pass the Civil Service Examination. Zhu Xi in his official letter inviting the recommendees [juren] to Bailudong Academy stated as follows: “Although the state generally follows the system of former ages in recruiting officials through civil ser vice examinations, such methods, which focus on knowledge of the classics, poetry, the art of making arguments, and so forth, are not really sufficient for fully securing all the worthy scholars that the state needs. How can scholars’ hard work and self-cultivation and waiting for a call from the state all be finished only by responding to a day’s demands of examiners for memorizing or weaving fantastic words? This year those who are released from the requirements of state examinations and wait for their appointment at the prefecture amount to twenty-eight people, and this is a great honor for the district because they are all praised for their learning and conduct. However, since there are certain discrepancies to think over between the purpose of the state in recruiting scholars and the purpose of scholars who 351. The people who were qualified to take the civil ser vice examination.

552

book VII

wait for their appointment, as already stated, we would like to discuss them when we meet together. Right now the students of Bailudong Academy have all scattered to go home, and the forest, which is the campus, is quiet. So it is perfect for the scholars to devote themselves to their studies. If you are willing to visit the academy, I will make arrangements so that you will be provided with food and accommodations. Let us know whether you are coming or not.” The following happened when Chang Gun became governor of Fujian. The people of the Min region were illiterate, but when he assumed his post and worked hard on educating them, establishing the county school and encouraging students to practice writing compositions, the local custom drastically changed, and the number of tribute students [shigongshi] increased to equal that of inland regions. When Zhang Yi was in charge of Qingshen District, he developed the county school, personally teaching the students. His efforts finally bore fruit sometime later when men like Chen Xilang and Yang Yi passed the civil ser vice examination one after another. Because of this incident, the name of the district was changed from Qingshen to Guilin. (According to different sources, Qingshen is Changsui, and Guilin is Guzhi.) When Yi Kilbae was in charge of the county of Sŏnsan, his administration was clean, the way he handled litigation was simple and clear, and the number of those who passed the civil ser vice examination significantly increased because of his efforts at promoting education. The government commended his contribution, promoting him by two ranks. Fourth State Councilor [chwach’ansŏng] Yi Sangŭi  once served as magistrate of Sŏngchŏn. Because his district was located on the border, and the

352. An official of the Tang dynasty. He also served as deputy director of the Chancellery and manager of affairs. 353. The scholars whom the local governors were required to select and send to the central government every year. 354. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Dayin. He served as auxiliary academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs. 355. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongbi. He served as vice minister of the Court of the Imperial Sacrifices. 356. Little is known about him other than what is stated here. 357. Passing the civil ser vice examination used to be called zhegui (ᢙ᰿), which means “breaking a branch of a cinnamon tree.” Th is term appears to have derived from the custom that a branch of a cinnamon tree, an equivalent of laurel in the East, was given to those who passed the examination. 358. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sejong. He served as section chief of the Board of Personnel, as bailiff, as magistrate of Sŏnsan, and as second inspector. 359. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period and the great-grandfather of Yi Ik, a renowned Sirhak scholar. His courtesy name was Iwŏn, and his pen names Sorŭng and Oho. He served as minister of personnel and minister of justice.

Rites and Ceremonies

553

chances for education were limited, there were no people among the residents who had passed the civil ser vice examination. Under these circumstances, the new magistrate made education his foremost priority, personally selecting and teaching men of talent. As a result of promoting education, the sound of the zither and of voices chanting poetry were heard throughout the whole district. In less than three years a man passed the preliminary civil ser vice examination, and he was soon followed by many more until there was one who passed the fi nal examination and was appointed to an office. People praised their magistrate. The following happened when Fourth State Councilor Mok Sŏhŭm became magistrate of Yangyang. Because the district of Yangyang was located in a remote seacoast of Kangwŏn Province, its land was barren and its residents were exhausted. Still worse, the crops failed year after year. Upon arriving in his district, he gathered the people in a small cottage near a cemetery and personally taught them, providing those who attended with provisions. He especially encouraged men of talent to work harder and fi nancially aided those who were too poor to marry. In less than three years the whole district was remarkably edified. When Lord Kyŏnghŏn, Yi Kyeson, became governor of Hamgyŏng Province after serving as magistrate of Hamhŭng, he gave his foremost priority to developing the county schools and cultivating men of talent. Lord Munch’ung, Kim Chongjik, reported to King Sŏngjong: “After Yi Kyeson took charge of Hamhŭng and worked hard to develop the county school and cultivated men of talent, the number of those who passed the civil ser vice examination significantly increased.” Ch’oe Ip stated as follows: “Those who served as governor of Hamgyŏng Province used to be preoccupied with the thought of military affairs; unlike them, Yi Kyeson gave his foremost priority to education, requesting that the government send books and instructors and at the same time personally teaching talented students. In addition, he established rules and regulations and

360. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sungyŏng, and his pen name Maegye. He served as second minister of rites. 361. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Inji. He also served as minister of justice and of war. 362. Kim Chongjik (1431–1492) was a scholar-official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. Inheriting the Korean Neo-Confucian tradition that started from Chŏng Mongju and Kil Chae, he produced distinguished disciples, including Kim Koengp’il and Chŏng Yŏch’ang. After his death one of his records was found, which obliquely criticized King Sejo, who had usurped the throne from his nephew Tanjong, and the discovery led to the Literati Purge of 1449 (muo sahwa) during the reign of Yŏnsangun. 363. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ipji, and his pen names Kani and Tonggo. He served as second minister of justice.

554

book VII

held large town meetings to conduct examinations four times a year. Within a year the whole province was noticeably edified, and the residents still revere him as if he were their parent. He is certainly a man of talent who deserves to be a counselor to the king. Munhoe Academy of Hamhŭng, Hŭnghyŏn Academy of Yŏnghŭng, and Okdong Academy of Anbyŏn all establish his memorial tablet in the center of their academic shrines.” Unless the Civil Service Recruiting System Is Firmly Established, Scholars Will Not Make Strenuous Efforts, and the Work of Kwaye Evaluation Cannot Be Accomplished Properly. Essays of Yusan stated as follows: “The Chinese system of provincial and district schools used to have instructors called jiaoguan (which is equivalent to hundo in Korea) and every month conducted examinations that required the students to present formal and stylized theses called chengwen on a variety of subjects and fields. They generally consisted of a copy of commentaries on the Four Books, a piece of a Chinese poem called pailü (six or eight quatrains made of fivecharacter lines), a piece of a treatise on government policy (sometimes the subject is history), and an oral report on laws and legal issues. As to the theses to be presented at the four seasonal examinations, which were separately given, there were commentaries on the Five Classics, pailü poems, and disputations on history and policy. After conducting these examinations, jiaoguan instructors sent the most outstanding examinees to the superintendent of training [tixue], who was in charge of provincial education. Then the superintendent selected one or two officials who could take charge of provincial civil ser vice examinations. He supervised instructors of county schools just as the governor took command of district magistrates. “The triennial examination [shinianshi] was held in the yin, shen, si, and hai years. If, for instance, the second examination [huishi] was held in the hai year, the superintendent of training conducted the examination that was called suike, the preliminary examination, in either the zi or the chou year. So the triennial examination was held every three years. The papers of the ten most excellent examinees were sent to the Board of Rites. When the autumn of the chou year came, the provincial examination was held. The government dispatched examiners, two for each province, and also appointed a few local examiners who would work with them. (This is like our Korean system.) 364. Pailü (ᤴᚂ) is a genre of Chinese formal poetry that is relatively free in form and length. While eight-line regular verse (lushi) is restricted by strict tonal patterns and parallelism of content, pailü does not require the repetitions of tonal patterns and the parallelism of the first and last couplets.

Rites and Ceremonies

555

“The rules and procedures of the examination were as follows: At the first stage the examinees were required to present three essays on the Four Books (one about the Analects, another about Mencius, and another about either Golden Mean or Great Learning). In addition, they had to compose one pailü poem (each line is made of five characters, and the whole poem consists of eight quatrains); at the second stage, five essays on the Five Classics; and at the third stage, five essays on policy questions, each having not more than three hundred characters. In the following spring the second examination [huishi] was held, and this examination also consisted of three stages, just like the provincial ones. As for the examiners, there was one chief examiner, along with three or four coexaminers. The brushes and ink used by these examiners were all different according to their rank. The colors of the comments they wrote on the examination papers started with red, blue, orange, green, and purple. Each examiner evaluated each paper and made his comments. This was basically what the civil ser vice examinations were about. “As to the prescribed number of classics licentiates, a medium-size district usually had twenty students called ejin. (They were qualified to take the provincial examination.) It also had another twenty students called linsheng (students who are provided with food and accommodation), another twenty students called zengsheng (nonregular students), and another twenty students called tongsheng (the students younger in age). In addition, it had more students of different categories who were called qingsheng or shesheng. Not all of them were supposed to receive the guidance of the instructors [jiaoguan] and move on to take the civil ser vice examination. “Both the preliminary examination [suike] and provincial examinations had a fi xed number of examinees, but the second examination [huishi] did not. Therefore, if there were many who passed the second examination, it was not necessary to cut down their number in order to observe a fi xed capacity; at the same time, if those who passed the examination were few, it was also not necessary to increase the number of those who passed to meet the requirement of a fi xed capacity. A special examination was held when there was an auspicious event to celebrate in the state, during which the number of candidates qualified to sit for the examination was increased by three (in the case of large provinces and districts) or by one or two (in the case of small and medium-size districts); however, the fi xed number for those who passed the examination still remained unchanged.” Since fu [ rhapsody] is a kind of writing that is good for nothing, it is better to eliminate it. However, formal prose writing such as memorials and diplomatic letters [biaojian] and treatises on history [shilun] must be preserved. In my view, it is appropriate that at the fi rst stage of the examination three papers on some of the Four Books and the classics should be submitted; at the second stage two pailü poems and one biaojian prose writing; and at the third stage one treatise on

556

book VII

history and three replies to three policy questions. If the civil ser vice examination is run this way, intelligent and learned scholars will take the examination, and those who are crude and careless will naturally be disheartened and lose their audacity. The abuses of the past, then, will disappear by themselves without efforts to correct them. Those who are distinguished in moral conduct and talent but deficient in literary talent should be separately selected through different approaches, and the matter of recruiting them is also important. In our civil ser vice examination system the examinees are required to submit only one paper a day. However, since a man of talent can produce as many as three papers a day, cheating takes place all the time, and the number of cheaters amounts to several thousand. If the civil ser vice examination requires the contestants to submit three to five papers a day, even a man of talent who is good at writing and learned will be able to produce only his own papers and will have no chance to help others. The abuse of cheating on the examination then will disappear by itself. In recent times one or two ministers who went out to serve, respectively, as magistrate of Kwangju and governor of Chŏlla Province held the preliminary provincial civil ser vice examination [kongdohoe] and made the examinees submit three papers a day. The scholars of literary talent praised the law.

VIII

Administration of Military Affairs

C H A P T E R  : E N L I S T M E N T FOR M I L I TA RY SE R V IC E

The Law of Collecting the Military Cloth Tax [Kunp’o] by Registering People on the Military Record Originated from Yang Yŏn and Has Continued up to the Present Time, but Its Abuses Are So Extensive That They Have Become an Excruciating Burden on the People. Unless This Law Is Changed, No People Can Survive. Since commoners’ corvée ser vices were already discussed in detail in the section on corvée duties, they will not be discussed here. At the beginning of the Chosŏn dynasty there was a so-called household cloth tax [hop’o], but no such thing as a military cloth tax. (In the tenth year of his reign [1410] T’aejong of the early Chosŏn dynasty issued a royal decree on this matter, which appears in Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns.) During the reign of Chungjong, Inspector General Yang Yŏn (who removed Kim Allo from power) submitted a proposal for legislating the law to levy a cloth tax on those registered in the military roster, which was soon enacted. However, the word used in the new law based on military registration was kongp’o, which was a military cloth tax based on household registration, not pŏnp’o, which was based on 1. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Kŏwŏn, and his pen name Sŏl’ong. He served as second royal secretary, censor general, inspector general, second minister of works, minister of war, and minister of personnel. 2. Chungjong (1488–1544) was the eleventh king of the Chosŏn dynasty. 3. A state councilor of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Isuk, and his pen names Hŭirakdang, Yongch’ŏn, and T’oejae. He was impeached for abusing his power and fi nally died in exile in 1537.

557

558

book VIII

military registration. Therefore, Yulgok in a memorial to the king requested reform of the military tax system and said, “If the government intends to reduce the burden of kongp’o, the military cloth tax based on household registration, it should be incorporated into the land tax.” During that time the Korean military consisted only of cavalry and regular soldiers [chŏngbyŏng], and it adopted the disposition of troops devised by Kwangnŭng, who was King Sejo, not the one created by Qi Jiguang. This is evidenced in the military record of the time. Thus one can find in the records military titles like battalion commander [yŏsu] or platoon leader [taejŏng] but not ones like brigade commander [busi] or company leader [qishao]. After the Imjin War the Five Commands [Owi] system was abolished and replaced by Five Divisional Headquarters of the General Army [Oyŏng], which consisted of the Military Training Command [Hullyŏn togam], the Royal Guards Command [Ŏyŏngch’ŏng], the Forbidden Guard Division [Kŭmwiyŏng], the Defense Command at Namhan Fort [Suŏch’ŏng], and the Anti-Manchu Division [Ch’ongyungch’ŏng]. These are so-called the Five Army Garrisons [Ogunmun or Ogunyŏng]. The troops belonging to the Defense Command at Namhan Fort and the Anti-Manchu Division were mobilized in the Kyŏnggi region, and the recruitment of troops and the collection of the military cloth tax for the Military Training Command, the Royal Guards Command, and the Forbidden Guard Division were carried out throughout all provinces. Duty soldiers, also called hosu, principal ser vicemen, individually had two or three support persons [poin] who provided them with rice and cloth for their military tax. If the taxes of those support persons were paid with rice, they were 12 tu, if with cloth, 2 bolts, and if in cash, 4 taels. When the military bases around Seoul were closed down after the Manchu invasion of 1636 had ended, the rota4. Sejo (1417–1468) was the seventh king of the Chosŏn dynasty. 5. Busi (㒂ྒྷ) and qishao (᪕ဨ) are titles of military commanders that appear in New Book on Effective Military Tactics by Qi Jiguang. 6. The military system in the capital (Seoul), established in 1457 during the reign of Sejo. The term “Five Commands” (Owi) refers to the divisions of the Center, East, West, South, and North, and each of these had military jurisdiction over the corresponding region of the country (Lee, New History of Korea, 178–179). 7. Established in 1593 during the Japa nese invasion for the defense of Seoul according to The Veritable Record of King Sŏnjo. But the author’s note in the source text says it was fi rst established in 1598. 8. Established in 1652 during the reign of Hyojong, mainly for artillery training. 9. Established in 1682 during the reign of Sukchong and located in Inŭidong. 10. Established in 1626 during the reign of Injo for the defense of Namhan Mountain Fortress and the nearby garrisons. 11. Established in 1624 during the reign of Injo for the defense of the outskirts of Seoul and the Kyŏnggi area.

Administration of Military Affairs

559

tion of duty soldiers also came to an end, and with the end of their rotation, supplies and equipment were no longer needed. Therefore, the cloth taxes, including those for duty soldiers whose rotation had stopped, were sent to each garrison in Seoul. When this happened, each district in Seoul hired soldiers who could replace the rotating ser vice troops [pŏnsanggun] or used the tax money to maintain the troops of various divisions in Seoul. Finally, in the ninth year [1733] of King Yŏngjo’s reign tax reforms for commoners began to be discussed. Third State Councilor Kim Hŭnggyŏng advocated a mouth-tax policy [kujŏnnon]; Lord Yŏngsŏng, Pak Munsu, argued for the abolition of the garrison system; and Minister of Personnel Song Inmyŏng requested that the uniform land tax paid in rice be reduced and that the cash surtax on land [kyŏlchŏn] be raised. In the twenty-sixth year [1750] of King Yŏngjo’s reign the Equalized Tax Law was finally implemented. While the discussion of this new tax system was under way, various proposals like a household cloth tax [hop’o], a cloth surtax on land [kyŏlp’o], a mouth tax, and a cloth tax on men of leisure [yup’o] were raised. In the meantime the Bureau of Equalized Tax [Kyunyŏkch’ŏng] was established, and the military cloth tax was eventually reduced by half as lands unaccounted for were discovered and fish and salt taxes, a cloth tax on men of leisure, and a surtax on land were collected. Thus 2 bolts of military cloth tax were reduced to 1 bolt, 4 taels to 2 taels, and 12 tu of rice to 6 tu. As a result, people were able to have some relief from their heavy tax burden. Although the military cloth tax was reduced by 1 bolt and it appeared that the people’s burden was lightened to some extent, the number of registered ser vice troops increased month by month and year by year. The number of registered soldiers who paid military cloth tax in the first year of King Sukchong’s reign was three hundred thousand; however, by the time King Yŏngjo carried out the Equalized Tax Law, it had already reached five hundred thousand. The number of those who had to pay the military cloth tax, according to the True Record of Military Service Tax for Men of Good Status [Yangyŏk silch’ong] (a book compiled when the Equalized Tax Law was made), was several thousand in large districts and over a thousand even in small ones. Furthermore, in addition to the cloth tax paid to various armies in Seoul, they were required to pay for the support of troops excluded from rotation duty, private soldiers belonging to various warehouses and 12. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kukgi, and his pen name Kŭmnyujŏng. He rose to the position of chief state councilor. 13. Kujŏn indicates taxes levied on households and collected in currency, which were similar to poll taxes. 14. He served as secret royal inspector for years and later as minister of punishments, of war, of taxation, and of rites. 15. His courtesy name was Sŏngbin, and his pen name Changmilhŏn. He served as second state councilor and advocated the Policy of Impartiality.

560

book VIII

bureaus, security personnel of county schools and local academies, support personnel for runners and government slaves, security guards for local and capital agents, support personnel for the captains in charge of estuaries, support personnel for yŏngun soldiers, support persons for artisans in the provincial yamen, support persons for artisans in the district yamen, support persons for men of the four categories, support persons for men of the three categories, support persons for the artisans of various categories dealing with bamboo, lacquer, and paper, and so on, which are absurdly numerous. If the government dispatches an inspector, a man of integrity and experience, to search out all the miscellaneous soldiers belonging to both public and private organizations, their total number throughout the whole country will certainly surpass several million. If half a million people individually pay 4 taels, this will make 2 million taels; if 2 million people individually pay only 2 taels, this will be as much as 4 million taels. Although King Yŏngjo’s measure was able to reduce the military cloth tax by half, the total amount of taxes to be paid actually doubled. How, then, can you say that law exists in the state? Master Cheng said, “For all things of the world there exists a certain number that is predetermined. If a thing is not here, it is surely somewhere else.” If the present situation is compared with the early years when the Equalized Tax Law was implemented, the burden of taxes has now increased as much as four times. How can the people not be impoverished, and how can their material power not be dried up? If King Yŏngjo saw the current situation, his distress and compassion for the people would be twice as strong as they were in his time. The so-called military cloth tax is already wrong in its naming. Ever since the Yellow Emperor trained his army, one may have heard that the army was nourished [yangbyŏng], but one may not have heard that the military cloth tax was levied to nourish the army. According to the system during the reign of Yao and Shun and the Three Dynasties era, soldiers were selected from the people and given land for their ser vice. This is the so-called well-field system, and, therefore, there were virtually no lands that were not related to the military. After the Han and Wei dynasties military colonies were created in order to maintain the army. Even in lawless ages the states maintained the armies, spending their own wealth, 16. Literally meaning “smoke soldiers,” yŏngun soldiers were those who were mobilized for public construction work on a temporary basis. 17. The four or three categories are a “collective reference to candidates for official appointments who had only temporary status as officials” (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 400). 18. Master Cheng (Chengzi) here seems to indicate one of Cheng brothers, ChengYi and Cheng Hao, who were famous for their Neo-Confucian philosophy. 19. Also called Huangdi, he is a legendary Chinese sovereign and cultural hero and one of the Five Emperors.

Administration of Military Affairs

561

which, as far as I know, had nothing to do with collecting military cloth taxes. It was the way of antiquity that those who did not serve in the army paid money and those in the army paid their lives. How absurd is it if the state demands that its people sacrifice their lives and contribute their own property as well? Nowadays, as soon as a child is born in a poor village and its crying sound is heard, a notice from the government arrives. Since the intercourse of men and women is inevitable because the law of yin and yang is decreed by Heaven, when intercourse takes place, a child is born, and when a child is born, it is on the military roster. Then those who became parents resent and complain about the universal law of procreation, and each household utters lamentations and sheds tears. What can be worse than the lawlessness of the state like this? In a much worse case, the name of an unborn child is placed on the military roster during the mother’s pregnancy, and the name of a daughter is changed into that of a son, and still much worse, in a certain case the name of a dog is listed on the military roster as if it were a man, so it actually happens that a government notice for enlistment is issued to the dog. According to the law, “One of the members of a father and three sons [sabuja] is allowed exemption from military ser vice.” However, the present situation of the people is that they cannot dare to complain even if a father and seven sons [p’albuja] are all called for military ser vice as long as they have bodies to move. The law states, “The magistrate will be reprimanded if enlisting children on the military roster [hwanggu ch’ungjŏng] takes place.” However, it is the situation of the people that they cannot dare to complain even if their children are enlisted on the military roster despite being only three days old. The law states, “The magistrate will be reprimanded if levying cloth taxes on the dead [paekgol chingp’o] takes place.” Ironically, however, people prefer to have it [levying cloth taxes on the dead], and what is the reason? When a father dies, his son is supposed to take over the tax that his dead father used to pay. Thus he is forced to pay such taxes as a death gratuity [mulgoch’ae], a ser vice charge for changing the military record of the dead person [pup’yoch’ae], a service charge for the investigations of a dead support person and his replacement [sajŏngch’ae], and money paid when a military record is officially changed [toanch’ae], in addition to paying the military cloth tax. Since extra taxes for 20. Comprehensive National Code (Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn ), “Laws on Military Affairs” (“Pyŏngjŏn” ), 165–166. 21. Ibid., 162. 22. Ibid. 23. The tax unfairly collected when a support person on active duty died. 24. The fee collected for changing the military record of the dead person after reviewing the report on his death. 25. The fee collected in the process of verifying a dead support person and his replacement, who would make up for the dead person.

562

book VIII

military ser vice are this numerous, would the people not prefer to pay paekgol chingp’o, the military ser vice tax on the dead? Unless this law is changed, all the people are going to end up dead. How sad! When Yŏngjo ruled, the king’s love and compassion for the people were this great, but his subjects failed to support him properly; since all they could accomplish was no more than establishing the Bureau of Equalized Tax, how lamentable! Items or Provisions for Taxation Are Pretexts, Whereas Rice and Cloth Are Real Things. If the Government Has Already Gathered the Real Things from the People, Why Does It Have to Seek Pretexts? The More Arduously One Seeks Pretexts, the More Damage the People Suffer. Therefore, Those Who Are in Charge of Military Affairs Had Better Neglect Their Duty, and Those Who Are Good at Registering People on the Tax Roster Had Better Not Work at All. Conducting an Investigation of the Military Record or Finding out the Dead Persons in It or Replacing One Person on the Record with Another Serves Only to Aid the Interests of Yamen Clerks. A Wise Magistrate Would Not Work That Way. The government strictly prohibits the collection of military cloth taxes from the dead and the making of false records. Sometime during the summer or autumn every year the commanders and generals in the military headquarters in Seoul send out official dispatches to all the local districts throughout the country, urging officials in the districts to fi ll the places left by those soldiers who ran away, are too old to serve, or have died [tonogo]. Since the content of the dispatch is awesomely strict, the magistrate who lacks experience is scared and thinks that there should be no discrepancy in the manpower of the army because nothing could be more important for the state than securing the required number of soldiers. Thus, taking the three characters kun chŏng su, ㌯ᨳಞ [carry ing out military affairs], as his main priority, he consults the chief of the local yangban association. Having already conspired with yamen clerks, the chief replies, “The military affairs of our district have long been neglected, so many are missing from the record, and the records of household heads and support persons are so disorderly that there are few to pay the military cloth tax, which eventually brings damage to families and relatives. This district is now fortunate to have an outstanding magistrate, and if Your Honor can straighten out these problems, the residents will enjoy the benefits for many generations.” Then the magistrate 26. It means that the king’s love and compassion for the people were so great that he newly established various prohibitions against levying unlawful military cloth taxes on them. However, it was during the reign of King Chŏngjo that the Comprehensive National Code was compiled. The Supplement to the National Code, which was published during the reign of Yŏngjo, actually does not include the prohibitions mentioned above.

Administration of Military Affairs

563

talks with the head clerk and asks questions about the military record, but the reply that he receives is just the same. When the magistrate is finally determined to exert himself to improve military affairs, the outcries and screams from villages and households, which sound very pitiable, begin to be heard. At the beginning of the seventh month the foolish magistrate sends his order to all the subdistricts in his domain to submit a report on those soldiers who ran away, are too old to serve, or have died [tonogo] and summons the heads of subdistricts and strictly warns them, saying, “If there is anyone who is left out in your newly made record, you will be flogged to death.” Having already communicated with yamen clerks, the heads of subdistricts respectfully receive the order of the magistrate, replying, “Since this is the order of Your Honor, how can we dare not do our best to find those who are missing from the record?” In no time a new record, which designates thirty or forty people as either runaways or dead, is made and submitted to the magistrate, and when this happens, it is as if a fierce storm has swept through that district. The general principle of taxation is to levy evenhandedly and collect evenhandedly the taxes based on each household and individual. From the nine grades of the Tribute of Yü [Yügong] and the tax law of the Nine Offices of the Zhou down to the laws of the Han, Wei, Tang, and Song dynasties, there have been no tax laws that were not based on the principle of impartiality. If the labor and military ser vice tax is light, the benefit goes to all the people, and if it is heavy, it likewise inflicts damage on them all. Peacetime and turbulent times are different from each other; however, the principle underlying the legislation of taxation is still the same. It is unprecedented throughout history, both in old times and now, to make several hundred maces by unfairly picking out a man to register for military ser vice and to raise several thousand maces by unfairly registering a household on the military roster. That is the reason that the government did not execute the law, suspecting that military taxes levied on households and individuals were problematic. Consequently, the people themselves chose to make their own law, which they felt was more convenient for them, in order to discharge their share of military ser vice. Although the system they devised does not refer particularly to terms like “household cloth tax” or “mouth tax,” its real aspect is in fact much the same since its main features are the voluntary mutual-assistance association for the military cloth tax [kunp’ogye] and the fund or lands in a village established to fulfill the village’s tax quota [yŏkgŭnjŏn]. When these two laws were 27. “The Tribute of Yü ” is the title of the first chapter of “The Books of Xia” in Classic of History. According to James Legge, however, the word tribute “is not to be understood only in the sense of a contribution paid by one nation to another in acknowledg ment of subjection, but also as the contribution of revenue paid by subjects to their proper ruler.” Shu King, Part 1, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 63.

564

book VIII

implemented, the people’s living conditions improved to some extent. Then why should the magistrate now shake this good law and throw the people into misery? The kunp’ogye is a system in which each household in a village of a hundred households, regardless of its status, contributes 1 tael to create capital and pays the military rice or cloth tax with the interest from that capital every year. When this kye system was carried out, the military roster was filled out with fictitious names. A man becomes a member of the kunp’ogye association at the age of fifteen but borrows the name of a youngster who is of the same age when he registers his name on the record. He serves as an active member for forty-six years, and when he arrives at the age of sixty-one, he is finally released from his military duty. Serving under a fictitious name is not limited to one or two individuals but is done by everyone. If the previously fi xed number of soldiers allotted for a village is twenty or thirty, the names of these individuals are all fictitious without exception. This is how the kunp’ogye system works in the western part of the country. In the southern region, however, the kunp’ogye system is less active, and even if there is one, it is far from being well organized. Thus three to six names on the military roster are real persons, and they carry out their military ser vice under their real names. It also happens that one or two villages have no kye system at all, and four or five sons and fathers voluntarily pay for their military ser vice with rice and cloth. The kye they are associated with are also called either taedonggye or poyŏkgye. If a governor or provincial military commander who is well informed and sensible happens to hear about the current kunp’ogye system, he will be shocked and lament with a sigh, saying, “How can this kind of thing be allowed to happen? In the division of royal guards there are head soldiers and support persons. If a disturbance breaks out, one has to check first the military record of the men on duty and dispatch head soldiers to the front line in order to protect the royal family. If some of the head soldiers are missing, they are to be replaced by support persons according to our national military system. How can the military record be fabricated, and how can active duty be bought with the rice and cloth military tax under the kunp’ogye system?” A wise magistrate, however, would reply to the statement as follows: “In mobilizing and organizing the people to make an army for the purpose of protecting the royal house, there was originally a system that enabled the fulfi llment of that purpose. The Zhou dynasty had the people cultivate the land of the Six Districts [Liusui] to maintain the army of the same region, and states like Han and Wei established farmland in the Three Metropolitan Areas [Sanfu] to nurture their 28. The term sanfu was originally a collective reference to the three guardian officials who governed the metropolitan areas surrounding the dynastic capital during the Han dynasty of China. Later it came to indicate their jurisdictions.

Administration of Military Affairs

565

armies. The Six Districts are the suburbs of the royal palace, and the Three Metropolitan Areas are the jurisdiction of the three guardian officials [sanfu]. I have not heard yet that the people of Zhou mobilized the army in Yangzhou in order to defend Gaojing, or the people of Han called up the army in Linzi to defend Changan. What, then, can you say of the people who go out to fight the enemy, risking their lives but with no prospect of reward?” According to an old saying, “He who eats the bread provided by his benefactor dies for the business of his benefactor.” Therefore, the ancient sage kings first gave the people the land to make their living before they asked the people to die for them. Those people could not dare to escape because they were born and lived on their given land. Nowadays, however, the government first takes away the property of the people, making them starve, and later asks them to sacrifice their lives. How can you expect them to be willing to die for the country? Even if a royal messenger sends an emergency message to all districts and makes them blow the celestial goose horn [tienesheng] repeatedly throughout the night, no one will respond to the call. How can such things as sending household heads to battle and replacing them with support persons be accomplished just as one wishes to? Setting a fish trap is for catching fish, and installing a snare is for catching a hare, and making a military roster is for collecting the military cloth tax. If the fish and hares are already caught, the traps and snares might as well be forgotten, and if the rice and cloth taxes are already collected, the military roster might as well be forgotten. The people are so meek and submissive that they made a good law of their own while serving their superiors. He who is a magistrate, on the other hand, tries to shake and disturb what is well established so that people are forced to sell their cows and cauldrons in addition to paying their rice and cloth military taxes as they have done, thus making only the wicked clerks, aides of the magistrate, and liaison agents fat. How can he do such a thing? Would he feel good after the people cry out with pain and keep on  falling to the ground as if they were fish on the sand that are scared and ner vous? When this mutual-assistance system [kye] was first implemented, all the members of the community contributed their share of the military tax, and they included the households of courtiers, aides of the magistrate, military cadre members, students in the county school, and private slaves. This is the rule of the household tax and the regulation of the mouth tax. The mouth tax is one of the laws that the government wanted to implement but dared not because it feared that the people might resent it. Is it natural, then, that the government 29. The metropolitan governor, the guardian of the left , and the guardian of the right. 30. The capital during the Western Zhou dynasty. 31. The capital of the Qi state during the Warring States period.

566

book VIII

should think it fortunate that the people voluntarily undertook what the government was unable to? Then why should the government try to prohibit the people from what they are doing? If the government intends to execute the law of the household tax and the mouth tax, it does not need to make a new regulation separately. All it has to do is to encourage the existing mutual-assistance system for the payment of the military cloth tax. If something is lacking in the system, it can complement it; if some parts are broken, it can repair them; if the burden of the people is too heavy, it can lighten it; if the burden is too light, it should make sure that the burden is shared equally. Then the law of the household tax will be made perfect within a few years. If the military roster is eliminated, and rice and cloth military taxes are duly collected, the government has nothing to lose, and the people will enjoy benefits from the measure. Why, then, should the magistrate be preoccupied only with the military roster? The yŏkgŭnjŏn are funds or lands in a village that are established to fulfill the village’s tax quota. When a support soldier in the Royal Guards Command named Yi something is about to move to a distant place, village people try to detain him, saying, “Even if you have already moved away, the military duty that you owe still remains. Since your military duty continues to exist, it will cause damage to this village because someone else here has to pay for it. Why do you not consider this before you leave?” Then the villagers turn some of the land owned by Yi into public property of their village and pay off their military cloth tax with the rice produced from that land. This is what yŏkgŭnjŏn is about. When a support taxpayer of the Forbidden Guard Division [Kŭmwiyŏng] dies with all his family, the villagers communize his property to pay for his military ser vice taxes. This is also yŏkgŭnjŏn. The National Code stipulates as follows: “When one who is obligated to discharge military duty either moves to another place or dies, his land shall be transferred to those who are to fill up his place” (see the section on taxation). Several hundred years have passed since this law was implemented. Since the lands that are thus transferred permanently become public lands in the course of time, those who cultivate them cannot dare to sell them, no matter how poor they are, nor make their children inherit them after they die. Since a root was initially established and kept producing additional ones that have lasted under the name yŏkgŭnjŏn until the present time, how can a military tax that is not based on land actually exist? All the military taxes, therefore, may appear like coercive tax collection [paekjing] but are, in fact, related to land. The magistrate can easily be misled because the heads of villages deliberately try to hide the details of military ser vice duty from him. (I came to know this fact because I have lived among the general population for many years.) The real situation concerning the people’s military duty is soon discovered if the magistrate listens to the reports of his clerks and at the same time launches a

Administration of Military Affairs

567

thorough investigation on his own. When the record is found to be falsified, each village is required to present the name of a real person who is to be on the record. When this happens, the clerks in charge of military affairs secretly find out who owns how many fields or paddies or raises cows. Then they send out liaison agents to those who own such property and, showing them documents privately made, threaten that they will newly register them for military tax duty. Those who are faced with this type of threat cannot escape harm whether or not they are on active duty or whether or not they have children. The well-off students in the county school and the weak among the local gentry are also vulnerable to the threat that they falsified the information in their family register, recording their personal status as Confucian students not in public ser vice [yuhak]. The threat may not mean very much to those who were born into a family with little social status but can be devastating to those who care about their reputation, which they believe has been well maintained. Hence they are willing to spare no expense if their honor can be preserved, and as a result, they sell their land and cows to bribe the clerks in charge of military affairs. Those who gave money to the clerks are given a break for some time, but those who did not are harassed still more until they sell their cauldrons and clothes. Only the names of those who are reputed to be well off but in fact are too poor to pay anything despite repeated harassment from the clerks are eventually submitted to the magistrate. Then the magistrate immediately orders that one of those helpless men be arrested as if he has found a treasure. The poor man brought to the yamen presents his tax-payment receipt to the magistrate, saying, “I was originally a support person of the Forbidden Guard Division and paid my military tax with rice. Here is my receipt. Nevertheless, I was told to pay a new military tax, which I believe is not really fair.” A yamen clerk standing outside at the window of the magistrate’s office quickly takes a look at the receipt and speaks to the man, “The name on the receipt was originally Yi Tong, but now it is written as Yi Tŭk. One is your elder brother, and the other is you. How can you say that you pay your tax twice?” The man replies, “Sir, I have no brother. I have been single all along from the beginning.” The yamen clerk says, “You are lying. Everyone in your village knows that you have an elder brother. How can you hide it?” At that moment an entertaining woman sitting next to the folding screen mumbles in a low voice, “That man’s brother came to the tavern run by my mother, and we once drank together. But now he says that he has no brother.” (The entertaining woman is obviously in conspiracy with the clerk.) Upon overhearing what the woman mumbled, the magistrate, suspicious of the man, is finally convinced that the man is lying and reproaches him, pushing the window aside [to look at him]. He says, “I also know well that you have a brother,” and orders his clerk to submit the man’s record as 32. A receipt that people received from the yamen clerks when they paid their taxes.

568

book VIII

quickly as possible. The man protests, “Although you may think that I am no better than a beast, I cannot say that I have a brother because the fact is that I do not. That is not the way I was brought up.” So the man refuses to sign the document. The magistrate says, “How stubborn you are! I will see whether you can still say the same thing even after the punishment of flogging.” The magistrate finally orders the man to be flogged with the following remark: “The law allows the punishment of flogging in dealing with military affairs. Strike him hard until he confesses the truth.” When scarcely three strokes of heavy sticks have landed on his back, the man cries out in pain and confesses, “Let me tell you the truth. I do have an elder brother. Please forgive me.” The magistrate, now extremely pleased with his fine performance for producing this confession from the man, exchanges winks with the entertaining woman. Furthermore, he remarks that he has learned a good lesson today that common people are so cunning that it is hard to draw confessions from them without the use of punishment. It also happens that a man from a village, carry ing a baby in his arms, visits the yamen and makes an appeal as follows: “The name of my baby is now included in the official notice, but he is the only son we have. Only a few months after he was born, he was selected as a specially selected military officer [sŏnmu kungwan]. Having received a notice, I already paid two years’ military cloth tax for exemption from the shift of rotating duty [chebŏn]. Is it not unfair if my baby is made to pay an additional military ser vice tax?” The clerk reports to the magistrate, “The military ser vice tax of the sŏnmu category is light, whereas the military tax paid with rice [pomi] is heavy. If you allow the baby’s ser vice duty to be switched from sŏnmu to pomi category, it is not difficult to make up for his place.” Taking his advice, the magistrate finally orders the clerk to submit the paper for his signature. From that moment on, the man’s son is destined to bear the burden of dual taxation [ch’ŏpyŏk]. Compared with ch’ŏpyŏk, ague is much easier to throw off. The lifelong hardship of that newborn baby thus starts from that day. If everyone in the village tries to evade paying military ser vice tax by offering bribes, names are fabricated once again, which will replace old ones. Since various taxes such as the death gratuity, the ser vice charge for changing the military record of the dead person, the ser vice charge for the investigations of a dead person and his replacement, the closing fee, and money paid when a military record is officially changed, plus the military cloth taxes of the year, are all collected from the village, the residents eventually sell their yŏkgŭnjŏn lands to pay for all those expenses. From that time on, a fabricated record becomes fully established, and military cloth tax is freely collected from every household. When the current situation is looked at this way, which will be more advisable, to straighten out the irregularities of military affairs or rather to leave the situation as it is? Will it be right to carry out enlisting the people for military service tax or not?

Administration of Military Affairs

569

The so-called voluntary mutual-assistance association for the military cloth tax is good for the household tax [horyŏm], and the yŏkgŭnjŏn lands that are intended collectively to pay off the military ser vice of the village are an effective way of using public land. If these tax systems are not disrupted, they will last for a long time with no problem. Once they are shaken up at their roots, however, numerous households will be unsettled as their property is exhausted, and those who are required to discharge dual ser vice or taxation and those who are obligated to fill up the places left by others will cry out and complain. The yŏkgŭnjŏn lands will naturally disappear as this crisis develops, but the falsified records will still remain as they are. Would a man of good sense do anything that can bring about these consequences? Since people like yamen clerks [ajŏn] have no food on the table when they have nothing to do and have food when they find work, the magistrate’s excessive zeal for his work can benefit only the clerks. If a branch of the root is pulled out, its damage will spread to a hundred households. If ten branches of the root are pulled out, how much profit will the clerks make out of them? This is the reason that the people are agitated and distressed when the magistrate tries to straighten out military affairs. Nevertheless, if the magistrate asks the chief of the local yangban association, the latter replies, “It is a good idea.” If he asks the head clerk, he also replies, “What you are doing is right. Since keeping a false record of military affairs is not desirable for the good of the district, troubles will disappear if the false names of taxpayers are replaced with real ones.” When the magistrate trusts these words, it always produces a result similar to an argument that a deer is a horse. What, then, should be done? Early in the seventh month, when the document with regard to the tonogo people is drafted and dispatched, the magistrate summons and admonishes all the village leaders (such as village representatives) as follows: “Although the content of the official document is as you see, the names of those who died or ran away are not necessarily true. When you submit a report, I want you to name one or two people who, having no sons or nephews and living in a village with no kunp’ogye association or yŏkgŭnjŏn lands, are unable to pay their military taxes and have become a burden to their neighbors and village. However, do not mention at all those who have some means of living and are capable of paying military taxes with rice or cloth. I am fully aware that you are anxious to make a fortune by conspiring with the clerks who practice trickery and extortion. Who can blame you if your report is really intended to help the people? Simply considering the false record a main cause of abuses and overly restricted by a literal interpretation of the law, you only make the people suffer more harm and damage. If you understand what I mean, do not dare to make any trouble. Only in case of those who are exempted from military tax because of old age [noje] do I want you to make a report based on facts.”

570

book VIII

In the case of a person who is freed from military ser vice duty because of old age, it is advisable to have one of his sons, sons-in-law, brothers, or nephews take his place, and in the case of those who exist only in name, it is advisable to continue to make fictitious names that can replace the old ones. There is no reason to stop these practices, since they have caused few abuses. One may protest, “Is it really advisable to neglect the military affair of listing the people on the roster in a situation in which the military budget is dried up and unspeakable abuses of levying taxes on neighbors [injing] and relatives [chokjing] are taking place because of the poor harvest and abandonment of land?” I would reply, “There will be little problem with the enlistment of people for military ser vice tax if the lives of people are comfortable after years of good harvests. However, in years of poor harvests when the people are struggling to survive, such enlistment of people should be avoided. It is not difficult to determine which measure brings damage to the people. If a measure brings an excessive financial burden to the people, it is not good for them; if the case is otherwise, it will benefit the people. It is that simple to find an answer. If the district of Namp’yŏng, for instance, has three thousand people who are to pay military ser vice tax, the taxes paid by them amount to approximately 6,600 taels. (The amount of tax per individual, when it is paid in currency, is 2 taels and 3 maces. Since rice and linen can be either expensive or cheaper, I computed the figure in terms of currency.) “If the magistrate takes no action to bring order to military affairs or increase the enlistment of the people for military ser vice tax, the total amount to be paid by the people will remain at the same level even if there are abuses like levying taxes on neighbors and relatives in case of delinquency. If the magistrate takes action to bring order to military affairs and increase the level of enlistment, bribe money will return to the clerks in charge of military affairs, village heads, custodians of local customs and law, and liaison agents; at the same time numerous extortions to overlook violations and solve potential problems such as forgery of personal records [morok], the danger of reckless violation [hoengch’im], double taxation, and upgrading the status of military ser vice duty [ijŏng], plus the gratuities related to death, changing the military record of the dead person, investigations of a dead person and his replacement, the closing fee, and so on, which come out of the people to go into the hands of local officials, will amount to 60,000 taels. How can the total tax burden, then, be limited to only 6,000 taels? Since the tax revenue that goes to the government does not increase while only the property of the people is exhausted, bringing order to military affairs or raising the level of enlistment for military ser vice tax is not the kind of work that is worth pursuing.” 33. Th is means the replacement of light military duty with heavier duty.

Administration of Military Affairs

571

Provincial Army Commander Cho Haksin was upright and sincere in carrying out his duty. When he served as magistrate of Pongsan, he tried to revise the military record extensively in order to eliminate all false information. He ordered that the military records of all residents, including those of the local gentry and powerful families, be thoroughly investigated with no exception, and because his drastic measure brought about serious resentment and complaints from the people, he was eventually dismissed from office. A new magistrate who succeeded him reinstated the old military record, and people welcomed and praised his decision. In the process, however, the clerks in charge of military affairs took bribes again. They took several thousand taels in bribe money from local gentry and powerful families when they launched an initial investigation of their records, and they again took the same amount of bribes for restoring their records to their former state. Despite all these troubles, one finds that the original military record remains just the same with no change. Since there will be no escape from these evils even if Gong Sui and Huang Ba handle the job of magistrate, why should the magistrate undertake such a thing? If It Is Inevitable That One or Two Persons Be Selected to Make Up for the Shortage of Enlisted Military Taxpayers, the Magistrate Should Make Well-to-Do Households Provide Extra Yŏkgŭnjŏn So That He Can Hire Real Ser vice Persons with That Land. In cases of ser vice persons who ran away or died, their places should be fi lled even if no mutual-assistance association for military tax or yŏkgŭnjŏn land is available at the moment. The magistrate summons the head of the subdistrict and says, “I want you to find a person who will replace Yi so-and-so, the support person of the artillery unit.” Then the head of the subdistrict presents the name of a man who is poor. Looking at the personal record of the man, the magistrate realizes that he is no better than a beggar and rejects the report of the head of the subdistrict. If the magistrate continues to reject such candidates a few more times, the head of the subdistrict will finally submit the name of a well-to-do person. A man named Chang so-and-so has four men of enlistment age in his household, but none of them has yet received a notice for military ser vice. The magistrate summons him and says, “You will have to fill up the place left by Yi so-and-so, the support person of the artillery unit.” Chang cries and appeals to the magistrate with tears. Then the magistrate says, “We are both the subjects of our king. Since I cannot bear to see that a man like you who is from an affluent household is allowed to pay no military tax while displaced people or orphans 34. A military official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. He served as provincial army commander of Chŏlla Province.

572

book VIII

are forced to pay the tax, I want you to sign the paper.” If the man keeps on appealing with tears (the man in this case is likely to be a student attending the county school, a gate guard, or the like), the magistrate replies, “If you can contribute some of your land and turn it into yŏkgŭnjŏn (generally it can be procured for 30 taels), since the whole trouble started because Yi something, the support person for the artillery unit, was found to have no yŏkgŭnjŏn to pay for his due, we may find a man to take your place. What do you think of that idea?” If the man is pleased to accept the idea, knocking his forehead on the floor (if he refuses it, the magistrate orders his name to be listed on the record), the magistrate immediately sends out a dispatch to the village that states: “Since a commoner named Chang something in your district was so worried about the decline of his village and the financial ruin of his neighbor that he donated some of his land for Yi something, the support person of the artillery unit, that piece of land is now your responsibility. Now you should hire a man who will cultivate the land to pay for the military ser vice tax, and I hope that it will be maintained well hereafter.” Once an individual’s name is on the military record, the amount of the tax to be paid at once is nearly 10 taels. If he wants to evade his military ser vice, he will need at least 100 taels, and if status as a military taxpayer is calculated in terms of money, since it is considered a shame for a man of status, the cost will be as much as 1,000 taels. Therefore, if the man is allowed to donate a piece of land instead of discharging his military ser vice duty, he will certainly be glad to follow that decision. All state affairs must be carefully planned and carried out from a long-term perspective. If the enlistment of the people for the sake of the military ser vice tax is carried out too frequently, it will profit only the clerks in charge of military affairs. However, there will be no abuses even after a hundred years if the problem of enlistment is allowed to be taken care of by yŏkgŭnjŏn [the public land in the village created to pay off military ser vice tax collectively]. If we look at the law in Rites of Zhou [Zhouguan], the rank and file of the military [junwu] are always provided with land. How can we dare not follow quietly the system created by sages? The magistrate can order investigations of the lands of yŏkgŭnjŏn and the state of kunp’ogye only when the military record is straightened out and the military taxes of all villages become evenhanded after substantial adjustments. In a situation where neither yŏkgŭnjŏn nor kunp’ogye is available, the law discussed above should be employed. In addition, if the magistrate pays attention to the construction of irrigation ditches and embankments and thereby produces lands for yŏkgŭnjŏn, there will be no abuses or damage to the people, and the benefit from his actions will last for a long time to come. 35. Rites of Zhou (Zhouli) was originally called Zhouguan but later retitled Zhouli to differentiate it from the chapter in Classic of History, which was also known as Zhouguan.

Administration of Military Affairs

573

If we observe what is happening today, the magistrate forces affluent households to donate 50 or 60 taels under the name of a voluntary contribution [wŏnnapjŏn] for the expenses of repairing government offices and military weapons. This practice obviously may bring about complaints, but it will be better than the abuses of forging personal records and increasing the rate of enlistment for military taxation. Although the problem with the voluntary donation is limited only to property, the damage of falsifying records extends to both status and reputation, in addition to the loss of property; hence it is more serious and distressing. The so-called military ser vice tax for men of good status [yangyŏk] was originally supposed to be levied on all commoners without ŭm privilege [ŭmjik]. The magistrate, however, is often reluctant to touch the members of powerful families and affluent households because he fears potential protests and reactions from them. Thus he grabs only the poor people who are rootless and helpless or sick and disabled, putting their whole family, made of a father and three sons, on the military record at one time or making one individual bear the tax burden of three or four people. This unfairness and this injustice generate unspeakable pain and suffering for those people and destroy social harmony. The sufferings that they have to endure cannot be compared with the pressure on the men of affluent households who are asked to donate their land for yŏkgŭnjŏn. Why do poor people deserve to bear such an excessive burden of taxes when they have already suffered enough because of their low social status? What makes it justifiable for the rich to evade paying their share of taxes and yet enjoy their affluence? Since Five or Six Persons Are Enlisted When One Is Sufficient, and the Military Rice and Cloth Taxes Paid by Them Fall into the Pockets of Clerks, This Problem Cannot Be Overlooked. Anyone who discusses military ser vice knows that it is hard to make up for the shortage of the military tax but is completely unaware of the fact that military taxes are levied twice or thrice in various ways. This is truly lamentable. For instance, if a man named Yi Tŭkch’un, a support person for the artillery unit, died several years ago and had children who survived him, the military tax that he used to pay becomes the responsibility of his widow. Thus the widow pays the tax every year, and this is the fi rst round of levying military tax. Yi’s nephew lives in another village, and his name is reported to the magistrate. The magistrate, being ignorant of worldly affairs, sends him a notice to collect military cloth tax from him without realizing that he is in fact collecting taxes in a dual way. This is the second round of taxation. Although a substitute person to take up Yi’s tax 36. The right or opportunity allowed to sons of high officials to hold office without taking the state examination.

574

book VIII

duty was already found years ago, another person is called to serve. When that person appeals to the magistrate, claiming that he is a member of the royal family or a descendant of a merit subject, the magistrate grants his appeal and returns his record to his clerk in charge of military affairs. Then the clerk asks the head of the subdistrict to find someone who will make up for his place. If the fourth person who is selected for new enlistment appeals to the magistrate on the ground of dual taxation or young age, the magistrate grants his appeal and returns his record to the clerk. The clerk in turn calls the head of the subdistrict to find a substitute. The fift h person thus called for new enlistment also tries to resist it, arguing that he is a student in the county school or that the information on his personal record is erroneous. So the number of people whose military ser vice is still unsettled reaches three or four. No names of these people show a yellow tag [hwangch’ŏm] on them. Around this time an official dispatch from the central government that orders the collection of the military cloth tax arrives in the district, and the clerk in charge of military affairs sends out notices simultaneously to five different people with the intention of extorting money from them. The widow pays her tax without protesting, but her nephew appeals to the magistrate, and the latter asks his clerk about the man’s case. The clerk replies, “Since we were not able to find a substitute for the dead person, we have no choice but to have the man’s nephew pay this year’s military cloth tax.” The magistrate says, “What you are saying makes sense.” Then he speaks to the man who brought the suit and makes a final decision, “You will have to pay this year’s tax.” A person whose name is newly on the record of military registration appeals to the magistrate, and the latter asks his clerk in charge of military affairs. The clerk replies, “Although he claims that he is a descendant of a merit subject, we are unable to find his substitute as yet, so there is no alternative except that he pays this year’s military tax.” The magistrate agrees with him and speaks to the man, “You will have to pay this year’s tax.” The fourth and fift h men who are newly listed on the military record bring their suits to the magistrate, but the magistrate’s sentences given to them are all alike. This is the reason that the people say that the collection of taxes grows like a tree that has one root but many branches. The official dispatch ordering the collection of the military cloth tax used to come down from the capital division through the provincial military command. The dispatch states: “As of this September, the support taxpayers for the Forbidden Guard Division of your district are 336 people. If the money and cloth with which the tax is paid are divided in half between them, the amounts are 336 taels and 168 bolts. The payment of these taxes must be submitted as quickly as possible.” 37. Th is term refers to yellow tags attached to documents, signifying an official confirmation or sometimes implying the status of the information that is to be kept secret.

Administration of Military Affairs

575

Upon reading this dispatch, the magistrate learns that the number of those who are to pay military cloth tax for the Forbidden Guard Division in September is only 336 people. This indicates that he can easily discover irregularities if he examines the number of dispatches issued to the individuals on the military record, as well as the amount of taxes to be paid by them if it exceeds the fixed quota. The irregularities, however, neither diminish nor disappear, for he is day and night indulging in womanizing and drinking but is extremely cautious about putting his signature at the bottom of the papers dispatched to the people. Even if he pays a little attention to them, the clerk again forges dispatches and sends them to the people through liaison agents. If those who receive the dispatches try to appeal to the magistrate, the clerk and his colleagues block their entry from the outside. Hence the magistrate is incapable of comprehending the real situation in detail. The tallies for the military cloth tax [p’aech’ŏp] should be kept in the same box with the tallies for famine relief [kwanch’ŏp]. The form of the tallies for collecting the military cloth tax is as follows: “Kim Tŭkch’u, a support person of the Forbidden Guard Division, who resides in so-and-so village, so-and-so subdistrict, is required to pay 20 ch’ŏk of military cloth tax and 6 tu of military rice tax in September this year. The deadline for payment, which is the fifteenth of this month, must be kept. Confirming the aforementioned content, so-and-so date, so-and-so month, so-and-so year, the incumbent magistrate affi xes a seal with his signature, and Kim, chief of the local yangban association, signs.” No one knows the extent of trickery of dual or triple taxation with regard to the new enlistment of support persons. When a magistrate who has arrived recently is about to collect the military rice tax, a clerk in charge of military affairs says, “The shortage of the military rice tax is nearly several hundred sŏk, but we have no one on whom to levy those taxes. If you intend to collect the tax, you will first have to designate those who will pay it.” The magistrate says, “We will certainly find persons to make up for the shortage, but let me see the tallies of real taxpayers before we start.” When the clerk brings the tallies, the magistrate silently counts them and finds that their number already exceeds the designated amount of military tax. The magistrate immediately makes the clerk prostrate himself on the ground of the yamen and severely reproaches the head clerk and the leader of the military guards. At the same time he orders that the chest of official documents be brought in, making sure that nothing in it is removed on the way. He checks out the details in the chest and discovers numerous private dispatches that turn out to have been sent to over seven hundred people altogether. This indicates that the clerk has a surplus of four hundred people even after fully securing the amount of taxes to be collected. 38. On the tallies for the military cloth tax and famine relief, which were made of wood, the amount of taxes or grain was engraved.

576

book VIII

The magistrate investigates those who are unfairly enlisted and exonerates them from their tax duty. Then he finally selects those who are fit to be enlisted for military ser vice tax; as a result, the military records of his district are naturally set straight, although the people may not be fully aware of this at the moment. If the magistrate calls those who are released from tax duty and distributes the papers authorizing their exemption to them, and if he also summons those who are newly registered and persuades them to accept his decision, the people’s praise for the magistrate will be resounding throughout their district. A member of the local yangban association and an aide to the magistrate have become cunning and craft y after serving in the same position for several decades. When a man appeals to the magistrate to eliminate his name from the record of military ser vice tax, the magistrate usually orders the local yangban association to investigate the case and report to him. Taking advantage of this opportunity, the aide takes bribes that amount to 30 taels from the man. He says, “This morning I made a report on your case and have already removed your name from the roster. From now on, you will have no trouble as far as your military ser vice is concerned. Go home and take a good rest. If you run into a clerk in charge of military affairs, he may ask for money from you. Hence you had better leave right away. As to what comes after, I will take of it.” Then the aide purchases rice and cloth and pays the military taxes of the man. The man returns home and speaks boastingly to his wife of the arrangement he made that day: “We will no longer have people pressuring us to pay taxes, nor will the collectors of the military cloth tax have anything to say to us.” He is so pleased with his luck that he feels grateful to the aide. When five years have passed, an official notice for tax payment is suddenly delivered to his house. Greatly surprised by this, he goes to see a clerk in charge of military affairs. The clerk says, “What are you talking about? Since Kapja year to Chŏngmyo year you have paid taxes because your name was on the roster all along; you also paid the ser vice charge [kunanch’ae] for changing a military record when your record was changed. How can you say that it has been five years since you were exempted from your military service?” What has happened? What a mystery it is! He goes to see the aide and asks the reason. The latter replies, “It is strange. Your name was removed from the record a long time ago. How come it is back on the record? Who could imagine that the trickery of clerks in charge of military affairs would be like that?” Now the man tries to fi nd out the real situation, but what he learns in the process is only that during the last five years the clerks in charge of military affairs were changed five times, liaison hostlers four times, and heads of the village ten times. Consequently, having lost his contacts and connections, he has no one to consult concerning his problem. From that time on the man has no choice but to pay military cloth tax every year since he is on the record of military taxes.

Administration of Military Affairs

577

What really happened was that the cunning aide of the local yangban association took 20 taels for himself out of the 30 taels of bribe money that he received from the man and used the remaining 10 taels of the bribe to pay the man’s military taxes, as well as the ser vice charge for changing his record. As a result, the man was able to be safe for four years. The annual amount of military cloth taxes paid by the aide is 10 bolts at most. He usually takes two-thirds of 300 taels for himself and uses the remaining 100 taels for actual payment of taxes. The position of the so-called aide of the local yangban association to the magistrate is powerless, and he is frequently replaced. Nevertheless, it was easy for him to cheat the man by using his position. If things like this can happen, it will also be easy to imagine how extensive the trickery of powerful people like the clerks in charge of military affairs will be. All Military Documents and Records Should Be Kept in the Main Office, and the Clerks in Charge of Military Affairs Should Never Be Allowed to Keep the Lock and Key for Them. The military documents dispatched from the central government [kundoan] for ten triennial years, district reports submitted to the provincial army command and garrisons [kunan] and their duplicate copies, first drafts of military reports, the standard record [ch’ŏkjŏk] regarding the number of households and the men for military ser vice tax, and account books and ledgers for military cloth and rice taxes, which have accumulated over the years, should all be collected and preserved in one chest, and its lock and key should be strictly managed so that those documents can be taken out and examined whenever new investigations are needed when tricks and frauds are committed. Military reports made by the district are supposed to be revised in the year in the triennial cycle. When a shortage of military tax occurs within this period, men are recruited to make up for the shortage, yellow tags are attached at the top of their names, and stamps with an official seal (usually a little ivory stamp) are affi xed. If a shortage of military tax occurs too frequently and substitute men are recruited accordingly, the yellow tags attached to the names increase three or four times within the three-year cycle. Thus it often happens that rich people in conspiracy with clerks in charge of military affairs try to remove the yellow tags on their names. If they succeed, it is difficult to establish the evidence with regard to their military ser vice. However, if the magistrate takes a close look at the traces of the stamp affi xed on both sides of each name, he finds that half of it is usually gone and the other half still remains. (Although the stamp on the yellow tag is already gone, the other half of the stamp affi xed on the original document still remains.) Thus he can easily discover that a piece of yellow tag has been removed in the middle. Even if the stamp on the original document is scraped off

578

book VIII

with a knife, its trace still remains, and therefore, the magistrate can still prove the trickery of the clerks. If the Magistrate’s Dignity and Benevolence Extend to Every Corner of the District, and if the Clerks Are Afraid of Him and the People Feel Grateful to Him, the Magistrate Can Finally Start Making Standard Records. The purpose of the standard record is to comprehend exactly and balance equally the district’s total number of households and the number of men for military service. Let us take Sunch’ang County as an example. If the total number of households in the county is 6,300 and the total quota of military ser vicemen of the county is also 6,300, the ideal ratio between them is fi xed as one soldier per household. For another example, let us take Namp’yŏng District. If the total number of households of the district is 5,400 and the total quota of military servicemen of the district is 2,700, the ratio is fi xed as one soldier per two households. When this general ratio is fi xed, the households of individual subdistricts and villages, which are mostly uneven in number, are investigated, and finally the quota of the district’s military ser vicemen, fi xed as one soldier per two households, is now made official and the copies of the document are distributed to each village. This is called ch’ŏkjŏk. However, the military ser vice of support persons consists of heavy ser vice and light ser vice, or ser vice for people of good status [yangyŏk] and ser vice for people of low status [ch’ŏnyŏk]. Those who are assigned to serve artillery soldiers [p’osu], guards in charge of military provisions, Royal Division soldiers, and Forbidden Guard soldiers and to pay military cloth and rice tax, as well as miscellaneous taxes (such as the death gratuity, the ser vice charge for changing the military record of a dead support person, the ser vice charge for the investigations of a dead support person and his replacement, the ser vice charge for changing military records in general, and so on), are the ones who carry out heavy military ser vice. Support persons assigned to serve musicians, artisans, and specially selected military officers and to pay 2 taels annually and a modicum of miscellaneous taxes are the ones who carry out light military ser vice. Serving as a cavalryman, an infantryman, an artilleryman in Seoul, a Royal Division soldier, a Forbidden Guard soldier, and so forth is regarded as ser vice for people of good status. (This is also heavy military ser vice.) Serving in the sog’o units, the special cavalry [pyŏldaegun], the navy, and security guards [abyŏng] for the magistrate is regarded as ser vice for people of low status. (Serving in the special cavalry and the navy was originally regarded as ser vice for 39. According to the Comprehensive National Code, the division stationed in the rear is called nanhu kundae, and special cavalry (pyŏldaegun) belonged to that division.

Administration of Military Affairs

579

people of good status.) It would be reasonable that the military ser vices that are considered heavy and light, and good and low, be distributed evenly. The military ser vices individually decided by each district are not the same because each district is allowed to have jurisdiction over matters concerning military officers out of rotation [chebŏn kungwan], support soldiers, support students for the county schools and academies, support persons for the district’s capital agent and provincial agent, and so forth. Since this military system cannot be abolished unless there is authorization from the court, the best thing that the magistrate can do is to distribute the military ser vices evenly to the subdistricts and villages. The support taxpayers for people like official slaves, servants, and runners should not be entered on the standard record because these people are sometimes available and sometimes not. Once their names are on the record, they are unalterable because they become subject to the law. If the magistrate is really serious about straightening out the standard military record, he should first look into the military records of ten triennial years, as well as the formations and residences to which enlisted individuals belong. He classifies those individuals according to subdistricts and villages where they live and makes a separate record for each subdistrict and village. (Military records are based on formations, and the standard record of ch’ŏkjŏk is based on subdistricts and villages.) When the residence records are found to be very complicated, the standard of reference, which can be either the original residence of enlisted soldiers or their current residence during the investigations, must be established in advance, and the way to handle this matter is up to the magistrate, which is a small prerogative that the magistrate can exercise. For instance, suppose that Yi so-and-so, a support person to artillery soldiers , resided in Tongsan Village in the Kapja triennial year and continued to reside in the same place in the Chŏngmyo triennial year. Later he died, and his ser vice duty was taken up by a man named Kim so-and-so. Kim lived in Namch’ŏn Village in the Kyŏng’o triennial year and continued to reside in the same place for three triennial years. Later Ch’oe so-and-so, who replaced Kim, returned to Tongsan Village and resided there for two triennial years. Later, once again, Ch’oe was replaced by An so-and-so, and An returned to Namch’ŏn Village and resided there for two triennial years. If this kind of thing happens, the two villages will certainly bring lawsuits against each other. So the magistrate has to decide which village is to be made to take up the military duty permanently on the day when the standard record of ch’ŏkjŏk is made, which is a small prerogative he is entitled to. In order to straighten out the standard record of ch’ŏkjŏk for the future, the first step is to make a basic draft of the record. For instance, if the total number 40. Support taxpayers for these groups of people were called pongjok (ዅ㊂).

580

book VIII

of original households of Tongsan Village is twenty, and the numbers of households and men for military ser vice are equal, heavy duty is assigned to six persons, light duty to six persons, ser vice for men of good status to four persons, and ser vice for men of low status to four persons. As for those whom the military officers of the district privately recruited for registration, the magistrate distributes them to various villages after dividing the number of such persons by the number of villages. He applies this method to all villages, including Namch’ŏn Village, Sŏsan Village, Pukch’ŏn Village, and so forth. The next step is to examine the individuals selected for military ser vice during the last ten triennial years and contrast them with the ones listed on the basic draft of the military record. Then the magistrate finds out that so-and-so village has only three persons for heavy duty, whereas it should have seven persons; soand-so village has as many as six persons for light duty, whereas it should have only four persons; so-and-so village has only two persons for ser vice for men of good status, whereas it should have eight persons; and so-and-so village has seven persons for ser vice for men of low status, whereas it should have three persons for it. Since it is up to the magistrate to adjust the level of military ser vice in terms of its difficulty, he can check out the true and false or the good and bad, using the standard record that he has made. If he finds that Tongsan Village’s total number of households is twenty persons, but the village is affluent enough to bear more than its share of the burden, he does not really need to reduce the number of heavy-duty persons even if it is heavier than it is supposed to be in terms of the ratio applied to the number of households and the number of ser vice personnel assigned to heavy duty. If Namch’ŏn Village’s total number of households is twenty, but the village is relatively poor and in need of help, he does not really need to increase the number of heavy-duty persons even if it is lighter than it is supposed to be. However, if the military ser vice of an affluent village is too light compared with the total number of its households, he should increase its level to meet the fi xed guideline; if the military ser vice of a poor village is too heavy compared with the total number of its households, he should reduce the number of heavy-duty persons and make a balance. This rule should also be applied to his decision on ser vice for men of good status and ser vice for men of low status. Once the work of making the record of ch’ŏkjŏk is finished, the magistrate selects five or six people from upper households of each village and writes down their names in a book. Then he drafts and has them sign an agreement, which reads as follows: “Since military ser vices are now equitably distributed among you since the record of your village has already been straightened out, the people’s condition has changed for the better. However, if it happens that one of the villages is not satisfied with this new adjustment because some of the military ser vice has been transferred from one village to another and brings a lawsuit,

Administration of Military Affairs

581

creating controversy, this record of ch’ŏkjŏk will collapse. If this record collapses, military affairs will be thrown into disorder, and if military affairs are in disorder, the trickery of yamen clerks will be rampant and the people’s lives will be in jeopardy. The villagers who are concerned only with their self-interest and try to destroy the good law for the whole district are none other than insurgents. The insurgents are the ones who are to be dealt with strictly. The village that is sued by its neighbor should appeal to the provincial military command, sending three or four of its representatives, and settle the suit according to the law. Those who signed this document today are all required to observe this agreement without fail.” Then the magistrate makes a detailed report to the provincial military command on the work he has done and requests that each record of ch’ŏkjŏk he submits be stamped. When the record of ch’ŏkjŏk stamped by the provincial military command is returned to the district, the magistrate makes three copies of it and keeps them in his office, the county school, and the hall of clerks, respectively. Furthermore, he makes each village copy the record and keep it for reference or evidence in the future. The following happened when Minister Yun Saguk served as magistrate of Koksan. When he revised the ch’ŏkjŏk of the district and distributed it to each village, the residents handled it as if it were a treasure. They oiled the paper of the document so that it would last longer and used it whenever they had legal problems with their military ser vice. When a cunning individual tried to scratch out letters by using a knife and changed details in the document, the magistrate ordered that another record kept in another village be brought and compared the two texts to find out the truth. Because the record of ch’ŏkjŏk continued to be handled in this manner for several decades, people felt comfortable with it. If the Magistrate Intends to Regulate the Record of Ch’ŏkjŏk, He Must First Abolish the Kyebang and Investigate Private Academies, Post Stations, and the Tombs of Powerful Local Families, Which Become Dens for Evading All Military Service. It is not unusual to find military households [kunho] in most kyebang villages whose residents sign up with an official for low-rate ser vice in order to reduce the tax burden collectively. Such military households are mostly ones that existed before the village was made into kyebangch’on and therefore whose military ser vice was not yet transferred to other villages, or ones that moved to the kyebangch’on from other villages, carry ing their military ser vice with them. The 41. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Pingyŏng, and his pen name Chigam. He also served as governor of Kangwŏn Province, minister of works, and fourth state councilor.

582

book VIII

ser vice duty of those that moved to the kyebangch’on, carry ing their military service with them, should be added to the original military quota of the village before it was made into kyebangch’on. If this addition of military ser vice still does not satisfy the fi xed military quota of the village, the shortage in the annual military quota of the whole district is transferred to the village and permanently made part of the village’s military ser vice quota, and this change is entered on the record of ch’ŏkjŏk. Since the number of households of support persons belonging to the local academy was originally fi xed, how can it be possible to exempt more people from new registration for military ser vice? (The Supplement to the National Code stipulates that the number of support people is forty persons in the case of the county school and twenty in the case of royally chartered private academies.) However, the support persons who hide in academic institutes are neither extensive nor worth investigating even if there is a shortage of one or two households because finding the runaway people is not easy, and the investigations can incur only complaints from the literati. It is most detestable to evade one’s military ser vice by using post stations. All the personnel of post stations except clerks and slaves should be investigated. Even if they are the husbands of female helpers and servants who work for the post station, they must be searched out with no exception and listed on the military record of a neighboring village unless their household heads are the original members of the station, Slaves who try to evade their military ser vice under the protection of powerful local families must be made the soldiers of sog’o units, and adult males of good status should be made to pay the military ser vice tax for men of good status. However, if the households under protection are no more than one or two, investigations may not be necessary. It is also not necessary for the magistrate to investigate the descendants of an old house that is in decline and decay. The ones to whom he should pay serious attention are powerful aides of the local yangban association to the magistrate and wealthy landlords who try to evade their military ser vice in conspiracy with yamen clerks. The households assigned to [royal] tombs, which are also allowed exemption from military ser vice, originally had a fi xed quota in the law. Those that are not included in that quota must all be searched out. If the abuses of military ser vice are negligible, however, it is not necessary to investigate them. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates as follows: “The personnel of the post station in Seoul shall be provided with three support persons and two assistants. If they live with their relatives who serve as runners, they are provided one support person and one assistant.” Those who evade their military ser vice in relation to post stations mostly started as the support persons of post-station runners. In order to maintain their

Administration of Military Affairs

583

status of exemption, they must have the authorization of the chief of the poststation. However, the Supplement to the National Code stipulates as follows: “The post-station support persons and their assistants must be related by blood and live together.” Therefore, if the investigation shows that the support persons and their assistants are not related by blood, this is clearly wrong. Even if blood relation is proved, exemption from military ser vice should not be granted lightly. When the records of support persons are all mixed up and too complicated to trust, those who unlawfully tried to evade their military ser vice do not deserve the magistrate’s sympathy even if they are subject to taxation. The criterion for providing support persons of all kinds, according to the precedents, is kinship (see the section on providing support persons in the National Code), and this is accepted by the law. When there is a state-owned pasture in the district, the way of evading military ser vice used by cunning people is much the same as in the case of post stations. The law on support persons and assistants of horse herders stipulates as follows: “One person from the relatives of horse herders living under the same roof should not have other ser vice duties imposed on him.” This is all that the law says. How, then, can you allow the pasture to be turned into a den for evading military ser vice? Since the manager in charge of the pasture is often a personal retainer of a high official in Seoul, the magistrate dares not touch him. However, if the violation of the law is clear, how can the magistrate just watch it without taking any action? On the Day When the Military Cloth Tax Is Collected, the Magistrate Must Supervise the Collection in Person. If He Entrusts the Matter to the Clerks, the Burden on the People Will Double. Payment of the military tax with money or rice is less abusive than payment with cloth because its amount is more fi xed. In the case of cloth, however, the clerks can find fault with it as much as they want because the size and quality of cloth vary: cloth can be too narrow or too wide, or too short or too long; also, its fibers and fabric can be too thin or too thick. It is not unusual, therefore, to find that they reject good-quality cloth and demand that taxpayers pay with money, causing great damage to them. Since the details on this irregularity are fully discussed in the section on the payment of taxes, the magistrate should take a look at the section previously discussed if necessary. 42. Horse herders (mokja) were persons who took care of horses and cattle. Each province ran a public pasture and stable in which one hundred mares and fi fteen male horses were raised, and those who raised them consisted of one chief manager, two vice managers, and four herders (Comprehensive Update of the Chosŏn Dynasty Law Code).

584

book VIII

When the cotton harvest is poor, the price of cotton goes up. However, it can happen that the cotton harvest in a distant region near the sea or the river turns out to be great. If the difference in the price of cotton between the two regions is very substantial, the magistrate should tell the people in his district to suspend paying their military cloth tax for a while. Then he sends clerks and military officers whom he regards as upright and discreet to the place where cotton is cheap and has them purchase cotton with thousands of taels that he has given them. When the purchase is completed, he divides the total amount of purchase money by the number of people who have to pay the tax. If the people are made to pay their share of the divided money, they will greatly benefit from this. On the day when military cloth is presented to the military division in Seoul, the subofficials of the division often reject the presented military cloth, tyrannizing over the representatives from local districts and demanding bribes from them until they are satisfied. The clerks of the military division in Seoul, related to downtown merchants in various ways, including kinship, conspire to reject the cloth brought from local districts. When the cloth brought from local districts is rejected, the men from the local districts have no choice but to purchase cloth sold in the city. The cloth sold in the city is twice as expensive; nevertheless, they eventually purchase cloth from city merchants to complete their mission of paying the military cloth tax. Once they have paid their military cloth tax, they have to sell the cloth that they brought from their districts because they cannot carry it back to their districts even though the price they get from city merchants is only half of what it is worth. As a result, the merchants in the capital make profits twice as great by selling their merchandise twice as expensively and at the same time buying the same kind of merchandise at half its price. The men from local districts, on the other hand, bear twice as much loss by purchasing the merchandise at double the normal price but selling their goods at half their price. What can be more unfair and distorted than this? Once the representatives return to their districts, they collect money from the people to make up for their loss and other personal expenses, and the collection amounts to 1,000 taels at most and 500 taels at the least. This is a real shame, is it not? (This malady was commonplace in Hwanghae and P’yŏngan provinces.) The magistrate must keep this situation in mind. On the day when clerks in charge of military affairs go to Seoul in order to pay the district’s military cloth tax, the magistrate sends his letters along with precious gifts that are worth several dozen taels to the commanders of the three military divisions in Seoul, as well as to the officials [kunsaengnang] of the Board of War who are in charge of collecting military cloth taxes. (The officials called kunsaengnang consist of two persons or two groups: one from the first division and the other from the second division; they are called ilgunsaek and igunsaek, respectively.) The content of his letter is as follows: “The military cloth presented to you is

Administration of Military Affairs

585

cloth that I personally received and measured. I am certain, therefore, that it meets the standard requirement and sincerely hope that you will pay kind attention to it so that it may not happen to be rejected by your clerks and thereby cause harm to the people.” When military commanders and officials in charge of the military cloth tax read this letter, they cannot help but admonish their subordinates, and the payment of the military cloth tax will be accomplished without trouble. Since this arrangement is carried out in Seoul, people in the districts may not know about it, but the clerks will not only know about it but also will praise their magistrate. This is exactly the way I tried when I served as magistrate of Koksan. Those Who Forge Their Genealogy and Letters of Appointment in Order to Evade Their Military Service Must Be Strictly Punished. Since registration for the military ser vice tax has become a dreadful harm to the people, everyone tries to evade it no matter what it takes. Those who are cunning and craft y take advantage of this situation and lead the people to take a chance that they should not. They steal the genealogy of an aristocratic family and find a branch that has no descendants in order to connect it to their family, changing their ancestors, which is like attaching a rush mat to a rug made of silk. Thus they say that merit subject so-and-so is their ancestor eight generations back or royal son-in-law so-and-so is their progenitor nine generations back; they also claim that they are the descendants of King Kyŏngsun or direct scions of Lord Munsŏng, An Yu, or the offspring of Lord Kangsŏng, Mun Ikchŏm; they even dare to claim that they are descendants of the royal family that traces back to Great Prince Hyoryŏng nine generations back or Great Prince Kwangp’yŏng eight generations back. Among the descendants of the royal family, there are those who are poor and helpless. These people, according to the old tradition, are provided with a book called the Jade Spring of Royal Genealogy [Sŏnwŏn poryak] that consists of eight volumes, and they can make 100 taels by selling that genealogy. Those who are cunning buy an authentic royal genealogy and link their family to the royal branch that is without offspring, imitating the calligraphy and engraving style of the book; hence it is impossible for the magistrate to discern its authenticity unless he is extremely keen-sighted. Since the magistrate, who is inexperienced, is easily convinced that the genealogy is genuine and quickly grants 43. The last ruler of the Silla kingdom. 44. Mun Ikchŏm (1329–1398) was a Koryŏ envoy who brought cotton seeds to Korea from Yuan China. 45. Great Prince Hyoryŏng (1396–1486) was the second son of King T’aejong and second elder brother of King Sejong of the Chosŏn dynasty. 46. Great Prince Kwangp’yŏng (1425–1444) was the fi ft h son of King Sejong of the Chosŏn dynasty.

586

book VIII

exemption from military ser vice, how can he escape the consequence of the mistake committed through his ignorance? Although they issue official dispatches strictly warning against forgery of genealogies, the clerks of the Office of Merit Subjects [Ch’unghunbu] and Records of Royal Family Office [Chongbusi] in fact extort money from those who want to have a prestigious genealogy for their own purposes. No matter how many warning dispatches were issued in the past, forgery of a genealogy can be exposed if the magistrate is determined to find out the truth about this matter. Nothing can be more serious than this in violating human relations, acting against justice, disrupting decorum, and breaking the law. When I was magistrate of Koksan, people appealed to me for exemption from their military ser vice, showing me the genealogy of their family, but all of their genealogies were forgeries. At that time I had the Abridged Genealogies of a Hundred Families [Paekga sobo] with me. When I took it out of the chest and compared its details with the genealogies presented by the people, their deceptions were soon discovered. The people who tried their luck like that were so many that I was not able to punish them all, so I only burned their genealogies and let them go without punishment. Upon hearing about the rampant forgery of genealogies, Governor Yi Ŭijun ordered the magistrates under his jurisdiction to submit reports on the matter. Having already learned that I did not actively seek punishment of those who committed forgery, the governor pressed me to present the names of violators. So I reluctantly gave the names of one or two people whose violations seemed serious. As I have observed while living in the southern region, the practice of forging genealogies appears even worse there than elsewhere. Local families and ignoble people all seek offices or stipends claiming that they are the descendants of famous ministers and informing the government authorities of their connection, which does not differ from what ignorant commoners do to evade their military ser vice. It is impossible to regulate the custom and edify the people without strictly prohibiting these maladies. When a man in the distant countryside passes the civil ser vice examination, he usually receives dozens of letters of appointment throughout his official career. Starting from his first jobs at various offices [pungwan] to a high-level position like section chief [nanggwan], he receives letters of appointment that 47. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reigns of Yŏngjo and Chŏngjo. His courtesy name was Chungmyŏng. He served as magistrate of Haeju and as governor of Hwanghae Province. 48. Pungwan (ฦ㤃) here refers to the low-ranking posts at the Office of Royal Counselors, the National Confucian Academy, and the Office of Diplomatic Correspondence, which were usually given to those who had just passed the civil ser vice examination. 49. A section chief of the Six Boards or Ministries who belonged to senior rank 5.

Administration of Military Affairs

587

range from approximately ten to a few dozen. When his descendants become impoverished after his death, they sell those letters of appointment, except those for distinguished posts (such as third inspector or section chief of the Board of Personnel), which they keep as heirlooms. People from men of good status or men of low status whose family name is the same as that of the poor descendants of the official purchase the letters of appointment at a high price (letters of appointment usually cost 100 taels apiece) and honor the official as their own ancestor after changing their family record. Then they appeal to the magistrate for exemption from their military ser vice, which they have carried out generation after generation. If the magistrate tells them to show reliable evidence, they bring the letter of appointment that they bought with money. Since the presented document clearly shows a royal seal and its content and calligraphy look impressive, the magistrate is easily convinced that it is authentic and quickly grants the request for military exemption. However, he does not realize that he will be scorned for his naïveté and ignorance. If the magistrate examines both their family registers and military records that extend from ten triennial years up to a hundred years back, their origin cannot help but be exposed. The forgery of genealogies and letters of appointment, however, mostly has to do with the bad law; hence such fraudulent behavior of the people is inevitable. Looking at the problem more closely, the magistrate will realize that those who commit such fraudulent acts are, in fact, pitiable; there is nothing to be pleased with even if he discovers their trickery. In addition to refusing their request, whipping would be good enough for such a crime; punishment that is more severe than that is not really advisable. Since the Work of Sending Away Rotating Service Troops [to Seoul] Has Become a Serious Problem to the District, Only Strict Supervision Can Prevent the People from Suffering Damage. Since the rules concerning rotating ser vice troops are all recorded in detail in the National Code (see the section on troop rotation), those who are concerned about the matter must consult them in carry ing out their duty. Drafting sŭngho musketeers is not much trouble to the people because volunteers for the job are plentiful and selection is competitive because their quota 50. Sŭngho (㝉䍊) is the act of promoting support taxpayers to duty soldiers. In the twentyseventh year of King Sŏnjo’s reign (1594) the government promoted those who belonged to the class of kongsach’ŏn (public and private slaves) to yangminho (households of men of good status) and made them musketeers. It also promoted support taxpayers to make musketeers, and the soldiers thus selected were called pyŏlsŭngho.

588

book VIII

is limited to one or two persons in a district. The clerks themselves compete against each other to draft their own candidates. However, when a man whose personal record does not match his military record applies for rotation, his application should not be accepted. According to the law of drafting rotating cavalrymen, Royal Division soldiers, and Forbidden Guard soldiers, the number of draftees for a large district is about sixty, and thirty or forty for a small district. The rotating soldiers of these local districts are composed of old and new people; however, those newly drafted always outnumber the old ones. Whenever an order from the superior military division comes down to their district, the clerks in charge of military affairs are excited and try to make a fortune by taking advantage of the opportunity. They flatter the head clerk, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, they give favors to heads of subdistricts and conspire with liaison agents, saying, “The business we are in requires cooperation among us. If we work together, there is nothing we cannot accomplish.” So they work on enlisting new people for military ser vice. If they draft one new person, the damage it generates to the people affects a hundred households. If they draft ten new people, the damage extends to one thousand households. As a result, the whole district is thrown into turmoil as if there were a disturbance. In a worse case the magistrate is involved in this scheme of exploitation. If the magistrate takes 100 taels in bribes, his clerks take 1,000 taels. It is like trying to hide the foul smell of a corpse in a carriage with a bag of pickled meat that smells even worse. Whenever people complain about their abuses, the clerks ascribe them to the magistrate’s bribe taking. Then what should the magistrate do? The soldiers belonging to these various divisions are usually short of their prescribed number from the beginning. In addition to this inherent shortage, however, there are also numerous reasons for shortage because some soldiers are in mourning or their old mothers have passed away, or they are terminally ill or fail to return home from their sales trips, and so forth. When the magistrate issues a summons to the people [for military ser vice], the people submit a petition called paekhwal if they are unable to respond to the summons. If the petition sounds convincing, the magistrate cannot help approving it. Although the decision made by the magistrate is part of his routine official duty, his clerks claim that the magistrate’s decision could not be made without their intervention, so the clerks force the petitioners to promise to pay a gratuity for their alleged favor before they come to see the magistrate and pressure them 51. When Emperor Qin Shihuang died during an inspection tour in 210 B.C., his treacherous retainers, including Zhao Gao, tried to conceal his death for their own purposes. Thus they placed a bag of pickled meat in the imperial carriage in order to hide the smell of the dead emperor.

Administration of Military Affairs

589

to keep their word when they leave the magistrate’s office. The gratuity for the clerk in such a case amounts to several hundred maces, and in order to procure that money the man has to sell one of his calves. Since when one man leaves the yamen, another comes in, and this line of traffic for exemption from military service is never ending, the damage to the people is all too obvious. The people actively engaged in farming are not poor but cannot afford to leave their homes because they are fully occupied with their farmwork. Thus they find themselves in a situation in which they are unable to avert the impending crisis. Trying to take advantage of this difficulty, the clerks secretly search out people in this condition through their runners and extort money from them. The people think, “If I have to leave home for a year, I have to give up a year’s farming. The salary and equipment provided by the government are not enough for my purpose, and the travel expense for both ways will amount to over 10,000 maces. It is better to lose 5,000 maces than to lose 10,000, and it is advisable to waste half of the money than to waste all of the money.” (The present situation is that the total property and assets of an individual who is deemed affluent are mostly less than 10,000 maces altogether.) So they try to solve their problem by a bribe of 50 taels. When the money is finally offered, the chief clerk takes 20 taels, and the clerk in charge of military affairs takes another 20 taels. The remaining 10 taels are divided equally between the head of the subdistrict and the runner. Th is is a general rule of dividing bribe money. When a man is relatively more affluent, he is asked to pay a larger bribe; if he is relatively poor, he is allowed to pay a little less. As soon as a man barely escapes a disaster like this, another runs into the same problem. Since a huge net is spread over the air, not one fish is able to escape, and this type of tyranny and harassment is often concealed from the eyes of the magistrate. When an official dispatch of the superior division arrives, the magistrate immediately should order that a public notice be posted so that the people may not waste their money on bribes. The public notice reads as follows: “The present magistrate announces the following through a public notice. Our district received an official dispatch ordering that fift y rotating ser vice troops be mobilized for the Royal Division. Drafting new soldiers, however, can be used as an opportunity to make a fortune. It is extremely wrong that heads of subdistricts and runners, along with the clerks in charge of military affairs, exploit the people through their trickery. In order to prevent this potential abuse, I will replace at one time all the village representatives and heads of the community compact of twenty subdistricts in my jurisdiction and appoint their successors after the work of draft ing new soldiers is finished. The heads of twenty subdistricts are not allowed to travel beyond the limit of their villages, and if anyone dares to go out, I want you to make a report at once. Even if the clerk in charge of military affairs tries to threaten you through his agents, do not be scared at all.

590

book VIII

The draft this year will not be directed by the clerk in charge of military affairs or the chief clerk or the chief of the local yangban association; I will personally preside over the whole process. Therefore, make sure that you do not waste your money on bribes for nothing.” On the same day the magistrate sends down a message as follows: “I will call the roll of those who are presently on the list of rotating ser vice troops. Tell Yi so-and-so, a soldier belonging to the Royal Division, to stand by early in the morning of the fift h day of this month and take the roll call of the magistrate. If he does not show up at the appointed time on a pretext that proves to be false, he shall be punished.” On the same day the magistrate also sends down another message: “Those who are drafted as rotating ser vice troops may think that they face a tough time ahead, but they should know that they may have some chance to make a little profit, too. Support taxpayers contribute the money they owe, and the public depository (some districts have no public depository) will provide supplies that he needs. If the person has loans that are hard to retrieve, the authorities will pressure the person who borrowed the money to pay back his old debt. If all these things are considered, the advantages and disadvantages of draftees are half and half. The leaders of villages should explain this fact to each person who is concerned. “Those who want to enlist in the army should report in person to the authorities within seven days from now. If they miss the deadline, they will not be allowed to join the rotating ser vice troops even if they want to, so they had better make haste to prevent such a mistake. Those who think that the military ser vice that they are called for is unavoidable, as they listen and learn what goes on, should think about joining the army, especially when they have some debts to collect. The government will settle their problems in the way they wish. If, however, they do not volunteer for the army from the beginning and are forcibly drafted by the order of the magistrate to fill up the prescribed number of rotating ser vice troops, there will be no such benefit as collecting old debts for the draftees. They should realize this and report to the authorities before it is too late. When the volunteers are all gathered and are short of the prescribed number, the shortage of volunteers must be made good immediately. I warn you of this since the deadline is close at hand. If anyone comes to the yamen belatedly and complains that he never heard what I have just said, the leaders of the village to which he belongs will be reprimanded. “When the volunteers are all gathered, the following people should be eliminated: desperate people whose lives are already ruined and rootless and people who made a false report on the status of their loans and thus are disqualified from deserving the intervention of the authorities in collecting their loans. Only those who are qualified should finally be selected and sent away, and if there is a

Administration of Military Affairs

591

shortage, compulsory drafting will be enforced to make it up after having a discussion about the matter. “If the prescribed number of rotating ser vice troops for our district is fift y, the existing soldiers are fifteen, and the volunteers are ten, the number of soldiers to be drafted is twenty-five. Besides, an additional three reserve soldiers should be drafted according to the old practice and dispatched to the designated village by the province. This indicates that twenty-eight soldiers ought to be drafted altogether.” Using the standard military record [ch’imgip’yo], the magistrate drafts these soldiers out of twenty-eight villages, but the villages he chooses must be affluent and flourishing. Then he carefully selects upper households out of these twentyeight villages and six people from each village (four men from upper families and two men from middle families) and appoints them as the personnel in charge of recruiting soldiers [hyanggang] on a temporary basis. Then the magistrate sends an official dispatch to the hyanggang recruiters that states as follows: “The prescribed number of rotating ser vice troops was originally fift y and that of reserve soldiers was three, which makes fift y-three in total. Fifteen soldiers among them are old ones still on active duty, and ten soldiers are volunteers. This indicates that twenty-eight more soldiers are to be drafted. If drafting new soldiers is entrusted to heads of subdistricts, it is certain that there will be tricks and abuses. This is the reason that the six hyanggang recruiters are specially selected on a temporary basis. Tomorrow these persons should have a meeting early in the morning before breakfast and submit the name of one person from their fellow residents after having a discussion that I expect to be fair and just. Even if the man selected through this process is reluctant to be drafted and makes an appeal, the magistrate will not grant his request unless his argument sounds reasonable and deserves sympathy from his audience. If the man is indeed unable to serve in the army because what he says is true, those who selected him must take responsibility. It is inappropriate, for instance, to draft people who have old parents to support or are in mourning or have a chronic disease or are traveling far from their homes. Therefore, the hyanggang recruiters must be extremely careful in selecting a man and make sure that the man indeed has no problem with serving in the army.” If the magistrate clearly sets down the rules that are to be followed in this way and allows no change in the list of soldiers to be sent away to Seoul unless the soldiers themselves or their parents happen to die, there will be no serious complaint or commotion among the residents even if they may feel sorry for a few of those who are selected. The next thing to consider is various expenses related to dispatching the troops. The so-called travel expenses [chajangjŏn], which are to be paid on the

592

book VIII

day of sending the troop, are 8 taels (2 taels every four years), and the courtesy fee for low-ranking officials called kup’iga is 1 tael. If this money is provided, there will be no shortage. The problem is the personnel called temporary company commanders [kach’ogwan] who lead the troops. They are mostly veteran soldiers who are experienced in handling rotating ser vice troops and knowledgeable about the military bureaucracy after years of frequenting the military divisions in Seoul. They are usually recommended for their job, and their number is fift y. Commanding the new soldiers, they arrive at the military camp and collect from each new soldier various ser vice charges, which are 18 taels of courtesy pay for the military office [ch’ŏngnyejŏn], 2 taels of courtesy pay for introduction [chimyŏllye], and miscellaneous collections that alone amount to over 100 maces. If anyone violates the rule of paying these fees, they treat him with all kinds of cruelty; they tie him up and beat him with sticks. This is a common practice that is happening in all districts and provinces. On the day when aides of provincial army and navy commanders call the roll of the new troops, which takes place sometime in the middle of their trip to Seoul, the military clerks in the provincial army extort money from the new soldiers under the pretext of old practice. The money that each new soldier has to pay this time is no less than 5 taels. When the soldiers finally arrive in Seoul, the underlings of the military division demand money, and again, the money they have to pay is no less than 5 taels. The rest of the money still left for the soldiers goes into the pockets of kach’ogwan commanders who have led the soldiers. If the number of new soldiers is thirty, the money the kach’ogwan still have after paying their expenses is 300 taels. They waste this money on their way home, but since the money is ill gotten, it is eventually of no help to them. Only the damage that the new soldiers have to suffer is endlessly cruel and unjust. The extortion of money in the military camp, according to the law, is subject to the punishment of beheading. Since, however, the military divisions in Seoul and provincial armies do not prohibit it because of the interests of their underlings, persons like kach’ogwan take advantage of this and exploit poor soldiers in all kinds of ways, which is really abominable. Since this malady is so widespread throughout the whole state and therefore it is difficult to make a change in one or two places, what the magistrate can do under these circumstances is to make detailed reports to the provincial authorities on the real situation with regard to recruiting soldiers for rotating ser vice troops. If he conducts a thorough investigation of all the expenses that are collected in the process of transporting the troops to Seoul, he can reduce the abuses to a certain extent. He first investigates 52. Kup’iga (≰⓮൞) literally means “price of dog skin.” In olden days seats made of various animal skins stood for official rank. Thus they were made of leopard skin, tiger skin, dog skin, and lambskin. So the price of dog skin signified the courtesy fee for low-ranking officials.

Administration of Military Affairs

593

the amount of money each new soldier is required to pay during the middle roll call at the provincial army and orders the clerks in charge of leading the troops to make detailed reports on the expenses that are actually paid, directly handling the expenditures and transactions. Then the people like kach’ogwan cannot tyrannize over the traveling soldiers. Furthermore, if he repeatedly admonishes them about the law of capital punishment with regard to extortion in the army and prevents them from being reckless, the people in his domain will greatly benefit and rejoice. The law of sending rotating ser vice troops to a distant place 1,000 li away was not reasonable from the beginning. The current problems are only an extension of abuses that started a long time ago. Finding the military system of the Royal Division and the Forbidden Guard Division problematic, our great former king, upon ascending the throne, expressed his concerns about it on a number of occasions, but his subjects failed to obey his orders, and the problem still remains the same as it was before, which is a real shame. Since this issue is more fully dealt with in the section on the military system in Design for Good Government, I will not discuss it any further.

C H A P T E R  : T R A I N I NG S OL DI E R S

So-Called Training Soldiers Is an Important Part of Military Preparation and Mainly Consists of Training for Various Military Per formances [Choyŏn] and Training to Follow the Signals of Military Banners [Kyogi]. Mao Yuanyi stated: “Unless the soldiers are trained, a battle formation cannot be made properly; neither attack nor defense nor making military camps nor carrying out battles nor conducting naval war is possible; neither can a fire attack produce its due effect nor can horses run, no matter how many there may be; military provisions are only wasted for nothing. In speaking of military preparation, military training is considered most important. Training starts with mobilizing soldiers, for it is impossible without them. Once the soldiers are recruited, they are taught the rules of the sog’o army, military units under the command of local magistrates, as well as prohibitions and discipline related to their training. Well-trained soldiers are ones whose eyes are quick to discern the signals of military banners and whose ears are alert to the sound of gongs and drums, so their responses to the banners and sound signals should be consistent under all circumstances. Training consists of five steps: selecting soldiers, making formations, carrying out orders, training exercises by means of banners, and instruction in martial arts.” In my observation, the military training individually carried out in the counties and districts at the moment is simply training exercises by means of banners.

594

book VIII

Mao Yuanyi also stated: “So-called training exercises by means of banners derive from an ancient hunting technique called hunting instruction. Since people in later years were unable to learn and practice that technique in their ordinary time, the technique was incorporated into a system. During the time of the Western Han dynasty, a competition to test training in the military technique was held every September. During the era of the Eastern Han dynasty a military training was held on the Onset of Autumn to teach the people how to fight and make formations, and so forth. This training was all held in the eleventh month after the Tang and Song dynasties.” When Cheng Baizi became magistrate of Jincheng, he found that the army reserve soldiers of Hedong who were supposed to receive military training during their leisure season had no training despite the law; there was only a list of soldiers who participated only in name. After Cheng took over the district, the residents of Jincheng finally became elite troops. When Yi Tongjik  became magistrate of Ŭiju, he carried out his job very well in entertaining the envoys from Ching China and handling the commodities traded on the national border. From the Chŏngch’uk year [1637] on, our country tried to conceal its military activities from the Chinese, and the border in the west was particularly more strict in security surveillance. Yi also established a local militia squad [po’o] in every subdistrict and trained the residents for warfare. Twice a year, during spring and autumn, he used hunting as a way of training them and made his army ready for a potential crisis. The following happened when Cho Kyewŏn became magistrate of Suwŏn. The prescribed number of soldiers for his district was originally three thousand. However, half of them either died or ran away during the second Manchu invasion of 1636, and many weapons also disappeared. He searched out the men of enlistment age in his district and made up the prescribed number of soldiers. In addition to restoring the army, he drafted new soldiers who numbered as many as two thousand. He reorga nized them and trained them into an elite army. There was nothing that was not prepared; pieces of military equipment like armor, shields, banners, drums, bows, swords, cannon, and so forth were all ready for any contingency. Even though the army that he re-created was merely a local one belonging to a district, its military readiness was impressive enough to rival that of the Military Training Command. Upon inspecting the troops, the commander of the Anti-Manchu Division was so impressed that he reported to the 53. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sunp’il. He also served as magistrate of Kangju and as governor of Chŏlla Province. 54. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chajang, and his pen name Yakch’ŏn. He also served as governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province and as minister of punishments.

Administration of Military Affairs

595

government with compliments. The government rewarded Magistrate Cho with a horse. The So-Called Soldier Training at the Present Time Is Useless. The Ways and Rules of Training the Forces like the Sog’o Army, the Special Cavalry [Pyŏldae], the Clerks and Slaves Unit [Inodae], and Maritime Soldiers Are Not Established, and Training Itself Exists Only in Name. Why Should the People Be Harassed for a Useless Thing? The so-called sog’o army at the present time is made up only of men of low status, including private slaves, as well as a mixture of young and old people. The soldiers’ caps they wear are rough like the skin of cucumbers, and their military uniforms look as if they were woven with wisteria vines; their swords have only handles and no blades, and the firearms handed down through three generations do not discharge even if their triggers are pulled. Furthermore, the military formation has been neglected for so long that the men on the records are mixed with ghosts, and when they are summoned for training, they send men hired for one day on their behalf. These maladies already started at the time when the law was made; they are certainly not recent phenomena. The so-called special cavalry in the south and the military student archers [muhak] in the western region are none other than cavalry. When they were fi rst created, they were provided with horses from the government, but in the course of time all the horses have disappeared. Whenever training takes place, therefore, horses are hired for a day, and only those who are quick and agile can grab horses; furthermore, the biggest horses that they can find are only as big as donkeys, and the small ones are as small as rats. The so-called military horses they bring to the camp set up in the yamen are mostly ones that were either raised by poor scholars or used by merchants for drawing their vehicles, so they are either malformed in the nose or young like ponies, but the commander, standing on higher ground, calls out the names, and the soldiers on lower ground respond. This is the way the roll call is done. If one looks at the harness of those horses, the parts like girths, saddle paddings, stirrups, and collars are missing, and the horses themselves are lame or infected with scabies or have boils all over their bodies, which present a miserable sight. With horses like these it is impossible to fight against the barbarians from the north and the enemy in the south. Under the present situation, therefore, activities like soldier training are good for nothing. 55. A unit made of subfunctionaries, runners, slaves in ser vice to officials, and the like who belonged to the yamen of local districts.

596

book VIII

Soldiers Should Be Trained to Make Formations or Advance and Withdraw According to the Signals of Banners and Drums, but the Training Should Also Be Extended to the Clerks and Military Officers in the Yamen. Since Qi Jiguang’s New Book on Effective Military Tactics is still regarded as the major work on military strategy, the book called Instruction in Military Science [Pyŏnghak chinam] that is now in use consists of excerpts from Qi’s work. Although the signal systems using artillery and other weapons were devised later, the ways of making formations and advancing and withdrawing according to the sound of gongs and drums were all handed down from the ancient days of the Yellow Emperor. If the troops are ignorant of these ways of training, the commander cannot control his army in war. Although the twenty-eight cavalrymen of Dongcheng were few in number, they could be as effective as twenty-eight thousand cavalrymen because they were well organized, establishing military camps whose heads and tails were made to cover each other. A corporal called wi leads a fireteam called five [o, ం] that consists of five soldiers; two fireteams make a squad [tae, 㝪], which is headed by a leader called taejang; five squads make a platoon called banner unit [ki, ᪕], which is headed by a commander called kich’ong; five banner units make a company [ch’o, ဨ], headed by a commander called ch’ogwan; five companies make a battalion [sa, ྒྷ], headed by a commander called p’ach’ong; five battalions make a regiment [pu, 㒂], headed by a commander called ch’ŏnch’ong; five regiments make a brigade [yŏng, ⇧], headed by a commander called yŏngjang; and finally, five brigades make a division [kun, ㌯], headed by a commander called “general.” The socalled general is the head of five men [five commanders of subordinate units], and the men like kijang [kich’ong] and taejang, respectively, are also leaders of five men [five commanders of subordinate units]. Then the task of a general is only to make those five brigade commanders carry out their jobs properly, and this also applies to all the leaders of the regiments, battalions, companies, and platoons. Only after knowing this can one control the four limbs of his body, as well as five fingers and toes, connecting all the bones and veins. This is the fundamental principle of military formation.

56. A book on military training that was derived from Qi Jiguang’s New Book on Effective Military Tactics. It was published by royal order of King Chŏngjo during the Chosŏn dynasty. 57. Dongcheng is a district in Anhui Province where the beleaguered Xiang Yu had his last battle with the pursuing Han forces. Before his death he successfully broke the siege of the enemy with only twenty-eight loyal cavalrymen. 58. According to Charles O. Hucker, Yŏng means “battalion-sized units of 1,000 men each (early Chosŏn); regiment under the sog’o system, consisting of five battalions of 2,475 men” (A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 1191).

Administration of Military Affairs

597

When a man talks, his voice can be heard from the outside a few feet away, but when ten people talk and make noise, even the sound of thunder is hardly heard. Hence it is impossible to talk person-to-person in an emergency situation. This is the reason for the law of sending messages through the use of drums and banners. Things like drums and banners are personifications of a dummy. Since a dummy is incapable of speaking, he expresses himself by using his hands or other things. The drums and banners are the expression of what is in the mind of the commander. When he is about to give an order, he always orders that a cannon be discharged once. The sound of the cannon in that case means, “Listen carefully to the message I am sending to you.” So when he hears the sound of the cannon, every soldier looks at the platform where his commander stands. Then the commander lifts a banner or lowers it or points at a location or sweeps the ground or waves it, and the troops who understand these signals begin to react, either advancing or withdrawing or making formations in accordance with the will of their commander. Although the commander does not utter a word, his troops clearly understand and follow his order. This is how military command works. Numerous terms of military science can be summed up and classified into two categories, namely, making formations [pubun] and giving commands [horyŏng]. Building battle camps and making the disposition of troops for battle are called chinbŏp, and the training exercises of discharging arms and attacking [the enemy] are called yŏnbŏp. These two components of military science are fully recorded in the books by Wang Minghe, Yu Dayou, Mao Yuanyi, and others but are only partially recorded in Instruction in Military Science. In short, the soldiers of sog’o units and pyŏldae cavalry gather in the morning and disperse in the evening; their names and bodies fail to match; and those who are trained in the spring do not appear in the autumn. Then what is the use of training those people? On the other hand, the clerks and military officers in the yamen are generally familiar with military training because they have regularly participated in the training while serving in the district office for years. Should an emergency arise, then, they are the people who are more reliable. If there is any small advantage in training exercises held in spring and autumn, it is that they are a training opportunity for these clerks. Since it is hard to teach the soldiers of sog’o units and pyŏldae cavalry who act like scarecrows, would it not be

59. A sixteenth-century military scientist of Ming China and the author of the book titled Dengtan bijiu. (Must-Read Book for Warfare), a comprehensive reference work on military science published in 1599. 60. Yu Dayou (1503–1579), a military commander of the Ming dynasty famous for suppressing Japa nese marauders along the southeastern coast of China.

598

book VIII

advisable to take this opportunity and train the clerks and military officers in the yamen? Doing a roll call consists of three steps: mustering soldiers on the first day, man-to-man instruction on the second day, and actual training on the third day. On the day for man-to-man instruction, the chief of gate guards usually takes charge on behalf of the commander. (It is not right to appoint the head of the local yangban association as commander.) If the magistrate is knowledgeable in military science, he himself can carry out the instruction; otherwise it is advisable to employ a professional instructor to carry out the job of training, which includes instruction in various procedures and following banner signals. The essence of battle formations lies in their changes and transformations. The so-called mandarin duck formation [wŏnangdae] is made of two rows; the three-element formation [samjaedae] of three rows; and the five-horse formation [omadae] of five rows. Using these troops, one can encircle the enemy and make five camps [oyŏng] or disperse the troops to make six flower formations [yukhwa] or conduct eight array formations [p’aljin]. In short, cavalry soldiers and regular soldiers of commoner status are intermixed and woven together with their heads and tails connected. These combined troops are taught how to cross a river or rugged mountain passes, camping in the field and spying on the enemy. Would it not be nice if the clerks and officers in the yamen are made to familiarize themselves with all these military exercises on the day when they are gathered? Ten days before mustering troops for roll call, the magistrate selects one of the clerks who is knowledgeable about military science and has him study in advance Instruction in Military Science with the following remark: “On the days for man-to-man instruction and training exercises, I will pick a title from this book and give an order. Staying in the middle of the army, you listen to the sound of the cannon and watch the signals of the banners and find out what they represent. If you respond to the signals properly, I will commend you with an award in front of the soldiers, which will be an honor to you; however, if you fail to understand them and make many errors in following those orders, you will be punished right before the eyes of the soldiers, which will be a disgrace to you. Keep in mind what I just said.” When the day of mustering troops finally arrives, the magistrate takes his seat on the platform of the commander. He orders his men to discharge a cannon, beat a gong called a tanbara, and raise a yellow banner, which are the signals for the mandarin duck formation, and he observes whether the troops respond to the signals properly.

61. Heaven, Earth, and man.

Administration of Military Affairs

599

If the sound of the cannon along with that of a tanbara horn is heard, and three large banners made of blue, red, and white colors are raised high, the troops must understand that those are the signals for the three-element formation and immediately respond to them. In addition, if a branch of a tree is passed around as a way of sending a secret message, all the troops stop their activities; if a piece of a stone is secretly passed around, the troops all sit down where they are. However, this method of commanding soldiers is now not in use. The commander also says to his officers, “If I secretly send you an egg, you make a circular formation; if I send you a rectangular panel, you make a rectangular formation; and if I secretly send you the roots of a scallion, you surround the enemy in a threefold way.” Tactics like these, however, are arbitrary for a short-term purpose; therefore, it is not necessary always to be confined to these things. When the day of mustering troops is set, the magistrate prepares two or three bows, thirty or forty arrows, and three or four thimbles and presents them as awards to the clerks in his yamen who are outstanding in carry ing out their job of military assignments. Military Training of Clerks and Slaves Is Very Important. They Must Be Given Preparatory Training Three Days before the Mustering of Troops. In the military system of our country the magistrate is supposed to have no soldiers directly under his command. When a war breaks out, what the magistrate has to do is only to lead the so-called sog’o army and pyŏldae cavalry and hand them over to the chin’gwan. Then the chin’gwan in its turn hands them over to the garrison commander. After returning to his district, the magistrate organizes an army consisting of clerks and slaves, whose size is that of a company, and defends his district. Therefore, the training of clerks and slaves is crucial. Nevertheless, those who try to evade training are the clerks and slaves themselves. When the training takes place, as I have observed, they just come and go, carry ing record books for matters that no one knows but themselves, and when their names are called, they pretend to reply and spend the rest of the time idly talking and laughing. They are the kind of people who will run away in a time of crisis, raising a commotion and betraying their magistrate. How lamentable! If the magistrate sets aside a day before he musters the sog’o army and trains those clerks and slaves and makes them practice taking battle positions, as well as advancing and withdrawing according to the rules of battle, enforces rigorous discipline, and discriminates in his rewards and punishments, he can at least 62. The regional command garrison of the central garrison system of 1457 (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 1155).

600

book VIII

make those people realize the gravity of military discipline, although it will take time for his efforts to produce practical results. Unless during a Year of Good Harvest There Is an Order from the Government to Stop the Annual Military Training Even Though the District’s Military Readiness Is Inadequate, the Magistrate Cannot Help but Replenish His Local Army with New Recruits and Reinforce Its Military Preparations. The military training called sŭpjo is supposed to be held annually. If this training is held after several decades of abandonment, the clerks and officers in the provincial army jump for joy as if they had joyous occasions to celebrate. When they discover that the counties and districts fall short of the prescribed number of soldiers, their weapons and uniforms are defective, the soldiers’ performance in training is unskilled and awkward, and the food distributed to raise the morale of soldiers is insufficient, they find fault with every little thing and extort money from the training soldiers until they are satisfied, constantly creating troubles for them. Abuses that take place in the district are a disgrace to the magistrate. The magistrate must be well aware of these things in advance and make sure that there are no soldiers among the troops who are too young, too ill to serve, or disabled and no broken swords and firearms or military uniforms and hats that are ripped or lame horses or damaged saddles. The magistrate deserves to be called wise only when his clerks and officers are knowledgeable and efficient in conducting themselves, and his soldiers, provided with good food, are able to sing their satisfaction, and their outfits and equipment look better than those of other districts. These good things cannot be accomplished without financial support, but making a name by exploiting the people is not the kind of conduct that a man of benevolence should choose. If the magistrate really wants to do a good job, he should be able to raise funds and make up for shortages without harassing the people. Then he will have neither complaints from the people down below nor reprimands from his superiors. Unless this happens, his work remains incomplete. Since Exploitation in the Military Camp Is Strictly Prohibited, the Magistrate Should Pay Close Attention to This Problem during the Occasion of Man-to-Man Instruction and Military Training. On the day when platoon leaders arrive at the command center of the district capital, making themselves the commanders of the troops, they set up a temporary office in the corner of the fortress wall late in the afternoon and summon the leaders of subordinate units. They find out the number of newly selected soldiers

Administration of Military Affairs

601

and collect hundreds of maces of courtesy fees from them, which are called courtesy fee for new admission [sinmimnye] and courtesy fee for introduction [chimyŏllye]. Although company commanders and officers of banner and tally are well aware of what goes on, they tacitly permit it until the money is fully collected in accordance with the old custom, and they run to the training center in order to collect their share of courtesy money. With the money thus obtained, they enjoy wine and meat to the full. When the magistrate tries to prohibit that abuse, they reply, “There is not much we can do since our superiors in the provincial army expect the money from us according to the custom.” However, the money that they are required to send to the provincial army is, in fact, a small amount, and besides, since that money can be raised from other sources, what they say is nothing but excuses, and most of the courtesy money is used for the expenditures of the training center. Ten days before the day for roll call the magistrate publicly expresses his determination to stop these abuses over and over again until his message is fully conveyed. He declares, “Exploitation in the military camp is naturally subject to military law. Those who are caught may not be beheaded but will certainly face the punishment of severe flogging, and both those who offer money and those who take money will be punished just the same.” However, the people, being foolish, may not follow this instruction, and the magistrate should double his efforts to persuade them while he sends out a few men to check whether the leaders of the soldiers set up a temporary office of their own and harass the people for bribes. If they find soldiers who are committing this crime, they watch over the scene of the crime while one of them runs to report it to the magistrate. The magistrate immediately orders that the suspects be arrested and punished by three or four strokes of beating with heavy sticks while he is recording the crimes with which they are charged, and when the training of soldiers is finished, he punishes them severely. Those whose crimes are very serious are removed at once from the record of military ser vice, are duly punished as they were warned, and are replaced with new ones. Furthermore, they are made to parade through the street carry ing a drum on their back and a bunch of arrows piercing their clothes. When they are made an example in this way, the people will not dare to violate the law. The job of company commander or that of officer of banner and tally is also a military ser vice that is difficult to carry out. Once a man from an affluent family is selected for the job, he tries to evade it by all means, offering bribes and presents. A person who fails to evade it has to spend a good deal of money for purchasing his uniform and equipment and pays various courtesy fees; at the same time, in the training office, he takes bribes and gifts from soldiers and with this money buys food and wine in order to treat the officers in the provincial army. Although such things cannot be completely stopped, numerous tricks for extorting

602

book VIII

money far in excess of the amount of money that they spend for their necessities must be strictly prohibited. On the day when man-to-man instruction is scheduled, the provincial army usually dispatches an officer to the districts to inspect the progress of the training. Then the districts always present several dozen taels to the inspector as courtesy money. It is difficult to prohibit this practice under present circumstances. To Assign Navy Soldiers [Sugun] to Mountainous Regions Is Wrong from the Start. Concurrent Mobile Inspector Yi Chŏngam in his report stated: “Although maritime soldiers are supposed to be assigned to the seacoast, many of them are stationed in mountainous regions. Because of this anomaly, military taxes are levied recklessly, and those who are pressed to pay taxes eventually abandon their homes to move to other places, transferring their burden to their relatives and neighbors. In my opinion, we must find out the number of maritime soldiers stationed in each garrison and exchange them with the army stationed on the seacoast, which is located within one day’s travel. Then we can use those maritime soldiers who are good at handling boats during a crisis and will not lose much time in mobilizing a defending army when a disturbance breaks out. What is good about this arrangement is its convenience because the army takes charge of the inland region and the navy of the seacoast. Your quick decision is most desirable.” The Border Defense Command reported: “The reason that this anomaly in the assignment of maritime soldiers and army soldiers originated was that the maritime soldiers born on the seacoast often ran away in order to save their villages whenever disturbances, serious or slight, took place. Therefore, it was decided to bring the inland people residing in the mountainous regions to defend the seacoast. However, the people from mountainous regions transferred to the seacoast not only turned out to be inept in handling boats but also required more financial support to carry out their duties than ordinary soldiers. During his last visit to Haeju the king made the people speak out about their problems, and they were unanimous in their answers that the current military system assigning them to a remote place, contrary to their ability, was the most serious trouble that they had. In principle, it would be very convenient if the people in the seacoast were as63. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chunghun, and his pen names Saryujae and T’oeudang. He served as censor general and second minister of war, as well as governor of various provinces including Kyŏnggi, Chŏlla, Ch’ungch’ŏng, and Hwanghae. When the Imjin War broke out in 1592, he defeated the Japa nese army of three thousand soldiers at Yŏnan, Hwanghae Province, leading a local righteous army.

Administration of Military Affairs

603

signed to maritime defense duty and those who are from the mountainous regions were assigned to inland defense. However, this should be done according to the wishes of concerned individuals. As a first step to solve this problem, why do we not make the governor of Hwanghae Province submit a report and find out whether it is really advisable to change the current system?” The king approved the idea. Yi Chŏngam, in another official report, stated: “The military ser vice of maritime soldiers is handed down to their descendants throughout generations, and it is generally regarded as the lowest of all military ser vices. Army soldiers, on the other hand, serve as either regulars or support soldiers even if they are from yangban families. Under these circumstances, if they are all of a sudden made maritime soldiers handling boats and are assigned to the seacoast, they will naturally feel that this is not fair. Furthermore, since their military ser vice is handed down to their children once they become maritime soldiers, the sound of complaints and lamentations they make in the camp is extremely pitiful. It will indeed be unjust to the people if they are indiscriminately assigned to military ser vice of low esteem regardless of their social status. This problem will be more serious during an urgent crisis of disturbance because maritime soldiers and army soldiers are probably required to be given new assignments according to their specialty.” Provincial Army Commander Sŏn Kŏi in his official dispatch made the following order: “Investigate fully and send me a report if, under the present situation in which our soldiers are faced with the enemy, it is advisable to change their military ser vice status from maritime soldiers to army soldiers or vice versa in order to strengthen our defenses.” Provincial Navy Commander Yi Sunsin in his report stated: “It is very complicated to exchange maritime soldiers and army soldiers for our defense under the present situation in which we are faced with the enemy on both land and sea. Since this is not a matter to be decided lightly, I hope that the government will pay serious attention to it and make a final decision.” (See The Complete Book of Yi Ch’ungmugong.)

64. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sasin, and his pen name Ch’inch’injae. Serving as navy commander and provincial military commander during the Imjin War, he rendered a great ser vice in defeating the Japa nese armies but died in battle in Ulsan in 1598. 65. The Complete Book of Yi Ch’ungmugong (Ch’ungmugong chŏnsŏ) is mainly a collection of works including poems, official reports, and war diaries left by Lord Ch’ungmu Yi Sunsin, as well as the geneaology of his family and the eulogies dedicated to him. It was published by the royal order of King Chŏngjo in 1795.

604

book VIII

I have observed that these official reports were made and sent between local officials and the royal court in Seoul during the second Japanese invasion of 1597. At that time the navy and army soldiers were faced with the enemy, and in this critical situation it was no doubt very risky to transfer soldiers abruptly to other divisions different from theirs. The reason that both the provincial military commander and the navy commander were reluctant to make changes in their forces was directly related to this unique situation. Royal Lecturer Song Siyŏl stated: “The maritime military ser vice is the one about which men of good status most vehemently complain. The maritime soldiers stationed in the mountainous regions, unable to travel fast to the sea during an emergency, usually hire professional soldiers who can carry out their military duty, but the persons hired by them are mostly vagabonds who wander from one place to another, so when a disturbance breaks out, they just disappear. Therefore, it is advisable to transfer the maritime soldiers in the mountains to the army and at the same time to make the people residing on the seacoast into maritime soldiers. If the authorities allow them to cultivate military colonies and make their living with products from the nearby sea and, during an emergency, build boats and fight against the invading enemy, they will be more than pleased and will significantly contribute to repelling the enemy. “Nowadays some people in the government argue that the navy stationed in the mountains should not be abolished abruptly, but the fact is that navy commanders are more concerned about the decrease of resources for their exploitation. If they lose these resources for their income, they will not be able to meet the extortion of high officials and powerful bureaucrats. Whenever Zhu Xi discussed military affairs, therefore, he insisted that the court should first be straightened out.” I believe that this kind of statement was made because the problematic old system still remained unchanged even after the Japanese invasion. Third State Councilor Min Am reported to the king: “Although the sea towns with warships are not without navy soldiers, the people hire the residents of sea villages to carry out their military duty whenever they are called to the maritime training exercise. The reason is obvious: those who reside on the coastal region are all good at handling boats, and those in the mountainous regions are not used to the sea. So those who are hired for maritime military ser vice are always quick to run away once a crisis breaks out. From now on, the navy should be made of maritime soldiers enlisted from the seacoast, and if the soldiers from the 66. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Changyu, and his pen name Uho. After serving as governor of Hamgyŏng Province, censor general, and minister of rites, he rose to the position of third state councilor, but, indicted for having conspired to depose Queen Inhyŏn, the second wife of King Sukchong, was exiled to Cheju Island and eventually executed in 1694.

Administration of Military Affairs

605

seacoast who are stationed in places far from the sea are exchanged with the sog’o army in the seacoast and are reassigned to the coastal areas, it will be of great help during a crisis.” The king approved this proposal. Although the king granted this request at that time, his order for reassigning the troops was not carried out. This is the reason that maritime soldiers are now stationed in mountainous regions. According to the True Record of Military Ser vice Tax for Men of Good Status, there are 48 navy soldiers in Muju, 17 in Chinan, 38 in Changsu, and 695 in Sunch’ang. (These places are all mountainous regions but have maritime soldiers. They are only a few examples among many.) There is an old saying that it is advisable to ask slaves concerning plowing land and female slaves concerning weaving cloth. There is also a saying that those who live in the mountains do not offer fish as a gift, and those who live by the waters do not present roe deer and does as gifts. The eunuchs are supposed to stay in the palace, and those whose heels were cut off as punishment are required to guard the hill (Ministry with the Overseer of Penal Affairs, Book of Rites). This indicates that all things go well when the way in which they work is appropriate and fully realized. If slash-and-burn farmers in the mountains are made into maritime soldiers and ordered to handle boats struggling against the waves of the sea, is that reasonable? Since the seacoast is now pretty secure, even the maritime soldiers can escape their duty if they pay 2 taels to the navy command every year. This is the reason that the maritime soldiers stationed in the mountains are rarely relocated in the places to which they properly belong. Unless the purpose is morally justifiable, things cannot be accomplished smoothly. If necessary changes are made and the importance of these changes is fully conveyed to the people, especially during a time of peace like these days, there will be no problems in mobilizing the army during a crisis. If the government tries to reassign the troops in an emergency situation, the soldiers will certainly be surprised like fish and run away like wild animals, and the government may have to use force to maintain order. Those who argue for relocating maritime soldiers always take the sog’o army for granted as the troops for the exchange, but this is also a problem. Support persons of official artisans annually pay 2 taels to the provincial office; the support persons of musicians annually pay 2 taels to the office in the capital [kyŏngsa]; and specially selected military officers [sŏnmu kungwan] annually pay 2 taels to the Bureau of Equalized Tax. If the government searches out those of these soldiers who are originally from the seacoast and makes them navy soldiers and at the same time refills their places with the soldiers in the mountains, what can go wrong? However, those who prefer the status quo just say, “The sog’o army also needs to be stationed in the sea areas. How can we simply eliminate all those soldiers?” This is also a reason that the relocation of navy soldiers is not realized.

606

book VIII

C H A P T E R : R E PA I R I NG W E A P ON S OF WA R

So-Called Pyŏng[ඹ] Indicates Military Weapons [Pyŏnggi]. Even if the Military Weapons Are Not Used for a Hundred Years, They Should Always Be Ready to Be Used. It Is the Magistrate’s Duty to Make Military Weapons Ready. In every district and county there is an armory, and inside the armory there are bows and arrows, spears and swords, muskets, gunpowder and lead bullets, banners, armor, bow cases and quivers, cauldrons made of copper, and tents. In addition, there are miscellaneous items that are listed in the record, but to repair or replace the weapons that are broken or missing is the duty of the magistrate. All things in the world become moth-eaten or rotten or subject to the harm of rats or mold unless they are in use. We in peacetime annually spend several million taels to make bows and arrows, spears and swords, and so forth and keep them in the armory. It does not take long for those weapons to start decaying because of humid weather or exposure to rainwater. Hence the bows are eaten by worms, the weapons made of iron rust and rot, the banners with embroidery become discolored or ripped, the gunpowder becomes soaked, and the bows break when their strings are drawn. Even if we repair them this year, they become dust and earth next year. So when a disturbance breaks out, most weapons in the armory are good for nothing. Sages expressed regret when money that was spent failed to bring benefits, and men of judgment did not like spending that produced no results. Even if the superior office reprimands the magistrate for a mistake and the inspector discusses disciplinary action for it, no magistrate will be really serious about repairing military weapons. The way in which the people in olden days repaired military weapons was based on their careful observation of the laws of nature. When they saw signs of war, they prepared for the crisis that could break out unexpectedly. In my view, therefore, it is only a waste of property to repair arms in a peaceful situation in which there is no chance for war. Then what should be done? It will be advisable to keep the following materials in the armory [rather than to produce or repair the arms]: 1,000 catties of copper, 3,000 to 4,000 catties of steel refined a hundred times, 300 to 400 catties of water-buffalo horn, 300 to 400 catties of good-quality ox horn, 100 catties of adhesives made of air bladders of fish, 10,000 bamboo sticks for arrows, 3,000 to 4,000 pieces of kasamok wood, 50 to 60 catties of white birch bark and plumes of pheasants, 600 to 700 catties of gunpowder and explosive materials, and 100 to 200 catties of materials that produce tear-causing smoke and poisonous fire, including sulfur, arsenious anhydride, metal powder, ammonium chloride, resin, 67. A hard wood used for making cudgels and sticks.

Administration of Military Affairs

607

pitch, and so forth. When the symptoms of war are unmistakable and dangers are increasing everywhere, we can start beating iron into swords and spears while applying glue to bowstrings and boiling the explosive chemicals in the cauldron. If one really wants to serve the country, he must understand how arms and weapons are best prepared without wasting money and must be able to produce them at the right time. That way he can make amends for failing to repair weapons and free himself from disgrace to a certain degree. When Sin Kak became magistrate of Yŏnan, he carried out his duty with integrity and discretion. He built fortifications, made moats, and prepared arms and weapons for an emergency. Later his successor, Yi Chŏngam, successfully defended the town against the Japanese during the Imjin War, and that was possible mainly because of the outstanding work of Sin Kak. When Yi Sanggŭp became magistrate of Yŏnan, he made great efforts to prepare arms and promote military readiness. He said, “Even in a difficult situation years ago we were able to repel the Japanese enemy successfully. We cannot help preparing for an emergency, especially in times when the country is threatened by foreign disturbances.” When the inspector reported this, the king was pleased and bestowed clothes on him as a gift. The following happened when Pak Wŏndo became assistant district magistrate of Hwangju. In the early years of King Sukchong’s reign the fortress walls of counties and districts in Hwanghae and P’yŏngan provinces were broken down but had remained unrepaired for many years, but no one dared to throw away the arms and weapons, although they had become dull and rusty. Talk of war had been taboo for forty years, but Pak repaired the weapons and arms so that they could function fully. When his good work was reported to the court, the government complimented him with the reward of silk. Those Who Supply Arrow Shafts and Transport Wŏlgwa Gunpowder  Must Understand the Purport of the Law Concerning Them and Be Cautious in Handling Revenue and Expenditures. The National Code stipulates: “Once every year arrow shafts are sent to Hamgyŏng and P’yŏngan provinces (to Hamgyŏng Province, 25,000 arrow shafts 68. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. Although he defeated the Japa nese forces at Yangju, he was falsely accused of violating a military order from his superior and was executed. 69. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Saŏn, and his pen name Sŭpjae. He was killed by the enemy while escorting the king in 1637 during the second Manchu invasion. 70. In the Imjin War muskets called choch’ong became a major weapon of the army, so the local governments were required to prepare and keep a certain amount of gunpowder. Wŏlgwa gunpowder refers to this new system.

608

book VIII

from Kyŏngsang Province and 11,500 from Kangwŏn Province; to P’yŏngan Province, 15,000 from Chŏlla Province and 5,000 from Ch’ungch’ŏng Province). The provincial military commanders shall distribute them to each garrison under their command and make a report on the number of arrows that are made and the number of commanders and soldiers who are provided with the arrows.” I have observed that the arrow shafts sent by the provinces are only twenty to thirty thousand in number, and many of them are useless because they are crooked. Therefore, it is necessary that those two provinces that are supplied with arrow shafts produce quality products of their own. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates: “The rice tax for producing military supplies [wŏlgwami] of the three southern provinces and Hwanghae Province, which was established for the sake of producing muskets, gunpowder, and ammunition, shall be administered by the Ever-Normal Bureau [Sangp’yŏngch’ŏng], and the bureau shall be endowed with the power of establishing new tribute taxes to carry out its mission.” Muskets are manufactured using the tribute revenue provided by the Weapons Bureau. The gunpowder and ammunition are normally produced by the Three Army Offices [Samgunmun] and tribute middlemen [kongin]. Those that are produced by the Samgunmun are kept by the Samgunmun, but those produced by the tribute agents are divided and distributed to the three southern provinces and Hwanghae Province. The Comprehensive National Code stipulates: “Now both the Defense Command at the Namhan Fort [Suŏch’ŏng] and the Anti-Manchu Division shall take charge of producing [the gunpowder and ammunition] and distribute them to each district.” I have observed that it requires a good deal of travel expenses and other miscellaneous collections from the people for military officers and clerks in charge of military affairs to travel to receive the gunpowder. Once the gunpowder is taken into the public warehouse, the magistrate tends to forget about it. Hence the man in charge of the warehouse often steals it for his private gain or substitutes fake gunpowder for it just to make up for the shortage. The magistrate must inspect the warehouse every month and check the actual amount of gunpowder. 71. A government agency in the Chosŏn dynasty that was originally established in order to provide public relief. In 1753 it was integrated into the Bureau of Equal Ser vice and was charged with the responsibility of contributing to the stabilization of prices. 72. A collective reference to the Military Training Agency, the Forbidden Guard Division, and the Royal Division. 73. When the Uniform Land Tax Law (Taedongbŏp) was enacted, the goods required by the government came to be produced through purchasing agents known as kongin, ㈁ெ. Under the new law these agents could receive the tax payments from the peasants fi rst and then purchase the required goods and deliver them to the government (Lee, New History of Korea, 229).

Administration of Military Affairs

609

The magistrate who wants to encourage martial arts should secure several dozen catties of extra gunpowder and use it for rewards to those who are outstanding in martial arts, in addition to the gunpowder officially granted as a reward. If the Government’s Order Is Strict on Maintaining Military Arms, It Is Not Possible for the Magistrate Not to Obey It. The Supplement to the National Code stipulates: “A provincial military commander at any time can choose one of the districts in his jurisdiction and inspect its maintenance of military arms and weapons. If he discovers serious violations or irregularities, he shall take disciplinary action against the magistrate.” The disciplinary action against the magistrate depends on how serious the violations are, and when they are found to be serious and show a recurring pattern, the magistrate is subject to the punishment of beating with a heavy stick, and his mistakes are reported to the central government. In the case of those who commit irregularities with regard to muskets and gunpowder without keeping them in the public warehouse, either the provincial military commander or the magistrate punishes them in accordance with the law by the penalty equivalent to that applied to those who cross the national border without permission. I have observed that the quality of muskets largely depends on that of their iron barrels. The inside of the barrels should be very smooth all around; otherwise the bullets are not discharged straight to hit a target. If the barrels are uneven and crooked, the muskets are good for nothing, no matter how many of them there are. Muskets that used to work well can go wrong if they are rusty, covered with flaky scales, and scratched inside. All the privately owned muskets are gathered to be kept in the public warehouse, while the muskets of high quality in the warehouse are stolen and scattered among civilians. The price of a musket generally is no more than 100 p’un; however, a musket of high quality costs as much as 10 taels, so the clerks in charge of the warehouse steal them to make profits almost on a daily basis. When the weapons are inspected, their numbers match the ones in the record, but in fact they are all defective. How can they be used in the future? On the barrel of a musket some letters are inscribed, but the number of those letters is limited to so few that they are easily copied. If the number of letters is increased, and the inscribed letters are recorded separately in a book, and both of them are checked on the day of inspection, abuses with regard to the muskets can be stopped to a certain extent. According to the Supplement to the National Code, “The districts that have extra arms and weapons of their own, which are separate from those kept in their garrisons, shall be rewarded.” Muskets should be kept with ammunition, and bows with arrows; otherwise they cannot be officially counted. Those who successfully repair old weapons are eligible for rewards only when they stock new ones.

610

book VIII

The Comprehensive National Code stipulates: “If the districts with military garrisons stock only new weapons without repairing old ones, the promotion of concerned officials shall not be allowed; they are rewarded only with horses no matter how many new weapons they secure and stock.” I have observed that the officials in charge of maintaining arms and weapons exploit the people under the pretext of repairing the arms and weapons. They make the people voluntarily contribute bows and arrows to the government, and with the people’s contributions they make up the shortage in the records or make profits by selling some of them. Under the pretext of making banners, they cut down thousands of bamboos and ship them by boat to Seoul. They sell them for lamp poles. Also, each time an official dispatch arrives, they make the people donate feathers and tails of pheasants under the pretext of making arrows or the head section of the banner. Unless they get what they ask, they harass the people. This practice must be stopped because it is ignoble and unreasonable. When the magistrate receives the pheasant feathers and tails and puts them in the public warehouse, the guards of the warehouse sell them in conspiracy with merchants. The people have no choice but to buy them if they want to donate feathers and tails. Since pheasant feathers cost 1 mace and tails 5 maces for each piece, how are they different from sanjimao, an auspicious grass used for sacrifice? Then the suspicions and complaints of the people will be eventually directed to the magistrate. Why can he not realize this? The Supplement to the National Code stipulates: “When an individual steals military weapons, the Board of War shall report this to the king and punish the suspect by beheading and reward those who helped capture him.” I have observed that the degree of punishment is decided by the number of  stolen military weapons, which include bows, muskets, spears, gongs, and drums. If the stolen gunpowder is less than 100 catties, the suspect should be punished by beating with a heavy stick, not execution. (Then he will realize that he must die if he steals more than 100 catties of gunpowder.) C H A P T E R  : R E C OM M E N DI NG M A RT I A L A RT S

Since Our Customs Are Gentle and Cautious, Our People Do Not Like Enjoying and Practicing Martial Arts except Archery. Nowadays Even Archery Is Not Much Practiced. Hence It Is a Priority at the Present Time to Encourage Martial Arts. The skills of handling bows and arrows and spears and shields are martial arts handed down from the old days. However, our custom has paid little attention to training in the use of spears and shields, regarding archery as the only martial

74. A grass known to have been produced in the Jianghuai region of China.

Administration of Military Affairs

611

art worth practicing. Even in the case of archery, the bows that we produced, whose strings were rubbed only with glue, were problematic. They were strong at first but slack later, strong in the winter but weak in the summer, and strong in fine weather but weak on a rainy day. Furthermore, the bowstring often came off the hook, and the tip of the bow was always twisted. Once the string was used, therefore, it had to be dried on a fire, and the warped bow had to be straightened out by a reshaping frame. Bows that were made of horn were almost useless because they were difficult to handle and easily broken. In order to make arrows, manufacturers peeled the skin off bamboos and branded the inner parts. The arrows thus made were unable to withstand rain and humidity and, besides, had no arrowheads, so they were used only for a contest. Even if the arrows had iron heads, they appeared to be made dull on purpose, as if they were designed not to hurt people. All the arrows kept in the public warehouses are more or less like these. Some of the arrowheads may have sharp points, but they are extremely rare. If a disturbance breaks out under these circumstances, people will have to fight with their bare hands. Furthermore, irregularities in the system of military examinations [mugwa] had gone from bad to worse for a hundred years or so, which made the people lose interest in archery. Consequently, people good at archery have become extremely scarce at the present time. The number of officials recruited through the provincial military examination that is held triennially is twenty-five. (This number applies to both Ch’ungch’ŏng and Chŏlla provinces, but that of Kyŏngsang Province is thirty.) If each of these provinces is divided into left and right, the number of military officials recruited by the left province or the right province is only twelve. Although this number is very small, the number of candidates who participate in the provincial examination is only five or six, which is far too small for the prescribed number for recruiting. Even those few participants who take the examination are, in fact, the military officers of the districts selected for the examination. (The military examination was held in rotation in the districts, and the district in which the examination was held in a par ticular year was called siŭp.) Because of the shortage of participants, the examiners let them pass the examination, grading their performance simply for the sake of formality. Since the problems with the military examination have become so perilous, one needs to think about them seriously. How can the magistrate promote martial arts under these circumstances even if he wishes to? What made the problems this extreme? First, the evil act of physically disabling a promising candidate so that he would fail to show up at the military examination [kyŏkch’uk]; second, aging without promotion [kongno]; third, collection of military taxes, which are extremely exploitative [chingp’o]; fourth, the malpractice of recruiting unqualified military officials through the examination

612

book VIII

[mangwa]; and finally, the nonexistence of a fi xed quota for recruiting military officials [muaek]. These five things are the major causes of extreme abuses concerning military administration. Unless they are straightened out, no one will try to take the bow. What is the evil act of physically disabling a promising candidate [kyŏkch’uk]? The rules of the triennial augmented examination [singnyŏn chŭnggwangsi], which tests the examinees on their talents and skills, including the mastery of various martial arts and knowledge of military science, are different from those of the new-recruit examination for soldiers held at the palace [chŏngsi mangwa], which tests the examinees on only one area of expertise. In the olden days, therefore, those who passed the triennial augmented examination were granted more prestige, as well as the privilege of promotion, than those who passed other kinds of military examinations. Getting high marks at the test ground depended totally on how far one could shoot with his bow. Unless one scored high in shooting iron and wooden arrows, one could not pass the examination. The brave warriors of P’yŏngan and Hamgyŏng provinces and the talented men of Yŏngnam and Honam regions usually obtained high marks in the contest of shooting iron and wooden arrows. Hence the sons of military commanders in Seoul, who were robed in silk and physically less robust, were unable to win the competition. So they hired a bunch of racketeers and outlaws to prevent the people from other regions from taking the examination. When a man from the distant countryside who was good at archery arrived in Seoul to take the military examination, the hired racketeers waited for him in dark alleys or deliberately picked a fight with him in a tavern. When these rascals beat the lone traveler mercilessly with heavy sticks, the result was very obvious. The poor man was sorely beaten until he was bloody all over and even disabled, and thus he permanently lost the chance to take the military examination. This is what kyŏkch’uk is about. Even if the man luckily escaped from such villainy and scored high marks in the examination, his competitors in Seoul secretly informed the examiners in advance of the man’s number. The examiners, who usually consisted of seven members, exchanged signals with their eyes when they found the man from the countryside, who had won high marks in archery, and flunked him by asking difficult questions at the oral examination. Even if the man did well in his oral examination and proved himself proficient in literature, the seven examiners flunked him under the rule of passing in six areas and failing in one area [yukt’ong ilbul]. (According to the rule of the oral examination, a candidate who fails to pass all the given areas of the test is supposed to 75. There were seven examiners because the oral part of the military examination consisted of seven classics: Six Strategies (Liutao), Sunzi’s Art of War, Wuzi’s Art of War, Sima’s Art of War, Three Strategies (Sanlue) by Huang Shigong, Wei Laozi’s Art of War, and Li Weigong’s Dialogue.

Administration of Military Affairs

613

fail. Hence failure in only one area can nullify success in the six other areas of the test.) In Kyŏngsul year [1790] of Ganlong I personally witnessed these things as supervisor of the military examination when I served as inspector. Those who were outstanding both in archery and in miscellaneous skills, winning as many as 150 or 160 points, and at the same time were successful in the oral examination and demonstrated ten martial arts without making any mistake, all failed to pass the examination and returned home in bitter disappointment. On the other hand, the sons of powerful families who were dressed in silk and physically weak all passed with honor and came out of the hall of examination on horseback accompanied by celebratory music. Nothing could be more detrimental to the spirit of social harmony since the ones who thus failed the examination will break their bows on returning home and admonish their children, as well as the sons of fellow residents, not to practice martial arts. This is one reason that participants in the military examination have become scarce. What is aging without promotion [kongno]? Persons from powerful families are promoted every morning or evening, even though they have passed the mangwa examination, and rise to the position of provincial military commander in ten years after serving in various military posts throughout the country. Those who are from the countryside, however, are always ignored and left behind in promotion even if they have passed the regular military examination, so their property, which was accumulated over ten generations, is squandered while they serve in faraway army posts. Our custom usually disregards military men, particularly those who are unable to serve in the government although they passed the military examination. If there is a blemish on a man’s family history, his offspring are barred from serving in the Three Offices [Samsa]. This is one of the reasons that parents discourage their children from practicing martial arts and that the number of participants in the military examination is decreasing. What does the exploitative collection of military taxes [chingp’o] mean? If one observes what goes on these days, the sons, sons-in-law, brothers, and nephews of those who pass the military examination are all registered in the military record under the title of military officers and guards assigned to government agencies [yuch’ŏng kungwan] and annually pay one bolt of military cloth (which is 76. Yuch’ŏng kungwan (᭯ᘅ㌯ᏻ): During the reign of Injo the government searched out those who were left out of the military record in order to make up for the shortage of regular forces and assigned some of these extra people to the Board of War. In addition, those of the Confucian students of the local schools and academies who were originally not supposed to be enlisted in the army but who failed in their studies were all enlisted in the military record under the name “army of failed students” (nakganggun) and made to pay military cloth tax. During the years of King Sukchong the Bureau of Investigation (Sajŏngch’ŏng) was established. It transferred the support soldiers of the three guard units, Ch’unghun, Ch’ungch’an, and Ch’ungjang, to the Forbidden Soldier Agency (Kŭmgunch’ŏng) and assigned some of the extra support soldiers to the Board of War to

614

book VIII

equivalent to 2 taels in cash). The Board of War always keeps a good record of them and makes sure that none of them is left out of the military record. If any of them happens to be left out, officials search him out and extort money. Since these people are required to pay their military taxes regardless of their age, the whole clan [samjok] suffers damage even if one member in a family passes the military examination. Those who were originally on the military record pay extra tax, and those who were not on the military record now start paying tax. The military recruitment examination is supposed to be honorable, but in reality it is not. Who would be willing to take such an examination if one suffers both shame and calamity when he fails to pass the examination? They admonish their children not to practice martial arts, and this is one of the reasons that participants in the military examination have become scarce. What is the malpractice of recruiting unqualified military officials through the examination [mangwa]? When there was an auspicious occasion in the country, it was celebrated by holding the state examination for recruiting military officials. Because this examination was relatively less competitive, the number of those who passed it exceeded a thousand or several thousand. Those who hit the target only once with their bows were allowed to pass the examination, and this type of state examination was called mangwa. Because the prestige of the mangwa is already low, the people show little respect to those who pass it, and the Board of War is also reluctant to employ them. When the result of the examination was decided on the basis only of a good shot, the distinction between the accidental and the inevitable or the good and the outstanding crumbled. Under these circumstances, how can you encourage the people to practice martial arts? Since one can pass the examination without practicing martial arts, parents discourage their children from spending their time and energy on martial arts. This is one reason that participants in the military examination are in danger of extinction. What is the nonexistence of a fi xed quota for recruiting military officials [muaek]? The numbers of candidates for the civil ser vice examinations and the military examinations were originally fi xed. However, in our current system we have no fi xed quota for the candidates, and because of this we have innumerable abuses and disorders. If each district first tests the candidates and passes only those who are outstanding in archery and firearms, the practice of hiring substitutes who take the examination for others will disappear. If under the present situation ten candidates pass the examination, they are all hired ones, and if a hundred candidates pass the examination, they are also all hired ones. The cancollect military cloth tax. In the twenty-fi ft h year of Yŏngjo’s reign [1749] these support people or  soldiers, including the soldiers enlisted to make up for the shortage of the regular army (poch’unggun), the army of failed students, and surplus soldiers, were renamed yuch’ŏnggun, and military cloth tax was levied on them.

Administration of Military Affairs

615

didates who are rich pass the examination at a younger age, but they hardly know what the instruments for archers, such as thimbles and shoulder pads [kyŏlsŭp], are for. The candidates without money, on the other hand, spend their lives in poverty until they are old even if their skill in martial arts equals that of Yang Youji or Hou Yi. Since the government provokes the people to glare fiercely and clench their fists, allowing things to be solved only with money, who will grab the bow and practice archery? The people naturally discourage their children from practicing martial arts, and this is one reason that candidates for the military examination have become hard to find. Unless these five anomalies are straightened out, the people will continue to avoid practicing martial arts even if the magistrate tries to persuade them until his lips burn in flame and his tongue is worn out. The Term of the Magistrate Who Is Allowed to Keep His Post in a District for a Long Time Lasts as Many as Six Years. If the Magistrate Takes Advantage of This Opportunity and Encourages Martial Arts, the People Will Follow Him. The people living in distant regions regard positions like chief of the local yangban association and headmaster of the county school [kyoim] as prestigious public offices, and literary tests given to the students of the provincial school every ten days [sunje] or month [wŏlgwa] as civil ser vice examinations. Even though the military examination at the present time is in disarray, the people will certainly be encouraged if the magistrate promotes martial arts and evaluates the candidates in the right way, and if the good custom is established in five or six years, public morale will certainly improve and contribute to the welfare of the state. The military examination, therefore, should not be abolished even though it is now in serious disarray. How should the magistrate promote martial arts and general interest in the military examinations? Although the triennial augmented examination requires the candidates to demonstrate ten skills, as well as their knowledge of one of the military classics, those skills and that knowledge are not really necessary if the magistrate’s intention is mainly to encourage the people to take the military examinations. If he encourages only the martial arts required in the palace examination, the special examination [pyŏlsi], and the provincial military examination [tosi], the people will certainly respond to his call. 77. A grand master of the Chu kingdom during the Spring and Autumn period who was renowned for his skill in archery. 78. A legendary archer and prince of the Youqiong kingdom of ancient China. He enjoyed practicing archery and indulged in hunting to such a degree that state affairs were neglected. He was assassinated by one of his subjects while he was hunting.

616

book VIII

The areas of the examination are as follows: first, iron arrow [ch’ŏljŏn] (it costs 6 taels); second, wooden bow; third, short small arrow [pyŏnjŏn]; fourth, target [kwanhyŏk]; fift h, crossbow [kangno]; sixth, shooting from horseback [kich’u]; seventh, musket; and eighth, military classics [mugyŏng] (such as seven military classics written by Sun Bin, Wu Qi, and others, as well as Instruction in Military Science). It is advisable to select and train the soldiers in these eight military arts and skills. (Some people argue that the iron arrow should be removed from the areas of the test.) In selecting the warriors in the district capital, it is important to set an age limit regardless of their social status. The candidates, including yamen clerks, military officers, and unemployed sons of civil and military officials [hallyang], should be less than thirty years old, and their number should also be limited to several dozen (the military examination, unlike the civil ser vice examination, takes time in evaluating the skill of candidates, and if the number of candidates is large, it may disrupt state affairs). The selected candidates are further trained and taken care of by establishing a new institute named Military Promotion Agency [Kwŏnmuch’ŏng]. Kim Am of Silla was a descendant of Kim Yusin. When he served as the garrison commander of P’aeganjin, he worked hard to take care of the people while instructing them on making military formations when they were free from their farmwork. The people found this beneficial. The following happened when Yi T’aeyŏn became governor of P’yŏngan Province. The government in Seoul regarded the local people of P’yŏngan Province as marginal, and because of this discrimination, they abandoned hope of entering the civil ser vice. Unless something was done about their low morale, it would appear that the government had abandoned them all. When Yi T’aeyŏn reported this situation to the court, the king thought that his report was very sensible and soon sent a high official named Chŏng Chihwa to P’yŏngan Province to hold a special civil and military examination. When four civil officials and four hundred warriors were selected through this examination, the people of P’yŏngan Province were delighted and vowed their loyalty to the king and their country. 79. A military strategist during the Warring States period. He is said to be a descendant (grandson or great grandson) of Sun Tsu (544–496 B.C.), a famous military strategist and the author of The Art of War. His personal tragedy and the triumph over Pang Juan, his former friend and adversary, is well introduced in Sima Qian’s Records of Grand Historian. 80. A military leader and politician of the Warring States period. Born in the state of Wei, he distinguished himself by winning many battles. Later, he went to the state of Chu to serve King Dao and succeeded in making the state of Chu strong by instituting a number of drastic reforms. After the death of the king, however, he was killed by the nobles whom he had alienated in the course of his reforms. He and Sun Tzu are often listed in the same sentence (Sun-Wu) as great military strategists.

Administration of Military Affairs

617

It Is Crucial to Establish Launching Pads for Crossbows and Train the Soldiers to Use That Weapon. Liu Tianhe stated: “The famous generals such as Geng Gong and Yu Xu of the Han dynasty, Li Jing and Guo Ziyi of the Tang dynasty, and Liu Qi, Wu Lin, and Zong Ze of the Song dynasty all repelled the barbarians time after time by using crossbows. In addition, the Han dynasty established a military office called general in charge of the forces specializing in crossbows, and the Song dynasty started using bows called shenbinu, which were in fact crossbows. I did not believe these things at first but lately learned that they indeed had existed after reading old records on fortress ramparts in Shanxi Province. According to the records, several hundred shenbinu crossbows were handed down for over a hundred years up to the former dynasty [Song dynasty]. Although the bows and arrows no longer exist, the operating system happens to have survived. “I carefully constructed a launching pad based on the ancient models, making it strong and sturdy so that it could handle various kinds of powerful bows. The power of the bows was 150, 120, and 90 catties, respectively, and the difference of weight was devised in consideration of the user’s strength. The length of all the bows was 4 chi and 5 cun. The standard shooting range of these bows was made to be three hundred paces at the longest, and the arrows were designed to meet this standard. The length of the arrows was 7 cun and 5 fen, and their weight was about 6 maces, which were also divided by weight into three grades like the crossbows. Furthermore, once again imitating the model made by Geng Gong of the Han dynasty, I made the arrowheads square and sharp and pasted on them poison produced in places like Songxian of Henan Province, which was used to catch a tiger. With no exception, those who were hit with them were killed right away, whether they were humans or horses, and therefore, barbarians were afraid of them. On the back of an arrowhead a tiny iron tube that was 1 fen long was placed, and the inside of the hole in which an arrow shaft is fitted was pasted with glue and its outside tied with finely sliced bamboo made into a string so that the barbarians could not use it for a counterattack against us. Although the barbarians 81. A military commander of the Later Han dynasty. 82. A military commander of the Later Han dynasty. He was famous for repelling the barbarians in northwest China. 83. A renowned military commander and minister of war of the Tang dynasty. 84. A military commander of the Song dynasty who defeated the army of the Jin dynasty at Shunchang. 85. A military commander of the Song dynasty who repelled the army of the Jin dynasty. 86. A famous anti-Jin general of the Song dynasty who served as metropolitan governor of Dongjing (Kaifeng) at the time of the Jurchen invasion. Although he led the popu lar resistance to the end, the capital fi nally collapsed a year before his death. 87. Called qian, it is a mass measurement that is equivalent to 5 grams.

618

book VIII

were extremely skilled in archery and never wasted arrows, we could defeat them by using crossbows. This is the reason that I dare to claim that crossbows are one of the powerful weapons that China can be proud of.” Jingchuan’s Treatise on Military Matters [Jingchuan wubian] states, “The crossbow is the most effective weapon. It is indispensable for those who intend to penetrate hard materials, shoot at long range, attack rugged places, defend narrow spots, and overcome the enemy when confronted face-to-face.” Some argue that the use of crossbows is inconvenient for carrying out war. However, the inconvenience related to crossbows has little to do with the bows themselves; it has more to do with the lack of experience of those who use them. Those who know how to handle crossbows use bowstrings that consist of five layers, and they load three or five arrows on each string. After discharging these arrows, they pull the strings and spread them and then load the arrows again with no interruption. Crossbows are more convenient for those who attack an enemy below them. The archers are provided with daggers worn at the side, and when the enemy is too close, they put aside their bows and use those daggers. Then the crossbows, which are designed to attack the enemy from a long distance, and the daggers to fight the enemy at close range can assist each other. According to an instruction on the use of crossbows, “When the archer spreads the bow, he stands in the form of the character ୍; when he discharges arrows, he stands in the form of the character ඳ; he rolls up his sleeves high on his arms, his left hand holds the bow, and his right hand is raised up to his breast. In stretching the bow, one has to consider the space. Starting from the stomach on the left to the shoulder on the right, he pulls the string while making the arrow touch his breast; after making the arrow steady on his breast, he lifts his hand. If the enemy is at long range, he lifts his head and discharges; if it is at short range, he discharges while stretching his body. If the enemy is on the right, he also turns his body to the right; if the enemy is on the left, he turns his body to the left; if the enemy is positioned above him, he lifts his hand and shoots; if the enemy is down below, he lowers his hand and shoots. Each time he discharges the arrow, he shouts, ‘Die!’ and immediately pulls the bowstring once again.” C H A P T E R : D OM E S T IC DI S T U R BA NC E S

Since He Is an Official Endowed with Military Power, the Magistrate Faces Various Unpredictable Accidents Concerning National Security. Hence He Cannot Avoid Being Prepared in Advance. Greatness of character depends on its magnitude, and a person who is shallow and narrow in character is easily disappointed by trivial things or moved by 88. An anthology compiled by Tang Shunzhi (1507–1560), a scholar and writer of Ming China. Jingchuan was his pen name.

Administration of Military Affairs

619

groundless rumors. Thus he in turn makes others unsettled and becomes a target of derision. A man of magnanimous character, however, reacts to those things calmly and with a smile. If the magistrate in normal times takes a look at history in the past and familiarizes himself with the precedents left by the great men of old days, he will be able to cope with emergency properly and without anxiety. Since Rumors Are Either Groundless or Have Some Causes behind Them, the Magistrate in His Response to Them Should Either Suppress Them Quietly or Watch over Them in Silence. Since taxes are high and officials are corrupt these days, the lives of people are in jeopardy. Thus people increasingly long for some disturbances that can change the current situation, and because of this, strange rumors rise in the east and are echoed in the west. If we punish rumormongers according to the law, there will not be many who will be able to survive. However, there is an old saying, “Groundless rumors are gathered into the roots of barley,” which indicates that rumors will naturally die down if people, occupied with their farmwork, become too busy to visit each other. As to rumors of this nature, it is advisable to ignore them as if nothing has happened. On the other hand, if wicked and treacherous people, who are frustrated and resentful, intend to subvert the state by raising a disturbance, they will certainly spread rumors first in order to agitate the general populace. This is fully evidenced in the rebellion of Yi Injwa in Musin year [1728] of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign. Before this disturbance, in the years of Pyŏng’o [1726] and Chŏngmi [1727], groundless rumors were rampant, and in Imsin year [1812] of Emperor Jiaqing’s reign, when Hong Kyŏngnae rose in rebellion, groundless rumors again preceded in both Kyŏng’o [1810] and Sinmi [1811] years. If, in a case like this, the magistrate pretends that he is ignorant of what is taking place, he will probably meet the same fate as the provincial army commander in Ch’ŏngju and the magistrate of Kasan, who were killed by the rebels. When the magistrate faces times like this, he should select a man from his sons and nephews or relatives and aides who is resourceful and careful and secretly send him out to investigate the original source of the rumors and signs of 89. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. When the Young Doctrine faction, of which Yi was a prominent member, lost power, he conspired with some members of his faction and the Southerners faction and launched a rebellion in 1728 in an attempt to depose the newly enthroned King Yŏngjo. His rebellion failed, and he was executed. 90. The reign name of Emperor Shizong (1722–1735) of the Qing dynasty. 91. Resenting discrimination against the people of P’yŏngan Province, Hong plotted a rebellion with those who shared his view, who were mostly fallen yangban, merchants, and tradesmen. At that time there was a severe famine, and people were starving. He took control of the region above the Ch’ŏngch’ŏn River but was eventually defeated by government forces in 1812.

620

book VIII

disturbance and at the same time seek ways to prevent the worst from taking place. Not to take any action under such a circumstance is to neglect his duty. Even if the magistrate confronts the rebels and dies with dignity, he cannot escape from the charge of dereliction of duty, although he may be blameless in integrity and heroic acts. The government, which intends to compliment the dead official and make his life honorable, tends to avoid investigating his mistakes. However, a person who draws a stipend from the king should not think that his integrity and heroic acts are good enough to repay the favor from the king; he should always watch for signs of disturbance and take appropriate measures in advance so that the disaster can be stopped at the start. Only then will he be able to say that he has done a good job. The following happened when Zhang Yong governed Yizhou Prefecture. A groundless rumor that every afternoon an old man with white hair recklessly cannibalized men and women was rampant; it threw the residents into a panic and made the streets deserted. Zhang called the magistrate of Xipu and said, “When you return to your district, try to find an ex-convict who is still making trouble among his neighbors. You will find him spreading the rumor of the old man with white hair all over the place. Make sure that you find the evidence of his wrongdoing and bring him in.” The next day the magistrate indeed found such a man and sent him to Yizhou. When the prefect publicly executed him, the tumult immediately quieted down, and the streets returned to normal. Zhang said, “When weird rumors start spreading, they create a foul atmosphere. A ghost has a form and the rumor a sound. The way of stopping false rumors lies in resolution, not in coercion.” The following happened when Du Hong governed Yunzhou. At the corner of the fortress there had been a banner that carried some treacherous words intended to agitate the people. It made the people afraid. Later a fire broke out in a field during the day, and it proved to be one of the events that the banner had predicted. The incident made the people even more afraid, and some of them asked Du to launch a massive investigation throughout the walled town. Du laughed and replied, “The man’s treachery is already discovered. He wants to see me agitated and, taking advantage of my panic, tries to rise in rebellion. Why should I allow myself to fall into his trap? There will be nothing further that he can do.” Not long afterward he arrested a suspect, and the man proved to be the one who had fabricated the treacherous words on the banner. Finally, he executed him.

92. An official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhezong. His courtesy name was Junzhang.

Administration of Military Affairs

621

All Anonymous Letters and Notices Must Be Either Burned or Quietly Investigated. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “Those who produce books of prophecy or sorcery or rumors with an intention to mislead the people will be executed by beheading.” The National Code stipulated: “Books anonymously written with a seditious purpose [ingmyŏngsŏ] are prohibited from being shared or delivered even between father and son. Those who spread the message in those books and those who keep on possessing the books without burning them shall be punished according to the law.” Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns states: “In the third lunar month of Ŭlhae year [1755] during the reign of Yŏngjo, the traitor Yun Chi, living in exile in Naju, made his son Kwangch’ŏl conspire with local leaders and clerks of Naju. With their support he created kye meetings and gathered people for the purpose of rebellion. At the same time he posted an anonymous notice on the official guesthouse that was designed to instigate the people. When Governor Cho Ungyu arrested him and made a report to the king, the king personally interrogated Yun Chi and his coconspirators and dealt with them according to the law. He executed Yun and others and banished the rest.” When the content of anonymous notices and letters is found to be dangerously traitorous, the magistrate personally should hasten to the governor and discuss the matter with him. If the content is less serious, he reports to the governor by dispatching his chief clerk or a local leader. If the anonymous notices and letters have to do with personal animosity and vindictiveness among local people or clerks, they should be burned right away so that they cannot spread any further. If they are based on facts and related to serious matters, the magistrate should secretly conduct investigations to find out the truth even if they are motivated by personal animosity and vindictiveness. Clerks often slander their colleagues, accusing each other of hidden abuses that they committed. In their anonymous letters they say that someone stole the government relief fund for disaster-declared lands, or switched the good grain with the bad in the local granary, or took bribes on the occasion of enlisting the 93. National Code, “Laws on Penal Affairs,” “Interrogation and Torture” (“Ch’udanjo”), 459. 94. A member of the Young Doctrine faction, he served as fourth inspector; however, he was exiled to Cheju Island when his faction lost power in 1724 and Yŏngjo ascended the throne. His long exile naturally increased his resentment against his enemy, the Old Doctrine faction, and fi nally led him to spread slanderous anonymous notices. He was indicted and executed in 1755. 95. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Yŏngjo. His courtesy name was Sajŏng, and his posthumous title Ch’unggan. He served as censor general, chief royal secretary governor of Chŏlla and P’yŏngan provinces, and minister of personnel and of taxation.

622

book VIII

people for military ser vice tax, or defrauded villagers of their property. Since accusations like these are mostly not groundless, the magistrate should hire a man and look into them for truth and justice. It is not right to leave the accusations unsettled because he suspects that the motivations in them appear ignoble. Those who are accused through anonymous letters are mostly the chief clerk or powerful clerks who attend the magistrate day and night. Since they are always close to the magistrate, others cannot dare to speak the truth about them. If the anonymous letters were written under these circumstances, is it right to ignore them? A monk living in the mountains is naturally ignorant of the laws in the secular world. Taking advantage of his ignorance, a malicious person accuses him through an anonymous letter if a monk happens even to glance at him with disapproval. Years ago the monk Chian lectured to an assembly of a thousand monks. Someone slandered him because of this incident, which led to his banishment to Cheju Island, where he died. The monk Yuil was also slandered and imprisoned in Ch’angp’yŏng after lecturing to hundreds of monks. He barely survived. Whenever this type of slander takes place, the magistrate should search out the slanderer and bring him to justice so that an innocent person may not suffer for nothing. It is quite obvious that there is no par ticular reason that the monks should raise disturbances. The following happened when Lord Jiansu, Xue Kui, stayed in the land of Shu. There was a man among the people who had served as vice director in the Secretariat during the Later Shu kingdom. A gatekeeper in his house happened to see him hanging a silk pouch on top of the west gate and reported this to the government. The man had as many as ten thousand followers who were natives of the Shu kingdom, and many of them spread rumors and at the same time observed how Xue Kui reacted to them. Xue paid little attention to the rumors and ordered the chief clerk to hide the pouch, and the agitation of the people soon died down. 96. In 1755 a Buddhist meeting was held in Kŭmsansa Temple in Kimje, and Chian lectured to the congregation of 1,400 monks. Four years later he was falsely accused for this meeting and imprisoned. Later he was briefly released but was once again arrested and exiled to Cheju Island. Seven days after arriving in the island, he died. 97. He started lecturing on Zen Buddhism in Porimsa Temple in 1750 and devoted himself to spreading Zen Buddhism for thirty years. He was slandered and imprisoned when he was the abbot of Sŏbongsa Temple in Ch’angp’yŏng, but was released sometime later. 98. An official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Renzong. His courtesy name was Suyi, and his posthumous title Jiansu. He served as vice grand councilor. 99. It was founded by Meng Zhixiang, the king of Shu during the period of the Later Tang dynasty. It surrendered to Wang Chincheng, a general of the Song dynasty.

Administration of Military Affairs

623

The following happened when Zhao Shangkuan governed Hezhongfu. The soldiers of the Shenyong Division, who had suffered greatly from the avarice of their commander, finally libeled their commander as treasonous through an anonymous letter. In the letter they said that the commander was plotting a rebellion. Convinced that the accusation against the commander was groundless, Zhao immediately ordered that the letter be burned, and accordingly the agitation among the people soon calmed down. Then he drove out the commander by sending a memorial to the court and reassigned the soldiers involved in the incident to other divisions. The following happened when Wei Guoyuan was appointed magistrate of Wei County. There was a man who attempted to slander people anonymously, and Cao Cao, counselor in chief of the Wei kingdom, hated the slanderer and wanted to bring him in for interrogation and punishment. However, Wei requested from the counselor that the incident of the anonymous letter be concealed for the time being. The anonymous letter quoted a great deal from [Zhang Heng’s] rhapsodies of the Two Capitals. When he learned this, Wei admonished his clerk, “Although this district is part of the capital, there are not many who are engaged in studies.” Then he selected a few young people to be trained by an instructor. On the day when those youths were sent away to their instructor, Wei called them and reproached their lack of learning. He said, “Rhapsodies of the Two Capitals is like an encyclopedia. If there is one who can read these poems, he deserves to be your teacher.” Wei separately gave a secret order that an instructor who could read the poems be searched out within ten days. When the instructor was finally discovered, he had the youths study under him and sent his clerk to ask him to compose jianwen, a memorial written in rhyme. Wei compared the memorial with the anonymous letter in his hand and found that the styles of both writings were identical. Ordering that the man be arrested, he discovered the whole affair related to the anonymous letter (History of the Later Han Dynasty).

100. An official of the Song dynasty. 101. A name of a military division that means “divine and courageous.” 102. A warlord of the Wei kingdom. He is presumed to be Xia Houyan, who, under the command of Cao Cao, captured Liangzhou. 103. Zhang Heng (78–139 B.C.), a poet of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was also astronomer, mathematician, inventor, and cartographer. The two capitals that are the subject of the poem are the Western Capital (Xian) and the Eastern Capital (Luoyang). The poems here indicate “Western Capital Rhapsody” (Dongjingfu) and “Eastern Capital Rhapsody” (Xijingfu). 104. Jianwen-style memorials are ones written in four- and six-character euphemistic-style Chinese.

624

book VIII

The following happened when Wang Anli of the Song dynasty governed the prefecture of Kaifeng. Someone sent an anonymous letter claiming that a rich family was plotting treason, and people who heard of it became afraid. He suspected that the letter was false; nevertheless, he ordered an investigation to find out the truth, sending his men to the rich family after a few days. The letter turned out to be false, as he expected, so he asked the head of the rich family if he had made an enemy lately. The man replied that a few months earlier someone named Masheng had visited him to borrow money. After he refused his request, he heard from the people that Masheng complained and spoke ill of him wherever he went. Magistrate Wang ordered that Masheng be brought in and write his name in his presence. Then he compared his calligraphy with that of the anonymous letter in his possession and found that they were identical. When he interrogated him, Masheng finally admitted his wrongdoing. When a Disturbance Breaks Out, the Magistrate Should Not Panic; Watching the Course of Events Calmly, He Should Take Action Appropriate to the Changing Situation. When Yu Yunze of the Song dynasty held a banquet for the soldiers, a fire broke out in the armory. Yu, however, did not stop playing music and drinking wine, and the fire was extinguished shortly. When someone reproached him for not taking any action, he replied, “The armory where weapons are deposited is strictly guarded against fire. If that place is on fire in the middle of our banquet, it is certain that some villain must have set the fire. If I stop the banquet and make a commotion to put down the fire, it is hard to predict what will happen next.” The following happened when Pak In, a member of the Wing Guards [Igwi], was magistrate of P’yŏnggang. During his term the Japanese invasion broke out, and Yi Sugwang happened to pass through Pak’s district in order to carry out his duty as aide to a high official. Constantly running from one place to another in the middle of battles, he delivered royal orders and found himself extremely busy and unsettled. On the other hand, he discovered that Pak’s face was composed 105. A younger brother of Wang Anshi. He served as Hanlin academician and magistrate of Kaifeng. He was famous for speedy trial of all lawsuits brought to him; none of them exceeded a three-month period. 106. Unknown. 107. His courtesy name was Chungon, and his pen name Namch’on. 108. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yungyŏng, and his pen name Chibong. He served as chief royal secretary, censor general, sixth state councilor, minister of works, inspector general, and fi nally minister of personnel. He visited Ming China several times as an envoy and introduced Catholicism and the knowledge of the West to Korea through his book titled Topical Discourses of Chibong (Chibong yusŏl).

Administration of Military Affairs

625

and even graceful, as if nothing had happened. Recalling the strong impression that he had received from Pak’s conduct, Yi recorded it later on the epitaph of Pak. Kwŏn Chun became magistrate of Yŏnan in Imsin year [1812] of Sunjo’s reign. At that time the traitor Hong Kyŏngnae was holding out in hiding in rugged mountains in Kasan, and the popular feeling of the western provinces was agitated. The former magistrate had mobilized yamen clerks, military guards, slaves, and servants in order to guard the yamen day and night, and they found the pressure extremely stressful. Upon taking office, Kwŏn Chun loosened the tight security and kept the fortress gate wide open, as in ordinary times. People were delighted. If the Local Culture Is Uncivilized and Brutal and the Residents Conspire to Slay Public Officials, Including the Magistrate Himself, the Magistrate Either Puts Them to Death or Suppresses Them without Noise. However, He Needs to Be Tactful and Flexible in Order to Eliminate Wicked Acts. The following happened when Xue Changru served as controller general of Hanzhou. The soldiers tried to slay the magistrate and the supervisor of militia [bingma jianya], locking them up inside the fortress and killing people by setting fires. A man came to report what was going on outside, but both the magistrate and the supervisor of militia were too scared to react. Then Xue Changru stepped forward and went to the main gate of the fortress. Pounding the gate with his bare hand, he persuaded the rebels: “You have old parents, wives, and children to support. What led you to this reckless crime? Those who are not actively involved in this conspiracy stand aside!” While most of the rebel soldiers dared not move, eight conspirators among them ran away and scattered into various villages. They were eventually arrested in the fields near their villages. The following happened when Governor Chŏng Ŏnhwang became magistrate of Singye. Right before he took office there was a disturbance that was led by yamen clerks. The rebels surrounded their magistrate and threatened his life with arrows and stones. The magistrate eventually escaped after suffering the siege for several days, and when this happened, the government sent Chŏng Ŏnhwang to take the place of the former magistrate. Upon arriving in his district, he captured and executed the head of the rebels but ignored the rest of them. Although on a number of occasions he received lists of the people who were involved in the disturbance, he did not read them and burned them while yamen clerks were watching. Public feeling soon settled down. 109. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. He served as fourth censor and secret royal inspector. 110. Unknown.

626

book VIII

The local customs of places like Singye, Koksan, and Suan are fierce and atrocious. If the governance of the magistrate is not good, disturbances break out abruptly. In the middle of Ganlong years [1735–1795] the local residents of Suan set up their camp in Mt. Ŏnjin, and the government barely suppressed them with great effort. Several decades ago the residents of Koksan complained about the military cloth taxes, which they felt were too heavy for them. A thousand or so people submitted an appeal, publicly vowing that they would raise a disturbance and drive out the magistrate unless their grievances were addressed. Exactly ten years after that incident a disturbance broke out, and the magistrate had to run away for his life. Hong Hŭisin, the investigator of the disturbance, beheaded forty rebels, including Yi Taesŏng and Han Kŭkil, and banished hundreds of other participants. This type of disturbance took place only because the magistrate failed to read the signs of danger ahead of time. The way to solve such a problem is to punish only rebel leaders and pardon their followers who were forced to participate in the disturbance because of threats to them. The main thing is to stabilize public feeling, not to kill the people. If the governance of the magistrate is not good, some clerks or residents who are deeply resentful go up the mountains and loudly curse their magistrate. The loud curses that they utter in the mountains are called “mountain echoes” [sanho]. When this kind of thing happens, which is really embarrassing and difficult to deal with, the magistrate must quit his post unless he wants to risk further embarrassment and disaster. He will know better whether he exploited the people and violated the law for his purposes and thus deserves such treatment. On the other hand, if the disturbance broke out when he strictly supervised the abuses of clerks in handling public property or brought justice to taxation by suppressing the tyranny of the powerful, the magistrate should not be shaken by the disturbance; he should rather be more steadfast and consistent in controlling the abuses of the clerks. He also needs to devise an ingenious trick to capture the lawbreakers once in a while and show no mercy to them. The following occurred when Han Weigong was in charge of the north gate. It happened that Magistrate Zhao Chengling punished one of the guards by flogging. The moment he was hit twice with a stick, the guard all of a sudden began to curse the magistrate, showing contempt in an outrageous manner. The magistrate reported this incident to his superior, Han Weigong. Han summoned the guard who had caused the controversy and asked him if he had indeed in111. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sunjo. He served as governor of Hwanghae Province, censor general, minister of punishments, minister of works, and minister of personnel, and as special mayor (yusu) of Suwŏn. 112. It is not clear where this north gate was located. 113. Chengling here may not be a personal name because it implies magistrate.

Administration of Military Affairs

627

sulted the magistrate, the highest public official whom he served. Admitting the charge, the guard said, “I was overcome with rage at that time.” Han said, “You are a member of the Imperial Army. There is rank and order in the army. How can you dare act like that?” Then he wrote down his sentence, which stated, “Take him out and decapitate him.” When he made his decision, Han looked so calm and peaceful that the people around him did not realize that anything significant had happened. They realized it only when Han tossed away his brush after writing down that sentence. If Robbers and Wandering Bandits Get Together and Raise a Disturbance, the Magistrate Should Either Persuade Them to Surrender or Capture Them by Using a Trick. The following happened when Zhang Gang of the Han dynasty was the magistrate of Guangling. At that time a local bandit named Zhang Ying was plundering the areas of Yangzhou and Xuzhou. Magistrate Zhang, taking only one chariot, approached the gate of Zhang Ying’s den on the mountain. Greatly surprised by the magistrate’s unexpected visit, Zhang Ying ran away into his den, closing the gate. Zhang Gang at the outside of the gate ordered all the clerks and soldiers to leave him except ten or so and sent a letter to Zhang Ying asking for an interview. Zhang Ying soon came out to greet the magistrate. Making Zhang Ying take an upper seat, Magistrate Zhang Gang tried to persuade Zhang Ying as follows: “Since you people banded together because of the avarice and tyranny committed by the officials with the rank and salary of 2,000 bushels, which has continued over a long time, it is the officials themselves, not you people, who should be held responsible for the present situation. However, you know that you also are not blameless in your conduct. The emperor, who is benevolent and compassionate, desires to suppress the rebels with virtue and edification, and that is why I came to see you. Unless you submit to the emperor after this demonstration of his mercy, he will be extremely wrathful. In no time a large army from Jingzhou, Yangzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou will be raised to capture you people; they will be ruthless in cutting off the heads from the bodies, and there will be no one to offer you sacrifice when you are dead. Think about what I said carefully.” Zhang Ying replied, weeping, “We, the foolish people in the distant countryside, have lived together in shame because we were unable to endure the injustice and tyranny of the officials any longer. Now that Your Honor shows us a way that leads to a worthier life, we will certainly not lose this opportunity.” Thus remarking, he returned to his place on the mountain. The next day he surrendered with 114. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Wenji. He was known to be learned in classics.

628

book VIII

his fellow bandits, whose number exceeded ten thousand, including their families. Riding on a carriage alone, Magistrate Zhang went into their den and gave a banquet for the bandits, comforting them with wine. When the bandits scattered, he let them go wherever they wanted to. He also provided them with places to live, as well as land to cultivate. If any of the sons of those bandits wanted to serve as subfunctionaries in his yamen, he hired them all. As a result, the people were now willing to submit themselves to the authorities, and the districts in the south settled down. The following happened when Hwang Ch’ŏsin became magistrate of P’yŏnggang. A man named Yun P’ungnip stole military weapons from the armory of the neighboring district, leading a band of several hundred people with him. With the help of a brave soldier whom he selected, Magistrate Pak captured Yun, the leader of the gang, and finally put him to death. Not long after the execution a fire broke out at midnight, and a noise was raised among the people. They said that a gang of Yun P’ungnip had arrived, trying to agitate people. However, the noise that they made was fruitless and soon calmed down when Magistrate Pak remained unshaken by it. The following happened when Pak Tongsŏn was magistrate of Namp’o. Learning that Yi Monghak  was planning to attack Hongju, Pak ran to Provincial Navy Commander Ch’oe Ho and proposed that they suppress the rebels together. Ch’oe Ho said, “Leading maritime soldiers, how can I possibly fight with bandits on land?” Nevertheless, Pak insisted on fighting together and eventually persuaded Ch’oe. They went to Hongju and reinforced their strength by joining the army led by Magistrate Hong Kasin, and the combined army waited for the rebels on top of the fortress. The rebels finally arrived at the base of the fortress walls, but they only made noise and dared not attack. Pretty soon their position, as well as their predicament, was exposed, and because they appeared to be in disarray, their forces collapsed by themselves. Then the rebels beheaded Yi Monghak, their leader, and surrendered to the authorities. This was possible because of the preparations made by Magistrate Pak ahead of time. 115. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. He was known to be learned in medicine. 116. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chach’wi, and his pen name Sŏp’o. He also served as censor general, seventh state councilor, inspector general, second deputy director (tongchisa) of the Office of Royal Lectures, and minister of punishments. 117. Yi was born of the royal family but was an illegitimate son. During the Imjin War, when the sufferings of the populace were extreme, he led an uprising in Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. 118. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yŏdo, and his pen names Manjŏndang and Kanong. He also served as magistrate of P’aju and as governor of Kangwŏn Province, and was granted the title of Ch’ŏngnan Merit Subject, First Class, for suppressing the rebellion of Yi Monghak in 1596.

Administration of Military Affairs

629

The following happened when Min Yŏgŏm was magistrate of Kwaksan. He was always diligent and never neglected military readiness. Hence he used to speak to his colleagues, the magistrates of neighboring districts, as follows: “Since we are all called to defend the king and the country in times when many things are taking place, I want you to behead me if I withdraw in a crisis. I will do the same if you withdraw.” Later, when Yi Kwal came to inspect the district as vice supreme field commander, he strictly ordered his officers not to abuse the people, and when he became a rebel leader, he invited all except Min Yŏgŏm to join him because he knew well that Min was not the kind of person to be persuaded easily. Even if Local Rebels Have Already Been Suppressed, Popular Feeling Can Still Be Suspicious and Afraid. Hence It Is Important to Show Trust to Those Who Are So Changeable and Pacify Them. When Yi Suil became provincial military commander of North Hamgyŏng Province, local people secretly crossed the river and surrendered themselves to the barbarians in the north. Previously the traitor Kuk Kyŏngin and his coconspirators had captured the prince and handed him over to the Japanese enemy. When the war was over, the people were naturally scared, and that was the reason that they decided to escape. But Commander Yi comforted them with kind words, so within a month the situation had calmed down.

C H A P T E R : DE F E N DI NG T H E DI S T R IC T AG A I NS T E N E M Y AT TAC K

(It is hard to discuss military affairs in their entirety since they are too extensive and complicated. Therefore, I discuss only a few things that are very obvious among the duties of the magistrate.)

119. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Unch’on. He also served as magistrate of Ulsan. 120. Yi Kwal (1587–1624) was a military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. As provincial military commander of P’yŏngan Province, he rendered a ser vice in the restoration of Injo; however, he was extremely dissatisfied with the reward that he received. Thus he rose in rebellion and once captured Seoul. However, he was defeated at the battle of Anhyŏn and was assassinated by one of his own men. 121. Originally a member of the literati of Chŏnju, he was banished to Hoeryŏng, North Hamgyŏng Province, and served as a yamen clerk until the Japa nese invasion in 1592. Capturing a Korean prince who took refuge in his town, he surrendered himself to the Japa nese. However, he was murdered by the local Righteous Guerrilla Army.

630

book VIII

When There Is a Foreign Invasion, the Local Magistrates Must Defend the Districts of Which They Are in Charge, and Their Responsibility Does Not Differ from That of Commanding Generals and High Officials. The following happened when Hao Zhao of the Wei kingdom was defending Chencang. Zhuge Liang advanced to Sanguan and surrounded Chencang with twenty or thirty thousand soldiers under his command. Zhuge Liang tried to conciliate Hao Zhao, but the latter refused to give in. Hao Zhao’s army was no more than several thousand. Driving mobile siege ladders and ramming vehicles up to the fortress wall, Zhuge Liang’s army launched an attack, and Hao Zhao responded with fire arrows that burned the ladders and the soldiers on them. Hao also destroyed the ramming vehicles by hurling stones. This time Zhuge Liang built an archery tower 100 chi tall and had the soldiers discharge arrows from the tower. At the same time he filled the moats with dirt and ordered his soldiers to climb the fortress walls. Watching this, Hao Zhao immediately built another wall inside the fortress. Then Zhuge Liang dug a tunnel to infiltrate the fortress, but Hao Zhao also blocked the tunnel by filling it with dirt. They exchanged attack and counterattack day and night for twenty days. The government of Wei dispatched Zhang He to save Hao Zhao, but Zhuge Liang, running out of military provisions, withdrew his army before Zhang He’s relief army arrived. The following happened when Shen Pu of the Song dynasty was magistrate of Xuyi. At that time the region of Jianghuai was peaceful. As soon as he took office, however, Shen Pu spent his time and energy on military readiness, believing that his district was a strategic point. Thus he repaired fortress walls, dug moats, stored equipment and provisions, and prepared arrows and stones. His aides all thought that Shen was making a mistake, and the government also thought that Shen’s measures were a little too extreme. When the army of the Northern Wei invaded the south, most magistrates abandoned their districts and ran away. When someone asked Shen Pu to return to Jiankang, following the others, Shen replied: “If the barbarian invaders ignore us because our fortress is small, what is there to be afraid of? If they attack us, I believe that this is a good opportunity to repay my gratitude to my country, and the day for you people to perform actions that would win promotion for yourselves. How can I abandon my place?” Mobi122. His courtesy name was Bodao. He defended Hexi for ten years, as well as Chencang, against the army of Zhuge Liang. 123. A strategic point in Xiaxi Province of China, an entrance to Changan from the land of Shu. 124. Starting as a follower of Yuan Shao, one of the prominent contenders for power who rose against the Han dynasty, he defected to Cao Cao, the powerful warlord of the Wei kingdom. Later he was killed in battle while fighting against the army led by Zhuge Liang. 125. An official of the Song dynasty during the Six Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Daozhen.

Administration of Military Affairs

631

lizing a crack troop of two thousand, he said, “They are good enough for fighting the enemy.” Then he defended the fortress along with Zang Zhi. When the Wei army threw up grappling hooks to the watchtowers of the fortress by using wheeled grappling carts [gouche], several hundred men of Shen’s army caught the ropes of the hooks and pulled them up so that the grappling carts might be incapacitated. When night fell, Shen’s men got into barrels that they attached to those ropes, slid down those ropes, and severed the grappling hooks from those carts. The following day the enemy attacked again with ramming vehicles, but the fortress was so sturdy and strong that the amount of clay that fell off the wall that was hit by the ramming vehicles turned out to be no more than a few baskets. Men of the Wei army also tried to climb up the fortress but were all killed as soon as they reached the top of the wall, and their casualties numbered ten thousand. The pile of their dead bodies was so high that it paralleled the height of the wall. Although the Wei army continued to attack for thirty days, it was unable to capture the fortress, and the king of the Wei kingdom finally withdrew after burning all of the army’s attacking equipment. Zang Zhi now wanted publicly to acclaim Shen Pu and record his name on the tablet as the lord of the fortress; however, Shen declined the honor and attributed the victory to Zang Zhi. The emperor of the Song dynasty heard the story and thought it very commendable. The following happened when Zhao Chou was magistrate of Chenzhou. When Huang Chao rose in revolt, Zhao said to the military officers under his command, “Unless Huang Chao dies in Changan, Chenzhou will become a strategic point.” Then he repaired fortresses and weapons, saved fodder and provisions, and recruited many warriors whom he made his sons divide and command. As he expected, Huang Chao indeed attacked Chenzhou, leading his army. He surrounded the fortress and attacked from all sides, digging trenches in five layers. Since the residents of Chenzhou were scared, Zhao spoke to them: “My family has drawn stipends from Chenzhou for generations, and therefore, our fate is one and the same as that of Chenzhou. Is it not better to die for the country than to survive by submitting to traitors? If anyone disagrees with what I said, I will cut off his head.” With this remark he rushed out of the fortress and crushed the enemy. The rebels finally withdrew after three hundred days of siege. 126. A military commander of the Song dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. 127. An official of the Tang dynasty. He served as acting minister of education and jointly as manager of affairs of the Secretariat-Chancellery. 128. The leader of the so-called Huang Chao rebellion (874–884), which took place in the declining years of the Tang dynasty. Making a fortune through an illegal salt business and allying himself with Wang Xianzhi, another rebel leader, he captured Luoyang and Changan, the largest cities at that time, and proclaimed himself emperor of China. However, the Qi dynasty that he had established was short lived, and he committed suicide in 884.

632

book VIII

When Tao Lu was assistant magistrate of Xinhui, he was in his twenties. The Yao barbarian bandits of Guangyou plundered villages, and Tao Lu called the elders to the yamen and said, “The spirit of the enemy is about to swallow up our town. Would you follow me, leading your sons, and defend the town and protect your families?” Everyone replied, “Yes.” They immediately started building a stronghold and defended strategic points located in the east and west from the attacks of the enemy. He also constructed extra fortresses that were arrayed in the form of spokes in order to protect the main fortress and dug moats around them, and at the bottom of the moats he planted barbed wire and bamboo spears. Since the people fought hard, risking their lives, and supported each other in individual strongholds, these fortifications and troops, being interconnected, appeared like stomach and breast, so the enemy dared not attack when it arrived. Later all the elders of the district said, “That we are able to keep our wives and children and that our offspring lead a good life are due to the good works of Assistant Magistrate Tao.” The following happened when Song Munju of the Koryŏ dynasty served as a military commander in charge of Chukju. Arriving at the base of the fortress, the Mongol army tried to placate the Koreans led by Song. The Korean army in the fortress sallied out and repelled the enemy. However, the Mongols soon returned and started attacking with artillery, and part of the fortress collapsed because of this attack. Nevertheless, the Koreans resisted fiercely, counterattacking with artillery, which made the Mongols dare not approach the fortress. Then the Mongols launched an attack by fire, spreading oil of human flesh on sheaves of straw. The Koreans inside the fortress abruptly rushed out to attack the enemy and inflicted numerous casualties on the Mongols. The Mongols eventually failed to capture the fortress, although they exhausted all the means that they could think of. Years earlier, when Song Munju had been in Kuju, he had learned about the favorite strategies of the Mongols in attacks on fortresses, so he was able to predict each step of the enemy’s attack and make preparations in advance. He said, “Since the enemy will certainly use such-and-such machines for their attack today, we will have to counter them with our such-and-such machines.” What he predicted turned out always to be correct. The Koreans called him a man of divine intelligence. One day the enemy set fire to the fortress gate, and the fire was very fierce. When Song Munju spread water from the top of the fortress, the fire became even more violent and out of control. When the people inside the fortress were 129. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziqiang. Having successfully repelled invading barbarians, he was promoted to the rank of second administration vice commissioner and surveillance commissioner. 130. A minority ethnic group that settled on the southern border of Ming China. 131. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong. He joined Pak Sŏ, military commander of the northwestern region, in fighting against the invading Mongol army in Kuju and was promoted to the rank of commandant (nangjang) for rendering a ser vice.

Administration of Military Affairs

633

confused, not knowing what to do, an old soldier said, “I have heard that the Mongols make oil out of human flesh of those who died, and the human oil thus made burns much more fiercely when it comes into contact with water. I am certain that they used that oil on our gate.” The Koreans now spread dirt on the fire and finally put it out. The artillery that I mentioned above, I believe, was not exactly the kind we have now. It is likely to have been a sort of catapult for discharging stones, not a cannon that uses powder and shells. The following happened when Yi Chijung of the Koryŏ dynasty became magistrate of Yŏngju (modern Yŏngch’ŏn). Earlier, from the spring of Imsul year [?], Japanese marauders had invaded his district as many as thirty-six times. The residents of Yŏngju all crossed the river to take refuge and made a precarious living; nevertheless, they did not want to go back to their hometown. When they heard that Yi Chijung was appointed their new magistrate, they all returned to their old places and participated in constructing a fortress. When the construction work was completed, there was an alarm of an enemy attack, and the people went into the fortress and made themselves ready for battle, equipped with military weapons. Since the residents were strongly united, the enemy was helpless. The following happened when Pak Sŏ of Koryŏ served as the military commander of the northwestern region. Salita, the commanding general of the Mongol army, had already captured Ch’ŏlju and arrived in Kuju. He laid siege to the fortress and attacked it for thirty days in every possible way. When Pak Sŏ proved to be steadfast in withstanding the enemy attack, shrewdly dealing with the changing situations, the Mongol army finally withdrew. There was at that time an old soldier in the Mongol army. Arriving at the base of the fortress and observing the ramparts and war machines, he lamented as follows: “Although I have seen all kinds of fortresses and moats and states of battle for attack or defense under Heaven ever since I entered military ser vice, I never saw a case in which an army relentlessly fought to the end without surrendering in defiance of stormy attacks like this. The military commanders in the fortress will surely become generals and ministers in the future.” Later Pak Sŏ indeed became grand councilor of the Secretariat [munha p’yŏngjangsa]. The following happened when Kim Kyŏngson of the Koryŏ dynasty was appointed provincial military commander of Chŏngju (modern Ŭiju). At that time 132. Unknown. 133. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong. He later served as grand councilor of the Secretariat. 134. He invaded Korea a number of times, leading the Mongol army. In 1231 he was killed by Kim Yunhu in the battle of Ch’ŏin Fortress (modern Yongin). 135. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong. He was famous for repulsing the Mongol army with a small number of soldiers as well as suppressing the rebels in South

634

book VIII

the invading Mongol army crossed the Yalu River and arrived in Chŏngju. Leading the soldiers in the yamen, including a twelve-man suicide squad, he opened a gate in the fortress and dashed out and repelled it after a hard battle. When the enemy returned later, tough battles continued for twenty days or so, and the way Kim Kyŏngson led the battles, according to the Mongols, was almost divine. The Mongols said, “This fortress and its army, though very small, are mighty. It cannot be so unless there is divine help to them.” They finally broke off their siege and withdrew. Kim was soon promoted to commander in chief. The following happened when Kim Hwŏn of the Koryŏ dynasty was defense commander of Kŭmju. When the people of Miryang killed their magistrate and sent dispatches to all counties and districts, joining the rebel armies of Three Elite Patrols [Sambyŏlch’o], the residents of the region were all swept away as if they were in the wind. Cutting off the route of the rebels in advance by sending troops, he summoned Ŏm Suan, assistant magistrate of Kyŏngju. When Ŏm Suan arrived, he discussed military affairs with him, made a plan to suppress the rebels, and then reported it to Surveillance Commissioner Yi Sukjin. Being scared, Yi Sukjin called a divining monk to tell his fortune, and in the process his arrival was delayed. When Kim Hwŏn cut down the monk with his sword, Yi Sukjin was afraid and followed him. When the rebels heard what had happened, they became scared and surrendered with the head of their leader, whom they had slain. The following happened when Yi Yungyŏng was magistrate of Chŏnju. When Japanese marauders invaded the southern part of Korea in Ŭlmyo year

Chŏlla Province, of which he was in charge. According to History of Koryŏ, however, he died at the hands of Ch’oe Hang (?–1257), a military dictator who ruled the country and was jealous of Kim’s fame and popularity. 136. His courtesy name was Yongmae. He became director of the Board of Rites and eventually an official of the Directorate of Chancellors (chŏngdang munhak) for his ser vice in suppressing the army of Th ree Elite Patrols (Sambyŏlch’o). 137. A special force orga nized during the military rule of the Ch’oe family. It consisted of Left Elite Patrol (Chwabyŏlch’o), Right Elite Patrol (Ubyŏlch’o), and Army of Transcendent Righteousness (Sinŭigun). These forces rose in rebellion, protesting because the Koryŏ government had made a peace treaty with the Mongols and the royal court in Kanghwa Island had returned to Kaesŏng. They wanted to establish an anti-Yuan government and fight against the Mongols, and their cause drew support from the people. Establishing their headquarters in Chindo Island and later in Cheju Island, they fought against the Mongols to the end but eventually were suppressed in 1273. 138. Although he started his public career as a clerk of Yŏngwŏl county, he eventually rose to the position of vice royal secretary. 139. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chunggil, and his pen name Sungdŏkjae. He served as minister of war.

Administration of Military Affairs

635

[1555] of Emperor Jiajing’s reign Yi took charge of defending Yŏngam. He asked Defense Commander Kim Kyŏngsŏk  to send his army and fight together against the Japanese. As a result, Yi defeated the Japanese and cut off two hundred heads. Around that time his younger brother, Yi Chungyŏng, was appointed supreme mobile inspector [tosunch’alsa], and the royal court in Seoul tried to recall Yi Yungyŏng because officials thought that it was inappropriate for a younger brother to command his elder brother. Upon hearing the news that Yi Yungyŏng was leaving, his soldiers were afraid and agitated. They openly said, “Since we have defended this fortress because of our faith in your person, we have no reason to stay here if you go away.” The defense commander and his aides were also at a loss and agitated, not knowing what to do. Yi Yungyŏng immediately sent a private letter to his younger brother, who was the new supreme mobile inspector. In the letter he said, “When I observe the situation of our military camp, the people are all steadfast because they have faith in me. If I depart under these circumstances, I am worried that something unpredictable will break out. Our family has served in public office generation after generation, receiving grace from the state. Therefore, now it is time for me to repay the grace I owe to the state with my life. I cannot leave here.” The supreme mobile inspector had no choice but to allow Yi to stay on to defend the fortress, and Yi Yungyŏng finally won a victory. The supreme mobile inspector at that time actually recommended in his letter that his elder brother Yungyŏng leave the fortress of Yŏngam for his safety. However, Yungyŏng ordered his men not to accept the letter from the inspector, and when the inspector sent another letter, he ordered his men to discharge arrows at the carrier of the letter so that they could prevent the letter from being delivered. Yungyŏng also made archers lie in ambush, spread metal spikes on the roads, and made acrobatic performers stage their shows, wearing colorful costumes. Advancing and attacking in a wing formation, the enemy soldiers were either killed by arrows or were unable to advance any further because of the metal spikes in their way. At one point the enemy troops watched the show staged by acrobatic performers, and taking advantage of this opportunity, the soldiers, led

140. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He served as magistrate of Ŭiju and Kimhae as well as right navy commander of Chŏlla Province and defense commander (pangŏsa). 141. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Wŏngil, and his pen name Tonggo. After serving as governor of P’yŏngan Province, inspector general, minister of punishments, and minister of personnel, he fi nally rose to the position of chief state councilor. 142. An official dispatched to a local region whenever emergency situations, including foreign invasions or popu lar disturbances, broke out. Thus he was higher in rank than a provincial governor.

636

book VIII

by Nam Ch’igŭn and others, divided into two groups like a pair of wings, made a surprise attack, and annihilated the enemy. The following happened when Yi Hŭigŏn was magistrate of Yongch’ŏn. In the first month of Chŏngmyo year [1627] an armored cavalry of over one hundred thousand soldiers crossed the Yalu River overnight and captured Ŭiju by surprise attack, and even before sunrise its vanguards advanced to Nŭnghan and Sap’o, dividing the forces into two prongs. The reason that the Qing army advanced to Sap’o was to attack the Ming army led by Mao Wenlong, which was stationed at Kado in Ch’ŏlsan. An Kyŏngsim, magistrate of Ch’ŏlsan, escaped to Mt. Unggol, and Yi Hŭigŏn, magistrate of Yongch’ŏn, who heard of the invasion during a meeting with the provincial military commander, immediately hastened to Mt. Unggol, breaking through the enemy line with several dozen of his soldiers and defended the mountain stronghold, gathering more troops. Knowing the valor of Yi and his men, the enemy was reluctant to attack, and because of this, the residents felt relieved, and the refugees from neighboring districts gathered to where he was. The following happened when Yi Wiguk was magistrate of Koksan. In the autumn of Pyŏngja year [1636], convinced that the Qing army would certainly invade Korea, he submitted a memorial requesting that the government allow him to take charge of the monk army of eight provinces and have the opportunity to serve the country by his death. His language was full of patriotic fervor. Between Koksan and Yich’ŏn there was an old route used by the Mongol army, so he wanted to reinforce Talun Fortress, a strategic point, and choke the passage of the enemy. In the winter of that year the Qing army indeed invaded Korea. Military Science Says, “Things That Are Weak Should Be Made to Look Strong, and Things That Are Strong Should Be Made to Look Weak.” Those in Charge of Defense Should Keep That Advice in Mind. The following happened when Lian Fan of the Han dynasty became prefect of Yunzhong. The Xiongnu invaded with a large army, and Lian had to fight against 143. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Kŭnji, and his posthumous title Muyang. He rendered a ser vice in repulsing the Japa nese marauders during the reign of Chungjong and served as chief magistrate of Hansŏng (modern Seoul). 144. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chungsik. He was enfeoffed as Lord Hongyang for his role in suppressing the rebellion of Yi Kwal (1624), but died in battle during the fi rst Manch invasion of 1627. 145. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as second tutor (p’ilsŏn) of the Crown Prince Tutorial Office. 146. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Shudu. He also served as prefect of Shu Commandery.

Administration of Military Affairs

637

them. Worried about the small army they had, the clerks wanted to ask for relief by sending a letter to neighboring districts; however, Lian did not allow their request. When it became dark in the evening, he ordered each soldier to prepare torches and kindle them so that they could brightly light their dark camp, and it appeared that myriad stars in the sky were arrayed in a row. Believing that a relief army had arrived, the Xiongnu were greatly surprised and planned to withdraw early in the morning. Lian made his troops take an early breakfast and pursue the enemy. They cut off the heads of hundreds of the enemy soldiers, and furthermore, over a thousand enemy soldiers were trampled to death while they ran away. Thereafter the Xiongnu did not dare invade Yunzhong. The following happened when Xiao Chengzi of the Song dynasty was magistrate of Qinan. When the army of the Northern Wei invaded, he confronted it with a few hundred soldiers. When the enemy advanced and was close at hand, he ordered that the weapons be concealed and that the fortress gate remain open. Everyone protested, saying, “The enemy forces are large, and ours are small. Why do you make light of them?” He replied, “The situation at the moment is very critical since we are isolated with a small army. If we appear to be weak, however, we will surely be massacred at their hands. Therefore, we must wait and look strong.” The army of the Northern Wei suspected that there was an ambush and finally withdrew. The following happened when Zhang Shougui of the Tang dynasty was prefect of Guazhou. Although barbarians made a surprise attack, he held a banquet on top of the fortress and played music, gathering military commanders. Suspecting that there was an ambush inside the fortress, the barbarians withdrew with their army. Zhang now ordered his army to pursue the enemy. The following happened when Yuan Gui, Prince Huo of the Tang dynasty, was in charge of defending Dingzhou. The Tujue army invaded, but Yuan Gui kept the gate open and banners concealed. Being suspicious, the enemy dared not enter the fortress and ran away by night. The following happened when Feng Zan of the Song dynasty governed Zizhou. At that time the area of Jainwai was pacified for the first time, and a few days after Feng Zan assumed his office , a man named Shang Guanjin falsely assumed the title of military cadre member and attacked the city of Zizhou, gathering a mob of three thousand soldiers. Feng Zan said, “Since they attack us at night, I am sure that they are not serious about what they are doing. They are

147. An official of the Song dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. 148. A military official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Xuanzong. He also served as prefect of Youzhou. 149. A son of Emperor Taizong (566–635), he was enfeoffed as Prince of Huo. 150. His courtesy name was Lichen. He also served as chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

638

book VIII

simply a mob mobilized by whips and threats. If we stand fast, they will collapse by themselves before the next morning.” Then he personally inspected his troops. At the same time he secretly manipulated the time signal and made a guard beat the drum indicating the early morning between three and five o’clock [wugeng]. Those who heard the sound all ran away. The following happened when State Councilor Yi Wan was magistrate of Sukch’ŏn. At that time Long Guda, the military commander of the Qing army, suddenly showed up in Anju with a cavalry of five hundred soldiers and tried to set up a trading post over there, threatening Yu Pi, the provincial military commander of P’yŏngan Province. When Yu Pi refused his demand, Long Guda hit Yu Pi on his hat with his sword and ordered his troops to surround the gate of the fortress. Upon hearing the information on this situation, Yi Wan immediately mobilized all the soldiers and horses and passed by the fortress carry ing banners and beating drums with as much noise as they could make. Then he set up a camp in the valley and spread a rumor that he would attack Long Guda’s army during the night. Long Guda was scared and ran away (Collected Works of Uam ). Only Defending the Fortress and Not Attacking the Enemy That Passes By Is Tantamount to Betraying the King. How Can One Stop Pursuing the Enemy? The following happened when Zhong Limu of the Wu state was prefect of Wuling. The Wei kingdom sent Guo Chun to the barbarians of Nanman and with their support attacked Youyang. The people of the Wu state were naturally afraid, and Prefect Zhong Limu said, “Since the enemy lures the people, infi ltrating from the outside, their tricky words have not taken root yet, so we should lose no time in eradicating them. Nothing is better than hurrying if one wants to quench a fire.” Then he immediately led his soldiers, marched over 2,000 li along the rugged mountain paths from early morning to late at night, and finally killed a thousand or so wicked people who had participated in the conspiracy. Guo Chun and his followers scattered in all directions, and the region of Wuxi was finally subjugated. 151. A military official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reigns of Hyŏnjong and Sukchong. His courtesy name was Tŭngji, and his posthumous title Chŏnghŏn. He also served as provincial military commander of P’yŏngan Province, minister of war, and third state councilor. 152. A Manchu general trusted by Emperor Taizong of the Qing dynasty. He commanded the Qing army during the Manchu invasion of 1636 and visited Korea on many occasions for the purpose of gathering information. 153. Unknown. 154. His courtesy name was Zigan. He was enfeoffed as Marquis of Duqing. 155. Unknown.

Administration of Military Affairs

639

The following happened when Li Ju was prefect of Rongyang. Liu Chang of the Shuhan kingdom invaded, leading an army of thirty thousand. Unprepared for a foreign invasion, Li Ju pretended to surrender by sending a messenger. Believing what the messenger said, Liu Chang also neglected making preparations for battle. When Li Ju planned to launch a surprise attack at night, his soldiers were all worried and afraid. Li Ju sent General Guo Song to visit the shrine of Zichan [Gongsun Qiao] and pray for help, and he made a shaman in charge of the shrine spread these words: “Since Zichan promised through revelation, he will send us divine soldiers to save us.” Overjoyed by these words, the people ran out to attack the military camp of Liu Chang. Liu Chang barely escaped. The following happened when Prefect Feng Daogen of the Southern Liang dynasty was defending Fuling. Upon taking office, he repaired the fortress walls and moats and sent out scouts to the frontier as if an enemy attack was imminent. Many people laughed at him, but Prefect Feng replied, “Can those who are unwilling to defend themselves be brave in battle?” Even before the repair work on the fortress was completed, the army of the Northern Wei, led by Dang Fazong, which consisted of twenty thousand soldiers, arrived at the base of the fortress. The people were all shocked and lost their color, but Prefect Feng ordered that the fortress gate be kept wide open and conducted himself as usual. Putting on workday clothes, he went up to the fortress. Then he battled against and defeated the army of the Northern Wei, leading two hundred elite soldiers whom he had personally selected. This is the meaning of the old saying, “One makes himself busy when others are at leisure and enjoys leisure when others are busy.” The following happened when Zhang Yong governed Yizhou. In his prefecture there was an army called Fierce Dragon Army [Longmenjun] that was originally made of enlisted bandits. When this army was dissolved, the soldiers became bandits once again, and the people of the Shu state were afraid of them. One day Prefect Zhang called a magistrate and handed over his official seal to him. When the magistrate was bewildered, not knowing what to do, the prefect said, “Since you stay in your district comfortably although the bandits are harassing the people, I decided to go out in person to fight against them. That is the reason that I entrust my official seal to you. I want you to take over my duties as prefect.” Greatly surprised, the magistrate said, “I will go myself.” The prefect asked, “When will you leave?” The magistrate replied, “Right now, Your Honor.” 156. 157. 158. 159.

An official of the Jin state. His courtesy name was Shihui. A younger cousin of Liu Cong, the third ruler of the Former Zhao. Unknown. Unknown.

640

book VIII

The prefect held a banquet for the magistrate and told people that the magistrate was leaving to suppress the bandits and he himself was seeing him off. After the wine made a few rounds, the magistrate said to the prefect, “I have a request to make.” The prefect said, “What is it?” The magistrate said, “Can you provide me with as many weapons and provisions as I request?” The prefect replied, “No problem with that. I also have a request to make.” The magistrate asked, “What is it?” The prefect said, “If you return without success, I will behead you under the fortress wall.” The magistrate was stunned and trembled at the words of the prefect. When he fi nally departed, he said, “When I look at the way the prefect conducts his business, cutting off my head appears to be nothing to him.” The magistrate fought hard and finally suppressed the enemy. When Yu Que was defending Anqing, his orders were strict and trustworthy, and he shared joys and sorrows together with his soldiers. When arrows and stones were pouring down, his soldiers tried to cover him with their shields. Rejecting their help, Yu Que said, “You are also in danger. Why do you try to save me at the risk of your lives?” Because of this, his men loved him more and fought hard, risking their lives. The following happened when Cho Sin of the Koryŏ dynasty served as assistant magistrate of Wŏnju. When the Khitan army invaded Korea, he fought hard to defend the country with Wŏn Ch’unggap, a member of the Elite Patrol [Pyŏlch’o] of the district. While he was beating the drum, Cho Sin was shot in the arm by an arrow, but the sound of his drum did not weaken at all. When the enemy forces withdrew shortly, they were startled and shaken, trampling one another. The Korean soldiers shouted on top of mountains, making the mountains shake, and the dead bodies of the enemy soldiers fi lled the valley. The following happened when Kim Kyŏngson was commander in chief of Chŏlla Province. At that time Yi Yŏnnyŏn, the rebel leader of Yulwŏn [Damyang], who had plundered the district of Haeyang and other places, found out that Kim Kyŏngson was in Naju, and he surrounded the fortress of Naju with his followers. Recruiting about thirty soldiers of the Elite Patrol, Kim Kyŏngson defeated and killed Yi Yŏnnyŏn and pursued his gang until they were wiped out 160. An official of the Yuan dynasty. His courtesy name was Yanxin. He served as vice grand councilor. Learned in the classics, he left commentaries on five classical texts. 161. An official during the reign of King Ch’ungyŏl. 162. When he was a provincial nominee for presented scholar, the Khitan army invaded, and as the enemy laid siege to the fortess of Wŏnju, his hometown, he fought as many as ten times to defend the fortress from enemy attack. Later he served as vice director of the State Finance Commission and as commander of Soaring Hawk Army (Ŭngyanggun). 163. In 1231, when he served as a military commander of Chŏngju, the Mongol army invaded, and he fought with the enemy orga nizing a suicide squad. Later he joined Provincial Military Commander Pak Sŏ in fighting against the Mongols and fi nally succeeded in repulsing them.

Administration of Military Affairs

641

and the whole region was stabilized again. Kim Kyŏngson later served in the central government and was appointed advisor of the Royal Secretariat. The following happened when Kwak Ch’ungnyong was in charge of Haesŏng County (modern Myŏnch’ŏn). Since Kwak was originally a scholar, he was not familiar with military affairs. When the Japanese suddenly invaded his district, all the residents were busy fleeing or hiding. Jumping on a horse, Kwak encouraged soldiers to fight, wielding a spear in his hand. When he fought hard and first cut off the passage of the advancing enemy, the enemy, losing heart, withdrew. During the reign of King U when Ch’oe Unhae governed Sunhŭngbu, Japanese marauders invaded and occupied the guest house in the yamen. Every day he fought against the Japanese and distributed all the property, including horses and cows, taken from the enemy to the soldiers and people, which contributed to defeating the enemy. Because of his efforts, peace was restored to the district. The fortress of Samch’ŏk County was narrow and hard to defend. During the reign of King U of Koryŏ, Samch’ŏk became one of the targets of Japanese marauders who kept invading, and the Koryŏ government found it difficult to defend the place. Despite this situation, Nam Ŭn volunteered to serve as magistrate of Samch’ŏk. As soon as Nam took office, the enemy invaded. Opening the gate and leading ten or so cavalry soldiers, Nam undertook a surprise attack on the enemy. The enemy fled. The following happened when Chŏng Chong was administrative assistant of Kyŏngsŏng. Yi Chingok  at that time rose in rebellion, becoming selfappointed emperor of Great Kŭm. He planned to cross the Tuman River and establish his empire in the old capital of the Jin dynasty. It was becoming dark

164. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of King Kongmin. 165. An official of the late Koryŏ dynasty. His courtesy name was Hobo. As vice supreme commander he participated in the military campaign against Liaodong, and during the Chosŏn dynasty he served as provincial military commander of Kyŏngsang Province. 166. He passed the civil ser vice examination during the reign of King Kongmin. Assisting Yi Songgye in founding the Chosŏn dynasty, he was enfeoffed as Lord Ŭisŏng, but was assassinated by Yi Pangwŏn (later King T’aejong) along with Chŏng Tojŏn during the power struggle at the beginning of the Chosŏn dynasty. 167. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. A son-in-law of King Chŏngjong (1398–1400), he was granted a title, Commandant of Yŏngyang. Later, he rendered a ser vice in suppressing the rebellion of Yi Siae (?–1467). He was enfeoffed as Lord Tongp’yŏng and served as magistrate of Kyŏngju. 168. A military official and rebel of the early Chosŏn dynasty. In the early years of King Sejong, he served under Kim Chongsŏ, provincial military commander of Hamgyŏng Province, and rendered a ser vice in establishing six garrison forts (yukchin) on the northern border, which was intended to assert hegemony over this territory. He succeeded Kim Chongsŏ as provincial military commander, but as Kim died and he himself was alienated by the government in Seoul, he rose in rebellion in 1467.

642

book VIII

when Yi Chingok’s army arrived in Chongsŏng. Intending to capture Yi Chingok, Chŏng Chong said to him, “If the army marches at night, it may lose its way. Why do you not wait until morning to continue your march?” Yi Chingok accepted Chŏng Chong’s advice and dozed off, sitting on a chair. At that moment Chŏng Chong attacked Yi with the assassins whom he had hired, and Yi ran away, jumped over the fence, and hid himself in a commoner’s house. Chŏng Chong searched him out and killed him. According to the Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea, Yi Haenggŏm, garrison commander of Kyŏngsŏng, lured Yi Chingok to stay overnight with his army and captured him. The following happened when Kim Sumun was magistrate of Cheju Island. In Ŭlmyo year [1555] during the reign of Myŏngjong the Japanese marauders were defeated in Yŏngam and fled to Cheju Island, and Kim Sumun fought hard to drive the Japanese from the island. When this was reported to the court in Seoul, the king bestowed a written compliment as follows: “Having heard that the Japanese enemy invaded Cheju, I was worried and could not sleep well since the island is far away and isolated and its army is small. I was very much impressed to read your report. Unless you have unmatchable loyalty and dedication, how could it be possible to achieve such a great victory with a small army? Therefore, I promote you by one rank and bestow a suit made of silk.” It Is Best to Render a Service, No Matter How Small It May Be, with Unshaken Loyalty and Encouragement to the Soldiers. In a Desperate Situation, Upholding the Three Bonds and the Five Cardinal Principles of Morality Even at the Risk of Death Is Also a Duty of the Magistrate. The following happened when Wang Lin of the Liang dynasty was prefect of Yizhou. When Hou Jing rose in rebellion and advanced with his massive rebel armies on both land and water, the soldiers on the border of the Changjiang 169. Because he tricked Yi Chingok, the rebel leader, into staying longer in Kyŏngsŏng at a crucial point of the rebellion, which led the government army to capture Yi, he was promoted to fi ft h minister-without-portfolio. 170. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sŏngjang. He became chief magistrate of Hansŏng (modern Seoul) for rendering a ser vice in repulsing the Japa nese marauders when he served as magistrate of Cheju. Later he served as provincial military commander of P’yŏngan Province and died in battle, fighting against the invading Manchu army. 171. A military official of the Liang dynasty and the Northern Qi during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Ziheng. He was originally a general of the Liang dynasty, but served later in the Northern Qi when his country collapsed. 172. A military commander of the Liang dynasty who usurped the throne of Emperor Wu, establishing the state of Han. He was soon defeated by the Liang prince Xiao Yi, the Prince of Xiandong, and he was killed by his own associates while in fl ight.

Administration of Military Affairs

643

River were so scared that they were willing to surrender to the enemy. Crossing the river, Hou Jing’s army captured Wang Xun and took him to the fortress of Yizhou. When he arrived at the fortress wall, Hou ordered Wang Xun to persuade his brother Wang Lin, the prefect of Yizhou, to surrender. Wang Lin said to his elder brother, “If you failed to carry out the royal order to repel the enemy and are still alive, you should be ashamed of yourself. How, then, can you try to tempt me?” Then Wang Lin lifted his bow to shoot his brother. Deeply ashamed, Wang Xun left. Although Hou Jing attacked the fortress relentlessly, morale inside the fortress was so high that the soldiers showered arrows and stones on the enemy and killed many of them. Hou Jing eventually withdrew. When Cui Kai of the Later Wei dynasty was appointed prefect of Yinzhou, a troubled area, he was not supplied with military weapons and provisions although he had made a request for them. When someone recommended that he depart for his post without bringing his family, Cui said, “I have heard that ‘the one who receives a stipend is concerned about the concerns of the one who provides him with a stipend.’ If I go alone [leaving my family in a safe place], who among my men would be willing to fight?” Therefore, he brought his whole family and took up his office. When Ge Rong’s rebel army approached to attack, someone again advised Cui to send away his young children and womenfolk to a safe place. Following the advice, Cui finally sent away his young children, a son and a daughter, by night, but regretting what he had done, he immediately ordered that they be brought back to him. When the enemy reached the fortress, Cui’s men were all willing to die in battle. They said, “Lord Cui does not spare his own family, which numbers over a hundred. How can I spare myself, who am only one person?” They continued to fight until they all died, and no one deserted. The fortress at last collapsed, but Cui refused to yield to the enemy. Ge Rong beheaded him. The following happened when Yan Zhenqing was magistrate of Pingyuan. Foreseeing that An Lushan might rise in revolt, Yan repaired fortresses and dug trenches to make moats, using the leisure during the rainy season. He also surveyed the number of eligible soldiers and prepared provisions for an emergency. Ignoring Yan Zhenqing as merely a student of Confucian classics, An Lushan sent an official dispatch to Yan, ordering him to defend Hejin with the troops

173. His courtesy name was Jize. He also served as commandant of the Secretariat of the Heir Apparent (Taizi zhongshe zuozhonglangjiang). 174. During the reign of Emperor Xiaoming (510–528) a number of agrarian rebellions took place, and Ge Rong’s was one of them. He led a rebel army largely made up of Xianbei soldiers from the six garrisons on the northern borders, with the title of Emperor of Qi, controlling most of the provinces in modern Hebei. But he was eventually captured and executed in 528.

644

book VIII

stationed in Pingyuan and Bo. Yan made Li Ping take a shortcut to report to the emperor about the military readiness that he had undertaken. Impressed and pleased with the report, the emperor said, “I am quite surprised to hear about his accomplishment. In fact, I was worried about him.” The following happened when Yan Gaoqing was magistrate of Changshan. At that time An Lushan arrived at Gaocheng, leading a large army. Unable to stand against his powerful army, Yan Gaoqing went out to greet An Lushan with his aide, Yuan Luqian. An Lushan bestowed a golden seal and purple dress [jinzi] on him and let him keep on defending Changsan after taking his son as a hostage. Upon returning to his camp, Yan discussed with Yuan raising an army to fight against An Lushan and sent dispatches to various districts for their participation. As a result, as many as seventeen districts in the Hebei area responded to his call and joined his campaign. When Shi Siming, a general of An Lushan’s army, laid siege to the fortress with his army, Yan Gaoqing and others fought against the enemy day and night until their arrows and provisions were all exhausted, and the fortress fi nally collapsed. The enemy sent Yan Gaoqing to Luoyang, and upon seeing An Lushan, Yan Gaoqing glared at him and reproached him in a loud voice, “You foul-smelling barbarian dog! Why do you not hurry to kill me?” Furious at the insult, An Lushan bound Yan Gaoqing and Yuan Luqian on the column of Zhongqiao Bridge and peeled off their flesh. A superior man said, “How lamentable this is! Although he intended to raise an army from the beginning, it was not appropriate for him to accept a golden seal and purple dress from the enemy before he took action against him. What he did was less desirable than to die preserving his honor.” The following happened when Zhang Xun became magistrate of Zhenyuan. When An Lushan rose in rebellion, Zhang went to the shrine of Emperor Xuanyuan [Huangdi], leading his yamen clerks and residents of his district. There he wailed and raised an army to fight against the rebels. The enemy laid siege to the fortress, and the situation quickly deteriorated. Then Zhang set up the portrait of the emperor on the floor and let his soldiers pay their tributes. He also exhorted them to fight for a noble cause, but provisions ran out, and the fortress finally collapsed. Zhang made bows twice to the west and said, “Your subject has run out of strength. Since there is no way to repay your grace in this world, I will die and punish the enemy by being an avenging ghost.” Then he died in battle 175. Unknown. 176. A younger brother of Yan Zhenqing, a famous calligrapher and an official of the late Tang period. 177. The gifts and greatest honor that the emperor bestowed on state councilors, as well as merit subjects who rendered a great ser vice to the state.

Administration of Military Affairs

645

along with thirty-six people, including his aides, Xu Yuan, Nan Jiyun, Lei Wanchun, and others. The following happened when Zhao Yangfa of the Song dynasty became controller general of Chizhou. When the invading Yuan army arrived at the fortress, Zhao knew that he was incapable of repelling the enemy, so he said to his wife, Lady Weng, “The fortress is about to fall, but I cannot abandon this place because I am an official in charge of this place. I want you to leave and escape the danger.” Lady Weng replied, “You are an officially appointed magistrate [mingguan], and I am a spouse of an officially appointed magistrate [mingfu]. Do you desire to become a loyal subject but try to take from me an opportunity to become a loyal wife to the state?” Zhao laughed and said, “You know well that there is nothing much that a woman like you can do under the circumstances.” Lady Weng replied, “Then I will die first before you do.” Still laughing, Zhao tried further to persuade his wife to escape. When the Yuan army now closed in on the fortress, Zhao rose up early in the morning and sat at his table. He wrote, “Since I cannot betray my country and surrender the fortress to the enemy, my wife and I desire only to preserve our honor and loyalty through our death.” Zhao and his wife, Lady Weng, killed themselves by hanging at the main office called Congrong Hall. A man named P’ilbu of the Silla kingdom became magistrate of Chungsŏng during the reign of King Muyŏl. The Koguyrŏ army invaded and laid siege to his fortress for twenty days. Finding that P’ilbu’s resistance was stronger than expected, the Koguyrŏ army finally decided to withdraw. At that moment a Silla official named Puksap secretly sent a man to the enemy camp to say that the Silla army in the fortress had almost run out of provisions and strength, and this led to the renewed attack of the Koguyrŏ army. Cutting off the head of Puksap and throwing it over the fortress toward the enemy, P’ilbu cried for battle against the enemy, and all the residents, including the sick, rose up to fight with him. P’ilbu, along with his aides, named Ponsuk, Moji, Mije, and so forth, fought to the end until he was shot to death by arrows from the enemy. The king mourned his death and posthumously promoted his rank to kŭpch’an.

178. An official of the late Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Hanqing. 179. A son of Minister Chondae and a native of Saryangbu. 180. Head-rank nine. The structure of the aristocracy and bureaucracy of the Silla kingdom was based on the so-called bone-rank (kolp’um) and head-rank system. The bone-rank of those in the royal house consisted of “hallowed-bone” (sŏnggol) and “true-bone” (chin’gol), and the former was higher in status. The members of royal family who belonged to these two bone-ranks were endowed with special privileges to attain the highest rank (ibŏlch’an) as well as kingship. Those who did not belong to either bone-rank were restricted to no higher than the sixth office rank (ach’an) among the seventeen office ranks in total. For more information, see Li Ki-baik, A New History of Korea, 50.

646

book VIII

When Kim Wŏnjŏng of the Koryŏ dynasty was magistrate of Chŏlsan County, the barbarians in the north invaded. Although he fought against them, closing the fortress gate tight, he knew that his fortress could not last much longer, so he set fire to the granary in the fortress and killed himself by jumping into the fire with his wife and children. When Cho Hyorip of the Koryŏ dynasty was in charge of Ch’unju, the Mongol army invaded and laid siege to his fortress. When the attack of the enemy continued for many days, the water in the fortress dried out, and the soldiers were exhausted. Knowing that he was no longer able to defend the fortress, he died with his family by jumping into a fire that he had set. The following happened when Ch’oe Ch’unmyŏng of the Koryŏ dynasty became vice military commissioner of Chaju. Although the Mongol army laid siege to his fortress, it failed to capture the fortress because of the brave resistance of Ch’oe Ch’unmyŏng. Worried about the reprimand of Salita, the commander of the Mongol army, the king of Koryŏ sent a man to Ch’oe Ch’unmyŏng with the purpose of making him surrender to the Mongols, but Ch’oe closed the gate and made no answer to the king’s order. When the king also ordered the generals of the Three Armies to surrender to the Mongols, Lord Hoean Chŏng sent a general named Tae Chipsŏng to persuade Ch’oe to surrender. Sitting on the rampart of the fortress, Ch’oe replied through his man, “The people inside the fortress do not know who Lord Hoean is.” When Tae Chipsŏng tried to enter the gate, Ch’oe ordered his guards to discharge arrows at him. Tae Chipsŏng ran away and made a report to Ch’oe I, the military ruler of the time, accusing Ch’oe of disregarding his orders. As a result, Ch’oe Ch’unmyŏng was faced with punishment by death in no time, but his language and facial expression showed no change at all. Observing Ch’oe’s conduct, the Mongols said to the officials of Koryŏ, “Although this man fought against us, he is a loyal subject to your country. Would it be right for you to kill such a loyal subject who successfully defended the fortress even under circumstances in which we are reluctant to take his life?” Then they asked for his release. Later Ch’oe Ch’unmyŏng was given the first place in the evaluation of merits and achievements.

181. Unknown. 182. An official during the reign of Kojong. 183. The district surrounding Ch’ŏlwŏn and nearby areas in Kangwŏn Province during the Koryŏ period. 184. A member of the Koryŏ royal family. He married Princess Kyŏngyŏng, the daughter of King Sinjong, and was invested with the title of Lord Hoean. In the process of negotiating peace with the Mongols, he took charge of entertaining Salita, the commander of the Mongol army.

Administration of Military Affairs

647

Sin Myŏn served concurrently as governor of Hamgyŏng Province and magistrate of Hamhŭng. Yi Siae and his followers raised an army and surrounded the yamen, intending to kill Governor Sin. Knowing that he was unable to survive, Sin went up to the turret of the fortress, carry ing his bow and arrows. He shot down four rebels but eventually ran out of arrows. Then he broke his bow and died cursing the enemy. The following happened when Song Sanghyŏn was magistrate of Tongnae. In the fourth lunar month of Imjin year [1592] of Wanli, the Japanese invaded and captured Pusan. Yi Kak, provincial military commander of Left Kyŏngsang Province, entered Tongnae when Pusan was captured. Yi Kak established his camp at Sosan Post Station in order to avoid the brunt of the enemy attack. Magistrate Song asked Yi to stay on and defend Tongnae, but Yi refused Song’s request. On the fifteenth day of the fourth lunar month the Japanese army approached the fortress of Tongnae. Magistrate Song stood on top of the south gate and encouraged his men to fight, but the fortress fell into the hands of the enemy in less than half a day. He died sitting straight on his chair when he was struck by the sword of the enemy. As a token of respect for Song’s high spirit and patriotism, the Japanese placed his dead body in a coffin and buried it outside the fortress, marking his name on a wooden sign. When Chŏng Pal was appointed garrison commander of Pusan and was about to depart for his new post, he bade farewell to his old mother with tears. He said, “The reason that your son sought an office in the government was originally to serve you. However, I became a subject of the king and have to die for the country. Since I am not capable of carry ing out my two duties simultaneously, I beseech you, dear mother, not to worry about your son.” Concealing her tears, his mother comforted and admonished him, “Do not worry about me and leave in peace. Why should I be sorry if you become a loyal subject?” He knelt down to receive the words from his mother and said to his wife next to him, “Please serve my mother as if I were with you.” The people around Chŏng all shed tears. 185. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. He was the son of Sin Sukju, a famous scholarofficial and chief state councilor during the reign of King Sejo. 186. A member of a powerful local family in the northern border, he was appointed third deputy commander (hogun) due to the government policy of pacifying the complaints of the region. Later he served as garrison commander of Kyŏnghŭng and magistrate of Hoeryŏng. However, as King Sejo reinforced the centralized system of government, he felt threatened and rose in rebellion in 1467, killing Kang Hyomun, provincial military commander of Hamgyŏng Province. 187. He is famous for fleeing from the enemy at the start of the Japa nese invasion in 1592. Yu Sŏngnyong, The Book of Corrections (Chingbirok), 46–47. 188. His courtesy name was Chago, and his pen name Paegun. He was posthumously promoted to fourth state councilor and granted the title of Ch’ungjang.

648

book VIII

After taking his office at the garrison of Pusan, he worked from early in the morning till late at night on the preparations for defense against the enemy. He had a son named Hŭn. His son had followed him to his post when he took office. On the third day of the fourth lunar month of Imjin year he held a banquet in Manghaeru Pavilion, which overlooked the sea. After some time had passed during the banquet, Chŏng called his son and said, “Today you and I should bid farewell to each other. Take your leave now and hurry unless you run into a misfortune.” His son said, crying, “How can I return and leave you alone here?” Chŏng said, “It is not profitable that both father and son should die together. You go back and serve my mother, as well as yours.” Then he shouted at his servant to put his son on a horse and take him away. On the fourteenth day of the same month Chŏng went out to the sea for inspection and found that it was already fi lled with Japanese enemies. With only three battle boats that were available he fought, on the one hand, and withdrew, on the other hand. Back at his garrison he set fire to the houses outside the fortress for a strategic purpose and at the same time dispatched a man to request relief. That night the sky was clear without a speck of cloud, and the moonlight was bright like day. Resting on his sword in the turret of the fortress, he had a blind musician play a bamboo flute, which made the atmosphere relaxed and leisurely like in ordinary days, preventing the soldiers and people from becoming agitated. The following day the enemy started attacking, climbing the wall of the fortress. So the power generated from clashing swords extended far to the sky, and the earth was shaken by the sound of gunfire. Leading his aides, he inspected the scenes of battle and encouraged the soldiers to fight harder. His soldiers shot down the enemy troops, and the pile of their dead bodies was high like mountains. However, they ran out of arrows around noon. An aide said to Chŏng, “Why do we not go out of the fortress and wait for relief?” Chŏng replied, “I will become a ghost of this fortress. If anyone suggests abandoning the fortress once again, I will behead him.” He also said to the soldiers, “I will not stop you if you want to leave.” The soldiers who heard his words shed tears, and none of them dared to leave. He was shot by the enemy, and the fortress finally collapsed (Collected Works of Yakch’ŏn). When Kim Simin became magistrate of Chinju, the Japanese invasion of Imjin year [1592] broke out, but the enemy failed to capture Chinju because Kim did a good job of fortifying the strongholds and fighting well against the enemy. In the sixth lunar month of the following year the Japa nese army returned and 189. Yakch’ŏnjip, written by Nam Kuman, chief state councilor during the reign of Sukjong. Yakch’ŏn was his pen name. 190. When the Imjin War broke out, a massive Japa nese army attacked Chinju, which Kim was in charge of, and the battle continued for eight days (Yu Sŏngnyong, The Book of Corrections, 185). Although he repelled the enemy against all odds, he died in this battle.

Administration of Military Affairs

649

laid siege to the fortress of Chinju once again. Th is time the fortress collapsed in only eight days. Magistrate Sŏ Yewŏn, Administrative Assistant Sŏng Sugyŏng, Leader of Righteous Army Kim Ch’ŏnil, Provincial Military Commander of Kyŏngsang Province Ch’oe Kyŏnghoe, Provincial Military Commander of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province Hwang Chin, Commander of Revenging Righteous Army Ko Chonghu, and others all died in that battle. The soldiers and civilians who died in the battle amounted to sixty thousand, and even animals and livestock like cows, horses, chickens, and dogs were completely massacred. The Japanese enemy destroyed the fortress, fi lled up the moats and wells, and cut down every single tree that they found as a way of taking revenge for their former defeat. That day was the twenty-eighth day of the sixth lunar month. This time there was no relief from outside, and the army led by Kim Ch’ŏnil was entirely made up of nonentities gathered in the streets of Seoul. Furthermore, Kim Ch’ŏnil and Sŏ Yewŏn personally disliked each other. So the guest and the host, out of their jealousy and animosity, led the armies in their own ways, which was fatal to the success of their war efforts. Kim Ch’ŏnil, Ch’oe Kyŏnghoe, and Hwang Chin wrote poems when their death was imminent. “Three warriors under Ch’oksŏngnu Pavilion, after having a drink, point at the river and laugh. Since the river flows since time immemorial, their spirits will also never cease to be.” Later Sin Yuhan  wrote a poem on them: “It is the three warriors in Heaven and on Earth who repaid the king’s

191. When the Imjin War broke out, he fought as magistrate of Kimhae. The following year he was appointed magistrate of Chinju and died in battle in the second attack of the Japa nese army. 192. Assistant magistrate of Chinju during the Imjin War, he died in battle along with Righteous Army leaders, including Ko Kyŏngmyŏng and Kim Ch’ŏnil. 193. He raised a righteous army at the early stage of the Japa nese invasion. “However, being a scholar, his military achievement fell somewhat short of the great expectations held by the court. According to the Veritable Record, King Sŏnjo and his officials were often frustrated by the lack of his military leadership as well as action.” Yu Sŏngnyong, The Book of Corrections, 143. 194. A military official and a war hero during the Japa nese invasion. During the war he led the army of Kyŏngsang Province. When the fortress of Chinju collapsed, he committed suicide by throwing himself into the Namgang River. 195. A patriot and war hero during the Japa nese invasion. He was the son of Ko Kyŏngmyŏng, a renowned leader of the Righteous Army and a poet. After passing the civil ser vice examination, he joined his father in the military campaign against the Japa nese army. When his father passed away in the battle of Kŭmsan, he raised a righteous army in his hometown, which he named Avenging Army, and died in the battle of Chinju. 196. According to Collected Works of Hakbong (Hakbongjip), this poem was the work of Hakbong himself. Hakbong was a pen name of Kim Sŏngil. 197. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He was renowned as a poet. He traveled to Japan as a member of a Korean embassy and, upon returning to Korea, wrote a travelogue titled The Record of Sea Voyage (Haeyurok).

650

book VIII

grace with their death, and it is the pavilion throughout the whole country that holds the steps of passing travelers.” Magistrate Kwak Chun of Anŭm went into Hwangsŏk Mountain Fortress in Chŏngyu year [1597] of Wanli when the Japanese invaded again with a massive army. At that time Kwak Chaeu, leader of the Righteous Army, entered Hwawang Mountain Fortress in Ch’angnyŏng and was determined to defend the fortress until his death. Observing that Hwawang Mountain Fortress was too rugged to attack and the people within were calm and showed no agitation, the Japanese simply passed by it without attacking. Instead, they attacked the nearby Hwangsŏk Mountain Fortress. When Hwangsŏk Mountain Fortress fell into the hands of the enemy, Kwak Chun died with his two sons, Isang and Ihu, and his daughter, who had been married to Yu Munho, also died with her husband. Cho Chongdo, former magistrate of Hamyang, used to say, “Being an official who once served in the government, I cannot die in the grass with those who ran for their lives. If I have to die, I will die like a man.” Then he went into Hwangsŏk Mountain Fortress, leading his family. There he wrote a poem as follows: If it were outside Kongdong Mountain, life would be a pleasure, But inside the fortress of Xunyuan, death would be a glory.

When the enemy overran the fortress, Cho was killed along with Kwak Chun. The following happened when Chŏng Si served as magistrate of Kasan. In the winter of Sinmi year [1811] of Jiaqing, a local bandit named Hong Kyŏngnae revolted along with Yi Hŭijŏ and others and raised a rebel army. When this hap-

198. “In 1594, he was appointed the district magistrate of Anŭm and defended Hwangsŏk Mountain Fortress, a strategic point leading to the Chŏlla region. He fought with the army led by Katō Kiyomasa and died in battle with his two sons and a daughter who married Yu Munho.” Yu Sŏngnyong, The Book of Corrections, 205. 199. A famous righteous army leader. His courtesy name was Kyesu, and his pen name Mang’udang. An outstanding military strategist, he defeated the Japa nese forces on numerous occasions during the Imjin War. Later, he served as magistrate of Chinju, as provincial military commander of Kyŏngsang Province and of Chŏlla Province, and as magistrate of Kyŏngju, and was granted a posthumous title of Ch’ungik. 200. Kwak Chun’s son-in-law. 201. His courtesy name was Paegyu, and his pen name Taesohŏn. 202. Kongdong Mountain is one of the most famous mountains in Gansu Province in the west of China. According to a legend, Huangdi, the mythical emperor, stayed on this mountain temporarily. Therefore, King Sŏnjo, who took refuge in the north, is Huangdi in a symbolic sense. Xunyuan is the place where Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty took refuge during An Lushan’s rebellion. Zhang Xun and Xu Yuan, who were loyal to the emperor, died here defending their emperor. 203. A military official during the reign of Chŏngjo.

Administration of Military Affairs

651

pened, all the clerks and guards in the yamen of the district were in collusion with the enemy. One of the attending entertaining girls told this to Magistrate Chŏng so that he might escape the danger before it was too late. However, Magistrate Chŏng replied, “Because I am a subject obligated to defend the district, I cannot leave.” Realizing that the enemy had already arrived, he sat up straight, lighting a candle, and next to him there was only the entertaining girl. The enemy leader immediately came up to the main hall where the magistrate was and ordered one of his men to pull him down to receive the surrender from him. However, Magistrate Chŏng reproached the enemy without yielding and finally died at their hands. His father and brother also died with him. Governor Chŏng Mansŏk wrote an elegy: How noble the father and his two sons are, who defended the everlasting three bonds and five relations with their lives! One man stood tall in a situation in which five districts were swept away by the storm.

When the heroic deaths of Chŏng and his family were reported to the king, Chŏng was posthumously promoted to the rank of minister of war, which was very unusual. He was a descendant of Chŏng Ku. Quite contrastingly, Kim Iksun, magistrate of Sŏnch’ŏn at that time, surrendered to the rebels. When the enemy appointed him a military officer of their own, Kim dressed himself in military uniform and presented his name tag to them. Kim was eventually arrested and executed. While the magistrates of several other districts either escaped to the mountains or were captured and imprisoned, only the magistrate of Kasan insisted on staying where he belonged and kept his honor. When the King Arrives in the Local District to Take Refuge, Demonstrating His Loyalty by Offering the Local Products to the King Will Also Be Laudable Conduct Befitting the Office of the Magistrate, Whose Duty Is to Defend the District. When Kim Ŭnbu of the Koryŏ dynasty was provincial military commander of Kongju, King Hyŏnjong came down to the south to flee from the Khitans who 204. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. He was executed for surrendering to the rebels led by Hong Kyŏngnae. He was the grandfather of Kim Pyŏngyŏn, a famous wandering poet who was better known as Kim Satgat. When he took the state examination, he unknowingly condemned his grandfather’s traitorous conduct. Although he passed the examination, he was deeply ashamed of what he had done in ignorance and became a wandering poet after abandoning all his worldly ambition. 205. He also offered his three daughters to King Hyŏnjong, and they became Queen Wŏnsŏng, Queen Wŏnhye, and Queen Wŏnp’yŏng, respectively. He served as minister of taxation.

652

book VIII

had invaded the country. Observing due propriety as a subject, Kim went out to the suburbs to greet the king and presented clothes and belts, as well as other items locally produced. When the king arrived at P’asan Post Station, the people working in the station had all run away, and there was no one who could serve a meal to the king. Kim Ŭnbu, therefore, prepared food for the king and served it in the morning and evening. Ch’oe Chae of the Koryŏ dynasty was magistrate of Sangju during the reign of King Kongmin. In Sinch’uk year [1361] the king came down to the south to escape from a disturbance. When the king visited Sangju in the spring of the following year, Ch’oe did his best to serve the king, but without causing damage to the common people. On the other hand, he did not offer anything to the high officials attending the king, so those who failed to get what they had requested thought ill of him. The following happened when Chŏng Ku was magistrate of T’ongch’ŏn. When the invading Japanese army advanced far to the north, the king moved from P’yŏngyang to Kasan County. At that time the tribute sent from various provinces to the king and his royal household was completely cut off. Only the district of T’ongch’ŏn sent a man and presented tribute to the king. Sometime earlier the royal carriage arrived at Tongp’a Post Station during the night. Magistrate Hŏ Chin of P’aju and Magistrate Ku Hyoyŏn of Changdan happened to stay there as officials requisitioned to entertain Ming envoys and set up a temporary kitchen for the king. However, the starving people who had escorted the king all day long without having food rushed into the kitchen and ate up all the food prepared for the king. Shocked and scared, Hŏ Chin and Ku Hyoyŏn ran away. In the morning of the lunar New Year’s Day of Chŏngch’uk year [1637] the Qing army was stationed at Samjŏndo. Within the fortress surrounded by the enemy, Hŏ Ho, magistrate of Kwangju, made rice cakes and offered them to the king and the ministers around him. They all shed tears, holding rice cakes in their hands.

206. His courtesy name was Chaeji, and his posthumous title Munjŏng. 207. The Red Turban bandits from China invaded the Koryŏ kingdom on two occasions during Kongmin’s reign, in 1359 and 1361. 208. He also served as second magistrate of Hansŏngbu (Seoul) and second minister of works. He was reported to be one of the officials who first ran away during the second Japa nese invasion of Korea (1597). 209. He also served as magistrate of Hoengsŏng. 210. The Book of Corrections (Chingbirok), 75. 211. Unknown.

Administration of Military Affairs

653

In Districts Distant from the Harms of War, It Is Also the Duty of the Magistrate to Save Goods by Pacifying the People and to Secure Military Supplies by Exhorting Them to Exert Themselves in Agriculture. When a war breaks out, only a certain area is affected, and not every part of the country is thrown into conflict, no matter how fierce the battle may be. In the districts to which the harms of the war do not extend, the magistrate should make efforts to reassure the people so that they may stay where they belong. If the magistrate allows his people to be scared and scatter in all directions without taking any action, from where can the areas affected by the war draw their support? If the magistrate persuades the people to settle down, save goods, and work hard on agriculture to produce the supplies for defense, his ser vice will be no less valuable that that of those who personally risk arrows and stones in battle. If the situation appears to be dangerous and the impact of the war is imminent, the magistrate should work on fortifications, digging trenches to make moats and repairing weapons and armor, which are indispensable for defense. If the fortress of the district is too low and wide for it to be defended effectively against enemy attack, he should build many strongholds after finding rugged places in the mountains and reservoirs while preparing wooden poles and rocks to repel the enemy if they climb the fortress wall. Furthermore, he should reserve sufficient provisions after clearing farm fields. On the other hand, the people living in the fortifications should be allowed to come down from the mountains to engage in farming. If scouts are placed far from the farmers in the field, there will be enough time to prepare for an enemy attack; if there is no enemy attack, the people can make their living in safety, which is good. Whether or not an enemy attack takes place, therefore, it will be advisable to have such an arrangement. If the people abandon their homes to hide in the mountains or run away to the sea, they will all die on the road after losing the basis of their livelihood. The magistrate should explain the risk of running away to the people and admonish them not to agitate lightly. Since the details on this subject will be further discussed in the third volume of my book titled Treatise on the People’s Self-Defense and Fortification Strategies [Minboŭi], I will refrain from repeating them here. The following happened when Kim I was magistrate of Changhŭng. When Hedan, a leader of Mongol rebels, invaded, the government of Koryŏ ordered 212. One of Tasan’s works, this deals with military defense on a local level during crises of foreign invasions or popu lar disturbances. 213. An official of the late Koryŏ period during the reign of Ch’ungsuk. 214. A leader of Mongol rebels who revolted in the area of Mobei during the Yuan dynasty. His army invaded the northeast border of Korea, crossed Ch’ŏllyŏng mountain pass, and captured

654

book VIII

all the provinces and counties to secure their strongholds and defend themselves against the invading enemy. Kim I made a request to Surveillance Commissioner Kang Ch’wi that the people be allowed to engage in agriculture. Kim said, “It is easy like chopping meat on a board for our heavenly army to suppress those little bandits. How can they come down to the region in the south? Besides, food is Heaven to the people. Since plowing and sowing have their designated time, we should not miss it.” Kang Ch’wi asked him, “What would you do if you are reprimanded for disobeying the government order?” Kim I withdrew and lamented: “If the people abandon farming, there will be starvation throughout the nation. If they follow the government order, many people will die of hunger. If they do not follow the government order and are engaged in agriculture, the one to be punished is only myself.” Then he made the people go out and work on their farms. The enemy was indeed suppressed by the time it arrived in Yŏngi. Changhŭng had a good harvest that year, while other districts had nothing to gather. When Hong Ch’ŏhu was magistrate of Chech’ŏn, a Qing army invaded. He ordered the people of his district not to do anything rash without taking proper precautions and established a defense strategy, selecting warriors who were strong and brave. At that time the people of other districts either ran away or were overrun by the enemy, which used iron horse cavalry as its vanguard. However, Chech’ŏn was never shaken. Hong Mujŏk, transport-control censor, visited Chech’ŏn and could not help admiring the good works accomplished by Hong Ch’ŏhu. Yangju. When this happened, King Ch’ungyŏl took refuge in Kanghwa Island and at the same time requested help from the Yuan government. As a result, the joint army of Koryŏ and Yuan defeated Hedan in a place called Yŏngi. 215. Unknown. 216. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Tŏkjae, and his pen name Hogam. He also served as minister of works. 217. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Myŏnsŏk, and his pen name Paeksŏk. He served as seventh state councilor.

IX

Administration of Justice

C H A P T E R  : T R I A L H E A R I NG S I

The Foundation of Trial Hearings Lies in Sincerity [Sŏngŭi], and the Foundation of Sincerity Lies in Watchfulness over Oneself When Alone [Sindok]. Doctrine of the Mean, quoting from Classic of Poetry, states, “Since it is said, ‘In silence is the offering presented, and the spirit approached; there is not the slightest contention [in any part of the ser vice],’ therefore, the people exhort what is good to each other even if there are no rewards from the superior man and are afraid of the superior man more than an ax and a fodder chopper.” Quoting the words of Confucius, Great Learning states, “In hearing lawsuits, I am like any other body. What is necessary, however, is to cause the people to have no

1. The notion of sincerity (sŏngŭi) is based on this passage from Great Learning: “Wishing to rectify their hearts, they first sought to be sincere in their thoughts. Wishing to be sincere in their thoughts, they first extended to the utmost their knowledge. Such extension of knowledge lay in the investigation of things.” Another reference can be found in Doctrine of the Mean: “He who attains to sincerity is he who chooses what is good and fi rmly holds it fast” (Legge, Confucius, 358). 2. The term sindok derives from Doctrine of the Mean: “There is nothing more visible than what is secret, and nothing more manifest that what is minute. Therefore, the superior man is watchful over himself when he is alone” (Legge, Confucius, 384). The word is also found in Great Learning (Legge, Confucius, 367). 3. “Liezu,” Sacrificial Odes of Shang. The translation is James Legge’s. 4. Doctrine of the Mean with Zhu Xi’s Commentary (Chungyong chipju), section 33. Translation is not available in English.

655

656

book IX

lawsuits.” Doctrine of the Mean first talks about watchfulness over oneself while he is alone, saying “Looking at yourself in your apartment, be there as free from shame as being exposed to the light of Heaven,” and then quotes a line from Classic of Poetry, “There is not the slightest contention.” Great Learning also discusses in detail the meaning of sincerity and the supreme good and then closes the discussion in relation to lawsuits. One can find, therefore, profound reasoning and mysterious meaning in the correspondence of these ideas. There is indeed a significant difference between trial hearings and making a litigation-free society. Trial hearings are the edification of the people through words and expressions. Making a litigation-free society, on the other hand, signifies enlightening the people with the “intelligent virtue, not loudly proclaimed nor portrayed.” Since the sage always keeps watchfulness over himself in mind and cultivates himself in sincerity, the people in his presence naturally both admire and fear him and dare not say lies to him. This is a very effective way of edifying the people. The people under Heaven are too numerous and multifarious to be persuaded individually or to contend with. Therefore, the way of the sage shows that the world becomes peaceful by itself if the ruler carries sincerity and reverence into practice, which means that only the virtue and self-cultivation of the ruler can save the people from the troubles of litigation. The Next Important Thing Is That the Magistrate Regulate His Own Conduct, Admonishing the People and Saving Them from Injustice. That Will Also Make Lawsuits Disappear. When Liu Kuang of the Sui dynasty was magistrate of Pingxiang, he achieved outstanding results in his administration. When he used arguments based on reason and justice to persuade those who brought lawsuits, the parties on both sides realized their mistakes and returned home in peace. Thus the grass in the yard of the district prison grew thick and tall enough to spread silk on it. When Gao Jiong recommended Liu, Liu was appointed prefect of Juzhou. The following happened when Zhang Yong governed Yizhou. When people brought lawsuits, submitting documents, Zhang promptly passed his judgment on the cases after investigating their truth and falsehood. Whenever he made his final decision, he always differentiated a law too severe for the actual circumstances of the case from a law too light for the gravity of the case, leaving records 5. Th is refers to Confucius’s remark in Analects (“Yan Yuan,” chapter 13, in Legge, Confucius, 257). 6. “Greater Odes of the Kingdom,” Shih King, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 392. 7. An official in Kaihuang’s reign (581–600). He earned a reputation for his benevolent administration. 8. A state councilor and merit subject during the reign of emperors Wen and Yang.

Administration of Justice

657

for future reference. The people of the Shu state collected the records Zhang Yong had made and published them under the title Collection of Admonitions to the People [Jieminji] because it was intended to cultivate good customs and promote fi lial piety and social justice. The following happened when Tian Duo was demoted to magistrate of Pengzhou. One day the prefect arrived at Pengzhou for inspection and found the district extremely quiet because there were no lawsuits at all. Wondering about that, he eventually found out that there were no people who suffered from injustice in the district of Pengzhou. Deeply impressed, the prefect recommended Tian Duo to the central government, which led to his promotion to assistant commissioner [qianshi] of Guangdong. Conducting Trial Hearings Quickly like Running Water Is Dangerous Because It Requires Talent. Being Careful in Conducting Trial Hearings Is Making Sure That Nothing Goes Wrong, and That Is a Proper Thing to Do. When the Magistrate Wants to Reduce Lawsuits, Therefore, He Usually Takes Time in Processing Them, and the Reason Is to Prevent the Same Type of Lawsuits from Recurring. The magistrate who lacks patience bases his decision solely on the documents on his desk, making little effort to investigate the causes of the matter related to the case. Even if he makes painstaking investigations, he will find that the case is too complicated to judge correctly. Nevertheless, he makes a quick decision, rejecting the opinion of his subordinates, and feels relieved that he has finished his job for the day. The job that the magistrate has carried out in that way may appear trivial to him, but it can be a matter of importance to the people who are involved in it. Therefore, the job of making a judicial decision is never fi nished unless he makes the right decision and has both of the two parties clearly understand which is right. Although retrial may not be possible because it concerns the authority of the magistrate, how can the complaints and resentment caused by a wrongful verdict simply go away? When one cuts down the grass without removing its roots underneath, it grows again every year. Likewise, the quarrels over an issue recur time and again unless they are dealt with clearly and decisively, and therefore, it happens that the lawsuits eventually become too complicated and out of control. Zheng Xuan stated: “It may appear to be nice if the way of conducting the trial is so speedy, like running water, that the papers on the desk can no longer be found, but such haste can produce mistakes nine times out of ten. Priority should 9. A book on local administration to which Tasan refers in his preface to Admonitions. 10. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhenzhi. He was known to have achieved great accomplishments while serving as a local administrator.

658

book IX

not be given to speed but to accuracy, minuteness, composure, and discretion, which are indispensable to the trial.” Hu Dachu stated: “When the magistrate fails to handle lawsuits properly, he is inundated with lawsuits. Every time he sees a new lawsuit, he finds nothing new in it because he has already dealt with it in many other cases. Nevertheless, the clerk in charge has to read the document, and the people involved in it should have troubles to prepare for it, which is a waste of time and energy. How can such a trial be compared with the firm and decisive, case-by-case conclusion of individual lawsuits?” Hu Dachu also stated: “If trial hearings are repeatedly postponed because of complexity or personal dislike and the pile of cases continues to increase, it is hard to deal with them properly even if the magistrate works hard. If the magistrate conducts trials on a daily basis, however, he will become easily tired because he has many other things that require his attention. Then it is more advisable to hold trials every two days, classifying them according to subdistricts. For instance, on the first day of the month he reviews the lawsuits of so-and-so subdistrict; on the third day, those of another subdistrict; and on the fift h, seventh, and ninth days, those of all different subdistricts without fail according to the schedule he made. It can also happen that some of the litigants, who presented suits when they were overwhelmed by intense personal feelings of the moment, withdraw their suits when they recover their presence of mind and make reconciliation with those they accused.” However, certain lawsuits can be very urgent and need speedy solution. In that case, holding trial hearings in the manner introduced above may not be advisable. Since the People Who Have No Access to the Magistrate Feel Oppressed, Those Who Want to Appeal to the Magistrate Should Be Allowed to See Him as if They Are Visiting Their Parents. Then the Magistrate Deserves to Be Praised. Hu Dachu stated: “Since the people regard their magistrate as Heaven that is far away and are afraid of him like a divinity, they have no access to the magistrate although they suffer injustice. Even if they are lucky enough to see the magistrate, the guards and clerks cut in front of them, threatening them with sticks. So those who are timid and weak feel dizzy and lose their courage to speak out. The magistrate, therefore, should keep the gate of the yamen wide open and allow the people to see him after clearing out the clerks. Seating the petitioner in his presence and making his expression mild, the magistrate should lead him to speak out what is on his mind by asking questions. In case this type of direct contact is not possible, he should install a gong outside the yamen so that petitioners can strike it whenever they feel desperate to appeal to the magistrate. If an arrange-

Administration of Justice

659

ment like this is made, there will be no problems in finding out the troubles of the people.” Mountain Man under the Purple Sky [Chahasanin] said: “The treatment of children’s illnesses, according to the book of medicine, is called pediatrics [agwa] because children are unable to explain even if they feel sick or itchy. In my observation, the people in the countryside cannot dare to speak out or appeal even if they suffer injustice because they fear that they may incur the wrath of powerful clerks or wicked aides of the magistrate. As a result, what the people say often appears to be ambiguous, if not absurd, and this is the first reason that they act like dummies. “In addition, the people in the countryside are either ignorant of the rules of law or do not know how to write, so they ask the instructor of the private academy in their village to draft their letters of complaint. But how can one expect the instructor in a small village to know about the public documents handled by the clerks? He enumerates only minor details and leaves out crucial facts and proofs. Since what he writes may sound sensible, but the way in which the details are expressed appears to be absurd, this is the second reason that they become dummies. “Even if a commoner is allowed to be in the yamen, he is too confused to explain after seeing the people beaten by government slaves. On the other hand, the person whom he sued is either a cunning clerk or a man of wealth and power, and all such men are eloquent in defending themselves. If his opponent laughs aloud and intimidates him, the man becomes absentminded, forgetting what he was about to say. This is the third reason that the people become dummies. “When I observed foolish people during the years when I was in office, they prostrated themselves, stretching their two legs as if they were ready for punishment, which reminded me of a toad floating on the water. I felt so sorry that I was unable to punish them. In short, trial hearings should be administered as if the people were little children who are unable to explain their illness, not with authority or compulsion.” Essays of Tasan stated: “The magistrate who both dislikes complexity and is ignorant of official duties uses only two characters, ‘Needs further investigation’ [sap’um], to settle the problems every time he receives a letter of complaint. Then he entrusts the case to the local yangban association or the clerk in charge or the head of the subdistrict or the lands superintendent [chŏngam]. It never occurs to him that the petitioner’s grievances are all related to the tricks carried out by these people. Although their names are not mentioned in the letter of complaint, 11. It is not clear to whom Mountain Man refers; it is probably a fictitious pen name of Tasan himself. 12. The word a (ၬ) signifies “dumb.”

660

book IX

they are all involved in one way or another. Their names are not included in it because the petitioner is afraid of their power and influence. If the magistrate indeed looks into the case, he will find that some of them deserve the punishment of whipping or lashing or repayment. If the magistrate nevertheless orders these people to take care of the petitions that concern their own interests, how absurd it is! If a child chased by a tiger jumps into the bosom of its parent, and the parent throws the child back into the mouth of the tiger, who will say that the parent is benevolent? How can the magistrate’s words, ‘Needs further investigation,’ be different from such cruelty?” A man is generally good at seeing but not at hearing. Since trial hearings are held in a noisy and crowded place, there is a problem with hearing the case. The magistrate usually makes the clerk read the letters of complaint, but this is very problematic. When a petitioner prepares his letter of complaint, he has to depend on the help of others to express his grievances, but when the clerk reads the letter of complaint, he skips over the essential parts and reads only the conclusion. Even if the magistrate is as intelligent as God, how can he distinguish right from wrong after listening only to the conclusion? The magistrate must take time and personally examine each case. If the cases are similar, it will be sufficient to read only the last part of the letter of complaint; however, if the cases are new and peculiar, he should read the whole account in detail. If cross-examination is necessary, he should conduct cross-examination; if a summary decision is required, he should make a clear judgment based on reason and justice. If further investigation is needed, he should put the case aside until the trial of other cases is finished and then start the investigation. The rule requiring the clerk to read the letter of complaint must be abolished. When Han Weigong governed Damingfu, the pile of legal documents and letters of complaint requiring his attention was extremely heavy; however, he personally read them all, regardless of their gravity. Even when he was sick, he made the parties to the lawsuit come in and state their cases and passed his verdict lying on his bed. When someone advised him to try to reduce his work by entrusting it to the care of his subordinates, Han replied, “Since the letters of complaint of the concerned parties are in the government office, they are matters of importance to them. Since whether they live or die, or whether they keep or lose their property, depends solely on a word of mine, how can I not be attentive to them? Even if I personally work on them, I am afraid that the work may be incomplete. How, then, can I entrust such work to others?” When Wang Daiju of the Song dynasty governed Chuzhou, he looked after the people, taking their circumstances into consideration. If people sued each 13. His courtesy name was Huaizhong. He served as magistrate of Chuzhou during the years of Shaoxing (1132–1162).

Administration of Justice

661

other, he let them come to see him and discriminated right from wrong, never entrusting the case to his clerk. The people wrote a poem in praise of their magistrate: “The government office is quiet like a temple, and the clerks are at leisure like private citizens.” When Tang Kui was appointed magistrate of Xinchang, he administered criminal justice by taking people’s circumstances into consideration. As a result, within two or three months after his inauguration, the accumulated papers in the office disappeared, and all the clerks had to take shoemaking for their living. There were no guards at the gate of the yamen, and those who had business in the government office were allowed to enter the yamen with no restriction, but no one violated the law. Even if there were persons who did wrong in their lawsuits, the punishment for them was very light, not exceeding a few lashes and some words of admonition. When Tang Kui decreased the workload and reduced expenditures, the cunning tricks became cleared out, and a majority of the clerks, [those] who were tired of hunger, resigned from their office. If There Is Anyone Who Rushes to Bring a Charge, the Magistrate Should Not Take His Words as They Are Reported; He Had Better Take Time and Find Out the Truth. Zheng Xuan stated: “When an incident is made into a lawsuit, it is often exaggerated. When a person was assaulted, he says that he was murdered; when a lady was involved in quarrels over property, she says that she was violated; if a person went into another man’s house, the other man says that he stole property; if a person trespassed on another man’s graveyard, the other man will say that he excavated the corpse out of the tomb. In a man’s letter of complaint, consequently, the names of the father and sons and brothers of the accused, as well as the members of some other families who have nothing to do with the lawsuit, are all included because of personal animosity. Then the ones whose names are included in the suit are summoned to the court until they are cleared of the charges against them, wasting money and suffering humiliation. If anyone is malicious enough to present such litigation, the magistrate must make sure that the petitioner is strictly punished with the penalty for false accusation if he is proved guilty upon investigation. Even if the plea of the litigator can be quite surprising, the magistrate should not trust it, listening only to one party. Without discussing or judging the case, he will only say, “Since I intend to have a cross-examination based on the letters of complaint presented by you, nothing should be added to them.” The magistrate who is not sophisticated, as I have observed, delivers his judgment very fast, saying rather tediously that A is right and B is wrong, when A brings a charge against B. The next time, when B brings a charge against A, he reverses his previous

662

book IX

verdict, reprimanding A for his wrongdoing. When he continues to reverse his opinions unpredictably, which resemble the boiled skin of roe deer or angry toads engaged in wrestling, the sound of scoffing will overflow the whole village. This is definitely a thing that the magistrate should avoid. Zheng Xuan said, “The time for delivering the sentence needs to be delayed a little. Some of the litigants who present suits in a fit of anger can withdraw their suits when they recover their presence of mind and can fail to appear at the court after making reconciliation with those they accused. This is also an important way of handling the hearings.” In my observation, this approach is a mysterious way to make things work out. When a man brings a suit for being assaulted in a fight, the magistrate gives an instruction as follows: “The village where the violence took place must hold the assailant for trial. A cross-examination of both parties will be held in ten days.” Probably no one will show up. Even if the incident of violence took place, it is never too late to deal with it; even if the incident involves homicide, there is nothing to worry about as long as the village keeps the assailant in captivity. When Lu Jiuyuan was sitting with his aides in the evening, a clerk came in and reported that there was an old man who had brought a suit in an emergency. Magistrate Lu personally interrogated the old man about what had happened but was unable to understand what he said because he was all trembling and mumbling. When he ordered the clerk to draft the letter of complaint, he found out that the complaint was that the old man’s son had died of violence committed by one of the military functionaries in the yamen. The magistrate ordered that the suit be brought to him the following day, and his aides appeared to be puzzled by the decision. He said to his aides, “Do you not see that this complaint was made too hastily?” In the early morning of the following day an investigation was made of the son of the old man, and they found that there was indeed no problem with him. The following happened when Zhao Yu was prefect of Songjiang. Every time he saw litigators, he persuaded them to come to see him the following day unless their suits were really urgent. At first everyone laughed at him, and a song ridiculing him was even circulated among the villagers, which went, “Prefect of Songjiang the following day.” They did not realize that lawsuits are often made in a fit of anger, and the anger either evaporates overnight or people try to keep the litigators from taking legal action. If Zhao Yu’s approach is compared with that of

14. The skin of roe deer becomes elastic when it is boiled, and toads engaged in wrestling are tossed and rolled. 15. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Dingsu.

Administration of Justice

663

those who try to make their names by using fishhooks [gouju], what a great difference there is between them! When Liu Ju was magistrate of Yongqiu, he edified the people with propriety and humility. When there was a man of the people who brought a lawsuit, Liu Ju gently talked to him, holding the man’s ears with his hands. He said that his anger would soon die down, and the government office could not be drawn into his personal feelings of the moment. Then he told the man to go home and think again. The people engaged in litigation were deeply impressed. The following happened when Tao Chengxue was prefect of Huizhou. When there was a man who liked bringing lawsuits, hating to be second to anyone, he gently persuaded him face-to-face, saying, “The suit that you brought is a trivial thing. Why do you try to draw the government into it? I want you to go back home and consult the elders in your family. If you are still unable to overcome what is in you, then you come back again.” Then nine out of ten withdrew and never returned. Tao was so speedy in judging cases that there were no letters of complaint in his office that were delayed, and when a criminal case from a subdistrict was presented to him, he finished its trial before half a sheng of grain was ground. As a result, he was called by his nickname, “Prefect of Half a Sheng” [“Bansheng Taishou”]. He received letters of complaint twice a month. At first, when the designated day arrived, several hundred people crowded in; after two years their number was reduced to only a few, and eventually it happened that no one showed up. The restaurants in front of the yamen all disappeared, and the streets became deserted. Since Judging an Imprisonment Case in a Word as if Inspired by a Divine Spirit Is a Special Talent Characteristic of Genius, It Is Not the Kind of Thing That Common People Should Try to Imitate. The following happened when Zhu Bo became prefect of Jizhou. He was originally a military official and therefore had no experience in judicial matters. However, when he governed his district, hundreds of people, including clerks, blocked his way and appealed to him. Making his carriage stop for a while, he adjudicated four or five hundred cases in an hour, and the way in which he

16. This indicates taking advantage of an opponent’s weak points for prosecution. Zhao Guanghan of the Han dynasty was famous for using this method when he served as metropolitan governor. 17. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Shufang. He served as director of the Imperial Secretariat. 18. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zishu, and his posthumous title Gonghui. He served as provincial administration commissioner of Henan and as minister of rites of Nanjing.

664

book IX

handled them was awesome, like that of a god. The people were greatly surprised, never expecting that their new prefect would be brilliant like that. When Pei Du became administrator of Jizhou, he ordered a few clerks to bring a bundle of papers and settled lawsuits in a short time. The people said that his performance was like a thunderbolt. The following happened when Du Yan, Lord Qiguo, served as magistrate of Pingkang. When he traveled to other districts on official business, the people of his district did not want to have their trials while their magistrate was absent. They just waited for him to return. The following happened when Sheng Yong governed the district of Shulu. Since he avoided using laws on penal affairs and tried to enlighten the litigators by reasonableness, the litigators never argued again, bowing their heads. When the neighboring districts asked him to judge the lawsuits that they had been unable to resolve for years, he delivered his verdict on them in a word or two, and they all accepted his judgment in their hearts. So the people said, “Since Sheng Yong governs our district, its cleanness is like water, and its brightness is like a mirror.” There was a wasteland on the outskirts of the district, and people gathered to dwell in it, establishing a market. They called the place “Qingguandian,” a village whose prosperity is owed to a benevolent official. The following happened when Zhang Chun became magistrate of Yongkang. The place he was in charge of had a large population of clerks, and because of their wickedness and cunning, seven magistrates in a row had been dismissed. Arriving at his post, Zhang Chun read the papers involving lawsuits day and night and delivered his judgments on several thousand cases. The clerks, who were surprised and impressed by his ability and performance, submitted themselves to their new magistrate, which resulted in the reduction of lawsuits. When a man presented a lawsuit, Zhang told him the dates for trial and verdict, and if the two parties appeared in the court, he issued his decision without delay. He was so fast in dealing with lawsuits that the people in his district said that their magistrate could finish a trial within the time required for wrapping a meal [yibao]. So he acquired a nickname, Zhang Yibao, which indicated that his alertness and resoluteness were similar to those of Bao Zheng. The following happened when Wu Cou served as metropolitan governor. Whenever there were cases too complicated to deal with, his clerks deliberately

19. An official of the Ming dynasty. He also served as provincial administration commissioner of Shanxi and as right vice minister of the Ministry of Punishments. 20. An official and a renowned Confucian scholar of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongfu. 21. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Cheng. He served as metropolitan governor and minister of war.

Administration of Justice

665

waited for a time when the governor was about to leave the office to present those cases. They did this to avoid reproaches from him. Even if he was given only a few minutes, however, he discovered the cunning and wicked without fail and gave his verdict according to what he judged best. When his clerk made a mistake, he did not order lashing for punishment unless the mistake was very serious, and when he reproached the clerks, he was even more cautious and stern. The following happened when Yi Ch’angjŏng was magistrate of ŭnyul. Governor Ch’oe Tongnip, who was not on good terms with Yi, assigned dozens of difficult lawsuits to the district of ŭnyul. However, Yi disposed of those lawsuits so fast that a wind was almost made out of the litigation papers. Then the governor ordered Yi to make a provincial record of tribute and revenues. Again Yi finished the job in no time, having a clerk next to him and dictating the figures. Amazed by Magistrate Yi’s ability, Governor Ch’oe submitted a special report to  the government requesting a reward for the magistrate. In the report he said, “Yi’s talent for administration can be compared with that of Gong Sui and Huang Ba.” The following happened when Yi T’aeyŏn governed Kongju. The population of Kongju at that time was no less than twenty thousand households, but Yi did not forget the name of an individual, as well as his age and the village he belonged to, although he had met him only once. Although he had a thick pile of paperwork to handle because of the work concerning the neighboring districts in the southwest, he did not lose his humor in managing it, and his office was always orderly and under little pressure for work. Since Litigation That Involves Issues of Family Relations Has Implications for the Way of Heaven, the Final Verdict Must Be Both Definite and Clear. The following happened when Huang Ba was magistrate of Yingchuan. Two brothers lived together in the house of a rich man, and their wives became pregnant at almost the same time. The wife of the elder brother, however, had a miscarriage and concealed it from others. When her sister-in-law finally gave birth to a male child, she stole the newborn child and argued that it was her own, and the legal battle on this issue was prolonged for three years. Huang Ba ordered his man to bring him the child and had the two women take away their child. The elder sister-in-law pulled the child roughly, while the younger sister-in-law was worried that her child might get hurt during the scuffle, and she looked pitiable. After making observations, Huang Ba reproached the elder one. He said, “Since

22. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Tagi, and his pen name Haengwŏn. He served as transport-control censor (togun ŏsa) and governor of Hwanghae Province.

666

book IX

you want the child for the purpose of gaining the property of the family, how can you be gentle to the baby?” Then he ordered her to be punished. This weird thing happened because at that time the law of establishing the family line was not like ours. The following happened when Guo Chong was prefect of Jiangxi. A man named Gou Tai, a resident of Shouchun District, had a son, but his son was taken away by a bandit when he was three years old. Gou was unaware of his son’s whereabouts for several years but finally discovered that he was living in the house of a man named Zhao Fengbo, a resident of the same district. Each of the two houses claimed that the child was its own, producing its own witnesses, and the government had difficulty deciding the case. Guo Chong ordered that the two alleged fathers and the child be confined in separate places, and when twenty or thirty days had passed, he said to the two fathers, “Your child unfortunately fell sick and suddenly died yesterday.” Upon hearing the news, Gou Tai mourned the death of his child, crying aloud. Zhao Fengbo, on the other hand, only let out a sigh. Guo Chong finally gave the child to Gou Tai, and Zhao Fengbo confessed his crime. The following happened when Cheng Mingdao was magistrate of Jincheng. A rich man whose family name was Zhang died, and he had a son. Not long after the rich man Zhang died, an old man visited Zhang’s son at the house and said to him, “I am your father.” Greatly surprised by that claim, the son went to the government office and requested that Magistrate Cheng verify the truth of the stranger’s claim. The old man said, “While I left home in order to make a living and worked in a distant place as a doctor, my wife delivered a baby. At that time I was too poor to raise a child, so I gave it to Zhang. On a certain day of a certain month and a certain year someone delivered my child.” Magistrate Cheng asked, “How do you remember the details so well?” The old man replied, “I wrote them down in my medicine book.” The magistrate ordered that the book be brought to him and found in it a record that said, “On a certain day of a certain month and a certain year a man named so-and-so delivered a baby to an old man named Zhang so-and-so.” The magistrate asked Zhang’s son his age, and he replied that he was thirty-six years old. Then he asked him again the age of his father, and the son replied that his father was seventy-six at the time of his death. Now the magistrate said to the old man who claimed to be the real father, “When this son was born, his father was only forty years old. Is it possible that the people called him an old man?” The old man was greatly surprised and finally confessed his crime. The following happened when Han Yi governed Yangzhou. Education Official [daxiao] Li Shen was known as a rich man in his village. However, he slandered 23. An official of the Later Tang dynasty. He served as chief capital inspector and director of the Secretariat.

Administration of Justice

667

his nephew for being not the real son of his elder brother and hired an old woman in his village for his purpose. He had the old woman bribe a man whose face resembled that of his nephew so that the man could insist that Li’s nephew was his own son. He also hired another rascal to rape his sister-in-law and seized all her property, including a dressing table and jewelry. When her nephew on her maternal side filed a suit against Li Shen, Li bribed the clerks in the yamen and made the suit into a false accusation, so her nephew was punished by lashing and withdrew. After ten years had passed and Han Yi became the new magistrate, the same suit was filed once again. Knowing that the case had been unfairly tried, Han Yi closely reviewed the documents concerning the case, and in the process he discovered that the midwife who had delivered the child had never been called to testify at the trial. One day Han Yi ordered Li Shen and all his collaborators to assemble in the yard and showed the midwife to them for her testimony. As a result, Li Shen’s gang was brought to justice, and the mother and her son were reunited. Yi Pŏm, a resident of Yŏnggwang, fi led a suit as follows: “In the later years of my life I had a son and a daughter. However, my illegitimate son, named Yugi, claims that my children are not born of my legally wedded wife but of female servants. I ask you to punish my illegitimate son Yugi.” The magistrate interrogated Yugi, and the latter said, “I personally saw my father’s lawful wife secretly bringing the children of her female servant to the house.” Since the case remained unresolved for a long time, the king ordered his court to discuss the case. Second Minister without Portfolio Min Chinwŏn stated as follows: “According to the letter of complaint submitted by Yi Pŏm, his wife was unable to produce a child for seventeen years, and then, at the age of fift y-one she gave birth to a daughter and at the age of fift y-two to a son in a row. Yellow Emperor’s Plain Questions [Huangdi suwen] states that women in general stop childbirth when the negative elements in their bodies become dry and the physiological flow in their body is interrupted when they arrive at the period of 7.7. The number 7.7 indicates forty-nine years of age. Once in a while there are women who become pregnant at the age of forty-nine and give birth to a child at the age of fi ft y, but it is very rare that they have a child after fift y. Furthermore, Yi Pŏm’s wife was unable to have a child for seventeen years, and under these circumstances, to have childbirth successively after the age of fi ft y is extremely unusual. Yi Pŏm wanted to have a blood test, and the test result was that the blood of the mother and her

24. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period and the elder brother of Queen Inhyŏng, the wife of King Sukjong. His courtesy name was Sŏngyu, and his pen names Tanam and Sesim. He served as  governor of Chŏlla Province, second state councilor, and first minister-without-portfolio (yŏngjungch’ubusa). 25. A medical text of ancient China produced by the legendary Yellow Emperor. The book consists of treatises in a question-and-answer format between the emperor and his ministers.

668

book IX

children turned out to be mixed, but they were also mixed with that of another person. This is insufficient for a definite proof.” After the discussion among the ministers was over, they interrogated Yi’s wife with the content of the discussion, which finally made her confess her crime. Those Who Sue Their Own Flesh and Blood, Disregarding Humanity and Blinded by Avarice, Must Be Strictly Punished. The following happened when Li Jie of the Tang dynasty was governor of Henan. A widow sued her own son over his mistreatment of her. Her son, on the other hand, did not defend himself against her charge, saying only that he would accept any punishment since he had done wrong to his mother. Perceiving that her son was unfairly brought to trial, Li Jie asked the widow, the mother of the defendant: “You have lived as a widow for ten years and have only one son. Your only son is now close to death because of his crime. Would you let him die and not regret it later?” The widow replied, “He is a reprobate out of control. Why should I regret?” Li Jie said, “If that is the way you feel, bring me a coffin. I will place his corpse in it for you.” Then he had his man secretly watch her. The widow went out and went to a Daoist and said, “Everything is finally ready. The coffin will be here soon.” Li Jie arrested the Daoist and interrogated him, and the man confessed, “I have had an affair with the widow, but her son was in our way, so we decided to eliminate him.” Li Jie released the accused son and at the same time put the corpses of the widow and her Daoist paramour in the same coffin after executing them. The following happened when Li Ruogu governed Bingzhou. A resident in his district sued his uncle for not recognizing him as his nephew and for trying to take all the property for himself. This case remained unresolved for the terms of several magistrates. Li Ruogu ordered the nephew, the petitioner, to go to his uncle’s house and assault his uncle. The man told the magistrate that he could not dare to do that; nevertheless, Magistrate Li pressed him to do so. When the man at last did as he was told, his uncle sued his nephew. When this happened, Li Ruogu was able to bring the uncle of the man to justice, and his nephew received the property he was entitled to. This is the story of Zhang Qixian. During his magistracy two kinsmen were fighting because of unfair distribution of their family property. Both parties con26. A native of Fuyang, he passed the classics examination (mingjing) for civil ser vice. He also served as censor in chief. 27. Since the uncle who had refused to recognize his nephew as kin sued his nephew for violence against him, his suit naturally implied that his nephew was lawfully his own. 28. An official of the Northern Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhenzong. His courtesy name was Shiliang, and his posthumous title Wending. He served as minister of war and as grand councilor of the Secretariat.

Administration of Justice

669

tended that their property was unfairly divided. Zhang summoned the two to his office and asked them, “Do you believe that you got less than half of what you deserve?” They both said that that was exactly the problem. Zhang told them to write out all the items of property they had received and sign the paper as evidence. Then he instructed two clerks in his office to execute his order. His order was to make the two parties exchange with each other their signed records, as well as all their assets, including their houses. Their dispute was finally resolved. Great Learning states, “A man does not know the richness of his growing corn,” and this case exemplifies that old adage. The following happened when Zhang Yong governed Hangzhou. A wealthy man in his district fell sick and saw that his death was imminent, but his son was only three years old. So he entrusted his property to his son-in-law and left his will to him, which read, “When my property is to be divided in the future, threetenths is for my son and seven-tenths for my son-in-law.” When the son grew up, he naturally contested his father’s will and brought a lawsuit against his brotherin-law. Then his brother-in-law presented the will of his father-in-law to the government authorities and requested that the will be carried out as it was intended to be. Pouring wine on the earth, Zhang Yong said to him, “Your fatherin-law is a wise person. He left the will to you because his son was little when he died; if he had not, his son would have been dead years ago by your hands.” After this remark he passed his verdict, which decreed that three-tenths of the property went to the son-in-law and seven-tenths to the son. Both the son and the son-in-law thanked the magistrate and withdrew in tears. Since the National Code, as I have observed, contains the law concerning the distribution of family property, which fi xed the ratio in dividing land, houses, and slaves, when the magistrate encounters lawsuits related to family disputes, he must consult that law to make his decision. (In the case of a high official who became the head of a clan, a large portion of his inheritance should go to the eldest grandson of the family. There are more articles of law on this matter.) The following happened when Lang Jian of the Song dynasty governed Douzhou. A clerk died, leaving a little son behind him. Because his son was very young, his son-in-law forged the deed of his estate and took over his whole property. Later the son of the dead clerk, who had grown up by that time, sued his brother-in-law, but his problem remained unresolved. Hence he appealed to the imperial court, and the court ordered Lang Jian to take over the case. Lang Jian 29. Legge, Confucius, chapter 8, 369. 30. When a great resolution had to be made or a god was to be invoked, people poured wine on the earth as a token of the pledge. 31. His courtesy name was Shulian, and his pen name Wulin jushi. He served as vice minister of works.

670

book IX

showed an old document to the son-in-law and asked, “Is this the writing of your father-in-law?” The man said, “Yes.” Next he showed the man the forged document, whose calligraphy looked different from that of his father-in-law. The sonin-law admitted his crime and received due punishment. The following happened when Zhang Xichong governed Qizhou. A man whose surname was Guo had a stepson whom he had raised until he became an adult. However, his stepson was so degenerate that Guo finally drove him out. Later Guo and his wife died, one right after the other, and his legitimate son grew up to head the family. Then Guo’s stepson conspired with his relatives, who coveted Guo’s property, and fi led a lawsuit claiming that he himself was the legitimate son and heir of Guo, and the case remained unresolved for many years. After reviewing the letter of complaint submitted by the stepson, Zhang Xichong delivered his verdict. He said, “When your father was alive, you had already left him, and when your mother passed away, you failed to attend her funeral. If you are their stepson, you ungratefully forsook them even though they had raised you for twenty years. If you are their real son, you committed numerous crimes of immorality. The property of your parent will go to his real son, and those who brought the lawsuit will be punished under the law.” The people greatly admired the wise verdict that their magistrate had made. The following happened when Wang Han governed Tanzhou. In court hearings Wang made efforts to examine the personal circumstances of the concerned individuals and exerted no pressure with his dignity or punishment. An insane woman submitted lawsuits several times, but when she was found to be incoherent in stating her case, she was driven out by the clerks every time she filed her suit. When Wang Han questioned her alone in detail, he found that the woman’s husband had died and she was childless. However, her husband had an illegitimate son born of his concubine, and that illegitimate son had driven her out after taking over the whole estate of her husband. Although she had appealed several times to the local government, she had failed to get justice for her problem. As a result, she had become frustrated and angry and eventually had become insane. When Wang Han brought the illegitimate son and the concubine to justice and returned the lost property to her, she soon recovered from her mental disease. The people of his district greatly admired and praised their magistrate. A wealthy old man whose surname was Zhang let his son-in-law live with him because he had no son of his own. Later he had a son born of his concubine and 32. An official of the Later Tang dynasty and the Five Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Defeng. He was known to be learned in the Chronicle of Zuo and served as military commissioner of Lingwu. 33. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gangzhong. He also served as chief minister of the imperial entertainments (guangluqing).

Administration of Justice

671

named him Yifei [ୌ㣍], but he died when his son was only four years old. When Zhang fell ill, he said to his son-in-law, “Since I cannot entrust my property to my son from my concubine, I intend to give it to you and your wife. However, if you support my son and his mother without abandoning them in a ditch, it will be an act of charity.” Then he wrote as follows: ͆ᘿୌ㟸㰟Ꮔஒᐓ㈀┏⮽྿኏አ ெ୘ᚋ∉ዞ.” Because of this, the son-in-law took possession of the whole property, never suspecting anything. Later the son of Zhang’s concubine grew up and demanded that the property be shared with him. When Zhang’s son-in-law presented the document to the officials, they dismissed the claim made by the son of Zhang’s concubine. Years later, when an inspector toured his district, the son of Zhang’s concubine made an appeal once again. The son-in-law presented the evidence as he had previously done. The inspector, however, interpreted it in a different way: “Since Zhang Yifei is my son, he will possess all my property. My son-in-law is an outsider, who has no right to it.” Then the inspector said to the son-in-law, “Your father-in-law clearly said that his son-in-law is an outsider; nevertheless, you dare to occupy his property. The reason that your father-in-law wrote the name of his son as Yifei [ୌ㟸] instead of Yifei [ୌ㣍] was that he was worried that his son, too young at the time of his death, might be harmed by you.” Thus he delivered his verdict requiring the son-in-law to turn over his property to the son of Zhang’s concubine. The people thought that this was reasonable. Son Pyŏn of the Koryŏ dynasty was strong-minded and adroit in administration. When he served as surveillance commissioner of Kyŏngsang Province, there was a lawsuit that concerned the disputes between a man and his elder sister. The elder sister said, “Our father at the moment of his death gave me all his property. My brother, on the other hand, received only a set of clothes and a hat, a pair of shoes, and a bundle of paper. Here is the document of my father’s will.” However, the litigation remained unresolved for a long time. Son Pyŏn summoned the two, the brother and the sister, and asked them, “When your father passed away, how old were both of you, and where was your mother?” The sister replied, “My mother had passed away earlier, and I was already married, and my young brother was old enough to have some growing hair and change his teeth.” Son Pyŏn gently admonished her, “How can the heart of a parent be generous to his daughter and stingy to his son? The person whom your brother could depend

34. This sentence can be translated in two ways of opposite meaning. The first translation is “Zhang Yi is not my son. Since I leave all my property to my son-in-law, outsiders have no right to it.” The second is “Since Zhang Yifei is my son, I leave all my property to him. Since my son-in-law is an outsider, he is not entitled to it.” The key in the translation of this sentence is how to interpret the letter 㟸. 35. An official during the reign of Kojong. He also served as vice director of the Department of State Affairs.

672

book IX

on was his sister. If the property of your father had been divided equally between you and your brother, the upbringing of your brother probably could have been less than perfect. Your dead father must have thought that when his son grew up, made the letter of complaint with this paper, and presented it to the government, wearing the clothes and the hat that he gave him, there would be one who could bring justice to his problem. That is why your father left only those things to your brother.” Thus saying, he divided the property equally between the sister and the brother. Overwhelmed by the verdict, the two cried and withdrew. The following happened when Yan Shu governed Luoyang. One candidate for the state examination was accused by his servant of dodging paying tax for an item in his bag. Yan Shu said, “The mistake made by the candidate for the state examination is not really serious. On the other hand, the accusation made by his servant against his lord is a kind of custom that cannot be tolerated.” Then he had the candidate pay his tax at the office of revenue and at the same time punished the servant for his disloyalty. Since Litigation over Land Is Related to the People’s Livelihood, the Judgment Made by the Court Must Be Fair; Otherwise People Will Not Obey It. Being upright and scrupulous, Wang Zhi governed his district with benevolence when he became magistrate of Xuancheng. There were residents whose names were Zhang Ni and Wu Qing. They had had disputes over their land that had remained unresolved despite the passage of a year. When Wang Zhi took his post, the elders of the district said to each other, “It is lamentable to have such a dispute despite the fact that Magistrate Wang Zhi governs our district with benevolence.” So Zhang Ni and Wu Qing voluntarily made a request that they be punished, and the land in dispute became abandoned as its cultivation continued to be delayed. There was a clerk named Hong Shi in Renshou District during the Song dynasty. Coveting the land of his neighbor, he forged a document, making it look old by staining it with tea, and fi led a suit in the office of the district. The magistrate, whose surname was Jiang, took a close look at the document and, unrolling the folded part, said, “If the paper of this document is old, its folded section is supposed to be white. Since the outside and inside of the paper both look the same in their color, this document cannot be authentic.” When he interrogated the man, the man confessed his crime. 36. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Tongshu, and his posthumous title Yuanxian. He served jointly as manager of affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery. He was a patron of great talents and associated with prominent politicians and great literary figures like Fan Zhongyan, Ouyang Xiu, and Han Qi.

Administration of Justice

673

The following happened when Gao Dingzi governed the district of Jiajiang. In the neighboring district there was a lawsuit over a piece of land that had been prolonged for more than ten years. The superior office put Gao Dingzi in charge of the case. Upon examining the documents, Gao discovered that they were forged; however, the person who fi led the lawsuit did not accept that fact. Gao Dingzi said, “The imperial decrees made in the first year [1208] of Jiading finally arrived in the third lunar month in your district. Then how can your document possibly have been made in the first lunar month of the first year of Jiading?” The lawsuit of both sides was finally resolved. Since the forgery of documents is bound to be discovered, a person who is intelligent and sensible can uncover it if he takes a close look at the document. I have heard that there was someone who was appointed tomb guardian of Chŏngnŭng because his grandfather had rendered a military ser vice in Imjin year [1592] of Wanli. However, there had been no tomb guardians for Chŏngnŭng since the time of King T’aejong until it was restored during the reign of King Sukchong. Then how could there possibly have been a tomb guardian in the years of Wanli? That the man chose Chŏngnŭng among many royal tombs for his credential is the will of Heaven. Since all forged documents always leave signs that arouse suspicion, the case involving Chŏngnŭng is a good example. The following happened when Sin Ŭngsi was governor of Chŏlla Province. There was a rich man, a resident of Namwŏn, who fell victim to a false religion and legally donated all his property to a Buddhist temple called Manboksa. Although he expressed his religious devotion by sacrificing his estate, his life changed for the worse, and eventually he came to face starvation. His only son was in danger of death after leading a beggarly life. When the situation became desperate, the man wanted to retrieve through litigation the property that he had donated to the Buddhist temple. Although he submitted lawsuits several times, however, his pleas were rejected, and therefore, he finally decided to appeal to the governor. Governor Sin Ŭngsi passed his sentence as follows, personally writing these words at the bottom of the litigation paper: “The purpose of donating property to the temple was originally to seek blessing from Buddha. However, since the donor is starving, and his son lives on begging, it is clear that Buddha is incapable of providing the expected blessing. The property, therefore, should be returned to

37. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhanshu. Learned in the Six Classics, he served as vice grand councilor. 38. The royal tomb of Queen Kang, the second wife of Yi T’aejo, the founder of the Chosŏn dynasty. It is located in Seoul. 39. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reigns of Myŏngjong and Sŏnjo. His courtesy name was Kunmang, and his pen name Paengnok. He served as third minister of rites and as censor in chief.

674

book IX

its original owner, and the blessing should be sought from Buddha.” The people of the whole province were pleased with the verdict. When Yi Mongnyang was magistrate of Naju, a powerful local resident fi led a suit over a piece of farmland, which he found unreasonable and rejected after investigation. A few years later Yi came to work in the Royal Secretariat. One day an official document from Chŏlla Province arrived via the Board of Punishments that required the royal signature. Upon reviewing it, Yi found that the document was the same case of the powerful local resident of Naju. Yi said to his colleagues, “I know about this lawsuit; it is contrary to reason and justice. Even if the magistrate misjudged the case, the governor surely would not have made the same mistake.” His colleagues laughed and said, “How can you prove that the case is such when the official document comes with supporting evidence?” Wondering deep down in his heart, he rubbed with his finger a trace of a spot in the document, where he suspected that the official seal had been stamped. The texture of the paper soon became rough, and when he scratched it more with his nail, a thin spot of paper with the imprint of a seal was found attached to the tip of the signature. Greatly surprised, the officials with him reported the matter to the king and rectified the wickedness of the litigator by turning the case over to the Board of Punishments. The following happened when Yi Sihyŏn was magistrate of Hongsan. A commoner had fi led a lawsuit against a powerful family in a dispute over land, but Yi’s predecessors, because of the influence of that family, had been unable to close the case. Although Yi was on good terms with the family, he delivered his judgment on the case without prejudice. Chŏng Chaeryun said: “When a military official served as a magistrate, there was a lawsuit over a disputed piece of land. He judged the case with fairness, stating that A was right and B was wrong. A powerful minister who had received a bribe from B threatened the military official by sending a letter. The military official called man A and said in tears, ‘Since I am not allowed to preserve my position unless I follow the order of the powerful minister, I have no choice but to make a wrongful decision on your case. Someday you will find me on the Sword Mountain in hell.’ Man A beat his chest and withdrew, weeping bitterly. The wretchedness of the present time is like this.” 40. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ŭngmyŏng, and his posthumous title Chŏnghŏn. He also served as minister of justice and as seventh state councilor. 41. According to the Veritable Record of King Hyŏnjong, he received a citation for his outstanding job of famine relief when he served as magistrate of Kaeryŏng in 1671. He also served as magistrate of Sŏngju, and again received a citation and was awarded a title, T’ongjŏng taebu, in 1674. The holders of the title were granted senior rank 3 and the privilege of receiving a stipend from the government after retirement. 42. Sword Mountain (Tosan) was a mountain fi lled with standing swords. It was a part of the torturing hell.

Administration of Justice

675

The following happened when Di Su was magistrate of Gucheng. When he made a wrongful decision on a land dispute fi led by a commoner, the commoner appealed to higher authorities, and Di Su was reprimanded for his mistake. Later the district office of Di Su recruited healthy young men for military service, and someone told Di Su that the commoner who had raised the lawsuit was trying to avoid his enlistment. Di Su said, laughing, “He is the person who formerly sued me for my mistake. That a man who suffered injustice tries to seek justice for himself is what this magistrate most wants to see. How can I retaliate against him because of my personal feeling?” Then he ignored the man’s violation. Deeply moved by what they heard, the residents followed their magistrate with pleasure. The Reputation of the Magistrate Is Often Made through Litigation over Cattle. Since the Men of Former Days Left Fine Examples, the Magistrate Should Try to Imitate Them. The following happened when Gu Xianzhi of the Song dynasty was magistrate of Jiankang. There was a man who stole a cow from his neighbor, and the thief and the owner fought over the cow. When Gu unleashed the bridle of the cow and let it go wherever it wanted to, the cow returned to its owner right away, and the thief was punished for his crime. (See History of the Southern Dynasties.) The following happened when Yu Zhongwen of the Later Zhou dynasty served as magistrate of Angu. Two families, whose names were Ren and Du, each lost one of their cows, and when one of the cows showed up later, they quarreled over the right to the cow. Yu Zhongwen ordered the two families to bring the whole herd of their cows and released the newly found cow into them. The cow went into the herd of the Ren family. He also ordered his man to inflict a small wound on the newly found cow and observe the reactions of Ren and Du. Ren grieved to see it, while Du remained calm. Yu Zhongwen punished Du for his deception. (See History of the Northern Dynasties.) The following happened when Zhang Yunji of the Tang dynasty was magistrate of Wuyang. There was a man in the neighboring district called Yuanwu who lived in the house of his father-in-law, taking his cow with him. His cow produced ten cows or so during a period of eight to nine years, and now he 43. An official of the Song dynasty during the Southern and Northern dynasties period. His courtesy name was Zhisi. Later he served in the court of the Qi dynasty as director of personnel in the Imperial Secretariat and as prefect of Yuzhang. 44. A military official of the Northern Zhou (Later Zhou) dynasty and the Sui dynasty. His courtesy name was Ciwu. He served as general in chief of the left of Standby Guard (zuoyiwei dajiangjun). Leading the Sui army, he invaded Korea but was defeated by Ŭlchi Mundŏk in 612. 45. A native of Beihai. He also served as prefect of Youzhou.

676

book IX

wanted to live independently, separate from his father-in-law. However, his wife’s family would not allow him to take his cows. He appealed to the authorities of his district several times but failed to get the decision that he wanted. The man finally crossed the border of his district and appealed to Zhang Yunji. Zhang said, “You have your own magistrate. What made you come to me for your problem?” The man related to him what had happened and shed tears. Zhang ordered his men to bind the petitioner with a rope, cover his face with a hood made of hemp cloth, and take him to the village in which his wife’s family lived. His men shouted that they had caught a thief who stole cows and asked the people where the cows in their village originally came from. Totally unaware of what was going on and afraid that he might be involved in trouble, the father-in-law replied, “These cows belong to my son-in-law.” At that moment Zhang ordered the hood on his son-in-law to be removed and said, “Since this is your son-in-law, you should return the cows belonging to him.” The following happened when Pei Ziyun of the Tang dynasty was magistrate of Xinxiang. A resident of the district named Wang Gong left six cows of his in the care of his father-in-law Li Jin when he was sent to the border for his military ser vice. His cows produced thirty calves in five years while he was away from home. When Wang Gong came home and asked for his cows, his father-in-law returned only four old cows, saying, “Two of your cows have already died.” Wang Gong fi led a suit against his father-in-law, and Pei Ziyun put the accused man in prison. Pretending that he was searching for a thief who had made off with cows, Pei summoned the accused to his presence and said, “Since a thief and you stole thirty cows and hid them in your house, I intend to cross-examine you with the thief I arrested.” At the same time he ordered that Wang Gong be brought in with his head covered with a hood made of hemp cloth. While Wang Gong was on his way, Pei pressured Li Jin, Wang’s father-in-law, to confess his crime. Then Li Jin replied, “The cows in my house are the ones produced by those belonging to my son-in-law; they are not stolen.” At that moment, Pei ordered that the hood on Wang’s head be removed. Greatly surprised, Li Jin immediately returned the cows to Wang Gong, his son-in-law, and the people in the district bowed deeply to the outstanding wisdom of their magistrate. Among the gang of Li Shun there was a man who slaughtered a cow of another person and fled. To entice the man to turn himself in, Zhang Yong held his mother in prison for ten days. When he did not show up, however, Zhang released his mother. Later he arrested the man’s wife. Then the man showed up in a day. Delivering his sentence, Zhang said, “His mother had to spend ten days in prison, and his wife spent one night there. How can he be so indifferent to the 46. Unknown. 47. Unknown.

Administration of Justice

677

maternal love that has raised him, leaning against the gate post, and so generous to the matrimonial love that was made by binding braids of hair on the wedding night? Since in former days he did evil things as a member of the gang and now only tried to wait and see despite the fact that voluntary self-surrender was allowed, let him be taken out and beheaded.” After this verdict the people wanted by the authorities began to turn themselves in one after another, but Zhang returned them all to their homes so that they could make their living, and the lives of ordinary people became more secure. Prefect Zhu of Nanchang was famous for his integrity and outstanding administration. An aristocratic family in his domain raised a crane, and it was bitten to death by a dog belonging to a commoner. Then a guard in that family brought a charge against the owner of the dog. The crane had a golden tag around its neck that had been bestowed by the king. Prefect Zhu passed his verdict as follows: “Although the crane had a golden tag, the dog did not know what it was. How can we hold the owner of the dog responsible if the incident took place between animals?” Then he released the owner of the dog. There was another incident in which a cow of one family engaged in a fight with another cow of its neighbor and was killed. Prefect Zhu delivered his judgment: “Two cows fought against each other, and one is dead while the other survived. As to the dead one, the two families should eat together; as to the live one, they should share it for their farming.” In my observation, the statement on a verdict in olden days was always written in rhyme. The magistrate who has studied literature must imitate the ways of the past, never allowing himself free rein in expressing his opinion. The following happened when Yi Porim of the Koryŏ dynasty was magistrate of Kyŏngsanbu [modern Sŏngju]. A man appealed to him that his neighbor had cut off the tongue of his cow, and the accused denied the charge. Yi Porim made the cow thirsty and put some soybean paste in the water. Then he told the residents to bring their cows and said to them, “Have your cows drink the water one by one, but stop them when they actually drink the water.” The residents did what they were told to do, and it happened that the cow of the man who brought a charge was frightened to see the accused person and ran away when its turn came up. When Magistrate Yi interrogated the man, he confessed his crime. He said, “I cut off the tongue of that cow because it grazed my rice.”

48. The phrase in the source text is ೂ㛓஄᭻, which indicates the love of a mother for her son. A mother waits for her son at the gate of her house when her son is late. 49. The phrase in the source text is ⤎㧡஄᝗, which indicates the matrimonial love of a newlywed couple. On the fi rst night during their honeymoon, both bride and bridegroom raise the braids of their hair, binding them into one knot.

678

book IX

There was another case. A horse of a villager ran away and grazed almost the whole field of barley of his neighbor. The owner of the horse promised that he would compensate his neighbor for the damage in the fall but changed his mind later. When summer came, he said that the ears of barley grew up again, and his neighbor could harvest his crop all the same. Since he refused to pay for the damage, his neighbor appealed to the magistrate. Magistrate Yi made the owner of the horse sit down and the owner of the barley stand up. Then he said to them, “I want you to run fast. The one who is left behind will be punished.” The owner of the horse, who was made to sit down, protested that he was unable to move fast. He said, “How can I catch up to the man who is standing up while I am sitting down?” Magistrate Yi replied, “The barley in dispute is just like you. Since it was grazed by your horse, how can it have time to be ripe for harvest?” Then he ordered that he be punished by flogging and compensate his neighbor for the damage. The following happened when Shi Gongbi of the Song dynasty was appointed administrator of law [sifacanjun] of Weizhou. A horse raised in Qisuijian, a pasture run by the government, ran out to graze the rice of a resident and was wounded by the owner of the paddy fields. Since the law protecting government horses was strict, District Magistrate Han Zongzhe tried to deal with the owner of the rice with harsh punishment. However, Shi Gongbi declared that the man was innocent. Han Zongzhe protested, “That man harmed a horse that is government property. How can he be innocent?” Shi Gongbi replied, “Since a beast takes the meal of a human being, how can you expect him just to stand aside and watch? Is it not natural for him to try to prevent the animal from grazing his rice even if he hurts it? Suppose that a tiger or a leopard in Shanglinyuan imperial garden breaks out of its den and devours humans, would you not stop or kill it? What we should do is to punish the person in charge of the horse, not the owner of the rice paddy.” However, Han Zongzhe, who was still furious, refused to listen and ordered his clerk to execute the law according to his own way. Sometime later a royal messenger inspected the prisoners and instructed that the imprisoned resident be released, as Shi Gongbi had proposed. Even in Litigation Related to the Transaction Involving Property and Textile Fabrics That Lacks Evidence, the Truth of the Matter Will Be Exposed upon Close Examination. The following happened when Zhao He of the Tang dynasty was magistrate of Jiangyin. Two farmers lived in the land of Huaiyin. They were neighbors, and 50. Unknown. 51. Unknown.

Administration of Justice

679

one of them living in the east section borrowed money that amounted to 1 million strings (min) from the other living in the west. The one who borrowed the money entrusted the deed of his house to his neighbor and promised that he would take it back later when he paid his loan in full. Later, paying back 8,000 strings first, the farmer in debt said that he would finish off the remaining loan the following day and take back the deed of his house. However, he failed to take a receipt for the partial payment of his loan because he trusted his neighbor. When he visited his neighbor the following day to pay off the remaining loan, his neighbor denied that he had received any previous payment from him. Having neither a witness nor a receipt that could support his claim, the man appealed to Magistrate Zhao He. Zhao He thought of an idea. One day he called a few clerks in charge of arresting thieves and dispatched them to Huaiyin with warrants that he provided. Before their departure he instructed them to say as follows: “We found that a thief had stolen the deed of a piece of property in Jiangyin, and according to the information we have, he is now residing in the west section. So we are here to arrest him.” The dispatched clerks finally brought with them the moneylender in the west to Magistrate Zhao. Zhao reproached the moneylender and said, “Why did you steal in Jiangyin?” Weeping, he replied, “A farmer like myself does not know how to row a boat.” Zhao said, “In your stolen property there is a great deal of gold and silk, which are normally not the kind of things that belong to a farmer.” The man explained that the rice was produced from his own farms, the silk from the hand loom in his family, and the money from the repayment of the loan that he had made to a neighbor in the east. Zhao said, “If you are indeed not a thief, why did you hide 8,000 strings that you had received from your neighbor in the east as a payment on your loan?” Then Zhao cross-examined both the debtor and the lender, and the latter, ashamed and afraid, finally confessed his crime. Zhao ordered that the man be bound and taken back to his district and pay the penalty for his crime. The following happened when Cheng Hao was assistant magistrate of Huxian. A man lived in the house of his brother as a tenant and found hidden money when he dug the yard. Although his nephew sued his uncle for the right to that money, the magistrate was unable to make his judgment. Cheng Hao said, “It is not difficult to judge the case.” Then he asked the nephew, “How long has it been since your father hid the money?” He replied that it had been forty years. He asked again, “How long has it been since your uncle rented the house of your father?” He replied that it had been twenty years. Then he examined about ten thousand pieces of coins and said to the uncle, “The coins manufactured by the government these days spread wide in the world in five or six years. Since the coins that you have now had all been made before you rented the house of your brother, how did you get them?” The man finally admitted his wrongdoing.

680

book IX

The following happened when Zhang Zhuo was commandant [wei] of Heyang. A man named Lü Yuan forged the authorization paper of Feng Chen, supervisor of the granary, and secretly took away grain. Although Feng Chen denied that he had authorized Lü Yuan to take the grain, Lü Yuan continued to insist that he had received permission from Feng Chen. Taking the authorization paper presented by Lü Yuan, Zhang Zhuo covered all the letters with his hands except one and asked Lü Yuan, “If this letter is the one you wrote, say yes right away; if not, say no at once.” Lü Yuan denied that the letter was his own writing. When Zhang Zhuo removed his fingers from the paper, it was revealed that the paper was the one presented by Lü Yuan. Zhang first ordered Lü Yuan to be punished by fift y strokes of beating with a heavy stick. Then he tested Lü Yuan once again. Covering the writing of Feng Chen with his hands except two letters, he asked Lü Yuan whether or not those letters were the ones that he had written. Lü Yuan affirmed that they were his. When Zhang Zhuo removed his hands from the text, it was revealed that the authorization paper was the forged one. Lü Yuan finally confessed his crime. The following happened when Xue Xuan was magistrate of Linhuai. A man carry ing unprocessed silk was caught in a shower on his way to the market. Because the rain was pouring down, he covered his head with the silk he was carrying. Another man who happened to be following him asked if he might join him to avoid the rain, so the owner of the silk allowed the man to hold a tip of his silk to cover his head. The rain finally stopped, and the two went their own ways. However, the man who owed a favor to the owner of the silk fi led a complaint with the authorities, claiming that the silk was his own. Xue Xuan judged that the silk in dispute should be evenly divided between the two parties and ordered his clerks to follow the two men on horseback. They observed that the one was pleased with the magistrate’s decision, saying, “How gracious our magistrate is! How gracious our magistrate is!” The owner of the silk, on the other hand, appeared angry and dejected. Now finding out who the real owner was, Xue Xuan arrested and interrogated the suspect and soon received a confession from him. When lawsuits over property occur because of the lack of supporting documents or evidence, it is advisable that the magistrate temporarily order that the property be evenly divided between the two parties, which can reduce the potential damage by half. If he then slowly observes the speech and facial expressions of the winner and the loser, he is able to discriminate between right and wrong, and this approach can generally be applied to other similar cases. Since magistrates nowadays close such a case by ordering that the property be evenly

52. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Wencheng, and his pen name Fuxiuzi.

Administration of Justice

681

divided, the people call them by the name of half-damage magistrates [pansil t’aesu], and these are the magistrates of the lowest kind in their ability. The following happened when Li Hui of the Northern Wei dynasty was prefect of Yongzhou. A man who carried wood on his back and a man who carried salt on his back fought over a sheepskin, arguing that the sheepskin was an item that belonged to their carry ing equipment. Li Hui said to his clerk, “If you strike it repeatedly with a stick, you will be able to find out to whom it really belongs.” His subordinates kept quiet. When Li Hui made them spread the sheepskin on the ground and thrash it with a stick, a small amount of salt was seen. Li Hui showed it to the contenders and punished the one who carried wood. (See History of the Northern Dynasties.) The following episode is found in the History of the Southern Dynasties. When Fu Yan was magistrate of Shanyin, two farmers quarreled over a chicken. He asked them, “What do you feed your chicken with?” One said hulled millet, and the other said beans. When Fu cut the chicken, hulled millet came out. He punished the man who said that he had fed the chicken with beans. The residents of the district said that their magistrate was a man of divine wisdom. The following happened when Li Heng was magistrate of a district in the land of Yin. Someone secretly stole eggplants that were just ready for harvest from a farmer’s land and tried to sell them in the market. However, he was discovered by the farmer, who had followed him, and the thief and the farmer quarreled over the eggplants, suing each other. Li Heng had the eggplants in controversy spread out in the yard and, laughing, said to the suspect who allegedly had stolen them, “You are the thief. If they are indeed eggplants produced in your field, would you have gathered small ones like those?” Then Li Heng punished the suspect. The following happened when Hu Changru served as assistant magistrate of Ninghai (in the years of Emperor Zhida’s reign). A number of old women gathered in a Buddhist temple for a few days to pray for their wishes, and in the middle of the retreat one of the old women found that her clothes were missing. Seeing Hu Changru, who happened to be in the temple, she appealed to him. Hu had all the old women in the temple walk around the tower just as they had done before, chanting their prayer, but this time he ordered them to hold some barley in their clasped hands in prayer. Closing his eyes and mumbling some mysterious spell, Hu said, “I asked the deity to observe you. The one who stole the dress 53. He also served as prefect of Qingzhou and as general in chief conquering the south (zhengnan dajiangjun). 54. Unknown. 55. An official of the Yuan dynasty. His courtesy name was Jizhong, and his pen name Yanleqi. 56. Zhida is the reign name of Emperor Wuzong (1308–1311).

682

book IX

will find the barley in her hands sprouting while she is making a few turns around the tower.” When one of the old women kept opening her palms and looking down at the barley in them, Hu ordered that she be arrested and made her return the stolen clothes to their owner. When a man residing in the land of Yongjia who had left a precious stone in the care of his elder brother wanted to take it back, his sister-in-law, who coveted it, told him a lie that the stone had been stolen. Although he sued his brother several times, it was no use. Hence he decided to appeal to Hu Changru. Hu reproached him, “You are not a resident belonging to my district,” and sent him back to his place. Not long afterward Hu came to judge a case involving a thief. Hu incited the thief to testify that the elder brother of the petitioner was holding a precious stone that had been stolen. Although he was arrested and brought to the yamen, the elder brother strongly denied the charge against him. Hu Changru said, “I know that you have that stolen item in your house. How can you deny that?” Surprised and embarrassed, he replied, “It is true that we have it, but it belongs to my younger brother.” Then Hu made the man hurry home and bring the stone as proof, and at the same time he summoned his younger brother to verify the stone. Hu asked the younger brother, the original owner of the stone, “Is this not yours?” The latter affirmed that it was his and finally recovered his stone. A commoner working in his field and carry ing a urine pail accidentally ran into a guard and stained his clothes. The guard, angered, struck the man and disappeared after destroying his urine pail, but the man did not know what his name was. When the commoner appealed to him, Hu Changru pretended to be angry at his false accusation and put him in open confinement in the market. Then he ordered his men to observe secretly what would happen. The guard who had hit the man on the previous day, as they observed, passed by and shouted with exultation, pointing his finger at him. Hu arrested the guard and made him compensate the commoner for the damage to his urine pail after taking him to the unit to which he belonged. As I have observed, Hu Changru’s style of managing affairs is not worth imitating because it is all based on clever trickery. His performances like closing his eyes and praying to spirits only damaged his personal dignity. If the old woman was smart enough to realize in advance that she would be observed and therefore did not look down at her hands, what could the magistrate do? The sister-in-law took the precious stone for herself, and her husband also knew about it. If a younger brother sues his elder brother, and the magistrate judges the case in the way Hu did, how can he admonish the residents of his district? Although it is regrettable that the magistrate loses the chance to use his ingenious ideas for arresting suspects, he must not forget the importance of public morals. When Hu Changru, assistant magistrate of Ninghai, returned to his yamen from his trip to the superior office, a clerk reported that the men arrested for

Administration of Justice

683

committing tricks were not willing to admit their crimes. Hu said to his clerk, “It is easy to find that out.” Then he ordered the clerk to hide under a desk at night and started interrogating the suspects in his office after daybreak of the following day. However, the suspects denied the allegations even more strongly. Hu Changru asked the head clerk next to him, “Did you not say that a royal decree is scheduled to arrive soon? We had better leave now to usher it in.” He called his guards and said aloud, “Tie those suspects to the columns on both sides.” Then he and his aides went out of the office. Left alone in the office, the suspects started talking to each other. One of them said, “Since we have fallen into this situation, the safest way is to keep on denying what we have done. Then we will be released sooner or later.” As soon as the remark was made, the clerk hidden under the desk jumped out and revealed himself to them. The suspects were surprised and all bowed their heads to receive the punishments for their wrongdoings. (The matters related to Hu Changru are all included in Ihak t’ongnok [General Records of Neo-Confucian Philosophers from the Song and Yuan to the Ming Period].) If the Magistrate Enlightens the People and His District with Benevolence and His Virtue Extends to Creatures like Little Birds and Beasts, Marvelous Rumors Will Arise and Spread His Graceful Name. When Wen Zhang was serving as a metropolitan governor, he heard a bell ringing. When he went out to see what it was about, it was a raven that was ringing the bell. He thought that the raven was appealing to him, probably because someone had taken away its young birds, so he ordered his clerk to look into the matter and fi nally discovered the person who had stolen the young birds from that raven. The following happened when Zhang Cishan governed Taishan. One day he found a flock of storks sitting on a stone monument, and they looked like they were appealing to him. He first let the storks fly away and ordered a military officer to follow them. The storks finally landed on a tall tree. Under that tree there was a cottage where a man lived who had captured two young storks some time ago. When Zhang Cishan punished the man, the storks left the place.

57. Ihak t’ongnok (⌦Ꮯ㏳㗬) is a book written by Yi Hwang, a famous Neo-Confucian phi losopher of the mid-Chosŏn period. It is mainly a collection of personal records of renowned NeoConfucian phi losophers since Zhu Xi of the Song dynasty down to those of the Ming dynasty. Its original title was Song gye wŏnmyŏng ihak t’ongnok (ᏯᏒඔ᪺㶻Ꮯ㏳㗬). 58. An official of the Tang dynasty. His name in the source text was written as Wen Zhang (⁀ᙪ). However, he is presumed to be an official named Wen Zhang (⁀⍳) who served as aide to the chamberlain for law enforcement (dalicheng) and as metropolitan governor. 59. Unknown.

684

book IX

In my observation, these two incidents are not really as marvelous as they appear to be. The reason that swallows build their nests on the beam of a man’s house is to avoid harm and danger by depending on humans, and the reason that sparrows chirp at a tiled roof is to eliminate disaster by appealing to humans. It is not really uncommon that birds or beasts appeal to humans. Nevertheless, those who are foolish and insensitive are hardly aware of this; only the intelligent realize the meaning of their signs. C H A P T E R  : T R I A L H E A R I NG S I I

Litigation over Grave Sites Has Now Become a Corrupt Custom. Half the Incidents Involving Murder and Assault Are Due to Disputes over Grave Sites. Believing That It Is Their Filial Duty, Some People Dare to Destroy the Tombs of Others [to Bury Their Own Ancestors]. The Magistrate, Therefore, Cannot Help Making His Judgment Clear. According to the “Spring Office” in Rites of Zhou, “The grave maker [zhongren] takes charge of the royal tombs, demarcating the site and drawing the components on it. The tomb of the former king is established in the middle, and zhao and mu on the left and right, respectively. The magnitude of the tomb and the number of trees planted around it depend on the title and rank of the person buried in it. He makes sure that each tomb is properly placed in line, and the grave site is fully cleared, and its boundary is well kept.” Zheng Xuan stated, “The tombs of kings and dukes are called hill [qiu], and those of their subjects fief [feng]. The law code of the Han dynasty regulates that the height of the tombs belonging to marquises [liehou] is 4 zhang, and the height of the tombs is graded on the basis of rank and title from marquises residing in the vicinity of the capital [kuannei hou] down to commoners.”

60. Zhao (᫓) and mu (✍) originally referred to the order in which ancestral tablets were arranged in the shrine. However, here they appear to indicate the stone figures lined up on both sides in front of the royal tomb. After the Heavenly Son, the fi rst-generation king, is established in the middle, the second, the fourth, and the sixth, who belong to zhao, are placed on the left side, and the third, the fi ft h, and the seventh, who belong to mu, on the right side. Hence, in the case of the Heavenly Son, there are three zhaos and three mus with one shrine (miao); in the case of various marquises, two zhaos and two mus with one shrine; in the case of grand masters, one zhao, one mu, with one shrine. The burial also followed the order of the ancestral tablets, and during the sacrifice the attending descendants lined up in two fi les, zhao and mu. 61. A title of nobility, usually next in prestige after prince (wang) and duke (gong), sometimes hereditary, sometimes conferred for special merit. 62. A measure of height. One zhang is 10 chi (ᑵ; Kor. ch’ŏk). 63. The nineteenth of twenty titles of nobility awarded to exceptionally meritorious personages (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 286).

Administration of Justice

685

Gu Gongyan stated as follows: “The mound of a high-ranking personage’s tomb is made tall, with many trees planted around the tomb; that of a lowranking personage’s tomb is made low, with relatively few trees. According to the Prophetic Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals [Chunqiuwei], ‘The mound of the imperial tomb is 3 ren in height, and pine trees are planted around it; that of a marquis’s tomb is half the imperial tomb in height, and pinecone trees are planted around it; that of a grand master’s tomb is 8 chi in height, and medicinal herbs are planted around it; those of literati’s tombs are 4 chi in height, and zelkova trees are planted around them; and no mound is made on the tomb of a commoner, and willows are planted around it.’ ” That Confucius is said to have made the tomb of his parents 4 chi in height when he buried them together in the land of Fang, in my view, indicates that he followed the rule of rites for the class of literati. However, Confucius said, “In olden days graves used to be made without mounds. I could not help making a mound for my parents’ tomb because I had to travel all the time.” So it appears that Confucius was not eager to establish a mound for the tomb of his parents. The so-called degree [dushu] in olden days indicated only the restriction of height in constructing a mound of the tomb; nowadays, however, it generally refers to the limit of the circumference or scale of the tomb measured by the number of paces. This is a difference between past and present. In the section of the “Spring Office” in Rites of Zhou there is a passage as follows: “The grand master of cemeteries [modafu] takes charge of public cemeteries, drawing maps and diagrams. He allows the people to establish family graves of their own, observing the due restrictions appropriate to their social status. If there is anyone who causes trouble or disputes over grave sites, he deals with him by bringing a criminal suit against the person.” Zheng Xuan stated, “The public cemetery is a burial place for all people, and in olden days it was established at a certain place where everyone could share, 64. An official of the Tang dynasty who served as National University erudite. He wrote commentaries on Rites of Zhou, which were collected under the titles Zhouli yishu and Yili yishu. His Zhouli yishu was known to be very learned and developed further the commentaries advanced by Zheng Xuan. 65. A measurement of height. One ren generally indicates the average height of a man. 66. In the Chinese official hierarchy, a designation for the officials right below minister; it was subdivided into three grades: senior grand master, ordinary grand master, and ju nior grand master. In Korea it generally referred to the officials belonging to ranks 1 to 4. Those below the rank of grand master were referred to as lang (啺). 67. A general reference to officials whose rank was below grand master. It corresponds to lang (啺) in the Korean official hierarchy. 68. Members of the Ministry of Rites responsible for establishing and managing cemeteries serving commoners, including determining the proper positions and proportions of graves (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 337).

686

book IX

and it was divided among the people so that they could have their own burial place for their families, which they found convenient.” The so-called public cemetery, as I have observed, was similar to the graveyards in our country, which are now located in the east and west suburbs. Although the cemetery is all packed with graves, it is subdivided into individual grave sites, and individual families observe the rules of restrictions. The law of the Zhou dynasty had a set of laws regulating burial based on the idea of zhao and mu. The law of our country, on the other hand, lacks order and system, so that the graves are often too close and disarrayed. The graves of physicians, interpreters, accountants, and law clerks used to be located in the east and west suburbs. In recent years, however, they have occupied an area separate and far from the existing suburban areas, which indicates that the custom in our country has changed. Although there were lawsuits over grave sites in the time of the Zhou dynasty, they were generally disputes over the spaces between graves or boundary lines because the people were worried that their grave sites would be too small for their use in the future. The chief concerns of the people in our days, however, are not spaces or boundaries but geomantic elements such as main mountain [chumaek], a mountain on the opposite side [andae], blue dragon [ch’ŏngnyong], and white tiger [paekho], which they believe to be essential components of an ideal grave site. They are more concerned that the geomantic advantage of the grave site that they managed to secure might be damaged by the disharmony of geomantic energy. Zheng Xuan also stated: “Bewitched by the geomantic theory of Guo Pu, people spend time and energy seeking an ideal grave site for their parents. So it

69. The people listed here were the specialists belonging to the class of middle people (chung’in) during the Chosŏn dynasty. They mostly passed technical examinations in their respective areas, but some of them came to hold posts hereditarily and intermarried with others of the same class. In the late Chosŏn period they became economical ly strong and gained more power and influence. Hence they were able to create their own cemetery for their families and relatives. 70. These men of various professions belonged to the middle people (chung’in) in Chosŏn society. Their living condition significantly improved in the late Chosŏn period because they were allowed to hold posts hereditarily and intermarried with others of the same class. Hence their wealth enabled them to acquire their own family graveyards on the distant outskirts of Seoul, which was far removed from the crowded cemeteries in the capital city. 71. In geomancy this indicates the mountain on which a grave is established. 72. Also called ansan (Ꮽᒜ), this indicates the mountain that faces the grave. 73. Ch’ŏngnyong and paekho, which literally mean a blue dragon and a white tiger, indicate the left and right sides of the mountain that branches out from the main mountain on which the grave is located. 74. A geomancer of the Jin state. His courtesy name was Jingchun. Learned in geomancy and divination, he is known to have written the Book of Burial and produced commentaries on Classic of the Mountains and Seas and The Literary Expositor (Erya), the oldest Chinese dictionary.

Administration of Justice

687

happens that they delay burying their parents for years until they find one, or they keep on moving their graves from one place to another, suspecting that their current grave site is inauspicious. Sometimes they are involved in litigation even before the funeral of their parent is over, which is ruinous to their family, or they fight with their own brothers after they have been told that the blessings and curses derived from the grave site of their parent cannot be the same for all children.” Zheng Xuan also said: “Since a man deluded by geomancy occupies a grave site on a mountain belonging to others and buries his parents, destroying the existing grave and throwing out the bones of another man’s ancestors, he is soon faced with animosity and resentment, followed by entanglement in litigation. As a result, he wastes all his family property and ruins his business but fails to get the ideal grave site that he wishes to have. Since the blessing is far and trouble is near, how can he be that foolish?” The following happened when Sima Wengong prepared the funeral of his parent, who had just passed away. He secretly told a geomancer as follows: “Since I have a family graveyard and intend to bury my parent over there, do not say anything about it. If you do as you were told to do, I will pay you 20,000 maces; if you do not, I will hire another man.” The geomancer replied, “I will follow your order.” So the acts like locating the pit [xue] and determining the direction [of the dead body] were all done as Sima Wengong instructed. Although he ignored geomancy in burying his parent, Sima Wengong’s brothers, like himself, all enjoyed wealth and prosperity and longevity. Why, then, should we allow ourselves to be deluded by foolish geomancers and make fools of ourselves? In the Rehe Diary [Yŏrha ilgi], a travelogue to Beijing, Pak Chiwŏn left the following observations: “The tombs on the roadside were invariably surrounded with fences, and the circumference of those fences appeared to be several hundred paces. Along with these fences, trees like pines, nut pines, and willows were planted in neat order.” There is a diagram called “Zuzang shumu tu” [“Diagram of Shu and Mu in Family Burial”] that is included in Comprehensive Examinations on the Rites of 75. “Pit” (xue, ✨) indicates a propitious spot where the body was laid. 76. Pak Chiwŏn (1737–1805) was a famous writer of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His pen name was Yŏnam. Although he was talented in literature, he did not take the civil ser vice examination. The turning point in his early life was his travel to Qing China. He accompanied his cousin Pak Myŏngwŏn, who led the Korean embassy to the Chinese court, and had a chance to see the advanced civilization of China. Upon returning home, he recorded the things he had seen and experienced during his travels and published them under the title Rehe Diary (Yŏrha ilgi). In his book he constantly compares the deplorable social conditions of Korean society with the advanced ones of Qing China and argues for reforms. Later he became a proponent of so-called Northern Learning, which emphasized the importance of commercial and manufacturing activities.

688

book IX

Funeral [Duli tongkao] by Xu Ganxue. Many eminent Chinese scholars of our times tried to revive the family burial in the diagram, and their efforts, in my view, gradually led to the popularization of such family burial practices. Areas like Youzhou and Yanzhou in China, which consist only of plains and no mountains, have no such things as the blue dragon [mountain range on the left], white tiger [mountain range on the right], the mountain that faces a grave, and so forth. The terrain of those regions does not allow people to depend on the mountain for burying their dead. That is the reason that they place fences around the grave sites. Since they buried their ancestors toward the south, turning their backs on the north, and arranged their memorial tablets like shu and mu toward the east and west so that they could face each other, geomancy is actually groundless. Because Our State Law [Concerning Grave-Site Disputes] Is Often Inconsistent and Ambiguous, the Government Office Has the Law under Its Thumbs; Consequently, the People Are Not Sure What to Do, and Disputes and Lawsuits Increase. The National Code stipulated: “The space of all grave sites shall be limited, and cultivation and livestock farming shall be prohibited in their vicinity. The offlimits areas where the rules of restriction are enforced are different according to the rank and title of the dead: 100 paces for royalty belonging to rank 1; 90 paces for officials of rank 2; 80 paces for those of rank 3; 70 paces for those of rank 4; 60 paces for those of rank 5; and 50 paces for those of rank 6. The ordinary civil and military officials in comparison with royalty of the same rank are allowed a space reduced by 10 paces. Officials below rank 7, as well as classics licentiates, literary licentiates, and the descendants of officials with the protection privilege are allowed the same privilege as officials of rank 6, and the female members of the family follow the rules for their husbands in terms of rank and privilege.” “Land that was cultivated before the burial is exempt from the rule of restriction, and the burial cannot take place within 100 paces from the village.” (See “Articles on Mourning and Funeral,” Laws on Rituals [Yejŏn].) The number of paces, in my observation, originally indicated the extent of restricted areas in which cultivation and livestock farming were prohibited. For now, however, it has become the limit to prevent the burial of others. 77. Xu Ganxue (1631–1694) was a scholar and official of the early Qing dynasty. He served as minister of justice. He participated extensively in compiling commentaries on the history of the Ming and Ching dynasties, but his major work is Duli tongkao, which consists of 120 volumes. 78. The descendants of high officials who had rendered great ser vices to the country were able to enter public ser vice without taking civil ser vice examinations.

Administration of Justice

689

The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “The number of paces for the descendants of officials with the protection privilege is not specified; however, others shall not be allowed to bury their dead in places connected to those grave sites, which include blue-dragon and white-tiger areas and the perimeter of the grave for planting trees [yangsan]; however, taking excessive spaces for grave sites is prohibited even if they belong to yangsan except blue-dragon and whitetiger areas.” (If the blue-dragon and white-tiger areas exceed 500 to 600 paces, they cannot be categorically recognized as what they are.) “Within the space of 100 paces from houses, a grave cannot be established.” (Even if there is only one house, the same rule is applied.) In my view, the Laws on Rituals state that the off-limits privilege for the descendants of officials with the protection privilege is the same as that of officials of rank 6; the Laws on Penal Affairs, on the other hand, state that they are allowed no such off-limits privilege. In other words, the two laws on the same issue differ from each other. However, the descendants of officials with the protection privilege are the descendants of scholars who have held public office. Only families with the protection privilege that produced officials within ten generations deserve to have the protection privilege. The families of leading members of the local gentry association do not belong to the category of those with the protection privilege. As I have also observed, people who present lawsuits over grave sites often insist that there is no limit on the number of paces when it comes to the descending dragon [naeryong], an extended branch from the main mountain; they contend that in the case of the descending dragon, the burial should be prohibited even if the new burial spot is 1,000 paces from the existing grave. However, there is no such prohibition in the code of law. Attaching great importance to the descending dragon certainly has to do with geomancy. According to the Code of Rites, the off-limits area from the grave was equidistant in all directions from the grave. Why should the number of paces be extended only in the case of the descending dragon? Since the grave can be equipped with a propitious pit only when it is located under a rising peak [kibong] that towers like a roof, it is reasonable to stop establishing a new grave under the same peak because the new one sits on top of a grave belonging to others. However, if the new grave is made in a relatively low spot that is out of the line of sight of the other, it would be appropriate to apply the number of paces specified in the Code of Rites. Not half a pace should be extended further from the legally defi ned off-limits area of the grave under the pretext of violating the descending dragon. The magistrate needs to make up his mind in advance on this matter so that he may not lose his presence of mind when he actually encounters legal disputes over grave sites.

690

book IX

The following happened when Minister Kwŏn Ŏm became chief magistrate of Seoul. At that time Kang Myŏnggil, physician in attendance on the king, behaved in a very high-handed manner, relying on the grace of the king, and the people both in and out of the court frowned at him. Kang purchased land outside the West Gate in order to move his parent’s grave, and on the mountain, the new burial site that he came to possess, there lived dozens of households. He received a promise from those households that they would vacate their places after the tenth lunar month, when the harvest was over. However, they were unable to move out, contrary to their promise, because of the poor harvest in that year. Then Kang Myŏnggil ordered his servant to submit an appeal to the metropolitan government of Seoul, but Chief Magistrate Kwŏn Ŏm did not grant the appeal. One day the king secretly called Royal Secretary Yi Igun and ordered him to persuade Kwŏn Ŏm. The king wanted Kwŏn Ŏm to send out his clerks to drive the residents from Kang’s land as soon as Kang presented his second appeal to him. The following day Kang indeed appealed to the magistrate’s office once again; however, Kwŏn Ŏm was never shaken in the decision that he had already made. The following day the king called in Yi Igun and reprimanded him, and the intensity of the king’s anger made the officials in the court scared. When Yi went to Kwŏn Ŏm and told him what had happened, Kwŏn replied, “The people are exhausted from hunger and cold. If they are driven out under these circumstances, they will surely die. I would rather risk the wrath of the king than make the people complain about the state.” The following day Kang Myŏnggil submitted his suit to the authorities once again, but Kwŏn Ŏm did not change his previous decision at all, which people thought was very dangerous for the chief magistrate himself. Sometime later the king said to Yi Igun, “I thought about the matter quietly and realized that the chief magistrate’s decision was really right. He is undoubtedly a man of principle. You will not be able to persist under these circumstances.” Upon hearing what the king said, Kwŏn Ŏm was deeply gratified, shedding tears. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “If a man purposely procures land close to a large village and another man’s grave and causes litigation, the geomancer who selected the burial spot for the man shall be punished by flog-

79. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kongjŏ, and his pen name Yŏpsŏ. He served as minister of war and third minister-without-portfolio. He was one of the leading opponents of Catholicism who insisted that those involved in Catholicism, including Chŏng Yagyong, be punished by death. 80. Chief physician in the court. His courtesy name was Kunsŏk. He also served as magistrate of Yangju. 81. His courtesy name was Kyesu, and his pen name Hangnok. He served as minister of works, and of rites.

Administration of Justice

691

ging, the chief mourner of the man’s family shall be banished, and the magistrate who judged the case shall be reprimanded.” In my observation, the geomancer is the same as what China calls a “funeral shaman” [changmu]. Since the profits of funeral shamans are made from fi nding a new burial spot, they usually find fault with the spots in the family burial ground no matter how good they are and travel to distant districts with the mourner of the family to seek a mountain with a new spot for burial. Since all the new spots already belong to others, how can there be no lawsuits? The reason that lawsuits proliferate is entirely because of geomancers. If a lawsuit is filed for violating grave-site restrictions, the magistrate must find out who the geomancer was in relation to the grave site in dispute and strictly punish him, showing no mercy. If he acts in that way, he will have no lawsuits related to grave sites before he finishes the term of his magistracy. Even if this kind of approach is not included in the code of law, it should be employed more vigorously. When it is included in the National Code, it goes without saying that this law must be carried out. (If the geomancer is a resident of another district, the magistrate should lure him to his domain for punishment.) The following happened when Yi Sejae became magistrate of Tongnae. If anyone fi led a lawsuit against a kinsman, he punished both sides; if the lawsuit was about a dispute over a grave site, he first punished the geomancer involved in the case. As to those who illegally butchered cows, he did not allow them to buy their release with money; he punished them under the criminal law applied to thieves, and throughout his three years’ term he never ate the meat of the cattle illegally slaughtered. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “When a man who committed a wrongdoing does not appear at the court or does not respond to the litigation in thirty days, the magistrate shall deliver his judgment to the one whose signature appears on the document. When a man on trial who promised to remove a grave runs away to hide, the magistrate shall apply to the man the penal law for those who refuse to accept the court decision after the trial.” The following is a story included in Sunam’s Essentials for Local Magistrates: “Recently a scholar visited the magistrate in his district and fi led a complaint that someone had secretly buried a dead person in his family burial ground, but he had failed to catch the person who had done it. The magistrate, however, pretended to be angry at the scholar and reproached him for making an excessive 82. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chisuk. He also served as second minister of justice. 83. The illegal slaughtering of cows and punishment for it have nothing to do with litigation over a grave site. Mention of them here is intended to emphasize the decisive leadership of Magistrate Yi in dealing with various matters related to his governance.

692

book IX

claim on his rights. He criticized the current custom obsessed with a large grave site, which often leads to conflicts among neighbors, and rejected the complaint after burning the presented document. Sometime later the person who had secretly buried the dead person appeared of his own accord, and he turned out to be a man of low social status belonging to the neighboring district. The magistrate captured the man and made him remove his grave to some other place. The people who heard of this praised the magistrate.” The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “If one who secretly buried a dead person does not show up within one hundred days, the owner of the burial ground shall report this to the government, and after investigations the government shall finally move the grave to another place.” In my view, engaging in litigation is a matter of great importance for the people involved. The damage caused by litigation may not be serious if the defendant, the plaintiff, and the geomancer all reside near the government office. If their residences, however, are distant from the government office, the expenses for attending the trial will not be negligible. If the trial happens to be prolonged for months and years, no one knows how much their expenses will be by the time it is over. Many of them will waste their fortune and eventually ruin themselves. Furthermore, those who are anxious to find a new grave site are generally presumptuous because they are financially strong; those who are deprived of their grave site, on the other hand, are likely to be people who are treated with low regard because of the decline of their family. When he deals with lawsuits over grave sites, the magistrate has no choice but to allow the people to bury their dead within the limit of the law, making sure that their grave sites do not occupy too much land. When he finds a grave that must be removed from the standpoint of the law, he should exert strong pressure on its owner so that the grave can be removed quickly, making him keep his word to complete the job no later than the designated time. If there is a man who delays taking action, the magistrate tries to ask his family or even the people in the neighboring district to persuade the man to expedite moving his grave on time. At the same time the magistrate once again punishes the geomancer by flogging so that he can also join the magistrate’s efforts to persuade the owner of the grave. If the owner of the grave still refuses to follow the order, the magistrate reports his case to the superior office and punishes him according to the law with no mercy. The magistrate who deals with litigation in this way should appear extremely impatient in the eyes of the people, as if he himself were a victim of injustice. Then the people will realize that their magistrate is really serious about enforcing the law concerning grave sites and will try to be careful, admonishing each other. If they know well that a new grave they intend to make is illegal and will have to be moved to another place in the future, they will make no attempt at all to establish a new one from the start or will make no effort to delay the

Administration of Justice

693

government order once the verdict on their case has been made. This is the way in which the wise magistrate carries himself in dealing with grave-site disputes. Although an exhumation of a grave by the government, according to the law, is supposed to be carried out after reporting to the superior authorities, it is clear that the exhumation itself is authorized by the law. If a man who refuses to move his grave is wicked and spiteful, it is advisable to bring his families and neighbors to the scene of the exhumation and make them remove the grave. Then the government may not be criticized for coercing the removal of the grave, although it initiated the whole process. The government should also strictly prohibit the custom of placing signs in a potential burial spot for the purpose of occupying the whole mountain. In the current custom the people occupy an auspicious spot for burial in advance and establish a sign on which their personal records, such as their names, the date of placing the sign, the names of their parents to be buried, and so on, are written. The sign usually consists of a pair of pieces of white porcelain, and the details are recorded on their surface. These pieces of porcelain are planted in the ground with one of them upside down, and they are called burial signs [maep’yo]. It is generally believed that the penalty for those who destroy burial signs is equivalent to that for those who disinter a corpse in a grave. However, since there is no such penalty both in The Great Ming Code and our National Code, the fear of the penalty is simply a vulgar belief among the common people. Let us say that a man named Yi something set up a burial sign in Kapja year, and in Ŭlch’uk year a man named Chang something buries a dead person right next to where Yi set up the burial sign. It would be appropriate to prohibit Chang’s burial if there is indeed such a law that recognizes the validity of the burial sign. However, it is a fact that there is no such law; the law exists only in the groundless talk of the people. When the magistrate encounters a lawsuit like that, he should prohibit the burial according to the law if a burial sign was placed in a man’s family estate or in a section of a grave site where trees are planted or in newly purchased land. However, if the burial sign was set up in empty land owned by no one, the magistrate should recognize first the right of the man who actually buried the dead. Even if the man who set up the burial sign appeals to him, he must dismiss his claim. The man may complain that the other party broke his burial-sign vessel in the ground, but he cannot do anything since there is no penal statute for the destruction of burial signs. In the code of law there are no clauses like “The one who has established a tomb lately is entitled to the burial ground.” The family that presents a lawsuit over a grave site often says, “The one who has established a tomb lately is the real owner of the burial ground.” Nowadays the magistrates also talk that way, and the ignorant persons in the countryside memorize their words like the sayings of sages and quote them as if they were the law itself. However, they are evil words

694

book IX

of tricksters. There is an old saying, “Both the room of a female entertainer and the grave belong to the one who enters last.” Perhaps the groundless talk about the grave may have derived from that old saying. The family with wealth and power recklessly occupies the ancestral grave sites of the family that is poor and weak, making the mound of a grave, planting trees densely, setting up tombstones facing each other, and building a tall pavilion designed to dignify the tomb. When a member of the poor family tries to bury his mother in the grave of his father or his wife below the tomb of his mother, the family with wealth and power prevents the man from setting foot on the spot, threatening him with power and influence. If the man protests, they say, “The law says that the one who has established the tomb lately is the real owner.” The magistrate, who did not read the law, also says, “Since the one who has established the tomb lately is the real owner, you cannot have the grave over there.” How unfair and distressing! How can things like this happen under Heaven? Since there is no such law in the National Code, the Supplement to the National Code, and the Comprehensive National Code, this is certainly a matter that the magistrate should think over seriously. When the magistrate is engaged in disclosing irregularities and drawing diagrams [in relation to grave sites], fairness is most crucial. When scholars who have held public office or their descendants fi le lawsuits against each other, the magistrate should personally go out to inspect the grave site no matter how far away the mountain may be located. Delaying his visit by various excuses is not the proper way to behave toward the scholars. In the case of litigation between a member of the local gentry and a commoner, the magistrate dispatches his aide to the disputed grave site and makes him draw a diagram after measuring the area. However, he must be careful [in employing his aide] because the aide can cause complaints among the people by being partial to the gentry or taking bribes from the commoner. When the magistrate dispatches his aide, therefore, he should repeatedly remind him of the importance of fairness. Then the aide will try to be more cautious in carry ing out his assignment. Since Avarice and Delusion Are Already Rampant, and They Are Followed by Contention and Clashes, Conducting a Trial [on Disputes over Grave Sites] Is Twice as Difficult as Other Cases. The following happened when Zhu Xi governed Chongan. A commoner who was covetous of a fine grave site belonging to a family of high social status secretly buried a tombstone in front of the former’s grave site in advance and fi led a lawsuit against the family after a few years, complaining that he had been deprived of his grave site unjustly. Although the two families contended in court, the case remained unresolved. Therefore, Zhu Xi personally visited the controversial

Administration of Justice

695

grave site. When he saw it, the place was so distinguished in landscape that the mountains around an auspicious grave site appeared to resemble dancing phoenixes and rising dragons, so he came to believe that the powerful family had attempted to seize it unjustly. When he dug the ground a little, he found that there was indeed a tombstone in which the names of all the litigator’s ancestors were recorded. Now absolutely convinced, Zhu Xi ordered the grave site to be returned to the litigator. Many years later Zhu Xi happened to live a retired life on Mt. Wuyi and accidentally passed through the district that he had governed. Meeting with the residents, he asked them about the case of the grave site and learned that the commoner, the litigator, had deceived him, burying his tombstone. He was extremely distressed to learn this fact, but there was nothing he could do about it. Since even a sage like Zhu Xi who was incomparably intelligent and masterful in dealing with the affairs of the world was cheated by a commoner, what more can we say about the magistrates who are mediocre and ill informed? When Chen Lin governed Min District, one of the powerful families requested a favor from him through Chen’s superior. They wanted to remove a grave belonging to others, but Chen refused their request. When Third Minister Hong Hon governed Yangju, a relative of the royal concubine illegally buried his dead in Hong’s district, trusting the background of his family. When Hong Hon disinterred the grave, the provincial governor was greatly surprised, and the people who heard of it were all quiet. The following happened when Kim Sangmuk became magistrate of Andong. There were residents of his district who were engaged in litigation. One of them was the Yi clan of Pŏphŭng, and the other was a man who had recently joined the ruling faction at the time. Although the person who had joined the ruling party recklessly occupied the graveyard belonging to the Yi clan, the three magistrates before Kim Sangmuk were unable to rectify the problem. When Kim Sangmuk arrived at his post, the lawsuit was presented to him once again. Magistrate Kim personally visited the grave site in controversy and told the man who 84. An official of the Yuan dynasty. His courtesy name was Wenzhao. 85. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Honwŏn, and his pen name Siudang. He also served as first counselor (pujehak) and third minister of personnel. 86. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Paegu. He also served as censor general. 87. The Yi clan of Pŏphŭng here indicates the Yi clan of Kosŏng, which lived in Pŏphŭng in Andong. Its descendants still live in the same place. 88. The Old Doctrine faction (Noron). After the Musin Rebellion (1728) led by the members of the Young Doctrine faction (Soron) and the Southerners faction (Namin) was suppressed, the ruling Old Doctrine faction tried to embrace the members of the Southerners faction in the Yŏngnam region. As a result, some members of the Southerners faction joined the Old Doctrine faction.

696

book IX

had unjustly occupied the grave that he should move his grave. The man replied, “Since this case has already been tried three times, it cannot stand for trial once again from the standpoint of law.” The magistrate said to the man, “If the judgments proved to be wrong, the number of trials does not matter.” Then the man asked the magistrate again, “Do you not really know who the Yi clan is?” The magistrate answered, “I really do not.” The man explained, “The Yi clan is the descendants of those related to the Musin Rebellion. How can they have their family graveyard?” Now the magistrate said [to the member of the Yi clan], “Although you have returned to the right path now, your grandfather and greatgrandfather were the descendants of the rebels of Musin year. How dare you talk about the right for your family grave?” Then he ordered the man to remove his grave on a designated date after severe flogging and detainment in the prison, and the local residents who heard about this were very pleased. Later someone asked the magistrate, “Since the way in which you made your fi nal decision is different from what we expected from you, how would you explain that?” Laughing, the magistrate replied, “Since I came down to Yŏngnam, I have found that oxen and Southerners fit the soil, whereas horses and Westerners do not.” Those who heard this remark held their sides with laughter. The following happened when Kim Samok became magistrate of Kwangju. After he took office, he discovered his ancestral tombs in the southern part of his district, which had been lost for many years. After searching through old tombs, he finally found a memorial stone belonging to his ancestors. Then he made grave mounds and offered sacrifice. However, he also discovered that Magistrate Yi Insŏp of Naju had buried his father and wife right next to his ancestral graves. They were so close that one of them practically touched the top of the skull of one of his ancestors, and another was right next to one of his ancestors. When Kim Samok requested that Yi Insŏp remove those graves from where they were, the 89. The Musin Rebellion (1728) broke out in the fourth year of King Yŏngjo. Th reatened by the ascendancy of the Old Doctrine faction, the leaders of the Young Doctrine and the Southerners factions, including Yi Injwa of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province and Chŏng Hŭiryang of Kyŏngsang Province, rose in rebellion, capturing Ch’ŏngju, but were soon suppressed by the government forces in Ansŏng and Chuksan. 90. The Southerners faction originated from the Easterners faction, which emerged in the reigns of Myŏngjong and Sŏnjo, and its geopolitical basis was Kyŏngsang Province, called Yŏngnam. The Easterners were divided into two factions, Northerners and Southerners, during the reign of Sŏnjo, and they were opposed to the Westerners faction, which was based in Kyŏnggi and Ch’ungch’ŏng regions, the western part of the country. Engaging in a serious political power struggle during the reign of Sukchong in the eighteenth century, Westerners and Southerners became mortal enemies to each other. Kim’s joke that Southerners fit the soil of Yŏngnam and Westerners do not has this history behind it. 91. An official of the late Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Paeksim, and his pen name Unjip. He served as first minister-without-portfolio (yŏngjungch’ubusa).

Administration of Justice

697

latter gave his consent and secured a new place for his parents and wife. Then Kim Samok unexpectedly sent Yi Insŏp the following letter: “I am letting you know that the situation has changed. Although our ancestral tombs have remained where they are now for a very long time, their descendants not only have not suffered any calamity up to now but also have enjoyed the privilege of serving in the highest offices over generations and have produced offspring. If the dead who have been buried for sixty years are to be disturbed because of me, I am afraid that this may bring us disaster, contrary to my expectation. Hence I had better stop the whole matter right at this moment. Would it not be much more desirable if our two families promise to each other that they will no longer establish graves at that place and develop their friendship down to their descendants?” Deeply moved, Yi Insŏp shed tears and stopped the work of removing the graves after making the same promise. Since the Regulations Related to Litigation over Slaves Are So Complicated and Multifarious That They Are of Hardly Any Help, It Is Advisable to Take Actual Situations into Consideration and Not to Stick Blindly to the Rules. The National Code stipulated: “In distributing the slaves owned by the parents, the rightful heir of the family shall be given his share and an additional one-fi ft h [of the total number of slaves]; the rest of the children, an evenly divided number of slaves; the children born of a concubine, one-seventh; and the children from a female slave or an entertaining woman, one-tenth.” In my observation, at the beginning of the [Chosŏn] dynasty there were so many private slaves throughout the state that some families owned a hundred or a thousand slaves, and because of this situation, the law of distributing slaves among the children was that detailed. After Sinhae year [1731] the children born of a commoner’s daughter were allowed to become commoners, inheriting the status of their mother, and because of this new law, the number of slaves significantly decreased. (Theoretically speaking, the number of slaves, according to the 92. During the Chosŏn dynasty inheritance property was divided equally among the children. However, the right of the heir was also recognized by providing an additional share of property. For instance, when each child was given five slaves, the heir was given six slaves, which is one-fi ft h of the slaves or the whole property. The individual share of inheritance also varied according to the individual’s social status. The children born of concubines or female slaves or entertaining women were given only one-seventh and one-tenth of the inheritance property, respectively. 93. In the third lunar month of 1731, which was the seventh year of Yŏngjo’s reign, a new law on public and private slaves was passed. It stipulated that male children would inherit the status of their father, and female children that of their mother. 94. “The children born of a commoner’s daughter” here are those born of a father of base status and a mother of good status.

698

book IX

new law, was supposed to decrease by half. However, it was reduced by half in the first generation, and again by half in the second generation, and so forth, gradually decreasing over time.) All laws under Heaven originate from the law of the Son of Heaven and the various marquises, who bequeathed their domains to their children so that their legacy could be continued and developed. For this purpose it was arranged that the legitimate heir inherited most of the domains and property. The portion distributed to other inheritors was less than one-hundredth of the major one granted to the designated heir. How, then, can the law of private families be different from the law of kings and lords? Is it really possible that the chief heir and the rest of the family members divide the property equally, except that the chief heir has the privilege of receiving an additional one-third or one-fifth of the whole property? The trunks of trees and the stalks of grass are made strong and their branches and blades weak because that is the way to prevent them from falling down. The main house is made large while the servants’ quarters are small because that is the right way of establishing a residence and of inspiring the people’s respect for the house. Nowadays, however, branches look like trunks, and the servants’ quarters stand side by side with the main house. How can these things be in harmony with the way of Heaven and promote humanity? Since the rules of law are in disarray like this, the head houses belonging to the families of the kings and princes, of the merit subjects and great sages, of the king’s fathers-in-law and sons-in-law, and of the state councilors and ministers start declining in less than two generations, and after several further generations they become unable to continue their ancestor worship and finally collapse. This all has to do with the disarray in the law. Men of low birth and commoners have nothing to inherit from above and nothing to bequeath down below; their ancestor worship is limited only to their parents, and their families to those of their brothers, which do not deserve to be called families of good lineage [kamun]. If a family is not worthy to form a kamun, whether or not family property is distributed on an equal basis would hardly matter, and therefore, it would be advisable that the magistrate who encounters a case like that make good use of the law of state. In the law on designating the heir of a family during the Spring and Autumn period, there was indeed a distinction between children born of a lawful wife and those born of a concubine of low birth, which was discriminatory. However, I have never heard that he who was designated as a lawful heir of a family received less of the land or feudal estates because of his low birth. Ji Wuzi (his name is Su), with no son from his lawful wife, adopted Qi, a son born of his concubine, as his 95. According to the Laws on Taxation, “The land of the merit subjects can be bequeathed to the children, and the sŭngjungja, the designated heir to the family, is allowed an additional one-third of the land.”

Administration of Justice

699

legal heir; Shu Sunbao and Meng Zhuangzi adopted Chuo and Ge, respectively, as their legal heirs, who were both illegitimate sons begotten from their concubines. These Three Huans [Sanhuan], despite being the major families of the Lu state, all adopted illegitimate sons as their legal heirs in the middle period of their family history. Although Liu Xiangong was a minister of the Zhou dynasty, he adopted his illegitimate son (Wengong Fen) as his legal heir; although Hua Hai was a high official of the Song dynasty, he adopted his illegitimate son (Si Koukeng); although Shi Taizhong was state councilor of the Wei dynasty, he adopted his illegitimate son (Shi Qizi); and although Jing Guojun was a kinsman to the royal house of Qi, he adopted his illegitimate son (Meng Changjun). Therefore, that illegitimate sons are designated as legal heirs is the law of three dynasties. It was the old system of the law that he who was once designated as the legal heir was entitled to all the land and feudal estates owned by the family. Our National Code, however, stipulates as follows: “The illegitimate children of merit subjects shall be allowed to inherit only 30 kyŏl of land for ancestor worship, and the rest of the family land shall revert to the state” (Laws on Taxation). Furthermore, the statute on slaves also rules that “an illegitimate son appointed legal heir of a family can inherit up to two slaves, and the other slaves are distributed to the original family members. If no original family members are available, the remaining slaves revert to the state.” Since our law is like this, is it in harmony with the way of Heaven and in accordance with humanity? The mother of a man like Han Weigong was originally a concubine slave. If the Chinese law were like ours, how could he inherit slaves and family estates? The law discussed here, however, is the one that existed at the beginning of our dynasty, so we hardly hear of it these days. If the magistrate encounters lawsuits over the distribution of land and slaves to illegitimate sons, he must exercise his best judgment, being careful not to follow blindly the old law, which is often contrary to popular sentiment. A Comprehensive Update of the Chosŏn Dynasty’s Administrative Code stipulated: “When slaves are traded, one must report to the government and obtain official authorization. Those who trade slaves privately without authorization will forfeit their slaves, as well as all their payments for the slaves.” (The forms for adjudicating lawsuits concerning family estates and slaves are found at the end of the Laws on Criminal Affairs.) The following statement is from the Essays Written during the Break in Plowing the Land [Chuogenglu]: “When the state was stabilized for the first time, it was arranged that the men and women who became prisoners marry one 96. Th ree Huans (୔ᱍ): the three ruling families of the Lu state: Jisun, Shusun, and Mengsun. 97. A collection of essays written by an author named Tao Zongyi who belonged to the early Ming period. 98. The Ming dynasty.

700

book IX

another, and the children born of these prisoners were made slaves permanently. The slaves were sold or purchased with a red document [hongxie], an official document that authorized new ownership after collecting taxes.” Although the institution of hereditary slavery is thought to be unique to our country, it also existed in China if the aforementioned records can be trusted. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “When a man has children through a female servant of his relative, and the relationship between the children and the owner of the female slave is more than five degrees [och’on], it is permissible for the original owner to take them within his ser vice, according to the law regarding the offspring of slaves released from slavery.” Before the middle age the offspring of slave concubines were not even regarded as humans and therefore were prevented from taking the civil ser vice examination. This law is unprecedented throughout all ages and all places except our country. Unlike in the past, nowadays, opportunities for slaves to hold public office are more available to a certain extent. However, since the statute that enables a man to make his kinsmen into slaves is still in the code of law, the way in which people violate the heavenly principle and offend humanity cannot be worse than this. We must now expand the limits of prohibition for kinship slavery up to eight degrees [p’alch’on] under an identical great-great-grandfather and to the level of relatives below the five-generation ancestors who are exempt from wearing funeral garments. As to the slaves in this category of kinship relation, one should release them from their slave status without payment, and in the case of distant relatives [tanmyŏnjich’in], with a minimum amount of money. Furthermore, when there is a funeral in the family, they should be allowed to follow the traditional dress code and should not be made to unloose their hair and wear funeral garments for the children of the dead [ch’amsoebok]. These things, however, can be carried out only when the ministers in the court memorialize in detail to the king and succeed in obtaining a royal decree to change the law. In the meantime, a local magistrate is obligated to follow the existing law. When he encounters lawsuits like these under these circumstances, it is advisable for him to persuade the contestants to follow the path of righteousness and generosity, never allowing himself to be morally degraded by his own hands. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “When a private slave dies without children, his personal belongings shall revert to his master, and no other

99. Ch’on, originally a term for length measurement, indicates the degree of closeness in terms of blood relationship. For instance, the relationship between father and son or daughter is 1 ch’on, and that between cousins is 4 ch’on. However, the relationship between husband and wife is zero ch’on (much’on), which implies both closeness and distance. 100. These garments, originally designed for the children of the dead, were also forced on the slaves in the household.

Administration of Justice

701

person is allowed to take possession of them. If it happens that the slave has children from a female slave of another family, and his master officially registers the children as slaves, the master shall be punished under the criminal law of violating the royal decree.” In my view, it is difficult for the magistrate to know about the registration of the slave’s children unless he receives a complaint regarding the case. When a slave has children through his marriage with a female servant belonging to another person, the magistrate should persuade the owner of that slave not to violate the law. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “He who seizes the property of a slave who is freed from slavery, pretending to receive the tribute paid in gratitude [sŏnmul] from him, or he who returns a slave who was freed from slavery by his ancestors to slavery, shall be punished under the law of coercing slavery.” When the former owner of a slave falls into extreme poverty, and the slave who was freed from slavery lives near him, leading a life of affluence, the former owner, unable to withstand hunger and cold, visits his former slave and begs for help. He asks for two or so bags of grain on the basis of their old ties without mentioning words like sŏnmul or registering a man as a slave [kisang]. Then the former slave appeals to the magistrate, complaining that his former master demands the sŏnmul payment from him. The magistrate, who is quick to make his decision, orders the former owner of the slave to be arrested under the law of coercing slavery without looking into the real situation. Soon he reports the case to his superior and punishes the man severely according to the criminal law. Is this not a little excessive in applying the law? In a case like this it is advisable that the magistrate make his judgment on the basis of humanity rather than the law itself. The following happened when Chŏng Poksi served as the aide of the governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. When Yun Wŏnhyŏng, who rose in power and influence, unlawfully seized several dozen slaves who belonged to others, the lawsuit was prolonged for many years. Being scared, the governor intended to judge the case in a wrong way; however, Chŏng Poksi argued against the wrongful decision and finally returned the slaves to their original owner. (Collected Works of Tongch’un.) 101. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Igŏn, and his pen names Kyedam and Kyehŏn. He also served as third minister of works and as first secretary of the Royal House Administration (Tollyŏngbu tojŏng). 102. Yun Wŏnhyŏng (?–1565) was the leader of the Soyun (Small Yun) faction and a brother of Queen Munjŏng, the second wife of King Chungjong. He led the Purge of 1545 (Ŭlsa sahwa) and drove the members of the Great Yun (Taeyun) faction, his political opponents, from power. 103. Called Tongch’unjip or Tongch’undangjip, it is a collection of works by Song Chungil (1606– 1672), an official of the mid-Chosŏn period, who served as inspector general and minister of war. Tongch’ungdang was his pen name.

702

book IX

Since the Trial of Lawsuits over Debt Requires Tactfulness, the Magistrate Should Not Insist Only on Principle. Sometimes He Needs to Be Strict, Pressuring the Defendant to Pay Back His Debt; Sometimes He Needs to Be Benevolent, Trying to Reduce the Amount of Debt. The National Code stipulated: “He who takes excessive interest on private loans shall be punished by eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick” (the articles on prohibition). Then in the footnotes there is the following statement: “The socalled excessive interest rate indicates collecting 1 toe for grain of 10 toe every month, or 5 toe for the same amount of grain every year. Even if the debt is paid over a long period of time, the total amount of interest is not supposed to exceed double the amount of the principal.” In my observation, the case that was first mentioned is 10 percent monthly interest [taedon pyŏlli], and the second is 50 percent annual interest [obun pyŏlli]. Since these two are extremely high interest rates, they are prohibited by the laws on penal affairs. That the total interest payments cannot exceed double the amount of the principal even if they are paid over a long period of time indicates that a 20 percent interest rate paid over many years, for instance, can come to triple or quadruple the amount of the principal. That is the reason that the law sets the limit on interest payments as no more than double the amount of the principal. People nowadays call this “formula for the principal and the accrued interest” [chamo chŏngsik]. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “He who exceeds the limit of 120 percent in collecting debts, whether public or private, shall be punished by eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for two years. (He who loans grain and collects interest in cash can be sued by his debtor and punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick, as well as life exile to 3,000 li, and the interest that he collected all reverts to the government.) He who makes private loans at such a high interest rate as kamni] shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and life exile. Even if the loan has been paid over a ten-year period, the amount of interest cannot exceed that of one year, and he who violates this law shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick” (section on “Collection of Debts,” Laws on Taxation). 104. Chamo chŏngsik indicates a rule that nullified the loan when the total interest payments were double the amount of the principal. 105. Kap means “double.” So kamni, literally, “double interest rate,” means interest rate which makes the interest payment double the amount of the principal. If someone borrowed 10 taels for a month at the rate of kamni, his loan payment amounted to 20 taels at the end of the month.

Administration of Justice

703

In my observation, the laws on penal affairs allow the collection of double the amount of the principal when the payment of a loan is prolonged, but the laws on taxation stipulate 120 percent as the maximum interest rate even if the payment is prolonged for ten years. Creditors naturally want to follow the laws on penal affairs, and the magistrate the laws on taxation. However, the laws on penal affairs refer to the National Code, and the laws on taxation to the Supplement to the National Code. At the beginning of the dynasty the abuses of private loans were not serious because people did not use currency, and therefore the punishment for the violation of the law was relatively generous; the violators were subject to only eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick. After the reign of Sukchong, however, currency circulated widely, and the abuses of private loans began to increase day by day and month by month. The ruin of many common people was mostly due to the abuses of private loans. As a result, the law regarding loan abuses became stricter to the degree that violators were subject to penal servitude for two years. Since all the current laws, both public and private, tend to follow the new ones and abandon the old, the Supplement to the National Code is preferred to the National Code when they are not in agreement. Likewise, the Comprehensive National Code is favored above the Supplement to the National Code when they disagree with each other. How, then, can the collection of debts alone follow the old laws and abandon the new? It is easy to find out what the right choice is. When a rich person lends money to make a profit and a poor person, lacking strength, is unable to pay back his loan on time, the magistrate rules that the creditor should wait until his debtor has a good harvest in the autumn. When remission of a debt is possible, it is advisable that the magistrate burn the loan paper in the yamen to prevent the seeds of trouble in the future. If a poor scholar or a poor commoner happens to sell his estates, cunning brokers and craft y merchants visit him to borrow the money with the purpose of making profits for themselves, and some of them do not pay back their loan even though they make good profits out of it. A case like this should be dealt with as if it were robbery. The magistrate should relentlessly exert the utmost pressure on those people to pay back their loans as fast as they can. As for the interest payments, however, he will persuade the creditor to take only 120 percent even if 200 percent were to be paid, which is the limit set by the law. However, if the situation of the debtor is very bad, he will also allow payment of double the amount of the original loan, applying the old laws. When a libertine or a rake defrauds another man of his property and wastes all of it on gambling until nothing is left, but his house is too poor to compensate for it even if it is pressured very hard, the magistrate should make him search out 106. The late fourteenth century, when the Chosŏn dynasty was founded.

704

book IX

other gamblers, as well as the one who organized the gambling. Once they are found, he makes them disgorge the gambling money and all other expenses extorted for food and candles and return the money to the original owner who was defrauded. This is the best way of handling the case. It also happens that a rich man’s son who leads a dissolute life secretly conspires with outsiders, including a clerk in charge of local taxes, and makes a document that falsely claims that the dissolute son borrowed 200 taels that allegedly belong to the state. This is the work of three imposters called samgan. When the clerk accuses the rich man’s son of embezzling public funds, the magistrate immediately arrests the accused and pressures him to pay back the stolen money. At the same time he also takes the man’s father and brothers into custody so that he can expedite the return of the money. Since they are rich, how can they not pay it? Once the money is paid, the three imposters divide it among themselves. No fraudulence and wickedness under Heaven can be worse than this. The magistrate must be aware of this type of trickery, and when he discovers such a case, he must severely punish the offenders, treating them as if they were robbers. When a resident of a neighboring district brings a complaint [against a resident of the magistrate’s own district], and the complaint sounds reasonable, the magistrate should clearly redress the wrongs without being influenced by his personal feeling. If the complaint is about a grave site, the magistrate should make efforts that are twice as great as those he would normally make in urging the removal of the grave; and if it is about a private loan, the magistrate should make equally strenuous efforts to collect the payment so that the resident from the neighboring district may not stay too long in his district. Otherwise the resident of the neighboring district will return home with a sense of injustice because he may feel that he has been unfairly treated for being a stranger. The situations of townsfolk and village folk, and inlanders and islanders, are not the same, not to mention that of a man who traveled a long distance to make an appeal for the wrongs he is faced with. Taking this into consideration, the magistrate must not mistreat the litigator from the other district, making him wait a long time and suffer inconveniences. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “When a man fails to pay back his loan, either public or private, one cannot force others except his father and sons to pay it. He cannot make the man’s brothers, family members, and men close to him [neighbors] pay his loan under any circumstances.” “When a debtor who took a private loan dies, the interest on his loan cannot be collected.” “He who grabs paddies and dry fields or forcefully makes the debtor’s children into slaves to collect his private loans shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and life exile, and the estates and children shall be returned to the debtor.”

Administration of Justice

705

Mei Hengxiang became magistrate of Guan as his first appointment. In his district there were many powerful families connected to the court. They often looked down on the magistrate and sometimes dared to quarrel with him if the magistrate treated them too strictly. Mei Hengxiang, however, always treated them nicely. One day it happened that one of those people visited Magistrate Mei and asked him to collect his debt, presenting pettitoes as a gift. Preparing a table for drinking with boiled pettitoes, he summoned the debtor and reproached him for his failure to pay back the loan. When the debtor appealed to him, explaining his miserable situation, Mei reproached him once again: “How dare you make an excuse after borrowing money from a noble personage? You will be beaten to death unless you pay back what you owe.” When the debtor left, shedding tears, there was a sign of sympathy on the face of the creditor. Detecting the sign, Mei recalled the debtor and said with knitted brows: “I know that you are really poor, but you have to understand the situation you are now in. You had better hurry to make money by selling your children and wife. Nevertheless, being your magistrate, who is like a parent to a man like you, I cannot allow you to separate yourself from your beloved ones right away. I will let you go home tonight so that you can bid farewell to them permanently. You will never be able to see them again in this world.” Upon hearing these words, the debtor cried even more loudly, and the creditor, who was watching the scene, also shed tears and said that he did not want the repayment of his loan from the man. So the magistrate tore up the loan document. The following happened when Liu Zihou became magistrate of Liuzhou. The local custom of his district was that people made loans, taking men and women as security, and made them into slaves when the debtor failed to pay back his loan on time. Creating some special funds, Liu Zihou bought freedom for the men and women taken as security and made them return to their homes. When some of them were too poor to be saved with the money he had secured, Liu calculated the period of time that they served as slaves in terms of money and made sure that they were released when the cost of their ser vice equaled the amount of the money they had borrowed. When the governor adopted Liu’s approach and ordered that it be carried into effect in other districts, the number of people released from their status as slaves reached several thousand. When Two Villages Are Engaged in Litigation over the Issue of Their Military Taxes, the Magistrate Must Trace the Case to Its Origin and Bring It to a Clear Conclusion. When village A and village B, for instance, dispute in court over 1 catty of military cloth tax, they both contend that the same tax should be paid by the other. 107. Unknown.

706

book IX

The magistrate, the judge of the case, says that A is right, and then his successor says that B is right. While magistrates vacillate between the two opposite decisions, several years quickly pass by, and the pile of legal papers grows like a mountain. When the magistrate comes across a case like this, he should make both parties present their cases in court, producing all their supporting documents and proofs accumulated over the years. On the day when the trial is held, the magistrate should work only on that case, setting aside all other business for a little while. Since the people [the litigators], prostrating themselves on stone steps, feel extremely uncomfortable if they are made to stay in that position for a long time, the magistrate makes them withdraw to a place under the servants’ quarters and closely examines the documents of both sides one by one. He first checks the record of Kapja year and determines which village first took legal action against the other, how the other village pleaded a counterclaim, what the judgment was, which party was the winner, and so on, creating a separate fi le of records. Then he makes another separate fi le, examining which village in Ŭlch’uk year first brought a suit against the other, how the suit was met with a countersuit, what the judgment was, which party was the winner, and so on. In addition, he also closely examines and reads handwritten agreements [sugi] and statements of complaint [koŭm], as well as family records, military records, and military tax records of the two villages during the last three decades. Furthermore, he takes a good look at these documents by holding them to the light to find out whether they were forged or fabricated. He examines the traces of scratch marks made by a knife or signs of revision, as well as the stamps of official seals, comparing them with the original seals. Since truth and deception are naturally revealed in the process of these multifarious investigations, the magistrate writes down his findings on a nice piece of paper as follows: Draft of decision: the lawsuit over the military cloth tax regarding a support soldier for artillery residing in Tongsan-ri. Military record of Kapja triennial year: support soldier for artillery Yi Tong’i; age thirty-six; address Namch’ŏn-ri. Military record of Chŏngmyo triennial year: support soldier for artillery Yi Nomi; age fi fteen; father Tongi; address Namch’ŏn-ri. The court decision regarding the litigation initiated by Namch’ŏn-li in Kyŏng’o year reads: “Yi Nomi is already a resident of your village. Hence it is your village that is obligated to pay the military tax.” The reply sent by Tongsan-li to the resident in Namch’ŏn-ri reads, “Why do you not accept the court decision, which is very clear? Your village is responsible for the military tax.” The military record of Tongsan-ri shows a soldier of sog’o units right above the Royal Division soldiers [Ŏyŏnggun]. However, these two letters clearly have a scratch mark by a knife. They were originally support soldier for artillery [p’obo] but were changed into sog’o.

Administration of Justice

707

Examination of all the documents and evidence shows that a support soldier for artillery clearly belonged to Tongsan-ri; however, when a resident named Yi Nomi happened to move to Namch’ŏn-ri, the villagers of Tongsan-ri came up with a craft y scheme, which was to pass along their military tax burden to Namch’ŏn-ri. The custom of people is that craft y and wicked. When this court found the representative of Tongsan-ri guilty and ordered him to be punished by twenty strokes of beating with a light stick, he voluntarily wanted to burn all his litigation documents and promised that he would never bring another suit on the same issue. Now, on the basis of the complaint submitted by Yi T’aeun, the representative of Tongsan-ri, I make this draft of final sentence that will serve as a permanent testament about the truth of the matter and prevent the villages from inflicting painful damage on each other. I hope that this decision will be carried into effect in reference to what has been discovered. So-and-so date, month, and year. The written seal of the current magistrate, and the signatures of the chief of the local yangban association, Yun Kisŏk; the clerk in charge of personnel, Kim Sedong; and the clerk in charge of justice, Yu Munsik. Their signatures and stamps are placed in four or five spots, using a vermilion inkpad.

If the magistrate handles lawsuits in this way, lawsuits will not recur even if he is at the end of his term. Since the number of major lawsuits in a district does not exceed forty to fift y at most, they will disappear from his office in a few months even if he deals with only one case a day. Furthermore, since the litigator of the suit was not only defeated but also was compelled to burn his documents and was punished by twenty strokes of beating with a light stick, the rumor about him will spread. Then the people will be more careful in bringing lawsuits and will try to make more effort to solve their problems by themselves. Then eight or nine disputes out of ten will be solved without the intervention of the court, and when this happens, who will bring lawsuits to the magistrate? For this reason, there is a saying that “He who tries to handle his work in a simple way is delayed instead.” This approach can be applied to all kinds of lawsuits, including disputes over lands and estates, taxes, slaves, loans, and so forth. In lawsuits over taxes the magistrate personally examines various records on the lands and the taxes on them. If he clarifies and explains his investigations in the presence of the litigators and hands out official documents in the aforementioned manner, there will be no lawsuits.

Since the Key in Making the Proper Decision Lies in Securing Documents Privately Drafted [Kwŏngye], It Is Only the Wise Magistrate Who Can Expose Concealed Tricks and Clandestine Illegalities. Essentials for Trial Hearings [Ch’ŏngsong yosik], written by Lord Wanp’yŏng, Yi Wŏnik, states as follows: “At the beginning of the trial the magistrate takes the

708

book IX

complaint (on the day when both the plaintiff and the defendant start the trial procedure in the court); after taking the complaint, he takes the statement made by the defendant [wŏnjŏng]. Then he examines the documents submitted by both litigants [mungi] and returns them after sealing the documents.” As to the documents, he examines the order and sequence (related to month, date, and so on); whether or not the litigant is on the record of the family register (a man without family register, according to the old laws, was disqualified to present a suit); and whether or not the official documents were appropriately issued (since affairs regarding slaves belong to the Slave Agency, and lands and estates to Hansŏngbu, the metropolitan government office of Seoul, the magistrate must check whether the official seals, decisions, and signatures properly belong to the corresponding offices; in the case of local districts, he needs to examine the residence of the property owner). As to the time limit [kihan], he should check the law in detail (when the time limit fi xed by the law has passed, the claim becomes invalid), and as to kinship matters, whether or not formalities were correctly observed (unless one is a parent, paternal grandparent, maternal grandparent, parent-in-law, or husband, he cannot be qualified to become a proprietor of inherited property). When the magistrate examines documents and records, it is important to compare them for potential discrepancies or forgery, and as to the seals and stamps, he needs to find out to whom they belong (which office or individuals, and so on). In addition, he needs to examine whether there are letters added to the original copy after stamping (a trace of ink is often found where the stamp was affi xed). When he reviews year and month, the magistrate must check the status of an individual’s life and death (the date of death on the record and the date of the lawful proprietor’s death should be compared) and the arrival and departure of individuals (in case the lawful proprietor stays in a foreign country, carry ing out a diplomatic mission). As to the additional paper affi xed to the documents, its veracity must be checked (the official documents and statements issued by other offices must be examined); as to the drafts of court decisions, he must check signatures and seals (the exact years and months of the term of the magistrate who rendered the decision, as well as his signatures and seals) and whether the dates of those signatures and seals correspond to the death anniversaries of kings and royal personages (if the dates on official documents, statements of confirmation, and court decisions coincide with national anniversaries and holidays, forgery can be suspected). In dealing with cases concerning slaves, the magistrate should review their original records (the names of their parents and children, as well as the order of their birth and the veracity of the names themselves), and in the case of lands and estates, their records and documents (the record kept by a tenant is called

Administration of Justice

709

kŭmgi, and each house has a record called t’onggi). During the farming season, however, the documents should be sealed (in case the trial is suspended during the farming season, the documents of the plaintiff and defendant should be sealed with stamps and deposited in the cabinet along with the statements of confirmation from both sides until the harvest is over). These procedures, in my observation, well indicate how serious and considerate our predecessors were in running trial hearings, quite in contrast with those who are rash and careless in our days. The offices of former ages were stern and austere in making laws; in contrast with our age, nothing reckless or riotous is found in their work. C H A P T E R : J U D G M E N T A N D I M PR I S ON M E N T

The Secret of Sentencing Lies Only in Making Good Observations and Being Cautious in Reaching a Verdict. Since the Life and Death of a Man Depend on the Observations and Judgment That the Magistrate Makes, How Can He Not Be Cautious? Since the Book of Changes stated, “Being watchful and cautious in making observations and judgments, one avoids making a convict overstay in the prison,” the secret of sentencing lies only in making good observations and being cautious in reaching a verdict. If the magistrate only makes good observations but fails to be cautious, the judgment that he makes will be marked by unexpectedness and unfairness; if he is only cautious without being observant, his work is delayed and remains unresolved for a long time. This is a real challenge for the magistrate who has to make decisions every day. Only when he is both observant and cautiously decisive will he be praised for his competence in dealing with criminal justice. Zheng Xuan stated: “He who is in charge of criminal justice either drives fast with intelligence or finds himself impatient because of his hot temper or commits a mistake being busy, and these are the things that can bring injustice to others. Peng Shao in olden days was no less distinguished than his predecessors in terms of accomplishments; however, he made one serious mistake by executing an innocent man who happened to be a fi lial son, which became a stigma on his reputation. Dealing with criminal justice is indeed that difficult.” When Sheng Ji became chamberlain for law enforcement [tingwei], there was neither unfairness nor delay in dealing with criminal cases. Every year when winter came, which was the time for making judgment of a crime, his wife held a 108. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Fengyi, and his posthumous title Huian. He served as minister of punishments. 109. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Junda.

710

book IX

candle in her hand, and Sheng Ji a pen, and they shed tears, facing each other. His wife said to him, “You have to execute the law impartially for the sake of society, but you must be careful not to punish the people too recklessly and make catastrophes reach down to our descendants.” Ouyang Guan of the Song dynasty always read trial records until late at night and lamented time after time when he finished reading. When his wife asked the reason for his lamentation, he replied, “This is a case for capital punishment. Although I have tried to save a man’s life, I am unable to find a way.” When Tian Yuanjun governed Chengdu, he made the utmost effort to understand the real situations of the people who were weak and unfairly treated. The people of the Shu region called him “Sky-Illuminating Candle.” Wuhou [Zhuge Liang] in his letter [to an official] said, “When you make a decision that leads to punishing an individual, you must be concerned about the fairness of your decision. When you deal with criminals, you should observe the way in which they carry themselves, listen to what they say, and watch their faces. If their faces reveal fear, if their voices sound sad, and if they are quick in coming in, slow in going out, and turn around sighing, those are signs of suffering and complaining, and you need to have sympathy for them. If a man, however, keeps on looking down, throwing a furtive glance or casting a side glance, stepping backward, and listening to what others say and secretly calculating in his heart; and if what he says makes little sense, and if he is slow in coming in and quick in going out and dares not look back, his behavior is characteristic of a guilty person who wants to escape from a dangerous situation.” Hu Dachu said, “According to an old saying, when one catches a thief, one must seize his stolen goods, and when one catches an adulteress, one must grab her lover.” Although this remark may sound vulgar, it makes good sense. When a defendant makes a statement, each detail must agree with the facts. Then the statement is trustworthy. He also said, “There are three things that one should watch out for in dealing with criminal cases: first, that the judge is not drunk; second, that the defendant is not drunk; third, that the defendant is not weak. If the judge is drunk, he will have things to regret later; if the defendant is drunk, he will be fearless; if the defendant is weak, things will be much more unpredictable.” Zheng Xuan said: “He who is an official wants to gain a reputation by meticulously poring over the case as if he were searching for a needle in a haystack; thus he strictly applies the laws and manipulates them so that the decision that he 110. His courtesy name was Zhongbin. He served as assistant magistrate of Qinzhou. 111. Unknown. 112. Wuhou, which means Martial Marquis, is a title referring to Zhuge Liang, the famous military strategist and statesman of the Shu Han during the Th ree Kingdoms period of China.

Administration of Justice

711

makes may never be reversed. Despite these occurrences, scholars of repute [officials] who cultivate themselves often turn a blind eye in order to avoid being talked about even though they know that the accused is innocent. They ignore serious matters related to the life of a commoner simply for the sake of preserving their good name. “It is often the case that men of wealth become acquainted with officials and bribe them in order to avoid punishment for their crimes; if they happen to come across officials with integrity, however, they are unfairly suspected and treated because the officials are concerned about their reputations. Those who deal with criminal cases must be impartial to people, whether they are rich or poor.” He also said: “Once a commoner from the countryside arrives at the gate of the yamen, he is so stunned by the sound of reproaches and physical beating by the clerks and guards that he confesses to a crime of which he is innocent; he is scared that he will be bound to the torture device and feels desperate to escape from such a terrible situation. Sometimes a clerk in charge of criminal cases who is interested in a speedy conclusion to the case coerces confessions by torturing the suspect, or the magistrate makes up his mind before he hears all the facts, and his subordinates merely act in accordance with the magistrate’s premature conclusion. This is the reason that false confessions are made and people are tortured. Ah! If a person is found guilty, the whole family lets out a howl of agony, and when a person is convicted of a crime, his wife and children are sold as slaves; therefore, how can the magistrate not be careful about the words of his decision even though they are only few? If he really wants to understand the situation of common people, he should keep the yamen gate wide open, allowing them to speak freely of the things that they failed to explain fully. If things are concealed beyond detection, he should ask people on the street or discuss with the residents in the town and deliberate day and night about the case. Then even a ghost will come to his aid.” In a Situation in Which Many People Are Being Implicated in a Criminal Matter and Imprisoned, Nine out of Ten of Them May Have Reason to Feel That They Are Being Treated Unjustly. Therefore, It Is Advisable to Try to Have Them Released Quietly. Nothing Can Be Greater Than This Way of Planting Virtue and Great Blessings. Mu Rongnong said, “He who is in a higher position does not drive away a man to a dangerous corner.” (The remark of Mu Rongnong ends here.) Since it is in your power to provide assistance when others are faced with danger, they will

113. Unknown.

712

book IX

benefit from the little assistance you can provide if you try to be a little generous to them. Chahasanin [Mountain Man under the Purple Sky] stated: “A man who suffers from the misfortune of great injustice appeals to Heaven but hears no response from it; then he appeals to Earth and still hears no response from it; and fi nally he appeals to his parents and again hears no response from them. At that critical moment an official suddenly appears, examines his imprisonment case down to its root, and releases him from all the accusations of a crime. Now regaining his freedom, the man fi nally realizes how great the judge is.” The following happened when Yuan An became prefect of Chujun. King Ying of the Chu state plotted treason with others, and when the government ordered the military to investigate the incident, the number of people involved in the plot amounted to several thousand. When the clerks in charge made a great hurry in their investigations, there were many people who made false confessions of their criminal charges. Upon arriving at his post and even before entering the yamen, Yuan An began to review all the cases of imprisonment. When he reported the cases of arrests without clear evidence to support them to his superior one by one, his aides and clerks expostulated with him, knocking their foreheads on the floor. Yuan An said, “If things go wrong, I will take full responsibility. I will make sure that you will not be punished for this.” Deeply moved, the emperor himself immediately granted the request made by Yuan An, and the number of households that were released from their conviction became as many as four hundred. Yu Dingguo and his father served as district officials in charge of criminal justice, so they dealt with a number of cases of those who were unfairly charged with crimes, and even those who were convicted did not complain about the decision made by Yu. Earlier, when the father of Yu Dingguo was about to fi x his broken gate with the elders of the village, he said to them, “Let us raise the gate a little higher so that a tall carriage drawn by four horses can pass through. Since I have accumulated substantial ancestor’s virtue, never treating a man unfairly, there will certainly be one of my descendants who will enjoy prosperity and fame.” Yu Jing, the grandfather of Yu Xu of the Later Han dynasty, served as official of the county jail. Whenever scaffolds had to be built for executions, he followed, shedding tears. Earlier he said, “In old days Lord Yu requested that his gate be raised, and his son rose to the position of grand councilor. Why cannot my descendants become one of the nine ministers [jiuqing]?” Then he made the 114. Th is term refers collectively to the highest-ranking officials during the Han dynasty, who were also called the nine chamberlains.

Administration of Justice

713

courtesy name of Shengqing for his grandson Yu Xu. In planting virtues and receiving blessings, that was the way of the people in the old days. The following happened when Zhang Shuo became administrator of Yongzhou. During the years [707−709] of Jinglong, Prince Zhongfu of Qiao staged a rebellion and was executed. The prefect detained his followers for prosecution but was unable to determine their guilt or innocence in a timely manner. Therefore, the emperor made Zhang Shuo take charge of the case. Seizing the real facts in their entirety, Zhang released all those who were unfairly indicted and punished the rest. The emperor comforted him for his hard work and said, “I know that you have not punished those who are innocent and yet never left out those are guilty. Unless you were a loyal subject, how could this be possible?” The following happened when Qian Zhongding [Qian Ji] served as administrator for public order [sili canjun] of Anzhou. It happened that a clerk made a false confession of committing larceny and was sentenced to death. When the district appealed to the county authorities concerning his case, Qian brought the matter to light. The county magistrate said, “You will be rewarded if you uncover the wrongdoings of the district.” Qian replied, “Getting to the bottom of the matter in criminal questions is simply part of my job. I am not interested in seeking benefits by pointing out the mistakes of others.” Those who heard him admired his loft y spirit. Pi Rixiu in his Secret Book of Deer Gate Mountain [Lumen yinshu] said: “In the olden days the officials who judged prisoners were saddened after finding out the facts of crimes; the judges in our days are pleased after finding them out. The former were saddened because they lamented that the people lacked enlightenment; the latter were pleased because they expected rewards for what they found about the mistakes of the people.” The Chinese criminal justice system, in my observation, regards the comprehension of real facts as crucial and remunerates the judges for the success they bring to cases. This system encourages officials to exert themselves to carry out their job but creates such abuses. When Chen Jin became administrator of public order of Huaizhou, he was fair and reliable in carry ing out justice. A district in the domain of Huaizhou 115. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Daoji or Shuozhi, and his posthumous title Wenzhen. He also served as Secretariat director and was enfeoffed as Lord Yanguo. 116. Jinglong is the last reign name of Zhongzong, the fourth emperor of the Tang dynasty. 117. An official of the Song dynasty. Zhongding was his posthumous title. He served as a scholar of the Dragon Diagram Hall (Longtuge). 118. A poet and writer of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Ximei. He was a contemporary of poet Lu Guimeng. He once served as magistrate of Suzhou and participated in the suppression of Huang Chao’s rebellion. Later he retired to Mt. Lumen. It appears that the Secret Book of Deer Gate Mountain (Lumen yinshu) was written while he lived on Mt. Lumen.

714

book IX

arrested a thief and transported him to the prefectural prison. When Chen Jin brought the prisoner’s innocence to light, the prison warden, relying on his powerful relatives, personally asked Chen to punish the prisoner for his private gain. Assuming a serious countenance, Chen said, “Would you feel comfortable when you got rewards for killing an innocent man?” Then he released the prisoner. The people realized once again that he was a man of benevolence. When Zhou Xin of the Ming dynasty first became censor, he was outspoken and often impeached officials for their wrongdoings, so the people in power were afraid of him and called him a cold man with a face of frozen steel [lengmian hantie]. When he arrived in the Zhejiang region for inspection, an innocent man who had been imprisoned for a long time heard of his coming and said with joy, “Since Lord Cold is coming, my worries are over.” Zhou Xin indeed brought the prisoner’s innocence to light, and the man was released. No One Will Feel Wronged When Only the Ringleader Is Executed and Those Related to Him Are Generously Treated. The following happened when Di Renjie became prefect of Yuzhou. The army of the king of Yue was defeated, and his two thousand followers were convicted and sentenced to death. Releasing them from the rack of torture, Di Renjie secretly memorialized to the king: “If I report these things to Your Majesty, I am afraid that I may be misunderstood as defending the traitors. If I do not, I fear that the love Your Majesty bears for his people will suffer. So I remain undecided, tearing up my memorials over and over again. The conspirators I have investigated were not originally bad people; they were deceived and fell into the present situation.” The king sent his decree and ordered those people to be banished to the border region to serve as guards. When the prisoners were released, the elders of Ningzhou went out to see them and said, “Prefect Di Renjie saved us.” Then they set up a monument in honor of Di Renjie, shed tears, and hugged each other. They finally left after three days of praying for the health of their prefect. The following happened when Cui Renshi of the Tang dynasty took charge of criminal justice in Qingzhou. The jail at that time was filled with prisoners. Upon arriving at his post, Cui released them from the torture rack and fed and bathed them, except ten or so ringleaders. He said, “In carry ing out justice in relation to imprisonment, affection and generosity should be given priority, not self-interest in order to avoid a reprimand from the superior office. Should it be right to hold prisoners who are innocent for fear of reprimand? Even if some mistakes are made in showing affection and generosity, exchanging my life for 119. An official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Emperor Taizong (626–649). He also served as vice grand councilor and prefect of Lüzhou.

Administration of Justice

715

the lives of ten people is also what I desire.” Then a royal messenger arrived and interrogated the ringleaders, and one of them said, “Since Lord Cui has been so generous and fair in treating us, we have no regret. We only wish that you could expedite our execution as quickly as possible.” The following happened when Shi Gao governed Dingzhou. A band of atrocious people in Tangxian plotted rebellion and made a list that contained the names of as many as thousands of residents, and one of the plotters reported their activities to the authorities, showing the name list. Shi Gao conducted interrogations, and it was wintertime. Climbing the steps to the floor of his office while carry ing the roll of the name list in the chest, he pretended that he accidentally fell over a brazier. When he dropped the roll into the fire, it was completely destroyed, and the names in it became irrecoverable. Shi Gao punished only the ringleaders and released the rest. The following happened when Zhang Qi governed Jiangyin Military Prefecture. He discovered that clerks in his district had stolen 300 guan of copper currency twenty years earlier, and he detained several dozen of them. Transport Commissioner Zhao Guo said, “Since your discovery deserves reward from the government, banish those clerks. I will report this to the court.” With a sad countenance Zhang Qi replied, “How can I seek reward by killing others?” Then he summoned all the clerks involved in the theft and told them to repay what they had stolen. Upon hearing about Zhang Qi’s words, the relatives of the clerks scrambled to find the money they owed in such a great hurry that it took only ten days until the whole amount was repaid. When this happened, Zhang Qi accused two dead persons of having been the ringleaders and passed over the others in silence. Among the people of Yunzhou there was a man who spread uncanny things [i.e., superstitions, agitating remarks, or slanders], and his followers were as many as over a hundred. He who had arrested them falsely accused them of treason, expecting a reward from the government. Grand Master of Remonstrance Li Yingyan went down to investigate the matter. He beheaded only a few ringleaders and released the rest. The following happened when Yi Yŏnghwi became magistrate of Samdŭng. An incident occurred in the district of Sŏngch’ŏn in which ten people or so were charged with a crime and arrested. Hŏ Chil, magistrate of Sŏngch’ŏn, handled 120. An official of the Jin dynasty. Starting his career as a local clerk, he rose to become prefect of Dingzhou. 121. An official of the Song dynasty. 122. Unknown. 123. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. He also served as fourth inspector and royal secretary. 124. A younger brother of Chief State Councilor Hŏ Chŏk (1610–1680), he served as magistrate of various districts including Imp’i, Majŏn, Wŏnju, Naju, and Kanghwa.

716

book IX

their cases at will, dealing with them ruthlessly. He cruelly tortured them without even asking who was the leader and who were the participants. The governor also followed what the magistrate reported, but Yi Yŏnghwi alone argued, “This imprisonment case was blown out of proportion, and the punishment was also excessive to the degree that it violates the law.” Hŏ Chil said, “The popular sentiment of this district is extremely unsettled. Under the circumstances, should we really pay attention to a little thing like that? Besides, since they are already involved in the crime, only death awaits them; there is no chance for them to survive. Furthermore, prolonging the imprisonment case can cause trouble; nothing would be better than executing them quickly.” Yi Yŏnghwi protested, “What are you saying? He who is in charge of imprisonment should find a way of saving people even among those who are condemned. If you put them to death just because they are implicated in the case and therefore have no chance to survive, you may feel relieved, but what about those who must die, deprived of an opportunity for a fair trial?” He finally reduced their sentence and released a few who were the most unfairly imprisoned. Since Certain Criminal Cases Are Very Complicated and Hard to Judge Clearly, They Should Be Subjected to a Second Review Before a Final Decision Is Made. Such Efforts to Achieve a Just Decision Are an Example of the Greatest Benevolence under Heaven and the Foundation of Virtue. When Juan Buyi became metropolitan governor, clerks and residents admired his dignity and trustworthiness. He regularly toured his domain for inspection and returned home with the record of prisoners’ names. When he arrived home, his mother asked him about the number of reinvestigations or reductions of penalties for suspicious criminal charges [p’yŏngbŏn]. If he replied that he had cases of p’yŏngbŏn, his mother was pleased and laughed; if he replied that he had none, she was displeased and did not eat her meal. Because of his mother, Juan Buyi’s life as an official was not ruthless, although it was austere. The following happened when Qian Hui of the Tang dynasty was demoted to prefect of Jiangzhou. Earlier it happened that a tribute ship was robbed, and lawenforcement clerks arrested two hundred roguish youths and confined them in the prison. Qian Hui released them all after making investigations of them. A few days after their release, the criminal was captured in Shuzhou. The following happened when Han Yi governed Bozhou. His second son, assistant magistrate of Xijing, took leave to visit him. Very pleased, he invited his aides, setting up a table for food and drinks, and also had his sons sit at the side. 125. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Wu. He also served as prefect of Qingzhou.

Administration of Justice

717

He suddenly asked his second son, the assistant magistrate, as follows: “As I heard, your district has some complicated criminal cases and has already reported to the king for consultation. Can you tell me about them in detail?” Ignorant of the matter, the assistant magistrate was unable to answer the question. Seeking sticks, Han Yi reproached his son aloud: “You are the second-highest-ranking official in your district, which means that you ought to be aware of all things, whether they are big or small, that are happening in your domain. If you are ignorant of such important matters as the criminal cases reported to the king, what is the use of asking you further?” When he tried to beat his son, his guests intervened and finally stopped him. The following happened when Wu Lü became assistant magistrate of Nankang. Magistrate Zhou Yizhong during his inspection of the district happened to hear someone swearing at him. Unable to catch the man and extremely angry, he arrested all the residents of the village. Inspecting the prison, Wu Lü asked them the reason of their confinement, released them, and reported this to Magistrate Zhou Yizhong. Now even more indignant, Zhou said, “You have made me a laughingstock.” Wu Lü said, “He who insulted Your Honor was only one man. The ones you arrested had nothing to do with his behavior. Those who were arrested are already too many, but many more are expected to be arrested. If you make too much haste in this matter, how can you be sure that there will be no disturbance?” Upon hearing these words, Zhou relented in his anger. The following happened when Lin Ji became assistant magistrate of Xunzhou. When he reexamined major imprisonment cases, he produced a number of p’yŏngbŏn cases, which displeased his superior. His superior at first intended to recommend Lin Ji to the superior office but changed his mind because of Lin Ji’s record of producing an excessive amount of p’yŏngbŏn. Laughing, Li Ji said, “Since I saved fifty lives by losing one chance for recommendation, why should I be sorry?” Wei Renshou was generous and virtuous. When he became law-enforcement official [sifa] of Shujun, those who were convicted by him and taken out to the street for execution first prayed to Buddha for his health and then died. The following happened when Ch’oe Sŏgyŏng became magistrate of Munhwa. There was a commoner among the residents of Anak who fired a gun at his 126. Unknown. 127. An official of the Song dynasty. Starting his public career as presented scholar, he served as transport commissioner of Henan. 128. An official of the late Sui and early Tang dynasties. He served as commander in chief (dudu) of Nanning Prefecture. 129. An official in charge of judicial administration. He was a subordinate to the local magistrate. 130. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. A son of Chief State Councilor Ch’oe Kyusŏ (1650–1735).

718

book IX

magistrate, and when this incident occurred, the provincial military commander arrested ten or so suspects who had once been indicted by the magistrate and whose criminal records were already made. When Ch’oe was appointed investigator of the matter, he interrogated them once and released them all. Although the provincial military commander was quite ashamed and there was a man who slandered him to the county magistrate, Ch’oe was never shaken. Sometimes Those Who Are Indicted for Stealing Government Property Are Forced to Serve an Indefinite Prison Term with No Prospect of Release. In Imprisonment Cases Such as These, It Would Be Wonderfully Nice to Exonerate and Release Them. The following happened when Tang Yunxiang of the Tang dynasty became pacification commissioner of Shannan. A granary supervisor named Deng Wan caused a shortage of seven thousand hu in the transported grain of the Ministry of Revenue. Pressuring him to pay for the shortage, the authorities arrested his whole family, which included his father, sons, and grandsons, and imprisoned them for twentyeight years, and during their imprisonment nine members of his family died in prison. Tang memorialized the case to the emperor and released all of them. In his decree the emperor severely reprimanded the salt-monopoly commissioner and the revenue commissioner, as well as the officials working in all salt offices, and ordered the immediate release of those who had been confined in prison for more than three years for the purpose of collecting embezzled money from them. Bai Juyi found an official of the Ministry of Revenue who had been confined in the prison of Wenxiang for years and excluded from amnesty despite the fact that there had been special imperial amnesties three times. He memorialized to the emperor about the prisoner’s situation as follows: “His father passed away, his son was imprisoned, and his wife married another. Furthermore, he has no prospect of repaying the public funds and accordingly no hope for his release. I would like to request that Your Majesty grant his release.” After he submitted the same memorials ten times or so, the government granted his request. If the Magistrate Renders His Decision Clearly with No Delay, It Will Be like a Gust of Clean Wind That Sweeps Away the Stuff y Air in Foul Weather. This is from History of the Southern Dynasties. The following happened when Wang Dan became commander in chief and prefect of Jingzhou. Because he had served in important posts of duty, he was well experienced in understanding the real situation of the people and public sentiment. Using his experience, he rendered his decisions with no delay, and because of his speedy trials, there were 131. Unknown.

Administration of Justice

719

neither delayed lawsuits in his office nor inmates in the prison serving without a term of imprisonment. The following happened when Xin Gongyi of the Sui dynasty became prefect of Bingzhou. When he arrived at his post, he first went to the prison and, sitting in the open air, investigated imprisonment cases and rendered decisions on all of them in ten days. Then he went to his office and again adjudicated new lawsuits with no delay. Furthermore, when there was a man who required imprisonment, he also slept in his office. Someone asked him, “Since there are rules about carrying out official duties, why do you bring these inconveniences on yourself?” He replied, “Under circumstances in which I am incapable of liberating the people from lawsuits, how can I take a good rest at home while I let them lie in prison?” Upon hearing this remark, the inmates were deeply moved and confessed their crimes. Later, when there was a man preparing a lawsuit, the people in his village said to him, “Are you going to trouble our magistrate because of that little thing?” Then the persons involved in the lawsuit abandoned it, making concessions to each other. When Zhang Jiuling was in charge of imprisonment, there was hardly anything to which he failed to pay attention. Whenever they had public affairs on their hands, the clerks first sought advice from Zhang. Then Zhang reasoned out the truth of the matter on the spot and dictated statements on individual cases. Although the judgments he made were instantaneous, they were all appropriate to the magnitude of those cases. The people at that time called a statement of decision thus made “Lord Zhang’s oral decision” [Zhang Gong kouan]. The following happened when Li Cheng of the Tang dynasty became commandant of Lantian. There was an imprisonment case that had been unresolved for ten years. When Li resolved the case with only one remark, the metropolitan governor gave him the highest score in his evaluation, and he was promoted to investigating censor. The following happened when Zhou Lianxi [Zhou Dunyi] became recorder of Fenning Prison. There was an imprisonment case that had remained unresolved for a long time. Upon arriving at his post, Zhou rendered his decision after interrogating the prisoner only once. Greatly surprised at his work, the townspeople said, “Even experienced clerks could not have done a better job.” 132. A renowned official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong. His courtesy name was Zishou. He served as prefect or commandant of various districts including Jizhou, Hongzhou, and Guizhou before he eventually rose to the position of chancellor. 133. Unknown. 134. Zhou Dunyi (1017–1073), a Neo-Confucian phi losopher and cosmologist of the Song dynasty. Lianxi was his pen name. He was a major influence on Zhu Xi, and his “Explanations of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate” (Taiji tushou) was placed at the beginning of Reflections on Things at Hand (Jinsilu), a Neo-Confucian anthology by Zhu Xi and Lu Zuqian.

720

book IX

His superior recommended him, and he was promoted to the office of Nanchang. The people of Nanchang all said, “Since the new officer is the one who solved the case of Fenning Prison, we now have found one we can appeal to.” The following happened when Ch’oe Cha  of the Koryŏ dynasty became record keeper [sarok] of Sangju. Since it was one of the major districts in the province, Sangju was very busy with cases of imprisonment. Because he rendered his judgment brilliantly on the day he arrived as if he were a supernatural being, the clerks and residents, out of either affection for or fear of him, dared not transgress humanity and violate public order. Since the prison became empty and the precincts became edified and peaceful in a short while, he was unusually selected as rank 5 scholar [taeje] of Pomun Pavilion [Pomungak] even before his term expired. Not to Be Afraid to Confess without Equivocation That One Rendered a Mistaken Decision Is Also the Conduct of a Superior Man. The following happened when Ji Ben became judge of Jianning Prefecture. Always speedy in rendering his decisions, Ji Ben did not allow lawsuits to be stacked in his office. One day he rendered a decision on a very serious imprisonment case and sentenced capital punishment but soon realized that he had made a mistake and regretted it. At this time he was selected and transferred to another place. Before his departure Ji Ben recorded all the details concerning the case he had misjudged and submitted them to his superior so that his successor could rectify the wrong. His courage to acknowledge his own mistake was like this. Leaving matters as they stand even if they are wrong, in my view, can be merely a moral defect of one man; leaving wrongful imprisonment cases as they are, however, can deprive a man of his life. Since a person who deprives a man of his life because of his negligence cannot escape punishment from Heaven, the magistrate must be extremely careful not to commit such an error. The following happened when Zhou Lianxi became administrator for public order of Nanan Commandery. There was a convict who was not supposed to be sentenced to death according to the law; however, Transport Commissioner Wang Kui was ruthless in dealing with the convict. Zhou Lianxi tried to per135. His courtesy name was Sudŏk, and his pen name Tongsansu. He served as fourth censor, magistrate of Sangju, surveillance commissioner of Ch’ungch’ŏng and Chŏlla provinces, and vice director of the Chancellery. An outstanding writer, he left a book called Collection to Relieve Idleness (Pohan chip). 136. The academic institute established in the palace during the reign of Yejong (1103–1122) of the Koryŏ dynasty. 137. An official of the Ming dynasty and a disciple of Wang Yangming. 138. Unknown.

Administration of Justice

721

suade Wang Kui to be more generous, but his efforts were to no avail. Then he resigned from his office, leaving his mace [shouban] behind and withdrawing his letter of official appointment. On the day of his departure he said, “Is it worth staying in office despite a situation in which I am forced to do what is not right? I cannot kill a man to please my superior.” Finally realizing his mistake, Wang Kui commuted the death sentence. In addition, regarding Zhou Lianxi as a man of benevolence, Wang recommended him for promotion. The following happened when Fan Rukui of the Song dynasty became judge of Wuan Military Prefecture. When he first took his post, the provincial military commander was about to execute a few men. When Fan pointed out a mistake in his decision, the commander said that it was too late because he had already signed the paper. Wearing a serious countenance, Fan said, “You attach importance to changing the words in your decision but not to preserving the lives of several people. This is hard to understand.” The provincial military commander was taken aback by his words and followed Fan’s advice. Furthermore, from that moment on he consulted Fan on all affairs in his domain, whether they were large or small, The following happened when Yi Sŏnghang became magistrate of Chŏngp’yŏng. A criminal under death sentence offered a great deal of money to his younger cousin and said, “If you can physically help me, sharing the responsibility with me regarding my conviction, the maximum punishment I can get will be banishment.” His cousin took his offer. Yi Sŏnghang sent the man’s cousin to the provincial office and finally executed him. Later he heard a rumor and made investigations of the case. Upon learning that he had made a mistake, he submitted a statement admitting his error. He and the governor were both dismissed from their office. In my observation, to be frank about one’s own mistake like that is also not very easy. The Penalty for Crimes That Cannot Be Forgiven under the Law Must Be Determined by the Spirit of Justice. An Inability to Hate Evil Even Though One Is Aware of It Is Merely a Manifestation of the Benevolence of Women. In his reply to Liao Zihui’s letter Zhu Xi said: “Since an imprisonment case is related to the life of an individual, you should not spare your best efforts. The 139. A small tablet held in the hands that symbolizes official rank. 140. Unknown. But Fan Rukui may be another official of the Song dynasty with a similar name, Fan Rugui. If the latter name is correct, his courtesy name was Boda. He opposed conducting negotiations with the invading Jurchens from the north and proposed various reforms to save the Song dynasty in crisis. 141. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as third inspector, magistrate of Hongsan, and of Yŏnp’ung.

722

book IX

current custom is that the judges, misguided by the idea of ancestor’s virtue [yinde], often release the guilty without taking into account that the people have no one to appeal to for their problems. This is really bad, and therefore, I cannot help admonishing on this practice. However, I also believe that compassion for the unfortunate is very necessary for those who make judicial decisions.” Those Who Desire to Display Their Dignity and Intelligence by Adhering Only to a Literal Reading of the Law, Being Ruthless and Coldhearted, Will Generally Not Come to a Good End. The following happened when Zhi Du of the Han dynasty governed Jinan. When he destroyed the Jianshi clan, the people of ten districts were all afraid of him, calling him “fierce hawk” [cangying]. When Yan Yannian became magistrate of Henan, he was called “head butcher” [tubo]. His mother from the east sea came to visit but refused to enter the yamen after seeing him handling prisoners. Then she sharply reproached her son: “You became magistrate by a stroke of good fortune, but what I have heard about you is only that you recklessly deprived the people of their lives instead of caring for them. How is it possible that he who is called the parent of the people acts like that?” When Ning Cheng became magistrate, Gong Sunhong said, “Letting Ning Cheng govern the county is just letting a wolf take care of lambs. This should not be allowed.” Then Gong appointed him commandant of Guannei. People said, “It is better to run into a tigress feeding its young than to incur the wrath of Ning Cheng.” Then he appointed him as commandant of Guannei. 142. An official during the reign of Emperor Jing (156–141 B.C.). Sima Qian in his history introduces Zhi Du as one of the officials who were upright but extremely cruel in executing the law. He was so strict in his behavior that even high officials were afraid of him. Despite the trust and support of the emperor, he was hated by the people, including the mother of the emperor, and was eventually executed. 143. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Ciqing. Although he was good at administration, he was too extreme in hating evil. Although he served as magistrate of Henan, he was ruined at the end of his career. 144. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Jing. He served as commandant of Jinan Commandery, chamberlain for the imperial insignia (Zhongwei), and chamberlain for the capital (neishi). He was so notorious for his arrogance and ruthlessness that his superiors and nobles were afraid of him. When he served as chamberlain for the capital, he was accused of wrongdoing by the royal families from the emperor’s maternal side and was imprisoned. However, he escaped from prison and made a fortune by turning himself into a landlord. He once said, “How can you call yourself a man unless you rise to the rank of 2,000 bushels when you are in public office or amass millions of gold when you run a business?” He is listed with Zhi Du in Records of Grand Historian by Sima Qian. 145. An official of the Han dynasty. Selected through the special recommendation examination, he rose to the position of counselor in chief (chengxiang) and was enfeoffed as Maruis Pinglü. 146. Guannei, or “Within the Pass,” is a designation for the region inside the Hanguguan Pass which served as the gateway to Chang’an (modern Xi’an).

Administration of Justice

723

The following happened when Wang Wenshu was transferred to Henei to become prefect. He arrested those who were bullies or duplicitous, and the number of households implicated in that mass arrest was over a thousand. In his report to the central government he made a request to punish them as follows: as to those whose crimes were very serious, he would put to death both the prisoners themselves and their families; as to those whose crimes were relatively less serious, he would confiscate their property so that they could make up for the money they had stolen from the government. When his request was granted, blood flowed throughout the entire district. By the end of the year the mothers who had lost their children no longer dared to wail in public, and since there was a nighttime curfew, no longer could the sound of dogs barking at strangers in the night be heard. When spring finally arrived, Wang lamented, stamping his feet: “Ah! If the winter had been longer by one month, I would have been able to finish my work.” The way he displayed his dignity and the extent of his indifference to human lives were like this. When Liang Zang became magistrate of Jinyang, he was austere and ruthless and did not know how to bestow benevolence. The people called him Zang Tiger. The following happened when Chen Cheng of the Han dynasty became prefect of Nan Commandery. He established his dignity through the application of cruel laws, including beheading and beating. He ordered the central prison to make those who belonged to major clans but violated the law manufacture mortars and pestles, and if their products failed to meet the standard, he increased their penalties and pressured them to make new ones in an extremely limited time. The number of convicts who, unable to withstand the pain, committed suicide every year amounted to several hundred or thousand. The following happened when Zhou Yu became prefect of Bohai. Ruthless and unrestrained in committing cruelties, he released prisoners after physically punishing them whenever there were special amnesties for them. Later he was implicated in a certain crime, and both he and his son were executed. The following happened when Han Zhen of the Song dynasty governed Qinzhou. He was so notorious for his ruthlessness and cruelty that the people of Qinzhou said of him [referring to him by his courtesy name], “One had better run into a tigress feeding its young than run into Yuru.” One day it happened 147. An official of the Han dynasty. He served as commandant of Guangping and magistrate of Henei. Later he was accused of corruption and committed suicide. 148. Unknown. 149. Unknown. 150. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Wentong. 151. His courtesy name was Yuru. He served as vice director of the Secretariat and grand guardian of the heir apparent.

724

book IX

that Han Zhen returned home at night after entertaining his guest, and his military aide Fu Qing, being drunk, made the mistake of entering Han Zhen’s private residence and ran into his concubine. Infuriated, he ordered his military guard to beat Fu Qing with an iron stick. When Fu Qing was killed, his wife beat the drum and appealed, holding her husband’s clothes red with blood. Han Zhen was charged with a crime and dismissed from his office. Th is is recorded in History of the Southern Dynasties. When Wan Liang became magistrate of Yongkang, he was austere and heartless. The residents of his district disliked him so much that they carved his effigy out of the wood of peach tree [reputed to repulse demons] and used it as fi rewood for warming water. The following happened when Jiang Jie of the Qi dynasty became magistrate of Wu. Because his rule was merciless, one of the residents wrote the character mi (the name of Jiang Jie’s father) and attached it to the skull of a dead person. Upon learning about this, he resigned and returned to his home. The temperament of Li Kuangyuan of the Tang dynasty was so ruthless that he was not happy unless he physically punished the people every day. When he heard the sound of lashing, he said, “This is a kind of flesh drum sound.” At the moment of his death he said, “During my lifetime I killed several dozen monks and Daoists, and because of this, I have been able to survive until I am eighty-two years old.” When his funeral was over, a thief disinterred his corpse from his grave and cut off its limbs. This was a form of revenge for his cruelty to the people. Since Scholar-Officials Do Not Read the Books of Codified Laws, They Are Ignorant of Criminal Laws and Are Only Good at Producing Rhymed Prose. This Custom of Our Days Is Also Lamentable. Essays of Tasan stated: “The study of legalism [xingming xue] is generally regarded as vulgar. However, it was legalism that provided Gao Yao with the means to establish virtues among the people; ‘The Announcement to the Prince of Kang’ [‘Kanggao’] and ‘The Marquis of Lü on Punishments’ [‘Lüxing’] 152. Unknown. 153. An official of the Southern Qi dynasty (479–502) during the reign of Emperor Ming (494–498). 154. He served as assistant commissioner for the slat and iron monopoly (yantie panguan). 155. Minister of justice during the reign of Emperor Shun. In the Classic of History the emperor says: “Gao Yao, the barbarous tribes trouble our great land. There are (also) robbers, murderers, insurgents, and traitors. It is yours, as the minister of justice, to use the five punishments to deal with their offenses” (“The Canon of Shun,” Shu King, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 3: 43). 156. A chapter in Classic of History. 157. A chapter in Classic of History.

Administration of Justice

725

also reaffirm the same; it was also one of the curricula taught in the school of Confucius; thus Confucius often praised his disciple Zilu for his ability to solve an imprisonment case with a single word. When Confucius served in the court, he originally started as vice minister of justice and rose to minister of justice, which means that he took charge of criminal justice. I never heard that he at that time had served as libationer or director of studies. “What a superior man studies and practices nowadays is a kind of poetry that is based on the story of Xiang Yu and Pei Gong, which he regards as the pinnacle of his study; when he enjoys his leisure, he indulges in playing cards and domino games, which he believes to be the consummate art to be mastered. Therefore, he has no chance to read a section of The Great Ming Code or a few chapters of the Supplement to the National Code or Book of Forensic Medicine [Xiyuanlu] until he is promoted to rank 6; nevertheless, he is anxious only to seek the position of magistrate. When he suddenly encounters a serious imprisonment case, he looks only at the mouth of the law clerk, although he holds the power of deciding the life and death of a man in his presence. Furthermore, since overturning his decisions is in the hands of his favorite entertaining girl, the instances of injustice that create resentment keep piling up until finally he loses the good fortune and the income that go with being a magistrate. The current civil ser vice examination of Qing China establishes administration of provincial education and commentaries on classics and policy questions as the areas on the test, and in addition, criminal justice as a separate area on the test. Our country, however, failed to adopt this good model. As a result, the magistrate thinks of human life as if it were nothing but a piece of straw and casts the law beneath a hedge so that it is out of sight, which he believes to be the elegant manner of a superior person. Ah! This is wrong.” Ouyang Xiu said to Zhang Yunsou: “Earlier I had a chance to govern Yiling, which was a place unfit for human habitation. Because I was still in the prime of my manhood and my zeal for learning was undiminished, I sought the books related to the history of the Han dynasty but was unable to find them either in the government office or private houses. Not knowing how to spend my time, I began to read old official reports piled on the shelves in my office, and I was dismayed to discover that good and bad things were all mixed and confused, and the cases like that were countless. According to the records, what did not exist was proved to exist, and what was bent was confi rmed as straight. The 158. A book of medical jurisprudence produced during the Song dynasty. Using this book, Wang Yu of the Yuan dynasty wrote another book of forensic medicine titled Forensic Monograph for Removing Grievances (Wuyuanlu), which became the standard text for forensic medicine during the Chosŏn dynasty of Korea. 159. During the Chosŏn dynasty only those who were above ju nior rank 6 were eligible to become magistrate. 160. Unknown.

726

book IX

law was overlooked to show partiality and the cases that disregarded natural law and harmed humanity were innumerable. Since the situation was like this even in a small place like Yiling, a district on the faraway border, it will not be necessary to mention the rest of the country. That year I called Heaven to witness that I would dare not neglect my duty whenever I was called to [be a magistrate].” Every time Zhang Yong judged imprisonment cases, his cases could be put into two categories: situations in which the offense was not particularly serious but he applied the law firmly, and situations in which the offense was serious but he was not too harsh in applying the law. He compiled these precedents to develop good customs and strengthen fi lial piety and righteousness. The people of the Shu region made woodcut prints of his sentences and called them Collection of Admonitions for the People [Jiemin ji]. Although in Olden Days They Were Careless in Dealing with Imprisonment Cases Concerning Human Life, the Judges in Modern Times Have Become Much More Careful. Hence They Must Try to Be More Specialized in Carrying Out Their Duty. The following happened during the reign of Myŏngjong of the Koryŏ dynasty. There lived a man in Namwŏn who had a bad relationship with a clerk in his district. One day he went to the house of the clerk, tied him to a pillar, and killed him by setting fire to his house. The king and his ministers discussed the case and quarreled with one another. Finally they concluded that the homicide had taken place in the middle of a fight between the two men and rendered their decision as follows: “After consideration of the investigations of the crime, the defendant is sentenced to the penalty of tattooing on the face, and his social status is to be downgraded to the level of commoner.” It also happened that a resident of Nŭngsŏng began whipping a woman with a child on her back. Greatly surprised, she jumped into the water and was drowned with her baby. The king and ministers again discussed, quarreled, and finally decided the case as follows: “The crime that deprived the mother and her baby of their lives by drowning, which is very tragic, is subject to the penalty for homicide in the course of robbery.” In my observation, at that time the laws regulating imprisonment cases involving human life were carelessly applied like this. In our days the laws and rules are so articulate and complicated that errors can be made rather in their application. Yi Kwi, Lord Yŏnp’yŏng, memorialized to the king: “In olden days Shi She became grand councilor in the court of King Zhao of the Chu state. When his 161. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Ongnyŏ, and his pen name Mukjae. He served as minister of personnel, and of war, and was granted a title, Lord Yŏnp’yŏng, for his role in forcing Kwanghaegun from the throne and enthroning Injo (1623–1649) as a new king.

Administration of Justice

727

father murdered a man, Shi She quickly released his father and personally bound himself to face the penalty of death. King Zhao remitted his punishment and had him continue to carry out his duty. Shi She said, ‘It is against loyalty to violate the law and release the criminal.’ Then he killed himself by hanging. When Li Li became chamberlain for law enforcement of Duke Wen of the Jin dynasty, he made the mistake of executing an innocent man by misjudging an imprisonment case. He personally bound himself and requested punishment by death. Duke Wen said, ‘Since there is distinction of rank in the government office, and the officials of lower rank are also responsible, this is not your fault.’ Li Li replied, ‘When your subject received his stipend from Your Majesty for his ser vice, he never shared it with his subordinates. He failed to grasp the real situation of the imprisonment case and caused an innocent man to die. To impute his mistake to his subordinates, therefore, is unacceptable to me.’ Despite the duke’s generosity, Li Li killed himself by falling on a sword.” Yi Kwi’s memorial, in my view, is intended to remind [the officials] that the law concerning homicide is extremely serious. When Imprisonment Cases Take Place, Clerks and Military Guards Rampage, Break into Private Houses, Plunder Their Household Goods, and, at Worst, Destroy the Whole Village. This Is a Matter of Great Importance That the Magistrate Should Be Aware Of. At the Start of His Term He Should Make Sure That His Subordinates Do Not Do Such Things. In a case of homicide the principal offender must be put to death. However, despite the fact that they are not directly involved in the actual crime, people such as witnesses and neighbors who are implicated in the crime are always investigated once they are on the records, and if they have bad luck, they continue to be investigated up to three or four times, or even five or six times. Even worse, they are tied to the torture rack and detained in prison for several months. Sometimes, they are reinvestigated after several years when a similar case occurs. If they tell the truth at the trial, they become the enemies of their neighbors and are unable to preserve themselves; if they try to hide anything, the magistrate entangles them in the charge, and they are thus unfairly subject to beating with a heavy stick. Once a person is sentenced to imprisonment, he has to pay money when he enters the prison and when he is freed from the torture rack. If he is locked up, he must pay the expenses for drinks, meals, tobacco, and firewood. Thus not one out of a hundred is able to survive without calamity to his house and property. For this reason, the people are afraid of being involved in imprisonment cases such as homicide as much as they fear foreign invasion. Once a rumor of homicide starts circulating, they are scared like shoals of fish or frightened animals and

728

book IX

scatter in all directions. When this happens, ruthless military guards, snarling like tigers and shouting, grab elderly people, children, and widows, and they pull up their cauldrons, take away their pigs and cows, rummage through their earthenware pots, and seize their shuttles and reeds; and in the midst of scuffling, inner doors are knocked down and kitchens are all smashed, and the sound of wailing pierces the sky and the village becomes desolate. After all these things have happened, the magistrate finally appears on the scene, with his attendant holding a sunshade and the bells of his horse ringing. He is escorted by a large entourage of men who carry staffs, red sticks, long swords, and policemen’s ropes. Their line is long enough to fi ll the streets and overflow the alleys. The horses they ride on neigh aloud and kick one another, creating a sense of crisis and disorder, and the busy runners sweat and try to gain their breath while they run. As a result, the situation thus described is like a huge net that descends from the air to the ground, wide enough to cover the sky. So the poor people down on the earth cannot escape the pernicious effect of that menacing net, whether or not they are guilty. That they deprive the people of their three spirits and make their seven ghosts [samhon ch’ilbaek] cry out in agony is simply the trickery of clerks and military guards. Mindful of these abuses, the magistrate must let the people know about them by posting a public notice, which it is advisable to do within several weeks after his inauguration. This is an example of a public notice to be posted by the magistrate: “Every time a homicide occurs, the village in which the homicide takes place is always ruined with no exception. These are the reasons: First, no homicide occurs without witnesses and accomplices. If the principal offender flees, the clerks and military guards who pursue the offender abuse innocent villagers. Second, because the number of investigators is too large, they commit tricks and become a serious financial burden to the village. Third, because those who are implicated in the crime are detained without exception, the expenses for taking care of them during their detainment, which could be for ten days or over a month, are too heavy for the people to bear. From now on, in the case of the magistrate’s trip for investigation, the number of attendants will be reduced; except the principal offender, those who are seriously implicated in the crime will be detained in the house of a liaison agent for the subdistrict [chŏga]; and those who are not related to the crime will be released soon after the investigation. I expect that you are duly informed of this. 162. According to an ancient belief, a man is endowed with three spirits and seven ghosts. The three spirits are t’aegwang, sangryŏng, and yujŏng. The seven ghosts are ch’ŏkgu, poksi, chagŭm, t’anjŏk, pidok, chese, and ch’wip’ae. The distinction between spirits and ghosts is rather ambiguous, and it is believed that they remain after the death of an individual.

Administration of Justice

729

“If, unfortunately, a homicide happens to take place [in your village], only the principal offender should be arrested and guarded, and the witnesses and neighbors, through general discussion among the villagers, should be made to wait for further proceedings so that there will be no abuses and damage in pursuing and investigating those who may have been innocent bystanders. If the homicide happened accidentally and therefore one is not required to repay it with one’s life, the elders in the neighborhood should persuade the families of both sides to reconcile, which used to be the work of the arbitrator [diaoren] in Rites of Zhou. If reconciliation is achieved and reported to the government, a certificate will be issued to confirm it. Sometimes it happens that some people keep their agreement only to themselves, but they should know that this can bring about troubles in the future. As I have observed, a reconciliation privately made and concealed from others is often uncovered by clerks and military guards. Then the parties are threatened and exploited for their money with no end. Even if they manage to fi ll up one hole, another is waiting for them, and eventually the reconciliation that they have kept secret is reported to the magistrate. Then the investigation is resumed, the real situation of the crime becomes more complicated, the burden of the people increases in the course of time, and the magistrate’s office becomes disarrayed. I trust that you will understand my good intention and keep this admonition in your mind.” The Record of the Autopsy Performed at Ch’ŏnggye [Ch’ŏnggye haenggŏmsŏl] states as follows: “Ko Tŭkjae, a resident of Ch’ŏnggye, murdered a man using a flail for threshing rice. When the first report from the village arrived, I heard that the suspect had already been arrested. I immediately ordered the chief military officer to secure Orijŏng and prohibited the movement of the people. When I rushed to Orijŏng, the line of investigating personnel extended 5 li, equipped with banners, paddles, and torture devices, and some of them were on horseback and others on foot. I ordered everyone to leave except a law-enforcement clerk, a coroner, a groom who held the bridle of a horse, a seal keeper, and a person in charge of waterproof clothes or protective clothes against cold, as well as a horse. Then the law-enforcement clerk said, ‘Unless a military officer joins our investigation, we cannot arrest the three closest neighbors to the suspect.’ I said, ‘I will take care of it.’ Then the law-enforcement clerk said again, ‘Unless an attending slave accompanies us, we cannot send our orders.’ I answered, ‘The coroner 163. Th is is probably a record of an autopsy performed at the district of Ch’ŏnggye, and it appears to have been made by Tasan himself. 164. The three closest neighbors (samjŏllin) were those who lived in front of, behind, and by the side of the offender’s house. They usually became the main witnesses during the trial of imprisonment cases.

730

book IX

can do the job in addition to his.’ Then the law-enforcement clerk said again, ‘We need to have someone who can carry the papers and forms, as well as other items needed for the autopsy, required by the rules of Muwŏnnok, a book of medical jurisprudence.’ I answered, ‘The one in charge of waterproof clothes or protective clothes against cold can take care of this.’ The law-enforcement clerk said once again, ‘What about bedclothes, including quilts and blankets, as well as cooking appliances, trays and washbasins, and so forth?’ I said, ‘We will rent a warm room and stay there. As to the meals, we will have them prepared in the village.’ Then the law-enforcement clerk said, ‘It is against the custom not to carry torture devices. How would you lock up the suspect without them?’ I replied, ‘Since it is the custom not to punish the suspect at the scene of the investigation and autopsy, it will suffice to bind him with ropes.’ “Finally I set out and arrived where the corpse was. The village was empty, and there was only an old man who was sitting under a tree, keeping watch on the suspect. Dismounting from my horse, I took a seat under the shade of another tree and called the old man. I said to him, ‘Since my entourage is made of only a few, there will be no damage to the people here. I want you to go out and call back those who have scattered to hide.’ A little later the men and women all returned to their homes in the village. I called the elders of the village and made them decide the three closest neighbors of the suspect, as well as other witnesses for the trial, through public discussion. In addition, I asked them if they had anyone in their village or neighboring village who had ever served as chief of the local yangban association, law-enforcement officer, head of a subdistrict, or head of a village, with experience in frequenting the local yamen, and I had those whom they deemed shrewd and intelligent provide assistance to the investigation. When I gave each of them temporary appointments, it appeared that the investigation team was well made, and official dignity was fully established. Then I chose a person who could take charge of the kitchen and meals for our group and paid him money each time he returned home after serving the meals. After conducting a preliminary autopsy, I received the statement from the suspect and finished the paperwork. I summoned the parents of the victim and the relatives of the suspect and said, ‘Since the real situation of this imprisonment case is so-and-so, and the report that I am sending to the provincial yamen is so-and-so, do not be deceived by the words of clerks and law-enforcement officials. If you pay them even a little money, you will be punished with no mercy. Those who are the three closest neighbors and witnesses or deserve to be investigated should be held in custody in this village until the second autopsy is conducted.’ That day I returned to my office with little fanfare. On the way back I ordered the law-enforcement clerk to meet with the official who performs the second autopsy on the road and report the result of the initial investigation. Upon hearing the report, the official in charge of

Administration of Justice

731

the second autopsy reduced his entourage and warned his aides against causing abuses to the people because he was concerned that his investigation might be too adversely compared with the previous one in public opinion.” Having lived among the general population for a long time, I know that crimes like homicide are mostly concealed from the government; only two or three cases out of ten are reported, and the rest remain unreported. Once the village indeed goes through an investigation, it becomes a wasteland, and its people are scattered in less than a year. Therefore, although the relatives of the murder victim are grieving and resentful, the elders and well-off people of the village try to prevent them from reporting the crime. They drive the criminal out of their village and bury the corpse in haste by bribing the family of the victim and thus sealing their mouths. If it happens that powerful clerks and law-enforcement officials discover the concealment of the crime, the villagers collect 200 or 300 taels, which are intended for bribing those officials, and keep on making the case remain unreported. The harms caused by the elders and well-off residents of the village can be extremely serious. He who is a magistrate must be aware of this. The reason that the principal suspect and his accomplices are locked up is that there is concern that they may run away. If there is no concern about this, why should they be locked up? It is not really necessary to confine those who have some connection with the incident or witnesses or the three closest neighbors to the suspect or the chief of the local yangban association or the head of the village or the relatives of the victim who privately made a deal with the village leadership or the relatives of the suspect, who are not directly involved in the crime. Once the initial autopsy is completed, the magistrate orders these men to follow him properly dressed. He has them stand at the house of the village head and takes their depositions, and when the process of taking the depositions is over, he releases them all to go back to their village and wait for the second investigation and autopsy. When the official who performs the second autopsy arrives at the town, the magistrate informs him in advance of his initial investigation, including the downsizing of his entourage, by dispatching his clerks and law-enforcement officials. Then the autopsy official will be wary and admonish his people against lawless behavior because he is concerned that public opinion might adversely compare his investigation with the previous one. The magistrate also orders his clerks and law-enforcement officials to tell their counterparts of the autopsy official secretly: “Since many of you are going out to the village to carry out your official duties, the government is watching you if you abuse the people. You had better be careful not to produce trouble.” If the magistrate follows this approach, the people will not suffer abuses in the second investigation either. Once the autopsy official leaves the district, the magistrate releases those who are lightly implicated in the crime, from the kanryŏn on down, so that they can

732

book IX

work on their farms. Although in his report to the provincial office he writes “detained” [ingsu], he sets them free, and his conduct is justifiable in terms of justice; it should not be merely dictated by formality. Since Imprisonment Cases Are Matters of the Utmost Gravity, Torture Was Originally Not to Be Employed When the Deposition Was Taken from the Suspect. The Magistrates of Our Time, However, Unacquainted with the Law, Are Reckless in Using Torture. This Is Very Wrong. If one observes the current situation of districts and counties, the magistrates are inexperienced in administration, and the clerks are so ignorant that they do not hesitate to thrash a suspect with sticks and paddles when they take the deposition from him. Sometimes they smash the ribs of the suspect by using red-painted cudgels [chujang], causing pain too extreme to bear. Thus they fabricate facts, making up things that actually do not exist and throwing the suspect into a trap, which is called tallyŏn sŏngok, torturing a man to extract a false confession and then putting him in prison [on the basis of that false confession]. Since this not only violates the code of law but also will bring retribution from the spirit realm, it should never be put into practice. Those who are involved in criminal cases as relatives or neighbors of the suspect are often ambiguous in their testimony because of their relationship with the suspect. This is not only human nature but also, in fact, a generous custom of the village; therefore, the magistrate, who is the judge of the case, must hold it valuable and think of it tenderly even though he may appear rigorous in his interrogation. How can he make those people betray their relatives and neighbors by inflicting pain and suffering on them? Uncovering hidden crimes is nothing more than a small feat in his eyes; enhancing the good custom, on the other hand, is an important affair of state that is more valuable in the long term. If he is a man of intelligence, how can he ignore this fact? If one takes a look at the reports on the crimes of the people made by the judges, they state, “Since they are stubbornly ambiguous in their testimony, avoiding telling the truth throughout the interrogation, it is extremely repugnant to see them behave in that way.” Although this statement is only a cliché in drafting the report, it is also wrong in its import. When he encounters a case like this, the magistrate should interrogate the witness on the basis of reasonableness; if the statement made by the witness is absurd, he focuses his questions on it repeatedly until the witness is compelled to tell the truth. Why, then, should he be concerned that he is unable to fi nd out the truth? When he writes the postscript of his autopsy report, he should rather state, “Being a neighbor and a close friend of the suspect, the witness named A appears to have difficulty in telling the whole truth. Since this is natural, it is not really necessary to punish him for it.”

Administration of Justice

733

The expanded commentary on the Record of Removing Grievances [Muwŏnnok], a book of medical jurisprudence, states as follows: “The national law very strictly prohibits torture or threats in conducting interrogations; nevertheless, since torture and threats are commonly practiced these days, this is against the original intent of the law. Interrogations should be carried out on the basis of reasonableness and must not resort to torture such as flogging, grilling the suspect while beating [hyŏngsin], and stabbing the suspect with sticks in order to extract a confession [changdang].” Since this is the law, one must be strict in observing it. Here is an episode recorded in History of the Southern Dynasties: “The following happened when Fu Qi was appointed magistrate of Shixin. A resident of his district was beaten in a fight with a fellow resident and appealed to the county office. The authorities of the county office arrested the defendant and tortured him in all kinds of ways; however, they failed to produce a confession from him. Then the county transferred his case to the district. Fu Qi immediately ordered that the cangue worn around the neck of the defendant be removed and gently asked him about what had really happened. The man all of a sudden admitted his wrongdoing.” Taking this into consideration, one realizes that coercive interrogation does not guarantee a confession of crime; likewise, it is not true that gentle interrogation always fails to produce a confession of crime. An Attempt to Bring About the Imprisonment of an Individual through a False Accusation, Which Is Called Toroe, Must Be Strictly Punished with No Mercy. Furthermore, the Person Who Makes the False Accusation Should Be Penalized with the Punishment That Is Mandated for the Crime of Which He Falsely Accused the Other Person [Panchwayul]. It often happens that one who drowned is reported to have been drowned by another; one who strangled himself is reported to have been strangled by another; one who stabbed himself is reported to have been stabbed by another; one who drank poison himself is reported to have been forced to drink poison; and one who is ill is reported to be sick because of assault by another. It is not really difficult to distinguish between what is true and what is not because the forms and symptoms are all different if one consults the books concerning medical jurisprudence. However, once the autopsy is conducted and the imprisonment case is closed, the magistrate pays little attention to it because his original intention to punish the evildoer has cooled. Hence he releases those false accusers after lashing them cursorily. When this happens, how can you expect the people to 165. An official of the Liang dynasty during the Southern and Northern Dynasties. He also served as chamberlain of the Office of the Imperial Coachman.

734

book IX

be afraid of making false accusations? Those who make false accusations are all subject to the penalty for offenses that are falsely accused, which means that the penalty for a false accuser who brought death to an innocent person is death. Even if this law cannot be fully enforced as it is intended to be, the offenders ought to be punished by banishment, but it is extremely rare to see them banished because of a false accusation. Does this not indicate that the magistrate is negligent in carry ing out his judicial duty? Th is is because his sense of justice toward evil is not really strong. The magistrate must report the case to the superior office so that the false accuser can be duly punished with no exception. The Great Ming Code stipulates: “He who makes a false accusation is subject to the penalty corresponding to that of the accused, and in addition, the level of punishment is raised by two or three degrees up to death. In case the falsely accused person was already executed, the offender shall be punished by a reciprocal death penalty, and if the penalty has not yet been executed, the offender shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and life exile to 3,000 li with an additional three years of penal servitude.” The Great Ming Code also stipulates: “The grandparent or parent who accidentally kills his grandchildren or children or the master of the house who accidentally kills his male or female servant and imputes his crime to others, shall be punished by seventy strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for one and one-half years. “Descendants who falsely accuse others of killing their dead grandparent or parent, or slaves and servants who falsely accuse others of killing their dead master, shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for three years.” In a case in which one practices extortion through blackmail, which is called toroe, the punishment is a little lighter than in a case in which one falsely accuses an innocent person with the purpose of throwing him into jail, which deserves reciprocal penalty. The officers in charge of imprisonment, therefore, must pay close attention to the difference between the two and be steadfast in following the law. It Takes Time to Take Depositions in the Trial Court; Nevertheless, the Recorded Dates Are All the Same. This Practice Must Be Corrected. It usually takes five to six days to take depositions in the trial court; however, the same date for all the interrogations is recorded in the report, following the gen166. Th is statement differs from the one in The Great Ming Code. See Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 195.

Administration of Justice

735

eral custom. It happens that a witness speaks the truth in the fi rst deposition but denies his previous statement in the second deposition, changing his mind. Sometimes he conceals the facts in the fi rst deposition and confesses the truth in the second deposition. Thus details such as dates and length of time spent in interrogation are very important, for they provide helpful clues to the credibility of the deposition. Therefore, making all the dates of interrogation identical is very wrong. Since such practices are not in the National Code or the government decree but are due to the wrongful habits developed by clerks and functionaries, the magistrate should discuss the matter with the governor and try to rectify these customs. If he writes down the actual dates of his interrogation, they will probably be helpful when he reviews evidence related to the case. All the interrogation reports should be written in regular script [haesŏ] on ruled paper and bound as a book in two copies. One of them is kept in the district, and the other in the provincial office. Th is is possible only when the governor proclaims the rules on the interrogation reports to the districts in his domain. Would it not also be advisable to make a book, regulating the exact length and width of the reports collected from various districts? The current situation is that the interrogation reports are all written on a thin roll of paper. As a result, the reports are hardly legible after several months because of the poor quality of the paper; furthermore, those kept in the district are only extracts, which indicates how carelessly all the affairs of interrogation are carried out. All the investigation reports are made and kept in two versions, one detailed and the other abridged. The abridged version is called “summary” [sŏmok]. Making the interrogation reports in two versions can prevent fraud. When I was in Changgi, I found a clerk tampering with an interrogation report by scratching out some words in it with a knife, and the transcript of the ruling on the provincial record was in disarray. The magistrate, however, was totally unaware of this. This is a real problem. The Judgments in All Imprisonment Cases, Regardless of Their Scale, Have Legal Deadlines. Abandoning Them and Taking Time Indefinitely until the Inmates Become Old and Die Is against the Law. This is in our recorded history. The royal decree in the first year of Munjong’s reign is as follows: “The purpose of establishing the penal system was that there was no alternative in dealing with crimes. However, because injustice can easily 167. Th is refers to the Veritable Records of Munjong. The royal decree is found in the record of the third month of the first year of Munjong’s reign.

736

book IX

take place in the state of confinement, successive generations of kings who were anxious to rule their state benevolently were all worried that the trials of imprisonment cases might be overly prolonged. That is the reason that the Tang dynasty established a law called the Law of Three Deadlines in Legal Proceedings [Sanxianfa] that set the maximum deadlines for all trials: thirty-five days for the Court of Judicial Review, thirty days for the Board of Punishments, and sixtyfive days for the entire trial. “Later, during the reign of Taizong of the Song dynasty, another law was instituted for a similar purpose, and supervision was reinforced. The former kings of our country also attached great importance to the prudent and benevolent handling of imprisonment cases. Especially my father, the former king, a number of times proclaimed his royal decrees emphasizing generosity and benevolence in administering punishments, which were extremely sincere in their tone. Furthermore, he also established a new Korean version of the Law of Three Deadlines in Legal Proceedings [Samhanbŏp], based on the study of ancient legal systems that are carried in the Six Codes [Yukjŏn]. “Crimes subject to the death penalty or cases in which the evidence presented by the litigator requires thirty days for review are regarded as the most serious or complicated cases [taesa]; crimes subject to penal servitude and banishment or cases in which the evidence presented by the litigator requires twenty days for review are regarded as medium cases in terms of seriousness and complication [chungsa]; and crimes subject to the punishment of beating with a light stick and the punishment of beating with a heavy stick or cases in which the evidence presented by the litigator requires ten days for review are regarded as trivial cases in terms of seriousness and complication [sosa]. Trial deadlines for these three categories of criminal cases are set as follows: ninety days for taesa, sixty days for chungsa, and thirty days for sosa. However, if the evidence of imprisonment cases, regardless of their magnitude, is secured in the court and is undeniably strong, the deadline for their trial should not exceed ten days. If the imprisonment cases are simple enough to be decided quickly, the deadline for their trial should not exceed three days. When the evidence is too complicated to be verified within the fi xed deadline, one must submit a formal report. It may be unreasonable overly to emphasize speediness in handling criminal cases because certain cases require more time. However, if the judge is really committed to 168. Great King Sejong (1397−1450), the fourth monarch of the Chosŏn dynasty. 169. In 1447, the twenty-ninth year of Sejong’s reign, the king instructed that the Law of Th ree Deadlines in Legal Proceedings (Samhanbŏp) be discussed in the court. 170. During the reign of Sejong, Sincere Records of the Six Codes (Yukjŏn tamnok), a collection of precedents, was compiled. Th is was a sequel to the Supplement to the Six Codes (Sokyukjŏn), compiled during the reign of T’aejong. The Six Codes mentioned here probably refers to Sincere Records of the Six Codes.

Administration of Justice

737

speediness in trial and does his best, the deadlines set by the Law of Three Deadlines in Legal Proceedings will suffice for him to successfully carry out his duty. “In recent years governors, ignorant of the noble purpose established by former kings or lacking ability in handling imprisonment cases, have protracted their decision even in cases that are neither ambiguous nor suspicious under the pretext of close interrogation and reinvestigation. While they take their time, the inmates are confined in prison indefinitely while the seasons are changing, and some of them die of hunger and cold. A day is like a year to inmates who suffer in prison, and when a member of a family is imprisoned, the whole family loses its livelihood. Hence nothing is more damaging than this in destroying peace and causing calamities. You who are in charge of justice and happen to have cases requiring close examination must not delay in carry ing out your duty.” The National Code stipulated: “All imprisonment cases must be decided within the deadlines, and the deadlines, which depend on the difficulty of the cases, shall be set as follows: thirty days for serious and complicated cases; twenty days for medium cases; and ten days for trivial matters. In case the evidence for trial is somewhere else and more investigation is required, the deadline can be extended in proportion to the distance of the district and the amount of traveling time; nevertheless, the trial must still be completed within the extended deadline.” Since the law was originally like this, convicts subject to the death penalty are interrogated three times a month, and since the judgment of such cases is urgent, interrogation is held every ten days. Since nowadays, however, it is not unusual for convicts to be confined in prison for over ten years, it is out of the question for interrogations to be conducted three times every month. Even one session of interrogation every three years is extremely rare. Interrogations on imprisonment cases exist only in form (only official documents are dispatched and exchanged), and therefore, the rice in the national treasury is wasted (rice is provided to the investigator and his entourage for their trip and expenses). For this reason, one cannot help discussing the restoration of the old law. The Periods of Responsibility for Crimes [Pogo] Are All Different according to the Crimes. Since This Provision Is Not Fully Understood, Unfairness in Rulings Takes Place. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “In cases of striking and injuring others with hands, feet, or other objects, the period [of responsibility for the offense] shall be 171. Pogo (ಕ㎗) refers to an old practice that an offender was required to provide medical assistance to his victim until the state of life or death of the victim became clear. During that period of providing assistance the punishment of the offender was temporarily postponed. If the victim died in the period of time set by the law, the offender was subject to serious punishment.

738

book IX

limited to twenty days. In cases of injuring others with the blade of a metal implement, a boiling liquid, or fire, the period shall be limited to thirty days. In all cases of breaking limbs, dislocating joints, breaking bones, or causing miscarriages, regardless of whether [the injuries are caused by the use of] hands, feet, or other objects, the period shall be limited to fi ft y days.” As I have observed, it is the current custom that the period of responsibility for crimes is thirty days when it is short and fift y days when it is long. This gives the impression that the length of the period of responsibility for crimes is generally the same for all assaults and injuries, regardless of their seriousness. This is wrong. Since the word po [ಕ] stands for “making one secure and comfortable,” ordering an offender to have medical treatment provided is called “taking care of the victim” [pogo yangin]. Since this is a system that requires that the offender himself take responsibility for medical treatment of his victim, there should be no misunderstanding. Collected Commentaries on the Codes of Qing China [Qinglü jizhu] stipulated: “The use of metal pieces must not be confused with that of knives. Even if the offender injured his victim with a piece of metal but not by using a knife, he shall be punished in accordance with the law on having attacked with an ordinary instrument, and the period of responsibility for crimes is limited to twenty days.” If wounds inflicted by hands or feet or other instruments are not serious, the period of responsibility for crimes is naturally brief because the wounds may be safe from infection. However, the period of responsibility for wounds caused by knives or hot water or fi re is made longer because there is a possibility that infection from the wounds is latent deep inside the body even though the wounds did not lead to the violent death of the victim. If the cut wounds are not made with a knife, the poison from the iron does not infi ltrate deep inside the body, and therefore, metal objects and knives should be differentiated in ruling on the case. The following is from Collected Commentaries on the Codes of Qing China: “There was a man named Zhuang Fo, and someone broke his grinding teeth with the handle of a hoe. Zhuang lost his teeth and died thirty-five days after the incident. Forensic examination revealed that his grinding teeth were broken, but his physical injury did not extend to other parts of his body, so it appeared that no limbs or members of his body were injured except his teeth. Since a case like this pertains to the crime of assault with ordinary objects, the penalty for it was only the twenty-day period of responsibility for crimes and penal servitude for two 172. Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 180. 173. Th is is probably another title of Da Qing luji jiefuli (ኬ῜ᚂ㞗ゆ㜻ౚ). Th is code, based on the Ming code, was compiled in the third year of Emperor Shunzhi (1646). Later it was expanded, and its fi nal version was published in 1727, the fi ft h year of Emperor Yongzheng’s reign.

Administration of Justice

739

years that was supposed to be applied to those who broke more than two teeth of others.” As I have observed, since so-called chich’e indicates four limbs and body, the period of responsibility for crimes of causing physical injury is limited to fift y days unless the limbs are broken. However, if physical injury is so deep and serious that it eventually causes death to the victim and no other cause than that is found for his death, the offender should be subject to the penalty comparable to killing even if a hundred days have passed. This is in the Collected Commentaries on the Codes of Qing China. (This article is also included in Toward a New Jurisprudence.) In Cases Where an Individual Is Murdered and Secretly Buried, the Corpse Must Be Exhumed for Autopsy. Since the Commentary  in the Comprehensive National Code Was Originally Erroneous, One Does Not Need to Adhere to It. The royal instructions of Sukchong, Yŏngjo, and Chŏngjo all allow the exhumation of corpses for the purpose of autopsy. The Expanded Commentaries on the Comprehensive National Code [Taejŏn chŭngju], however, states as follows: “When a corpse needs to be exhumed for autopsy, this must first be reported to the superior office; exhumation without authorization shall not be allowed.” This clause is probably an error made in the process of editing the text. I will not discuss it any further since detailed discussion of this matter is included in another book of mine (Toward a New Jurisprudence). C H A P T E R  : J U DIC IOUS E N F ORC E M E N T OF PU N I SH M E N T S

When the Magistrate Carries Out Punishments, He Should Divide Them into Three Categories: Severe Corporal Punishments for Civil Matters [Minsa], Moderate Corporal Punishments for Public Matters Relating to Tribute [Kongsa], and Light Corporal Punishments for Matters Relating to the Local Government [Kwansa]. In the Case of Private Matters, However, There Should Be No Corporal Punishments. What are civil matters [minsa]? They refer generally to all irregularities, including tricks and exploitation, in handling affairs directly related to the people, such 174. Th is indicates “Article on Autopsy” (“Kŏmhŏmjo”) of the Laws on Penal Affairs section in the Comprehensive National Code. The statute on autopsy was originally established when the Supplement to the National Code was compiled. The compilers of the Comprehensive National Code expanded the article by adding a new statute, “Homicide and Secret Burial,” in the form of a commentary.

740

book IX

as land administration, corvée labor, military administration, the grain register, imprisonment, and so forth, which are committed by local officials and village heads. What are public matters [kongsa]? They refer generally to various tributerelated official duties, such as grain transport, payment of revenue, payment of tribute, meeting deadlines for sending tribute and official reports to the capital and provincial offices, and so forth, which officials and village heads fail or delay to carry out. What are matters relating to the local government [kwansa]? They refer generally to all the business of the local administration, such as sacrifices, inviting or serving guests [pingaek], observing rules and customs [chŏnsu], devising ideas and strategies [ch’aekŭng], courtesies paid by clerks and functionaries to their magistrate [choal], and providing tribute and allowances to the magistrate [kongbong], which the clerks and subofficials in the local government often fail to perform because of their lack of discipline and negligence. What is severe punishment? If the intention of the magistrate in executing punishment is to make the offender observe the law by mitigating the severity of the law, he orders that he be flogged thirty times, and if he sees blood, he can call it severe punishment [sanghyŏng]. If he has him flogged twenty times but with full strength, then he can call that moderate punishment [chunghyŏng]. If he has him flogged only ten times and adds kind words of admonition, he can call that light punishment [hahyŏng]. If the law of punishment is executed in this way, it will serve its purpose. If the intention of the magistrate in executing punishment is to establish the dignity of the law through severe punishment, he orders fift y floggings until he sees blood or seven floggings with the stick used in the military, which is short and thick, and that is severe punishment. If he has the offender flogged thirty times but with full strength or ten times with an interrogation stick, then he can call that moderate punishment. If he has him flogged twenty or fifteen times with a light stick, then he can call that light punishment. If the law of punishment is executed in this way, it will serve its purpose. If the punishment exceeds these levels, it is excessive punishment [namhyŏng], which does not need to be explained. The things that trouble the people are generally the crimes committed on purpose, so it is obvious that the duty of the magistrate lies in repelling the wolves and wild dogs in order to save the sheep. This is the reason that he applies severe punishments in cases of civil matters that concern the welfare of the people. It sometimes happens that a person who is carry ing out his official duty unintentionally becomes involved in tribute-related public crimes [kongchoe]. However, since there are rules that require that deadlines be observed or there are the state and superiors that he should serve with diligence, this is the reason that moderate punishment is applied to tribute-related official duties. That the public offices are already established means that there are certain public duties to be carried

Administration of Justice

741

out; it also means that the authority of the magistrate needs to be respected. It is necessary, therefore, that the clerks and subofficials in the yamen should serve their magistrate with sincerity and diligence, and their activities also need to be supervised and subjected to admonition. However, since failure in duties of this kind affects only the magistrate himself and no one else, this is the reason that the magistrate applies light punishment for failure. Whenever he judges an offender, he must first consider to what category his case belongs, civil matters or tribute-related matters. If it belongs to the former, he should punish the offender rather severely even if his crime is somewhat light, and if it belongs to the latter, he should punish him lightly even if his crime is rather serious. If he establishes the principles of his judgment in this way, his adjudication will be fair and impressive with dignity. What are private matters? He who has parents must serve them with sincerity; however, if an individual in the yamen serves the magistrate likewise, it becomes a private matter to the magistrate. That the wife of the magistrate resides in the inner quarters of the yamen, or that the sons of the magistrate stay in the staff office, or that the magistrate offers sacrifices at his family tombs, or that the magistrate entertains his friends, or that the magistrate daily uses or consumes rice and firewood in the yamen, or that the magistrate purchases merchandise like brassware, wooden chests, hemp cloth, silk, ramie fabric, and cotton cloth—all these belong to private matters. In case anything belonging to these categories of private matters goes wrong, not a single stroke of beating with a stick or half a stroke of lashing should be inflicted on the slaves and servants. This is the reason that there should be no corporal punishment in relation to the magistrate’s private matters. Suppose that the magistrate orders the physician in his yamen to prepare medicine for his father, who is ill, and the physician, being tired and sleepy, makes the mistake of burning up precious ingredients such as ginseng and young antlers. When this happens, the magistrate gently reproves him: “You must have been very tired. It is not unusual to make such a mistake.” If the magistrate does not rebuke him and orders him to prepare another dose of the same medicine, the physician will be overwhelmed by his kindness. However, if the magistrate severely punishes him and makes him pay for the medicine, the physician will curse the magistrate’s father and pray for his death as soon as he walks out of the yamen office. Is this not also lack of fi lial piety from the standpoint of the magistrate? When the magistrate sends the supplies for a sacrifice to the head house, and the dried meats or dried fish that he sends appear too thin and poor in quality, he should raise his budget and purchase better ones. However, if he punishes the clerk in charge of the assignment with lashing and flogging and eventually procures what he wants, the clerk will curse the magistrate’s ancestors as soon as he

742

book IX

walks out of the yamen office. Is this not also lack of filial piety from the standpoint of the magistrate? There should be no punishment like lashing even when worms and maggots are found in the rice of the magistrate; there should be no rebuke even when motes or cinders are in the soup of the magistrate; there should be no dispute over the price of merchandise even when its quality is suspect; and there should be no cutback in the budget even when expenditures are less than they appear to be. It is advisable to reprove and admonish gently when a subordinate makes a serious mistake; if the mistake is trivial, it is better to forgive it by keeping silent. If mistakes adversely affect the lives of the people, however, the magistrate should immediately show his indignation and chastise the persons who committed the mistakes by all means. Then he will be able to establish his authority. For this reason, I said that there should be no punishment in the case of the magistrate’s personal affairs. When punishment of a personal nature is removed from the administration of the law, half of the work of justice is already accomplished. (The Supplement to the National Code states, “He who kills a man for a personal reason shall be put to death even if he is a high personage carrying the royal order of the king.”) The Magistrate Should Not Show His Anger and Rebuke the Runners Who Enforce Punishment [Chipjang Saryŏng] on the Spot. If He Makes Strict Pledges and Later Disciplines the Disregard of His Orders, He Can Manage Severity and Generosity in the Punishment of Beating in the Way He Wishes without Changing His Face and Voice. The magistrate who likes severe punishment first flogs the runners who enforce punishment whenever he punishes the offender by beating with a heavy stick. The way of carry ing out flogging on the offender is to hit his anklebone with a red club until he falls to the ground. If the runner who enforces punishment beats the offender in a light way, he himself in turn is punished in the same manner. As a result, because of runner A, the anklebone of runner B is broken, and because of runner C, the anklebone of runner D is shattered, which produces a chain reaction like a spreading ivy and reaches down to runner E, runner F, and so forth. When this happens, the original purpose of interrogation is completely forgotten, and a great storm of disturbance suddenly takes off on the plain. When things are at their worst, the anklebone is broken, and the man loses his consciousness and finally his life. Since poor ghosts follow one after another, what a pity this is. What will happen to the authority of the magistrate, not to mention the sorrows and injustices the dead had to endure? Malpractice like this should not be followed. For ten days after the magistrate takes his post, no corporal punishment must be carried out. When the people who commit wrongdoings increase as time

Administration of Justice

743

passes and new crimes begin to increase after ten days or a month or so, the enforcement of corporal punishments will be unavoidable. When he first executes corporal punishments, the magistrate summons gate guards and makes them line up below him. Then he asks them, “How many of you are good at beating with a heavy stick?” He has them call out their names and selects ten of them to carry out punishments; he makes those who are selected prostrate themselves in the yard and admonishes them on their duty. The following is an admonition given to them: “There are three types of corporal punishments carried out in the government office: severe, moderate, and light. The purpose of severe punishment is to inflict great physical injury; that of moderate punishment is to inflict great pain; and that of light punishment is only to show the dignity of the law. Whenever beating with a heavy stick is carried out, the clerk in charge of punishment announces it in advance. When the office issues three counting sticks and the runner places three clubs on the stone table, you should know that they indicate severe punishment; when the office issues two counting sticks and the runner places two clubs on the stone table, you should know that they indicate moderate punishment; and when the office issues one counting stick, you should know that it indicates light punishment. In the case of severe punishment, you exert all your power in executing flogging; in the case of moderate punishment, seven-tenths of your power; and in the case of light punishment, simply pretend to flog to show the dignity of the law.” The admonition continues: “If you do not execute beating as you are supposed to, although you look at the counting sticks, and it happens that the offender who should be dealt with strictly is dealt with leniently, you will surely suffer the consequences since you decided to take the power of life and death into your own hands. However, I will not say a word on the spot. If beating is executed too lightly, the offender will be subject to another beating the next day, and later your crimes will also be punished by beating with a heavy stick.” The admonition continues: “If you always decide to follow your personal feelings in carry ing out your duties, disregarding my command, you will be subject not only to beating or clubbing but also to penal servitude at the capital or provincial office, and at the end of the year your names will be removed from the list of appointment. Since you will likewise become the target of all the crimes and punishments, you had better watch out.” When beating is executed too lightly, the magistrate closes the area of punishment without saying anything. Later he holds a special session in which he chastises the runners in charge of beating for their wrongdoings in the manner described above and, in addition, adds punishments of penal servitude and 175. The stone table, called kyesŏk, was for laying out the torture instruments, which were to intimidate offenders.

744

book IX

suspension of appointment in the manner described above. Then beating will definitely become fierce. Since the Punishments Carried Out by the Magistrate Are Limited to Fifty Strokes or So of Beating with a Light Stick, Anything That Exceeds This Is Deemed Too Severe. Hu Dachu stated: “There cannot be severe corporal punishments on the district level. Light punishments are carried out with an interrogating stick [sinjang]; severe punishments with a heavy stick [kyŏlgon]; and the severest punishment with a heavy stick [chang], whose use is limited to no more than one hundred strokes. The punishment of one hundred strokes of beating with the heavy chang sticks should not be carried out too frequently, and the use of the sinjang and kyŏlgon sticks should also be limited to ten strokes or so. If the sticks are heavier than regular ones, the number of strokes should be reduced to seven or five or sometimes ten strokes, but what is important is how properly one executes punishment, observing the rules. Then the people will be afraid of the law and try to obey it. You must keep in mind that the increase of strokes in beating does not necessarily ensure that the people obey the law. One hundred strokes of beating with the heavy stick should be reserved for maximum punishment.” In my view, Hu Dachu made this statement because in the Chinese law the district magistrate was accorded the power to carry out corporal punishment up to one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick. In olden days there were the five punishments [ohyŏng], and they were tattooing the forehead [muk], cutting off the nose [ŭi], cutting off the heel [pi], castration [kung], and killing [sal]. In later times they were transformed into different types of punishments, such as beating with a light stick [t’ae], beating with a heavy stick [chang], penal servitude [to], life exile [yu], and killing [sal]. Since beating with t’ae or chang sticks is what used to be the whips and sticks [p’yŏnbok] employed in the magistrates’ courts and schools, they were mainly designed to discipline officials and students. Since penal servitude [to] and life exile [yu] are what used to be hiding through banishment [yuch’an], they are in fact remission of punishment, not punishment itself. Nevertheless, they are generally all called the five punishments, which is not right. 176. Th is phrase derives from the Classic of History, “The Canon of Shun”: “He exhibited (to the people) the statutory punishments, enacting banishment as a mitigation of the five (great) infl ictions; with the whip to be employed in the magistrates’ courts, the stick to be employed in schools, and money to be received for redeemable offences.” The five great infl ictions, according to Legge’s note, were “branding on the forehead; cutting off the nose; cutting off the feet; castration; and death, infl icted in various ways” (“The Canon of Shun,” Shu King, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 40–41).

Administration of Justice

745

The punishments that are carried out in our country at the present time are of three kinds: beating with a light stick [t’aehyŏng], beating with a heavy stick [changhyŏng], or beating with a club [konhyŏng], and capital punishment, called taebyŏk. As for beating with a light stick, the sticks consist of two kinds: small and large. The small ones are called t’ae and the large ones t’aejang; however, there is not much difference as far as the punishment itself is concerned. As for beating with the heavy stick, the sticks consist of three kinds: small, medium, and large. Small ones are called sinjang, medium-size ones sŏngjang, and large ones kukjang, and these sticks are, in fact, interrogating sticks [sinjang] differing only in size. As for beating with a club [konhyŏng], the clubs consist of five kinds: small, medium, large, heavy clubs [chunggon], and clubs for interrogating thieves [ch’idogon]. (In the beginning of our dynasty whips made of leather were used, according to the National Code; however, they are no longer used.) In my observation, the Chinese interrogating stick is mostly round in its large and small ends so that it is more or less like a large light stick, and furthermore, it is applied alternately to both the buttocks and the thighs. The Korean interrogating stick, on the other hand, is round in the large end but flat in the small end; it is also thicker than the Chinese ones; hence it sometimes hits the knee bone. This indicates that the Korean law is twice as strict as the Chinese law. The following happened in the twenty-second year of King Sukchong [1696]. His ministers said, “The interrogating stick used by the Board of Punishments is made so lightly that it is difficult to extract a confession from the culprit.” The king replied, “The interrogating stick used by the State Tribunal and the Board of Punishments was made according to the rules of the law. Besides, since it was not without reason that the interrogating stick was made of willow wood, how can it be possible to change the instrument of punishment abruptly on account of difficulties in producing confessions of crime?” In my observation, in the beginning of our dynasty there was no fi xed rule for the number of strokes in beating during interrogation. In the third year of King Sejong [1421], Pak Ŭn, chief magistrate of the State Tribunal, requested that a

177. The word taebyŏk (ኬ㎚) originally referred to the most serious crimes; later it meant the death penalty. 178. They were called sŏngjang because they were used for joint interrogation by Samsŏng (୔┤) (the Board of Punishments, Hansŏng Metropolitan Magistracy, and the Office of the Inspector General). 179. Kukjang were used for interrogations conducted by the Office for the Deliberation of Forbidden Affairs. 180. The word sinjang in the text indicates both small sticks and interrogating sticks. 181. An official of the late Kory dynasty and the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Angji, and his pen name P’yoŭn. He also served as third state councilor.

746

book IX

limit of thirty strokes be imposed on the use of the interrogating stick at the first interrogation. Officials Nowadays Enjoy Using Big Clubs for Interrogations Because Two Kinds of Light Sticks and Three Kinds of Heavy Sticks Are Not Good Enough for Them to Enjoy Inflicting Punishment. The Comprehensive National Code stipulated: “The torturing clubs [konjang] shall be made of willow wood, and their length, width, and thickness shall follow ‘Regulations for Judicious Inquiry and Trial’ [‘Hŭmyul chŏnch’ik’]. “The use of heavy clubs [chunggon 㔔Რ] is limited to generals, governors, and provincial military commanders. (The use of heavy clubs is prohibited unless the case concerns capital punishment.) The use of large clubs [taegon] is allowed to officials above the rank of commissioner of suppression and apprehension. (These officials are entitled to use simultaneously clubs of three different sizes: large, medium, and small.) The use of medium-sized clubs [chunggon ୯Რ] is allowed to a garrison commander concurrently in charge of a district magistracy, aides of provincial army and navy commanders, a provincial governor’s military aides, and the magistrates of the border region. (These officials are allowed to use both medium-size and small clubs.) The use of small clubs [sogon] is allowed to garrison commanders, lesser garrison commanders, special commanders, and recruiters.” The Comprehensive National Code also stipulated: “The use of clubs for handling thieves is allowed to the Agency for the Arrest of Thieves [P’odoch’ŏng], special mayors, regional inspectors, regional naval commanders, provincial army commanders, provincial navy commanders, commissioners of suppression and apprehension, commissioners of suppression and apprehension concurrently in charge of a district magistracy, magistrates in border districts, and garrison commanders in the border region. However, it shall be limited to matters concerning subjugating thieves, administering border defense, and protecting mountains and forests.” The Comprehensive National Code also stipulated: “The use of heavy clubs is prohibited unless the case concerns military matters.” (There was a royal decree in the twentieth year of King Yŏngjo [1744].) In my observation, there was originally no statute of law that allowed magistrates serving inland to use heavy clubs for torture even if they were in charge of larger districts like special districts and prefectures. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Even if one is a governor or provincial military commander, he cannot use heavy clubs for torture on 182. “Excessive Punishments” (“Namhyŏngjo”), Laws on Punishments.

Administration of Justice

747

those who once served in the court. (In all cases where military matters are concerned, a report should be submitted before the punishment of beating with heavy clubs is carried out.) Those who practice torture with heavy clubs beyond the limit of military matters shall be punished under the law of excessive punishments, and attendant officers [pijang] of the provincial army or the garrison who use heavy clubs for torture shall be punished for committing a serious crime.” In my observation, the magistrate is not supposed to exceed fift y strokes of beating with a light stick in carry ing out corporal punishment and cannot dare to use instruments of torture such as interrogating sticks and the heavy clubs used in the military [kungon]. This custom, however, has degenerated in recent times to the degree that the people are ignorant of it. As a result, beating with light or heavy sticks has disappeared, and only beating with heavy clubs is used. Since there is a kind of human beings who are very insensitive to the pains and itches of others, the frequent use of heavy clubs has turned out to be their entertainment. It makes me sad. He who practices such cruel punishment may feel excited, but what about the one who suffers from it? Would he feel the same? The use of heavy clubs for torture of clerks and law-enforcement officials is already illegal, not to mention the common people. Nevertheless, the magistrate who is now so accustomed to cruel punishment tries to rule slaves, servants, aides, and heads of villages with heavy clubs for torture; furthermore, he extends the same cruel punishments to country people and elderly persons, who never saw torture sticks in their entire lives, using red clubs for his ordinary interrogations. As a result, they are terrified out of their senses, and their wounds become much deeper. How deplorable this is! Since the pains and sufferings of the people are made into the personal pleasure of the magistrate, what made him inhuman to this degree? When he carries out the law of beating with an interrogating stick, he should first report to the superior office before he takes action; nevertheless, torture is recklessly carried out even on Confucian students of the local school and members of yangban families involved in a lawsuit over grave-site disputes, not to mention clerks and aides of the local gentry association to the magistrate, once the magistrate is offended or displeased. Can we say that under these circumstances the law exists? The purpose of instituting corporal punishment is to uphold the law. If one undermines the law by oneself, how can he uphold the law? Unless the law is properly carried out, it loses its authority, as well as its virtue. Punishment Is the Least Desirable Means to Rectify the People. If the Magistrate Rules Himself and Upholds the Law, the People Will Not Violate the Law Even if the Law Is Abolished. Ruling a state is like ruling a family; so is ruling a district. Let us take an example of a family. The head of a family is angry all the time, shouting at and beating his

748

book IX

children and slaves; he never forgives trivial things like stealing a little money or spilling soup; at worst, he strikes them on the shoulder with an iron mace or hits them on the thigh with a laundry bat. Nevertheless, the cheating of his children becomes worse, and the stealing of his slaves is unbridled. All the family members slander one another out of fear that their wrongdoings will be exposed; hence both the high and the low in age and position are engaged in hoodwinking the head of the family. As a result, the head of the family becomes more and more isolated, and his household morality is so deeply disarrayed that he eventually fails to establish the appearance of a good family endowed with order and stability. Let us take an example of another family. The head of the family rises early in the morning, washes himself, combs his hair, and dresses, arranging his clothes and hat in good order; then, sitting straight and composed, he receives morning respects from his household members and distributes daily assignments to them. If there is anyone who is negligent in following his order, he admonishes the individual with good words. If there is anyone who committed a shameful mistake, he keeps it to himself without reproaches and later admonishes and reproaches the person, finding an appropriate time for this. Since the head of the family rules with diligence, the members of his family cannot but be diligent; since he rules with frugality, the members of his family cannot but be frugal; and since the standard of conduct is established because the head of the family rules with humility and integrity, everything cannot but run smoothly. Since his children all conduct themselves properly and his servants are all simple and honest, they have no idea of cheating. There is no sound of lashing from the yard all year round, and those who enter his house feel the peacefulness that is like a pleasant spring breeze. The conjugal happiness, as well as the books on the shelves, is not without beauty, and the trees and plants and cattle all look well nourished and abundant. Hence one knows that the house belongs to a man of virtue even without asking. From these observations one realizes that it is least desirable to cultivate the people by raising one’s voice or wearing a stern countenance, and it is also least advisable to rectify the people by punishment. If the magistrate himself is straight in his conduct, the people cannot be crooked in their conduct; if the magistrate himself is not upright, however, the people cannot be honest even if they are punished. Since this has been the law from the beginning of Heaven and Earth, how can it be broken by words of nonsense? Someone says: “Cunning clerks and craft y law-enforcement officials have already lost their conscience and are hardened in their evil practices beyond any 183. A small, short wooden club used to beat the linen or cotton cloth to make it smoother.

Administration of Justice

749

remedy except punishment. Nevertheless, you attempt to govern them only with light rods. Do you not think that this is a little too naïve? The customs of the world have gradually degenerated, and the ethos of simplicity and honesty is already a thing of the past. The Han and Wei dynasties were inferior to the Three Dynasties, and the Tang and Song were not as good as the Han and Wei. Since those who nowadays are famous for their governance always use strict punishments, including cruel beating and heavy iron collars worn around the neck, along with tight binding of the body, the whole village is hushed at the sound of the bell even when the rope is lightly pulled. Those who are known to be incompetent in governance, on the other hand, always use light whips and small sticks combined with mild reproaches, so that official discipline grows lax and the people are disappointed. Since this is exactly the situation we are in, your argument of rectifying others by first ruling yourself, which is obviously too naïve, makes it impossible to enlighten or control the unruly customs of our day. It is like an attempt to lift the siege of Pingcheng by performing the dance with shield and ax. How naïve it is!” To this protest I reply: “That is the talk of vulgar people. The success of governance depends on men, not punishment. If he who is famed for good governance relaxes punishment, his achievements will increase, and his reputation will be more enduring. This shows that his success does not originate from his policy of strict punishment. If he who is famed for good governance makes his punishment more rigorous, his achievements will be tarnished, and complaints against him will increase. This shows that his failure in governance does not originate from the relaxation of punishment. “He who is upright is generally strict in punishment, and he who is avaricious is lax in punishment. Therefore, they say, ‘He who is upright is often distant from humanity because he is more concerned with his name’ (“The Liyun,” Book of Rites). They also say, ‘He, at the same time, makes best use of the goodness in man while discarding avarice.’ If he takes what is right as right and what is wrong as wrong, and what is good as good and what is evil as evil, showing an intense hatred of evil, he cannot but be fierce in his punishment of crimes. On the other hand, if he is so irresolute and ignorant by nature that he fails to take what is right as right and what is wrong as wrong, and what is good as good and what is evil as evil, the punishment he carries out will naturally be lax. Since he who is sincere and fervent shows discrimination in his judgment, and he who is irresolute and ignorant fails to show the same, good governance and bad are separated from each other right at this point. Unless he reaches the state of a sage, however, he cannot help leaning to either the good side or the bad. A man’s shortcoming always springs from his strong point, and his strong point from his shortcoming. So-called strict punishment produces mistakes because it is always carried out

750

book IX

stringently and hurriedly. It often happens that punishment is heavy whereas crime is light, and judgment is rendered confidently whereas the case is suspicious. It also happens that severe punishment is mistakenly ordered because the judge is carried away by a fit of anger, or a heavy penalty is decreed because of the judge’s prejudice in favor of one of the parties. Because of these situations, the punishment ordered by the judge cannot ultimately be free from injustice and complaints, whether they be serious or light. This shows exactly how strength springs from shortcoming. It is harmless to relax punishment because it mitigates the inhumane elements in the execution of punishment. At the same time there can be no great injustice when a punishment like beating is not practiced; likewise, there can be no personal complaint because the judge’s decision is judicious with regard to controversial issues. The people are not afraid of their magistrate, and the clerks have no one to whom to display their tigerlike authority. As a result, the helpless people in a dangerous situation are able to extend their antlike lives a little longer. According to an old saying of country people, ‘The magistrate who is strict and the magistrate who is lenient are both problematic in terms of goodness and badness,’ and it seems that there is some reason in it. If the magistrate’s discrimination between right and wrong is clear, affairs like land administration, corvée labor, recruitment for military ser vice, and repayment of grain loans will also be clear. Then the clerks will not dare to deceive, and the people will not dare to show disrespect. If mitigation of punishment and benevolent consideration of trivial mistakes are added to the magistrate’s judiciousness, his brilliant reputation will increase much more. If the judgment of the magistrate is ill informed, affairs like land administration, corvée labor, recruitment for military ser vice, and repayment of grain loans will be thrown into disarray. Then the tricks of the clerks will be rampant, and the complaints of the people will seethe. If reckless beating and other cruelties are added to this bad situation, the sound of tumultuous complaints will shake the whole village. Therefore, good or bad governance depends on men, not punishment. The clerks of Hongju were famous for their cunning from the beginning, but I observed that they did not dare to show up among the people after Yu Ŭi became magistrate even though he did not use even a rod or a whip. The personnel of the provincial army in Kangjin were known to be arrogant, but their behavior changed after Pak Kip’ung became their new commander. The military compound became hushed and well ordered even though there was no punishment for discipline. (Once it happened that a military cadre member was arrested and whipped, and his colleagues reproached him. They are still ashamed of that in184. A military official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. He also served as royal messenger and magistrate of Yŏnghŭng.

Administration of Justice

751

cident.) When this is taken into consideration, ‘The present common people are the same material with which the rulers of the Th ree Dynasties manifested the correct Dao.’ ” I also say this: “In olden days people were able to prohibit atrocity and prevent cunning only by instituting certain caps and types of clothing for offenses, such as hoods [monggŏn], clothing and caps with drawings on them [hwaŭi], caps worn as a mark of disgrace as a substitute for the punishment of chopping off the noses of those who wear them [choyŏng], and clothing worn by convicts as a substitute for the punishment of castration [aep’il]. Why, then, is it impossible in our time to use light punishments such as beating with rods of cattail branches and baring the head of the offender, which is designed to generate a sense of shame [nabyŏk]? Since the governing of a superior man should be carried out in accord with the loftiest principles, how can the magistrate allow himself to be guided by the words of vulgar people?” Zheng Xuan said: “One suffers pain through his whole body even when he has his hand pricked by a thorn and his feet caught by a bramble. Since the pain of flogging is a hundred times more painful than that, should it be right for the magistrate to carry out punishment on the basis of his personal feeling? When one is faced with a tiger and a leopard in front of him and a pit at his back, he naturally cries out for help. What is the difference between such panic and the suffering from abuses in imprisonment cases? It should not be allowed that innocent people suffer unfair punishment.” Zheng Xuan also said: “The magistrate must never carry out punishment if there is any sign of anger remaining in his heart, no matter how little it may be. It is appropriate to suspend the execution of punishment for a while until he recovers his peace and to resume his interrogation from the start. He must first suppress his anger before he tries to rule the wickedness of others. When I observe officials who are in anger, they tend to try to release their anger by executing cruel punishment. How lamentable it is to damage the human bodies inherited from parents for the sake of relieving their temper, which is only temporary! Nevertheless, they seek the prosperity of their offspring, which is quite absurd.” Shao Bowen stated in his family precept: “He who serves in public office must first draft the indictment and later carry out punishment even if the person to be punished is a clerk in his yamen. If his anger is personal, it can go away by the time he finishes drafting the indictment; hence it will not happen that he abruptly hurts a man.” 185. “Wei Ling Kung,” in Legge, Confucius, 301. My translation. 186. A scholar of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziwen. He served as distinguished instructor (daming zhujiao).

752

book IX

In my view, drafting an indictment is reconsideration [koŭm]. Although the time spent in drafting an indictment is only momentary, anger can subside even in that moment. If one is carried away by personal anger, the foundation of justice is too dangerous. Zhang Wugou [Zhang Jiucheng] said: “Who will dislike the things that are delightful and gratifying to his heart? Once those things are past, however, they often leave behind something regretful and displeasing not only to him but also to others. The reason that a superior man always carries himself with caution and patience, carefully paying attention and never daring to be careless in dealing with others, is that he wishes to make his pleasure more proper and serviceable to himself, as well as to others.” (According to the poem of Shao Yaofu [Shao Yong], “When there are too many delicious foods pleasing to the mouth, they certainly become a cause of sickness, and when there are too many extreme pleasures in the heart, they instead produce disasters.”) Zhang Wugou also said: “He who is in office must be extremely watchful of impatience. If he is in a state of impatience, he has no time for proper conduct. How can he then find time to manage state matters? Furthermore, since craft y clerks and cunning commoners watch for a chance to make profits, impatience is quite harmful not only to himself but also to others.” Hu Dachu said: “When Zhuo Mao became magistrate of Mizhou, he admonished his people: ‘Since I will guide you with propriety, you must not have complaints and resentment. If I govern you with the laws on penal affairs, where would you put your hands and feet?’ This is indeed the remark of a benevolent person. He who is magistrate must make a copy of that remark and place it at his side.” In the Olden Days Benevolent Magistrates Were Always Lenient in Carrying Out Punishment. Their Works of Justice Thus Discharged Are Handed Down in History, Leaving a Trace of Fragrance. Liu Kuan served as magistrate in three districts, and, being a man of benevolence, often forgave the people. He used to say, “If one governs the people with punishment, they only try to escape the trap set by the law, showing hardly any shame,” and he ordered only a light beating if his clerks and residents made mistakes, which was intended to make them experience shame for their wrongdoings. Cui Boqian, prefect of Beidi, used leather whips for punishment. He was unable to bear the sight of blood, and his main concern was making the culprits feel ashamed. 187. An official of the Beiqi dynasty (550–577).

Administration of Justice

753

The following happened when Cang Ci became prefect of Dunhuang. Before he took office, there were many unresolved criminal cases, and therefore his yamen was crowded with people seeking speedy trials of their cases. Cang Ci personally visited them and examined each case, separating light ones from heavy ones. Unless their cases deserved the death penalty, he released the prisoners after carry ing out only whipping. As a consequence, those who were sentenced to imprisonment turned out to be no more than ten people. This is in the History of the Southern Dynasties. Cui Jingzhen became magistrate of Pingchang. He hung a whip on the wall but did not use it. Zhu Yi of the Han dynasty became bailiff [sefu] of Tongxiang. Because he was upright and impartial, he never practiced atrocity. He loved the people and desired to make their lives profitable; hence he did not beat the people or throw them into shame. (In my observation, during the Han dynasty clerks tried to be cautious, and the people obeyed the law even without the punishment of beating with a light stick.) The following happened when Li Feng became magistrate of Yanling. If people committed crimes, he did not punish them except by taking off their blue caps, which was regarded as extremely shameful. Afraid of such punishment, the people did not dare to commit crimes again. In my view, this idea of using blue caps [bitoujin] for punitive purposes is a legacy of the penalty in which baring the head and wearing convict’s clothes were enforced. In carry ing out affairs of justice, Xu Yougong could not bear to flog the people, so the people got together and made a pledge as follows: “Let us all reject anyone who commits a crime subject to beating with a heavy stick in the court of Adjutant Xu.” During the time of Wuhou of the Tang dynasty, he saved many people by upholding their rights and maintaining fairness. Du Yan of the Song dynasty was prudent and meticulous in carry ing out his official duties and did not exert pressure on the clerks by ruling with dignity and discipline. Nevertheless, the clerks, as well as the people, were all afraid of his cleanness and silence. In my observation, there are two types of ideal judges: Zhang Yong and Bao Zheng are examples of one type, and Du Yan and Ouyang Xiu are examples of the other. 188. An official of the Wei kingdom during the Th ree Kingdoms period. 189. The name in the source text is Cui Jingong, which is probably an error. 190. His courtesy name was Zhongqing. He also served as prefect of Beihai. 191. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He also served as director of the Imperial Secretariat. 192. An official of the Tang dynasty. His name was Xu Hongmin. His courtesy name was Yougong, and his posthumous title Zhongzheng. He served as adjutant of Puzhou and as vice director of corporal punishments.

754

book IX

The following happened when Chŏn Hŭng became magistrate of Wŏnju. Because he was compassionate and forgiving, he met with the culprit before his corporal punishment and never recklessly executed even a stroke of beating with a light stick. In my observation, what Chŏn did was similar to the practice of Du Huan. (Because Du Huan ordered meat and drink to be removed whenever he executed punishment of prisoners during the winter, all his subordinates were overwhelmed by his benevolence.) The following happened when Cho Kŭksŏn served as magistrate. Whenever he carried out corporal punishment of prisoners, he wore a sad countenance and said, “When the suffering of the one who carries out punishment is this painful, how painful will that of the one who is punished be? Although they know that their crimes bring them nothing but pain and suffering, they keep on committing crimes, which makes me feel very sorry.” It Is a Serious Crime to Carry Out the Punishment of Flogging Recklessly, in a Fit of Anger. Admonitions Handed Down through Successive Reigns Are Shining in the Records of History. King Sejong in the twelft h year of his reign [1430] issued a royal decree: “Although the five viscera are all located near the back of the body, officials engaged in punishment often damage human lives by beating the back of the body. From this moment the practice of beating the offender on the back will be prohibited, and anyone who violates this decree will be punished.” In the eighteenth year of his reign [1692] King Sukchong sent down his royal instruction to the eight provincial governors: “Although the king possesses authority like thunder and lightning, as well as the power of saving or taking a man’s life, he does not follow his personal feeling but always seeks the consensus of the court when a matter of life and death is at issue. Crimes like homicide and forgery of official seals are evils that are unpardonable and deserve capital punishment. Nevertheless, the king summons his ministers and has them closely review the case, examining the statutes of law in order that they may be able to find a way to save a human life. Although the king is fully aware that there is little chance for this, he delays making his final decision until his ministers declare unanimously that the person ought to die. Is this not because the king regards the lives of his people as extremely important? Nevertheless, the governors and magistrates of large or small provinces and districts fail to consider the purpose 193. An official of the early Chosŏn period. His posthumous title was Kyŏngho. 194. An official of the Han dynasty. He served as commandant of Shanggu and prefect of Yanmen.

Administration of Justice

755

behind the compassion of their king and carry out punishment in their own ways, disregarding the law. Often carried away by a fit of anger or their personal hatred, which is extremely trivial and temporary, they recklessly beat people to death with oversized paddles, disregarding human life as if it were rubbish. According to the semiannual summary reports on the performance of local officials [sech’o], which I read a few days ago, there were many who were punished for making such mistakes. People like them should never be allowed to serve in public office for the sake of warning and admonition to others.” King Yŏngjo in the forty-sixth year of his reign [1770] proclaimed a royal decree: “Although beating the back with a cudgel painted red cannot be compared with punishments like pressing the bent knee with a heavy board and torturing with a branding iron, its atrocity is even more excruciating. While pressing the bent knee with a heavy board and torturing with a branding iron are carried out after setting up torturing devices, beating with a cudgel painted red is executed with no mercy as soon as orders are given. If he who is thus tortured happens to die because of this, how is it different from reckless murder? From now on, such punishments must not be carried out.” Record of Koksan stated: “Punishment is what even the sage emperors Yao and Shun could not dare to abolish. If, in their own times, punishments like tattooing the forehead, cutting off noses, cutting off heels, and castration were practiced, why should we not carry out punishments like beating with a light stick, whipping, thrashing with a paddle, and battering with a club? However, when a benevolent person carries out punishment, he feels sorry and takes pity. Although he cannot dare to forgive what is restricted by the law and to carry out what is not allowed by the law, he feels that it is his duty to teach the people first. Executing the law of punishment on those who persisted in their wrongdoings despite efforts to educate them was originally the way of carry ing out punishment. Since he who is in charge of the law, in a fit of anger, harms the precious lives of the people because of his personal feelings, banging his desk and shoving the shutters wide open, it is certain that his conduct is unreasonable from the standpoint of state law and also excessive when it is measured by general truth [kongli]. Furthermore, although there are certain rules and regulations in the law with regard to the ways of executing corporal punishment, he simply disregards them, practicing cruelties on the people. He either uses three sticks tied together or the large ends of the cudgels, which are heavier; he also either keeps the offender kneeling down on the stony ground or has him hung on a tree upside down or pulls him by the neck or tortures him with a branding iron. Although the use of leg-screw

195. Sech’o (㦤ᢊ) was the semiannual summary evaluation report on the per formance of local officials, which was submitted by the Board of Personnel and the Board of War.

756

book IX

torture [churi] is prohibited by the law of the state, he uses it for ordinary interrogations; although beating with a cudgel has been ruled out from the times of ancient kings, he casually practices it on occasions of search and inspection. Is there no way to stop these senseless cruelties? People like Zhi Du, Yi Zong, and Xian Xuan, magistrates who practiced cruelty, all ended up with capital punishment, and their descendants failed to prosper. Since complaints and curses are hurled at the body of a person who practices cruelty, and retribution befalls him in no time, why should a man who becomes a magistrate of the people engage in such evil deeds?” It Is Not Appropriate to Carry Out Corporal Punishment on Females Unless Their Crimes Are Very Serious. The Use of the Interrogating Stick Can Be Allowed, but Flogging Them on the Buttock Is Extremely Shameful. Since corporal punishment of females is supposed to be carried out after making sure that they are not pregnant, even if they committed homicide, it is needless to say how cautious one should be in punishing them for other crimes. When flogging on the buttock is carried out, the drawers worn under the dress, as well as the protective underwear for menstruation, are removed, and the dress itself is made wet with water so that it can stick to the skin, which makes the people in the court rather uncomfortable. It happens these days, however, that the magistrates simply order the buttock to be exposed and flogged directly, which is too shameful to speak of. When a magistrate ordered the buttock of a female offender to be bared for flogging, she stood up, adjusting her clothes, and cursed aloud the magistrate and named his mother and grandmother. The magistrate was so embarrassed that he drove the woman out, accusing her of insanity. Since he was insulted by a person of lower status because he had lost her respect, what should he do in the future? Keeping this in mind, the magistrate must observe propriety and not lose his dignity before the people. If wives of people of good status have committed crimes, their husbands are supposed to take punishment on their behalf; in the case of official female servants, interrogating sticks should be used if their crimes are serious and rods if their crimes are trivial; and if wives of yamen clerks committed crimes, they should not be taken into the yamen; if they are to be detained, they should be sent to the prison directly, and their crimes should be investigated separately by 196. A form of torture causing excruciating pain by inserting two sticks between legs and thighs that are tied together, and twisting them alternately. 197. An official of the Han dynasty. He served as magistrate of Changling and of Changan, and as prefect of Anxiang and of Nanyang. 198. An official of the Han dynasty. The name in the source text is Jian Xuan. However, according to the Book of Han (“Biographies of Cruel Officials”), the name was recorded as Xian Xuan.

Administration of Justice

757

a reliable person sent by the magistrate. (This is because no one can tell whether or not those who are taken to the yamen for investigation are actually sent to the prison.) The Great Ming Code stipulated: “In all cases in which women commit crimes, for fornication and capital crimes they shall be imprisoned; for all other miscellaneous crimes they shall be put in the charge of their husband for supervision. If they have no husband, they shall be put in charge of their relatives within the degrees of mourning.” Pregnant women can be judicially tortured or beaten one hundred days after the delivery. If they abort or die of torture during pregnancy, those who are responsible shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for three years. Prohibition of Torture of Elderly People and Young Children Is in the Statute of the Law Code. The Great Ming Code stated: “On those who are seventy years of age or more, fifteen years of age or less, or disabled, judicial torture shall not be allowed. Any violations shall be punished by fi ft y strokes of beating with a light stick.” Liu Zhu was merciless in carry ing out the law. When there was one of the people who committed a crime, he asked him his age. If the man answered, he punished him by beating according to his age, which people called “beating in accordance with age” [suinianzhang]. Furthermore, whenever he ordered beating, he had two sticks tied together into one, which people called “beating with double pleasure” [hehuanzhang]. (This is in the History of the Five Dynasties .) I believe that the punishment of suinianzhang must have been administered to those who were below thirty to forty years of age. It is not likely that it was applied to the elderly even by a man like Liu Zhu. There was a royal decree in the twelft h year of King Sejong [1430]: “Everyone finds it painful to be imprisoned or whipped, but there is something more pitiable. From now on, except for homicide and robbery, it will be prohibited to imprison those who are below fifteen and above seventy years of age. In cases of 199. The Great Ming Code, “Laws on Penal Affairs” (Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 240). 200. Ibid. 201. Ibid., Article 428, 230–231. 202. An official of the Later Han dynasty during the Five Dynasties period. He served as provincial military commander of the Yongxing army. Because he was too strict in executing the law, he killed the household members of the founder of the Later Zhou dynasty and was beheaded by the founder himself. 203. An official history of the Five Dynasties (907–960), which controlled much of northern China.

758

book IX

those who are above eighty and below ten years of age, neither imprisonment nor torture is allowed even if their crimes deserve death. What is needed in their cases is to secure many witnesses.” Since Vicious Punishment Was Intended for Criminals like Robbers, It Should Not Be Recklessly Administered to the Common People. There are two kinds of vicious punishments. The first is reckless beating [nanjang], and the second is leg-screw torture. According to sources, this leg-screw torture was also called hyŏpgon. Reckless beating has already been abolished and is now not in use even for the interrogation of robbers; leg-screw torture, on the other hand, still survives. Thus it happens that when the magistrate is angry, he recklessly uses it on his subordinates, including clerks and slaves in the yamen. Since the practice of this torture violates the law and causes disrespect among the people, nothing is more serious than this in its consequences. (It is known that once a commoner is put through this torture, he is permanently disabled and thus is incapable of offering sacrifice to his father all his life.) King Yŏngjo left a royal instruction as follows. In the olden days General Yi Wan tortured his servant for stealing eggs in his house even though he saw a crow snatching away eggs. In that way he received a confession from the servant and used it as his warning against committing wrongdoings. After that incident the use of inhumane torture such as leg-screw torture and reckless beating was strictly prohibited except in the case of theft through violent means.

C H A P T E R : C OM PA S S ION F OR PR I S ON E R S

Since the Prison Is a Hell in This World, the Sufferings of Prisoners Must Be Looked After by Those Who Are Benevolent. All the pains and sufferings to be endured in the prison cannot be fully described. If only major ones are mentioned, there are generally five kinds: first, sufferings from the implements of punishment attached to the body; second, extortion by prison officials; third, sickness; fourth, cold and hunger; and fift h, the hardship of long confinement. These five major sufferings serve as a main stalk out of which countless sufferings branch out. It is a pity that a convict on death row is made to go through all these sufferings despite the fact that he is condemned to die; it is a pity that a criminal charged with a minor offense is also made to undergo the same kind of sufferings despite the fact that his crimes are not serious; and it is also a pity that an innocent person unfairly charged with a crime is made to suffer all these troubles because of his bad luck. How can he who is magistrate of the people not pay attention to this problem?

Administration of Justice

759

Placing a Sword around the Neck of a Convict Is a Punishment Instituted in Later Age, Not the Law of the Former Kings. The Autumn Ministry with the Overseer of Penal Affairs in Rites of Zhou stated: “The prison guards who oversee the prisoners restrain them by employing gu manacles, gong manacles, and shackles if their crimes are serious; shackles and gu manacles if their crimes are less serious; and only gu manacles if their crimes are trivial. In the case of members of the royal family, only gong manacles are used, and in the case of those with official titles, only shackles.” Xu Shen in his Analytical Dictionary of Characters [Shuowen] stated: “The manacle is designed to report to Heaven, and the shackle to report to Earth.” Zheng Zhong said, “The manacle [gong] means fastening both hands into a piece of wood.” (The gu manacle means fastening the two hands into two separate pieces of wood.) Zheng Xuan said, “What is fastened on the hands is called gu, and what is placed around the feet zhi.” (Jiashu and Qiu Wenzhuang called gong, gu, and zhi “three woods” [sanmu, ୔ᮄ].) “Life of Sima Qian” in the Book of Han recorded: “The general of Weiqi wore red clothes, and his limbs were fastened with three woods.” “Life of Fan Pang” in the Book of the Later Han recorded: “Fan Pang and others were all fettered with three woods, and their testicles were bared on stone stairs.” “Life of Song Youdao” in the History of the Northern Dynasties recorded: “When Song Youdao was imprisoned, the prison guard tried to remove the cangue from his neck; declining the favor, Song said, ‘Since I am wearing this according to the law of the state, you should not dare to remove it.’ ” 204. Xu Shen (58–ca. 147) was a philologist of the Later Han dynasty. He served as defender in chief. He was the author of the first Chinese dictionary with character analysis, which is titled Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen jiezi). 205. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He served as chamberlain for the national treasury (dasinong). Learned in the studies of the classics, he wrote commentaries on the classics like Spring and Autumn Annals. 206. A general reference to Jia Gongyan’s commentaries on rites, such as Zhouli yishu and Yili yishu. 207. Sanmu means shackles on the feet, the hands, and the neck. 208. General Dou Ying, who rendered a ser vice in suppressing the Rebellion of the Seven States and became Marquis of Weiqi and later counselor in chief during the reign of Emperor Wu. Later he fell from power and was exiled. 209. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Mengbo. During the reign of Emperor Ling, he was implicated in a factional fight. Because his life was in danger, his friends asked him to escape, but he declined and chose to die with honor. 210. An official of the Northern Qi dynasty. He served as chamberlain for the imperial insignia (zhongwei).

760

book IX

There is a statement in the section “Prison Guards” in Rites of Zhou: “To the prisoner condemned to death minggu is added.” (Zheng Xuan said, “The socalled minggu is a cangue on which the name of the prisoner and the crimes he committed are written.”) Since the so-called minggu was probably an implement of punishment fastened around the neck of a convict, and it was added to devices like shackles and manacles, the word jia [ᯤ], which is a cangue, was used. Jia [ᯤ] is much the same as jia [ຊ], which means “add.” This implement of punishment in olden days was added only when the prisoner actually received punishment; in later times, however, these implements of punishment were enforced on all the prisoners. Thus we find a word like “three woods” already from the times of the Former Han and the Later Han dynasties. According to the Book of Changes, an implement called huimo was used in fastening the prisoner, and that is nothing but a rope. If the rope was placed around the neck, it is not likely that the cangue was added on top of it. The cangue is an implement of punishment that was devised later. The implement of punishment called cangue was made for prison guards to use. Since he who wears it around his neck cannot look up or look straight or breathe, which is worse than death itself, it is much better to kill a prisoner than to fasten it around his neck. Since the sages were men of benevolence, it is certain that they did not invent such a horrible device of punishment. When one has the cangue fastened on his neck, he is immediately thrown into a life-and-death struggle, as well as to the mercy of prison guards. Since precious life is in the hands of the guards, what demands can he dare to refuse? The cangues and manacles are a large furnace in which gold is melted. Since the orders from above are not carried out and the people down below have no choice but to spend a great deal of their money, who would not want to avoid the pains of wearing the cangue? Thieves, traitors, and new convicts condemned to death should all be fettered with cangues. Since these people are likely to escape unless they are fastened with cangues, cangues are indispensable to detain them safely. This punishment should also extend to clerks and law-enforcement officials, as well as government slaves, who committed crimes because once they are confined, they are released from their cangues without bribing the guards. Nevertheless, they should be charged with bribing the guards and made to suffer their due punishment. Except these people, however, no prisoners should be forced to wear cangues regardless of their position or status or the seriousness of their crimes. Such a measure can never achieve its intended purpose since the orders from above are not carried out as they were supposed to be, and only the property of the people down below is exhausted. It actually happens that the guards tighten the cangues by sealing them with a thin stamped paper or hammering nails on them. The more elaborate their trickery is, the heavier the bribes that prisoners have to

Administration of Justice

761

offer. Unless the magistrate wants to make people waste their property, this abusive practice of punishing with cangues should not be allowed to continue; it should stop if he intends to carry out his official orders properly. There is no cangue that cannot be removed [with bribery]. Therefore, the magistrate who believes that cangues cannot be removed [by anything but the law] is foolish. When a prisoner who was sentenced to wear a cangue is found still alive, the magistrate must realize that he already took off his cangue. In dealing with prisoners, Zhang Hesi made sure that they were always fettered with cangues and manacles, which caused them indescribable pain and suffering. Hence they were so terrified that their hearts collapsed and they lost their consciousness whenever they saw him. They called him a living demon who ate men alive. His wife gave birth to four children, and whenever she gave birth, her suffering was so extreme that she begged to die. Furthermore, her children, both males and females, were born with proud flesh, which looked like iron chains and extended to their hands and feet. Later he was appointed magistrate but was beaten to death for a violation of the law. Suffering Extortion in the Prison Is Suffering the Grievance of Fufen. Only When the Magistrate Is Able to Pay Attention to This Kind of Grievance Does He Deserve to Be Called Benevolent. In olden days Lai Junchen compiled the Book for Arresting and Punishing Criminals [Luozhijing], and Suo Yuanli and others vied with one another to enact cruel laws. They made large cangues for the convicts, which were called by various names like dingbaimai, tudihou, sizhuchou, and so forth. Among various extortions in the prison these days there are a number of cruel punishments never known to the outside world. So there are secret jargons like crane dance [hewu], hanging monkey [yuangua], pressing eggs [zhaluan], hammering the brain [zhuinao], and so forth, which are too numerous to be illustrated. Prison guards call themselves “divine generals” [shenjiang] and old inmates “king of dev ils” [mowang], and they, like devouring hungry demons, breathe out smoke and fire, which are beyond the imagination of men in this world. The so-called 211. Unknown. 212. Fufen (さ⓽) originally meant a jar turned upside down. When it is turned over, its inside is shut off from sunlight, so the term figuratively indicates the situation of a convict who is unfairly confi ned but is unable to vindicate himself. 213. An official of the Tang dynasty. He was known to be extremely cruel and was eventually executed for treason. 214. An official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Empress Wuhou. Originally a Manchu, he was selected as mobile corps commander. Extremely cruel and ruthless in dealing with criminals, he tortured and killed many people.

762

book IX

prison guards consist of indoor guards and outdoor guards, and old inmates hold titles of their own, such as chief [lingzuo], public agent [gongyuan], and manager of affairs [zhangwu]. Every time a new prisoner is brought in, the guards impose a series of cruel punishments in the form of rites: the rite of passing the gate [yumenli] when the prisoner enters the prison; the rite of introduction [zhimianli] when the prisoner enters the cell assigned to him; the rite of changing bones [huanguli] when the prisoner is freed from wearing the cangue; and the rite of acceptance [mianxinli]. In addition to these harassments, they grab the rice and clothes provided by the prisoner’s family and relatives and charge fees for the seat taken by the prisoner, as well as for the lamp oil and firewood used in the cell. It is hard to describe fully the annoyance and torment of these harassments. Since they laugh at the prohibitions of the government and treat the prisoners who accuse them with more cruelty, the prisoners cannot dare to complain. Because this new world is created in the dark, it is hidden from the eyes of the outside world. If one wishes to eliminate these abuses, there is only one way, and that is not to throw people into the prison. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “In all cases where jail guards without reason mistreat and injure prisoners within the jail, they shall be punished for ordinary affrays.” The Supplement to the National Code stated: “It is prohibited to force the prisoners to wear cangues.” A convict named Yi Chongbong, a native of Haeju, was imprisoned for homicide, and a man named Pak Haedŭk was also imprisoned for committing a crime. A prison guard named Ch’oe Akjae ordered Yi Chongbong to make Pak Haedŭk, who was wearing the cangue, stand straight against the prison wall, placing the large end of the cangue on his feet, and bind his whole body along with the cangue into one so that the latter could not move at all. Because of the bondage forced on him, Pak Haedŭk became completely immobile, and his body was dead stiff from head to feet. Because Pak was unable to bend his body either forward or backward, he eventually fell down like a decayed tree and had his neck broken. As a consequence, he died, and the investigators found that the money that the prison guard Ch’oe Akjae tried to extort was 50 taels. Reviewing the report on the case, King Chŏngjo issued a royal decree as follows: “Years ago, in accordance with the precedent of the Song dynasty’s prison system regarding the treatment of prisoners, I ordered that the cangues and manacles imposed on prisoners should be cleaned and that the prisoners be provided with clothes and medicine. I also ordered that the abuse of prisoners should be strictly prohibited and that the prohibition be included in the statute of the law code. However, discipline is already loose although it has not been long since my orders were given, 215. Article 422, “Mistreating Prisoners” (Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 228).

Administration of Justice

763

and the guards and prisoners in conspiracy practice all kinds of abuses on the prisoners, often taking away their lives. How can this possibly happen despite the fact that there is law and order in the state? Although it is said that the provincial prison guards are different from those belonging to the districts, is it right that the governor neglects producing measures to prevent their wrongdoings? Since it is not possible to discuss the responsibility of the incumbent governor because the incident took place last October before he took office, the magistrate of the district who is responsible for the incident must be dismissed immediately. As for the prison officials and supervisors who were on duty on the day of the incident, let the governor severely punish them and send them into exile. If this kind of abuse took place in Haeju, it is naturally presumed that prisoners in Seoul and other regions are also suffering from the same type of abuse and extortion. The difference is only that the abuses remain hidden because no homicide has yet taken place in those places. If we overlook this matter, there will be no limit to the evils that the people will suffer in the future. From now on, those who continue to follow the old evil practices will be punished by the same law as the one that is applied to the guards and clerks in charge of the prison. The warden and highranking officers of the prison charged with abuses will be subject to severe punishment, and the responsibilities of high officials of the upper end of the hall above rank 3 and the governor shall also be discussed separately. My instruction, as well as the intention behind my admonitions, should first be made known specially to the Board of Punishments and then to the eight provinces and the two capital cities [yangdo], and specifically to the Agency for the Arrest of Thieves in Seoul; also to the provincial army and navy, as well as local garrisons, so that they may not think that the royal palace is too far away from them. Since I have secret inspectors who will monitor the situation on my behalf, you must be extremely careful not to neglect the abuses I mentioned under any circumstances.” Fully aware of the royal instruction, the magistrate should not confine country people in the prison even if they commit crimes; if it is unavoidable to confine them, he should admonish wardens and prison guards not to commit any abuse or extortion. Perhaps he can think of temporarily arresting his attendant for a small crime and let him check out the activities of the clerks and guards in the prison. The following happened when Zhang Qia of the Song dynasty was in charge of the district of Yongxin. One day he happened to hear the sound of flogging from the prison while he was resting during his vacation. This happened when the prison officers took bribes and tried to draw a false confession from a convict. 216. Kaesŏng and Kanghwa. 217. His courtesy name was Yuande, and his posthumous title Wenxian.

764

book IX

Deeply indignant, Zhang Qia immediately ordered that the officers be confined in the prison and transferred to the authorities of the county on the following day so that they could receive the punishment of tattooing on the forehead. It Is Hard to Bear Sufferings from Illness Even If One Stays Comfortably in His Bedroom, Not to Mention in Prison. Hu Dachu said: “Punishment by imprisonment is a serious matter, and the prison is a wicked place. If anything goes wrong in the prison, what is there to be worried about as far as the clerks are concerned? The magistrate is always and ultimately held responsible for whatever happens. He may be lucky to avoid punishment for uncovered irregularities, but his ancestor’s virtue cannot escape from damage. How can he dare not be careful? Illness must be looked after, attention must be paid to hunger and cold, the wall must be properly maintained, and access to the prison must be strictly controlled.” Hu Dachu also said: “It happens that the sickness of prisoners is not reported by the clerks, or the sickness is fabricated and falsely reported by them. Clerks generally do not care about the welfare of prisoners because they look upon them as if they were dogs and pigs. They pay little attention to the initial stage of their illness and finally report it to the magistrate only when the state of their illness deteriorates beyond any remedy, and even worse, when they are dead. If they find that the prisoners are men of property, they make them pretend illness and work for their release by subtle words. When the magistrate conducts inspections, therefore, he should carry them out personally. When he sends for a doctor to treat sick prisoners, he should also make the clerks report to him on a daily basis with regard to the state of the prisoners, and when the state of a prisoner is very serious, he should let him out on bail to the care and responsibility of his family and relatives. If the clerks failed to report in time on the prisoners’ serious condition, make sure that they are punished.” The illness of prisoners that requires the most urgent attention is the injury caused by beating. Although it is not difficult for resourceful prisoners to find the help they need since officers and guards are used to taking bribes, it is not likely that those who are poor and helpless find the help they need, not even a cup of something to drink when they are thirsty. The magistrate must be aware of this situation and make sure that no serious injury is inflicted on the prisoners from the beginning, and if an injury has already been done, he must personally look after it, calling for a doctor. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “When prisoners who are too sick to be fettered by cangues and manacles are illegally made to wear them, or prisoners are forced to stay in prison although they are entitled to be released under security,

Administration of Justice

765

the wardens or functionaries in charge of the prison or the prison guards shall be punished by fift y strokes of beating with a light stick.” The Supplement to the National Code stated: “The so-called prison is a place for punishing those who commit crimes, not a place for taking away their lives. Nevertheless, it happens that prisoners sometimes lose their lives in prison because of severe cold or heat, frostbite, hunger, and diseases. The officials, both inside and outside, must make sure that the prison is kept clean and the sicknesses of prisoners are properly treated, and as for those who are unable to get support from their family, let the government provide them with clothes and provisions. If anyone neglects this order, he shall be strictly punished” (King Yŏngjo’s royal instruction in Ŭlyu year). When I examined the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea [Tongguk munhŏn pigo], the above royal decree was actually made by King Sejong. Chen Meigong said: “The strong sunshine is scorching, but the floor I am sitting on has a fine view that is marked by a square pond, a tall paulownia tree, and a patch of bamboo that provide me with a cool shade. Once in a while I move my seat from one spot to another to avoid the sun shining through the shade and happen to think of those in prison who have no pleasure of washing their bodies; even worse, they struggle with a fi lthy environment and diseases. When I come to think of them and look at myself at the present moment, I feel like I am enjoying the life of divinities in Heaven. The superior man who is benevolent should send his aides to the prison and inspect its sanitary condition and relieve the prisoners from the sufferings from their cangues and manacles so that they may realize the extent of the grace granted by their king, who is always concerned about his people. He should spare no efforts in changing the living hell in his domain into a pleasant place, cool with clean air. This task can be done in a flash once the thought and tongue and brush of the man in charge start to move together.” Since Prison Is like a House without a Neighbor, and Prisoners Are like Disabled Persons Who Cannot Walk, There Is Nothing but Death for Prisoners Once They Are Struck by Cold and Hunger. “Proceedings of Government in the Different Months” [Yueling] stated: “In early autumn [Mengqiu] the prison system is established, equipped with cangues 218. “Judgment and Imprisonment,” Laws on Penal Affairs. 219. Th is was 1765, the forty-fi rst year of Yŏngjo. 220. Chen Jiru (1558–1639), a writer of the Ming dynasty. Meigong was his pen name. He spent his whole life in seclusion without pursuing a public career. 221. The seventh lunar month.

766

book IX

and manacles; in midwinter [Zhongdong] the prison is repaired in accordance with the law of nature that closes Heaven and Earth [bicang]; in midsummer [Zhongxia] an increased amount of food is provided to some of those who committed serious crimes.” Hu Dachu said: “Prisoners are supposed to be provided with meals; however, it happens that because of the lack of district revenue, the responsibility is transferred to the clerks. Under the situation that the government tries to reduce the amount that it provides, how can the magistrate expect the clerks to carry out their duty properly, providing the meals as they are required to?” Hu Dachu also said: “The rules with regard to providing meals are set as follows: Each prisoner is provided per day with 2 sheng of rice and 10 wen for expenses of salt and vegetables. The breakfast time is the sixth hour [sishi] and that for dinner the ninth hour [shennsi]. (It seems that there was a kitchen even in the prison.) If a clerk reports to the magistrate in a loud voice, the magistrate personally inspects the meals and finally has the meals brought into the prison to be distributed to the prisoners. The food sent by the families of the prisoners must be delivered without fail; however, the food packages should be examined to find out if they contain things like belts, poison, knives, metal items, utensils, and letters.” (The purpose of this inspection is to prevent suicide and news from outside.) The following happened when Sun Yiqian became prison warden of Nandu. The prisoners who committed serious crimes used to be provided with 1 sheng of rice every day; however, their meals were not sufficient because the guards stole some of their rice. Furthermore, the rice was distributed to the prisoners so unevenly that some of the prisoners had to starve. When the prisoner is taken into the prison for the first time, the guards try to extort money from him, driving him into a filthy corner. When they fail to get the money they want, they give him a hard time, never allowing him to take a dry seat and providing little food. As a result, a government facility is turned into a marketplace. Strictly prohibiting all these irregularities, Sun Yiqian personally weighed the rice to be provided to prisoners and supervised the distribution of rice every day, checking the names on the list. Whenever he found that the clothes of prisoners were worn 222. The eleventh lunar month. 223. The fi ft h lunar month. 224. “Yueling” is the title of a chapter in Book of Rites. However, the quoted passage is different from the one in the Book of Rites because the author chose to summarize some of the details in it to point out what was important in his view. 225. A currency denomination used in China; it is generally translated as cash or coin cash; however, this term translated as such is controversial. 226. These periods are 9 to 11 a.m. and 3 to 5 p.m., respectively. 227. Unknown.

Administration of Justice

767

out, he washed and sewed them. As for those who had committed light crimes and suffered from starvation more than others, he gave them half the rice that went to those who had committed serious crimes. Thanks to Sun’s benevolence, the prisoners were able to escape from death, and the guards could not dare to extort money from them. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “Those who are confined in prison are to be provided with clothes and food; hence the request for the budget must be submitted on time. Prison officials, including wardens and clerks, who are responsible for neglecting this request shall be punished by fift y strokes of beating with a light stick.” It also stipulated: “Prison guards who embezzle clothes and provisions supplied to the prisoners shall be charged with taking possession of stolen goods and shall be punished by the statute that is applied to supervisors or custodians who steal money or grain from granaries or treasuries [Jianshou zidao cangku qianliang].” When I observe these provisions of the law, it appears that the government of China used to provide clothes and food to prisoners, except to those who were capable of providing for themselves. In the second year of his reign [1651] King Hyojong gave orders as follows: “I feel sorry for those in the freezing prison in the dead of winter suffering from hunger and cold. Let the departments in charge of them provide those prisoners with clothes and firewood.” Also dispatching his orders to each province, he said, “Make sure that the prisoners are properly provided with what they need so that they may not be frozen to death.” Essays of Yusan [Yusan p’ilhwa] stated: “Since it is not always possible to provide prisoners with food and clothes, those who are healthy enough to work should be made to produce shoes and mattresses. Those who are clumsy should be made to produce straw shoes and straw mats, and those who are skillful hemp shoes and cattail mats, so that prison officials can take charge of those products and sell them for money. If there are uncollected credits, the government should intervene to collect them for the finances of the prison. Sometimes prison authorities can make use of the fines collected from gamblers to pay for the materials of the merchandise they make. Furthermore, if they prohibit tobacco and spirits in the prison, they will save the prisoners extra money, and those who serve a long-term sentence will be less concerned about their food and clothes. If 228. “Judgment and Imprisonment,” Laws on Penal Affairs. 229. According to the source text, the title of the book is Susan p’ilhwa; however, another version of the text carries the title Yusan p’ilhwa. It appears that the latter title is correct. Like Essays of Tasan (Tasan p’ildam), Yusan p’ilhwa is presumed to be a work of Tasan himself. However, this work has not been handed down.

768

book IX

the families of prisoners are capable of providing them with their necessities, all these arrangements may not be really necessary.” If the convicts in the prison cry loudly on the day when the magistrate departs from his office, thinking of all the benefits that they received from him, one can say that the magistrate is indeed benevolent. A Convict Confined in Prison Waits for His Release in the Way That One Who Is Awake through the Long Night Waits for the Dawn. Among the Five Pains Related to Imprisonment, Delay [Yuch’e] Is the Most Serious. The Book of Changes stated, “Punishment should be carried out with justice and caution, and there should be no delay in dealing with imprisonment cases.” (See the lü hexagram.) This indicates that delay of imprisonment affairs is what the sages dislike. If there is a prisoner who is convicted of a serious crime and unjustly imprisoned, the magistrate in his investigation reports that are required to be submitted three times a month must present his own opinion, arguing for his innocence and the urgency of his release. His efforts can be made either through written reports or through a face-to-face meeting with his superior, but what is important is how to convince the authorities. Only after fully demonstrating a high degree of impatience in his appeal, as if he himself were in great physical pain, will the magistrate be able to move his superior and get reconsideration and resolution from him. Those who committed light crimes should not be imprisoned from the beginning. If there is one who was accidentally imprisoned, the magistrate should post the name of the prisoner on the wall of his office and look at it every day; at the same time he should have the prison officials submit a list of prisoners every morning and review it in the clear state of his mind, trying to find ways of releasing him in the near future. I witnessed many times the officials in charge of the prison releasing the prisoners at their will because their magistrate, who was often drunk, completely forgot about the prisoner once the prisoner was locked in the prison and never tried to see him again. “Proceedings of Government in the Different Months” stated: “In early summer [Mengxia] light punishment is carried out and small crimes are adjudicated, and those who are convicted of lesser crimes are released. In late autumn [Jiqiu] the trial should be expedited so that there can be no delay in processing those who are convicted of crimes.” 230. Yi King, Appendix II, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 16: 337. My translation. 231. The fourth lunar month. 232. The ninth lunar month.

Administration of Justice

769

Early summer is a time for rice planting, and late autumn is a time for harvest. Since these two periods are the busiest for agriculture, no one except principal offenders should be confined even if a homicide occurred. Cui Zhuan, who became prefect of Jianxin when Wang Mang was in power, found the prisons fi lled with people wherever he visited. Shedding tears, he said, “They are all caught in a trap. What did they do to fall into such a miserable condition?” He reviewed their cases and finally released two thousand or so prisoners despite the strong opposition of his subordinates. Cui Zhuan said, “When Marquis Wen of Zhu did not change the way of his conduct because of one person, the superior man said that he understood his mandate. If two thousand people can be saved by sacrificing one prefect, that is what I desire.” Then he quit his office under the pretext of ill health. If Convicts Escape from the Prison, Taking Advantage of Its Old Fences and Walls That Are Neglected, the Magistrate Will Be Reprimanded by His Superior. This Is Another Matter with Which the Magistrate Should Be Concerned. Hu Dachu said: “The prisons in all districts these days require urgent attention because most of their fences and walls are unstable and in disrepair. Furthermore, various forms of wicked irregularities in relation to the neglect of prison security must also be stopped. Jailers who take bribes from convicts leave a dangerous situation to chance. Taking water into their cells during the day, making excuses of their thirst during the night, the convicts wet the walls made of earth by spraying the water on them and in the middle of the night escape by breaking through the walls. The jailers, who are asleep, cannot be aware of this. Since this happens frequently, the magistrate fi rst should separate convicts whose crimes are serious from those whose crimes are less serious and place the former in the cells distant from the walls. He should also place thorns on top of fences and insert wooden boards into the walls. Then every five days he personally inspects the prison and immediately fi xes any spot he finds that appears to be vulnerable.” In the twenty-fift h year of his reign [1699] King Sukchong decreed: “There are not a few jails and prisons throughout all provinces from which bandits and convicts have broken out. Since those who wore cangues and manacles could not 233. An official of the Han dynasty. 234. Wang Mang (9–23), a Han dynasty official who seized the throne from the Liu family and founded the Xin dynasty. He ruled the country until he was overthrown and killed by the peasants who rose in rebellion. With his death, the Eastern Han dynasty was established, which succeeded the Western Han dynasty. 235. Marquis of the Zhu kingdom during the Chunqiu Period (722–453 B.C.). The quoted statement is derived from the Chronicle of Zuo.

770

book IX

escape unless they were assisted by wardens and guards, law and order can be established only when those who conspired with the escaped convicts are brought to justice by decapitation. If from now on it happens that lawless and daring convicts break out of the prison, the wardens and guards shall be interrogated by the commissioner for suppression and apprehension and punished under the code of regulating robbery. Let them be beheaded and their bodies publicly displayed after taking their confessions and making a public announcement of their crimes.” He also said: “Jail inspections, according to the law, are conducted three times between seven and nine o’clock at night, and the magistrate is supposed to oversee them personally. However, the magistrate, when he is busy with his work or is engaging in drinking, often entrusts the job of inspection to his aide or jail officer. Therefore, when it happens that convicts escape from the prison, he does not know whom he should hold responsible. Since the clerks who take bribes let the inmates sleep comfortably without wearing their cangues or handcuffs regardless of the seriousness of their crimes but always impose cangues and handcuffs on those who do not offer them bribes, the magistrate must personally inspect the jail.” In my view, the office of the magistrate should always be like that. However, if the magistrate personally inspects the jail even though there are no inmates who committed serious crimes like treason, his dignity and virtue will suffer damage. On the other hand, if he makes inspection his daily routine, he may appear too petty and timid; if he conducts inspection once in a while, it will have little effect. If the magistrate sends an aide or law-enforcement officer every ten days to the jail and has him submit detailed reports on the state of the jail, he will have no problem in carry ing out his duty in relation to his handling of imprisonment affairs. If the Magistrate Allows the Prisoners to Spend Holidays at Their Homes, None of Them Will Escape and Betray His Grace and Trust in Them. The following happened when Fan Guang of the Jin dynasty became magistrate of Tangyi. It happened that Liu Rong, a district aide, was implicated in a certain matter and condemned to death. His sentence was finalized by the county authorities and remitted to the district of which Fan Guang was in charge because Liu Rong was originally from that district. Since Liu Rong had an old mother at his home, Fan Guang allowed Liu to go home and spend holidays with his mother. Liu never failed to return on time. One day the yamen of the district was in danger when wildfire spread. Liu took off his handcuffs to put out the fire 236. He also served as vice commissioner in chief (dutu tongzhi).

Administration of Justice

771

and, upon finishing the job, returned to the prison and wore the handcuffs once again. The following happened when Fu Qi of the Liang dynasty became magistrate of Shixin. One of the residents killed a man while fighting and was expected to be sentenced to death. It was wintertime, and Fu Qi wanted to let the convict go home and spend the holidays. The officer in charge of the jail strongly remonstrated against Fu Qi’s decision and said, “In olden days such a thing was allowed, but times have changed.” Fu Qi replied, “I will take full responsibility if he betrays my trust.” He released the prisoner, and the latter returned on time. The prefect was deeply impressed and marveled at this. Later, when Fu Qi was transferred to another post, all the residents of the district, both old and young, followed him to the border of the district and sent him off with tears. (This is in History of the Southern Dynasties.) The following happened when Wang Zhi became prefect of Dongyang. There were ten prisoners or so in the jail, and he released them all to spend the winter solstice with their families. The prisoners returned to the prison except one, and the warden reported this to Wang. Wang replied, “Let me take care of it.” The following day the missing prisoner showed up, and he said that he was late because his wife became pregnant. The jail officials and the people showed great admiration for their prefect. The following happened when Wang Jia became adjutant of Qizhou. When he was escorting seventy convicts to the capital, including Li Can, who was an exile, he happened to stay over in Xingyang. He said to the convicts, “Since you violated the state law, you deserve to be transported with your hands bound by ropes. However, the imposition of this restraint on you will make both you and the escorting soldiers tired. Is this not a shame?” Then he took off their cangues and handcuffs and released them with this remark: “You are supposed to arrive in the capital before so-and-so date, and if you run away and do not return, I will be put to death on your behalf.” The convicts were overwhelmed by their gratitude and all arrived in the capital within the designated time. Upon hearing about the incident, the emperor was surprised and thought it strange. As to Those Who Are Childless Because of Their Long Confinement in the Prison, the Magistrate Needs to Take Pity and Provide Them with a Special Favor So That the Line of Their Families May Not Be Interrupted Permanently. The following happened when Wu You of the Later Han dynasty became administrator of Jiaodong. A man named Guan Qiuchang, a resident of Anqiu, ran 237. An official of the Sui dynasty. He also served as magistrate of Yongzhou. 238. His courtesy name was Jiying. He also served as administrator of Qi and of Hejian.

772

book IX

into a drunken person on the way to the market. When the drunken person insulted his mother, who was accompanying him to the market, Guan Qiuchang killed him and surrendered himself to the authorities. Wu You asked Guan Qiuchang if the latter had a wife and children. Guan replied, “I have a wife but no children.” Wu You sent a dispatch to Anqiu, requesting that Guan’s wife be sent to the prison. Removing the handcuffs from Guan, Wu You made Guan spend the night with his wife in the prison, and his wife finally became pregnant. When winter arrived, Guan Qiuchang was scheduled to be executed. Before his death Guan bit his finger and with his blood wrote his will for his newborn son: “Repay the grace of Honorable Wu You.” He was executed by strangulation. The following happened when Bao Yu of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Ziyang. A man named Zhao Jian killed a man and was imprisoned under sentence of death. When his parents appealed with tears that the line of their family was now in danger of being cut off, Bao Yu removed the handcuffs from Zhao Jian and let him sleep with his wife in the prison. His wife eventually became pregnant and gave birth to a son. This is what happened when Han Weigong was in charge of Damingfu. A clerk took a leave of absence for his marriage, and about that time people filed complaints against him for his irregularities, which eventually led him to be brought to justice. Han Weigong, however, ordered that his case be sealed and reopened it half a year later. Two of his aides said, “Since the man’s conduct has changed greatly ever since his case was sealed, why do you not pardon his mistake?” Han Weigong said, “Do you understand now why I ordered that the case be sealed? The man, along with his parents, would have blamed his wife if I had punished him at the time of his marriage. That is the reason that I chose to make the case sealed.” Standing up from their seats, those two aides made a polite bow, gathering their hands in front, and said, “Since your benevolence extends to that point, Heaven will bless you, as well as your descendants, with no end.” The Magistrate Must Take Pity on the Aged and Infirm Who Take Punishment for Their Sons, Not to Mention the Womenfolk Who Take Punishment for Their Husbands. In the Latter Case He Must Be More Wary and Cautious. In the thirty-seventh year of his reign [1761] King Yŏngjo decreed: “Treating the aged as the aged should be treated and treating elders as elders should be treated is like behaving with a principle that can be likened to a measuring square. 239. His courtesy name was Wenquan. He also served as commander in chief (taiwei). 240. Th is remark derives from Great Learning: “When the sovereign behaves to his aged, as the aged should be behaved to, the people become fi lial; when the sovereign behaves to his elders, as the elders should be behaved to, the people learn brotherly submission; when the sovereign treats com-

Administration of Justice

773

When crimes are investigated and adjudicated, it can be allowed that a son takes the place of his father and a younger brother of his elder brother. However, it is against ethics and public morals that a father takes the place of his son and an elder brother of his younger brother, and even worse, a mother of her sons. Furthermore, in the case of those who hold miscellaneous posts, there are people who lock up their legitimate wives, pretending that they are punishing slaves, which is called ch’aji, and practice unspeakable abuses in the process of interrogation. It is strictly prohibited from this moment that a father takes punishment on behalf of his son or an elder brother on behalf of his younger brother, or that a husband abuses his legitimate wife under the pretext of ch’aji. Any officials who disregard this decree shall be punished with the penalty for violating a royal decree regardless of their rank and position, and their slaves and servants shall be banished after beating with a heavy stick.” Essays of Tasan stated: “A man of good status and an evil person, as well as men and women, cannot be confi ned in the same place. Separate and clean rooms should be prepared for the imprisonment of these different groups of people.” The following happened when Wang Kejing became supervisor of transportation of Zhedong and Zhexi districts. There was a female in Wenzhou who violated the salt-control law and was taken to the districts under Wang Kejing’s jurisdiction. Extremely indignant, Wang said, “How can you arrest a female and make her walk 1,000 li, mixing with runners on the way until she gets here? The damage that you caused to public morals is too serious. Never let this kind of thing happen again.” Then he proposed to higher authorities a reform on the arrest of females that led to the passage of a new law. Since a Man in Exile Is Far away from His Home and Family, His Situation Is Sad and Miserable. The Magistrate Should Regard It as His Responsibility to Provide Him with Shelter and Food. Since a man in exile was banished because his crime came short of capital punishment, it is not the administration of a benevolent magistrate to insult or persecute a man in this condition. In life exile there are generally four grades: first, the confinement of high officials; second, the banishment of relatives along with the offender; third, banishment of corrupt officials combined with penal servitude; passionately the young and helpless, the people do the same. Thus the ruler has a principle with which, as with a measuring-square, he may regulate his conduct” (Legge, Confucius, 373). 241. The practice of letting slaves take punishment for their masters. 242. An official of the Yuan dynasty. His courtesy name was Shuneng, and his posthumous title Wensu. He also served as administration vice commissioner of Zhejiang.

774

book IX

and fourth, banishment of social outcasts and petty criminals, which is carried out on the level of the local government. Once the general situation in politics and the currents of power change, those who are on the down side are destined to suffer the consequences. Even high officials like state councilors are held in contempt and ridiculed, not to mention those below middle-rank officials and literati. When it appears that there is a chance for a change in the fortune of an exile, the magistrate privately sends him food, and the clerks secretly provide their services; however, in case an exiled person is so lonely and helpless that there is little chance for the reversal of his fortune, the insults and mistreatment given to him are beyond description. Thus there is a line in my poem that refers to the situation of exiles: There may be some who feel sympathetic when there is a little hope; there are none, however, who feel sorry if his situation is too hopeless.

The law of collective prosecution [yŏnchwa] is a law that was made in later ages. It generally originated from the law of exterminating the entire clan of an offender, but not all of them were put to death. (The so-called three clans originally indicated kin and relatives throughout three generations: one was father and father’s brothers, who are called chojok [♵᪐]; another, brothers and their children, who are called pujok [∏᪐]; and the third, sons and grandsons, who are called kijok [ᕤ᪐]. People nowadays mistakenly believe that father’s family, mother’s family, and wife’s family are the three clans, and therefore, the law of collective prosecution is applied to these groups of kin and relatives.) When the calamity of factional fights broke out, so-called treason actually took place in some cases, but it did not in other cases; the charges of treason were unjustifiable. There is no need to say anything about the treason if it actually took place; however, even if the charge of treason were true, what mistakes did the father and his brothers [chebu] and sons and nephews [cheja] make? Furthermore, if a female member of the family, who became a servant, is still alive, that is because she is endowed with tenderness in her nature. Then it is natural that the superior man should feel sorry for her; nevertheless, with the deterioration of customs, the mistreatment and persecution of those who are involved in the collective prosecution are too serious. The magistrate is rather generous to those with whom he is little acquainted at ordinary times; however, in the case of those with whom he is familiar, the mistreatment is so serious that he confines them in jail or in the gateway (this is to avoid suspicion of giving favorable treatment). In the case of females who became servants, he always has them stand in line for roll call and 243. Complete Works of Chŏng Yagyong, Book 1, , Vol. 4. Th is is the third among the twentyseven old-style poems.

Administration of Justice

775

looks furtively at their beauty. What impropriety and want of virtue can be more serious than this? As to the exiles with the status of literati, supervision should be carried out by the aides of the magistrate and law-enforcement clerks from the outside of his quarters, and the magistrate personally inspects every few months. When the spouses of literati first arrive at the place of their exile, he should make them enter the yamen with their faces covered; he should close his window and not look at them, having official female slaves escort them. In addition, he should make sure that the village where they stay is safe from access by menfolk, treating them with propriety. Having made his personal inspection at the initial stage, he should no longer pay a visit to their place, and on the first and fifteenth day of every lunar month he should dispatch female slaves so that they can attend to their needs, and during the holidays he should provide rice and meat. Even though they are not related by kinship, it is propriety that requires him to do that. Gratitude formed in times of poverty and distress is engraved in the bone marrow, and resentment made in times of poverty and distress is also engraved in the bone marrow. If exiles die with gratitude in their hearts, they will repay it from the other world; if they die with resentment, they will no doubt avenge it from the other world. Since the heavens and the earth change and coldness and heat alternate, it is not the case that those who now enjoy riches and honors will continue to enjoy them forever; likewise, it is possible that those who are now in poverty and distress can benefit from the favors bestowed by Heaven. The superior man, therefore, must be watchful and sincere in his conduct. Furthermore, since the families and relatives of exiles are still in Seoul, will they not be happy and grateful if they hear of the magistrate’s kindness, and will they not feel outraged if they hear of the magistrate’s mistreatment? Since his honors rise without his knowledge, and the complaints against him also increase without his knowledge, the profit and loss of the magistrate himself will be at stake. Although there are many spouses of exiles whose constancy and good disposition deserve commendation, it is very sad that there is no one who can recommend them because of the ruin of their families. Among those females there are those who were exiled before they were married and still remain single. Since their foreheads are covered with white hair that is still braided like that of a girl, and they live alone until they become sexagenarians, closing their doors to the outside, they are hidden from the eyes of the people. If they happen to hear insults of their integrity that they feel too extreme to bear, they take their own lives by hanging or drinking poison to preserve their honor, and cases like that are numerous. I tried to put the stories of those unfortunate ladies into a record but did not succeed. The magistrate must be aware of this problem and treat them with compassion, preventing them from being insulted and mistreated.

776

book IX

Since those who are exiled for corruption are always generously treated and well supplied with necessities, they need not require much attention. However, exiles who are low in status and are charged with petty crimes are so severely mistreated that their sufferings are multifarious and too extreme to endure. The customs of treating those people are all different according to the districts. Some of them make it a rule that each household regularly provide food to the exiles on a designated date by taking turns, and others have the residents in the district collect and contribute food to the master of the house in charge of exiles [kwanju]. In short, these systems are problematic to such a degree that both hosts and guests are exhausted. When I was in Koksan, I bought a house with a tiled roof and let ten people stay in it. (The number of exiles assigned to a district generally does not exceed ten.) Then I established a separate fund called hwasokjŏn that amounted to 500 taels every year. I gave that money to the master of the house, whom I selected from the residents, so that he could pay for the rice and food, as well as other expenses, that are required for looking after the exiles. The place run like this was called Kyŏmjewŏn because both the host and guests found it convenient. The residents also like the system. It is against the law to grant leave to those in exile. However, it is also good governance to grant it once in a while if their crimes were originally not serious and their families are well established. If the person in exile, however, happens to be corrupt and solicits leave through a request from a man in power, the magistrate should never grant it. C H A P T E R : PROH I BI T ION OF T Y R A N N IC A L A BUSE S

Prohibiting Outrageous Tyrannies and Misconduct Makes the Lives of People Secure and Comfortable. Suppressing the Proud and Powerful [Hogang] without Alienating the Nobles or Officials Close to the Royal Power [Kwigŭn] Is Also What the Magistrate Should Attend To. Proud and powerful people are generally composed of seven types: the royal family or the king’s in-law family, men of power and influence, royal security guards, eunuchs, powerful local families, corrupt officials, and hoodlums. These seven types of people need to be restrained and suppressed if the magistrate wants to make the people live in peace. Since Classic of Poetry said, Zhong Shanfu does not devour even if a thing is soft and tender, Nor does he spit it out even if it is tough,

244. Th is means a fund or money for fi rewood and rice. 245. “Greater Odes of the Kingdom,” “Decade of Tang,” VI, The Book of Poetry, in Legge, The Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center), vol. 4. My translation.

Administration of Justice

777

he is an official whom one should look up to. One will not look down on those who are widows and widowers only after he has learned not to be afraid of tyrannical people. Prohibiting tyranny, therefore, is an art of benevolence [insul]. When Cen Xi became prefect of Wei Commandery and governed his district for two years, the residents sang as follows: “If we have thorns, our magistrate removes them; if we have harmful insects, our magistrate wipes them out. Although dogs bark, people are not scared; they eat their fill, beating their stomachs.” The following happened when Dong Xuan became magistrate of Luoyang. A servant of Princess Huyang killed a man and took refuge in the residence of the princess. Dong Xuan waited until the princess went out and beat the servant to death after dragging him down from the princess’s carriage. The emperor ordered Dong Xuan to apologize to the princess, but Dong Xuan did not follow his order. Then he tried to force Dong to knock his forehead on the floor, but Dong still refused to yield. The emperor finally ordered him to leave after bestowing 300,000 maces on him. After this incident the powerful and cunning were afraid of Dong Xuan, calling him a recumbent tiger. When Sima Jun became magistrate of Luoyang, the members of the royal family and the king’s in-laws stopped their wrongdoings, calling him a recumbent tiger. The following happened when Zhou Yu became magistrate of Luoyang. Upon taking office, he first asked the clerks about the major clans of the district, and they tried to answer his question by explaining about those they could think of who were proud and powerful in the district. Extremely dissatisfied with the answer, Zhou Yu said, “The ones I wanted to hear about were powerful clans like Ma and Dou, but you talk about the merchants on the street who sell vegetables, whom I am not concerned about.” Reading the new magistrate’s thought, the clerks carried out their duty resolutely. When this happened, the royal family and the king’s in-laws were dispirited, and the public morals of the capital city became normal. Although Ouyang Yin, metropolitan governor, did not raise tumult in enforcing the law, he never failed to bring to justice those who violated the law and requested to be pardoned under the protection of the royal family and favorite retainers of the king; furthermore, he even disregarded the king’s order in certain cases.

246. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He also served as palace attendant and commandant. 247. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Shaoping. 248. The source text says “magistrate with integrity who would not bend his head” (qiangxiang ling) instead of “him.” 249. Unknown. 250. Unknown.

778

book IX

Since the administration of Li Zhaoyin of the Tang dynasty was very clean and strict, those in power watched him, holding their breath. At that time it happened that a servant in the house of Zhao Shang, the father-in-law of the crown prince, abused a commoner, and Li Zhaoyin punished him by flogging. The emperor heard of it and sent Yi his words of comfort and encouragement through an official letter. The following happened when Lord Zhengsu, Wu Yu, became prefect of Xiangcheng. Earlier King Dao of the Qin dynasty had passed away and had been buried in the district of Ruzhou, so his descendants and eunuchs paid their visits so frequently that they became a trouble to the local government, as well as its residents. When Wu Yu tried to restrain the traffic of those people, they did not dare to damage the people’s fields by unleashing their hawks and dogs to hunt. They did not start their hunting until after they passed through Wu Yu’s district. If members of the royal family or eunuchs happened to arrive at night and knocked at the gate of the fortress, requesting oxen to pull their carriages, Wu Yu just pretended to do his best and in the morning said, “I am not able to find oxen.” The following happened when Minister O Yungyŏm served as assistant district magistrate of Kyŏngsŏng. At that time Prince Imhae committed many wrongs that were unlawful and injurious to the people, and it happened that one of his slaves entered Kyŏngsŏng and injured a widow. O Yungyŏm arrested the slave and beat him to death with a heavy stick. It Must Be Prohibited That Powerful and Influential Families through Their Slaves Commit Acts of Licentiousness That Are Injurious to the People. Because Rong Pi of the Sui dynasty was upright and capable, Yang Su recommended him to the government. As a result, Rong Pi became prefect of Huazhou. Most of Yang Su’s property was located in the district of Huayin, a district in Huazhou, and the aides of Yang Su behaved licentiously; however, Rong Pi did not allow their wanton behavior and showed no generosity in bringing them to justice. When Yang Su met Rong Pi at a meeting in the court, he said, “It seems that I recommended you in order to be punished by you.” Rong Pi replied, “The reason that I tried to observe the law was that I was afraid of damaging the repu251. His courtesy name was Guangguo. He served as vice director of the Ministry of Personnel. 252. King Sŏnjo’s first son, born of a concubine, and the elder brother of Kwanghaegun. During the reign of Kwanghaegun he was exiled to Chindo Island and Kyodong and was eventually executed by poison. 253. His courtesy name was Zichen. He served as adjutant of Puzhou and attendant censor. 254. An official of the Sui dynasty. His courtesy name was Chudao, and his posthumous title Jingwu. He served as chariot and horse general in chief (cheqi dajiangjun).

Administration of Justice

779

tation of Your Honor, who recommended me.” Yang Su laughed and said, “What I said was just a joke.” The following happened when Chŏng Poksi was magistrate of Kobu. A servant of Yun Hyŏngwŏn had a house in Kobu and committed wrongdoings, taking advantage of the power of his master. Therefore, the predecessors of Chŏng Poksi dared not touch him even if he abused common people. Upon taking office, Chŏng Poksi arrested the servant and, after investigating his crimes, brought him to justice with no mercy. The following happened when Yi Huwŏn became magistrate of Kwangju. At that time State Councilor Sim Kiwŏn was in exile in the neighboring district. Sim tried to make one of the local residents into his slave and made a request to Magistrate Yi. When Yi did not allow his request, he sent his servants and took away the man he wanted to have for his slave. Magistrate Yi immediately arrested the servants and strictly punished them. Sim was furious but could do nothing about it. The following happened when Kim Hyosŏng became magistrate of Ch’ŏngan. Two servants belonging to powerful royal in-law families stayed in the district of Ch’ŏngan and abused the residents, relying on the power behind them. Magistrate Kim sent his men to arrest them but with no success. Then he personally went out to arrest them. After tying them up with a rope, he displayed them around the town and beat them to death by a heavy stick. The Lawless Conduct of Royal Security Guards or Eunuchs, Which Is Carried Out under the Pretence of the Good Graces of the King, Must Be Entirely Prohibited. During the reign of Hyojong many of the officers and soldiers of the Military Training Agency and the Robust and Brave Division behaved lawlessly, relying 255. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He was a brother of Queen Dowager Munjŏng and played a crucial role in enthroning his nephew, Prince Kyŏngwŏn (later King Myŏngjong). He was deeply involved in factional fights throughout his career and eventually became chief state councilor. 256. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sasim, and his pen names Uje and Namhanggŏsa. He was a disciple of Kim Changsaeng (1548–1631), a famous scholar learned in rites and ceremonies who played a role in carry ing out the Northern Policy of King Hyojong, and recommended talented scholars like Song Chunggil and Song Siyŏl to the government. He also served as censor general and third state councilor. 257. His courtesy name was Suji. He served as third and second state councilor. Although he rendered a ser vice in putting Injo on the throne, he conspired to promote Prince Hoeŭn for the throne. His attempt was discovered prematurely, and he was executed in 1644. 258. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Haengwŏn. He was opposed to deposing Queen Inmok and was exiled to Kilju and Chindo Island. After the restoration of King Injo he served as director of the State Tribunal.

780

book IX

on the authority of the king, but the local magistrates dared not do anything about them. These soldiers were so-called Forbidden Soldiers [Kŭmgun]. The following happened when Xu Mengrong of the Tang dynasty became metropolitan governor. Commander of the Army of Inspired Strategy [shenceshi] Li Yu borrowed 8,000 guan of copper currency from a commoner but would not pay it back, although three years had passed. Xu Mengrong ordered that he be arrested and made him pay back his loan by a certain date set by him. When Li Yu was arrested, the officers of his army were all surprised and appealed to the court. Then the emperor dispatched an imperial commissioner twice with his orders that Li Yu be returned to his army. Xu Mengrong in his memorial stated, “I am well aware of the fact that I have to die unless I carry out your royal orders. However, the reason that I tried to suppress those who are proud and powerful is only for the sake of Your Majesty. Therefore, I cannot send him back to his army unless I collect all the money he owes to a man in my district.” The emperor granted his request. When Liu Qichu became metropolitan governor, his administration was strict and clean. Earlier a group of evil-minded people, who made their living by butchering oxen and selling wine in the capital, had placed their names on the military roster, violating the law and insulting literati. When Liu Qichu strictly regulated this malady, the old abuses carried over from previous years disappeared, and some of those people even concealed their names and carried themselves as commoners. It was as though everyone thought that Magistrate Liu was sitting on top of their head, watching them, and therefore they did not dare to do anything wrong. The following happened when Liu Zhongying became metropolitan governor. A man appealed that his nephew, named Liu Xu, had assaulted his mother. At that time Liu Xu was a petty officer of the royal guards. Liu Zhongying beat the officer to death even before he made his report on him. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang dynasty ran across a woodcutter while he was hunting in the north of his imperial garden and found that the man was a native of Jingyang. The emperor asked him about Li Xingyan, magistrate of Jingyang, and the woodcutter replied: “If there is a thief hiding in the home of one of the royal guards, Magistrate Li seizes him, brings him outside, and thrashes him.” The emperor posted the name of the magistrate on the column of his palace. 259. His courtesy name was Gongfan, and his posthumous title Xian. He also served as assistant director of the left and regent (liushou) of Dongdu [Luoyang]. 260. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Yumeng. He also served as minister of justice.

Administration of Justice

781

The following happened when Fan Chunren became magistrate of Jixian. When one of the royal guards put his horses to pasture, trampling the lands of the people, Fan Chunren beat him with a heavy stick and memorialized to the emperor: “Financial resources for raising your army are derived from the taxes collected from the people. If your soldiers are allowed to raise their horses by damaging the crops of the people, from where will you collect your taxes?” When Fan’s memorial was submitted, the emperor gave a special amnesty to the royal guard and at the same time let the district of Jixian look after the royal pasture. Thus the running of the royal pasture started from Fan Chunren. The following happened when Ding Ji was in charge of the district of Xinhui. Eunuch Liang Fang was a resident of his district, and his brother Liang Zhang domineered over the area, practicing usury. He loaned money to the people and made them pay back twice the amount they had borrowed in the shortest period of time; furthermore, he brought suits against them for failing to repay their loans. Examining the documents, Ding Ji ordered that the loan documents be burned and put Liang Zhang in jail. Because of this incident, those who had formerly tyrannized over the people disappeared. The following happened when Hŏ Hu [pen name Kwansŏl] became magistrate of Chip’yŏng. In his district there was a servant belonging to the Palace Supply Bureau who acted lawlessly, domineering over the people, but the local government had been unable to crack down on his tyranny for more than ten years. When Hŏ Hu brought him to justice for his violations of the law, which totaled more than ten, the people were very pleased. However, Hŏ Hu was imprisoned on the charge that he himself had recklessly killed a man and had to pass the winter and summer in jail. The residents of his district gathered at the gate of the royal palace and appealed to the king about the injustice that their former magistrate was suffering. There was a severe drought at that time, and Hŏ Hu was soon released when the argument for his case was accepted. 261. An official of the Song dynasty and a contemporary of Sima Guang and Wang Anshi. He served as vice grand councilor. He was famous for being open minded and stressed the importance of loyalty and forgiveness. 262. A man of the Ming dynasty. He was known for committing numerous acts of trickery. He died in prison. 263. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chunggyŏng, and his pen name Kwansŏl. He rendered a ser vice during the Chŏngmyo horan, the first Manchu invasion in 1627, assisting Kim Ch’angil, the commander of the righteous volunteer army. Later he served as magistrate of Chip’yŏng, and of Ŭisŏng, and as vice section chief of the Board of Punishments, and of Works, and finally as guard of the left of the Standby Guard for the Heir Apparent (Seja ikwisa chwaigwi). 264. In olden days it was believed that natural disasters took place when a man was unjustly imprisoned.

782

book IX

The Lawless Behavior of Powerful Local Families Is like the Ferocity of Wolves and Tigers. When the Magistrate Protects the People like Lambs from the Threat of Wolves and Tigers, He Deserves to Be Called Shepherd [Mok]. The following happened when Zhi Du became prefect of Jinan. The Jian clan of Jinan, which consisted of three hundred households, was so powerful and cunning that even a 2,000-bushel official [erqianshi] could not control them. When Zhi Du beheaded the chief of the clan, the rest of its members were all shaken with fear. The following happened when Zhao Guanghan was prefect of Yingchuan. The Yuan and Chu clans, the major families of his district, behaved licentiously, but Zhao’s predecessor, the former prefect, was unable to stop them. When Zhao beheaded the leaders of the two clans a few months after his inauguration, the whole district was afraid of him. The following happened when Yin Wenggui governed Donghai. Upon taking office, he made investigations of the people of his region, including clerks, in order to find out who were good or bad or what crimes they had committed. He also ordered each district to keep a record of the people and regularly submit an update report on their activities. If there were cunning clerks and men of influence who committed wrongdoings, he punished them according to their crimes, making them an example of criminal justice. Hence the clerks and common people were all afraid and obeyed him. Xu Zhongsun, a man of influence of Tan District, used to commit tricks that caused disturbance to the peace of the district. Although the prefect tried to capture him, he always failed because Xu Zhongsun escaped from him, using his power and cunning. When Yin Wenggui finally beheaded him on the street, the whole district was shaken with fear. The following happened when Cang Ci of the Wei dynasty became prefect of Dunhuang. Since the district was located on the western border and was separated from the capital because of the wars, it had been dominated by a handful of powerful families without having a prefect for twenty years. Under these circumstances, Cang Ci suppressed the proud and powerful while saving the poor and helpless, and what he did was in accordance with reason and propriety. The following happened when Li Ji became controller general of Caozhou. There was a man named Zhao Jian who colluded with the powerful people in the capital and had inside information on the affairs of the district, and he practiced tyranny, putting the clerks at the forefront. Having heard that Li Ji was appointed the new controller general, Zhao Jian came up to the capital and requested an interview. When Li Ji refused to see him, Zhao Jian was angry and departed, 265. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Th ree Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Xiaoren.

Administration of Justice

783

swearing at him with arrogance. Then he falsely accused Li Ji of slandering the court. At that time there was a man who sued Zhao Jian for his wrongdoings, and Li Ji had him illustrate in his letter of petition all the crimes that Zhao Jian had committed and submit it to the royal inspector. The royal inspector publicly interrogated him in the market and beheaded him. Li Ji became famous because of this incident. The following happened when Li Hao governed Taizhou. A man of influence named Zheng Xian bribed powerful people in the court and caused damage to the district. When Li Hao uncovered his crimes and put him in jail after confiscating all his property, which led to his death, the powerful people in the court had the family of Zheng Xian appeal their case to the authorities, accusing Li Hao of his alleged injustice and some other matters. Liu Gong said to the emperor, “Li Hao was falsely accused because he had antagonized a man of influence.” The emperor replied, “Since he who was magistrate was not afraid of tyrannical people and put a man of influence to death, how can we easily fi nd such a man?” The following happened when Chen Youxue was in charge of Huzhou. Upon taking office, he arrested and killed a servant whose wickedness was rampant. A man named Shimin was a son of a man of letters, and a man named Yang Sheng was a private slave. When they acted lawlessly in the district, Chen Youxue arrested Shimin and put him in jail. Then Shimin tried to buy his freedom by bribing powerful persons in the court and taking his trial to the pacification commissioner through their assistance. When this happened, the pacification commissioner wanted to take over the case and personally interrogate Shimin, and he sent an official dispatch to Chen Youxue. However, Chen Youxue did not hand over Shimin to the commissioner and immediately beat him to death. In the imprisonment case of Shimin, Ting Gui, a son of the late minister Pan Jixun, was also implicated. Chen Youxue reported this to the royal inspector and imprisoned Ting Gui, as well as members of other wicked powerful local families, and killed several dozen of them after trial. He left only Yang Sheng alone because he had already fled for fear of his life; however, thinking it over again, he finally arrested him and put him to death because it was certain that Yang Sheng would cause trouble again when he departed from office. As a result, the whole district was well administered. The following happened when Yu Unnyong became magistrate of Indong. When he first took his post, he found that a few powerful people of the locality 266. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Deyuan. 267. His courtesy name was Gongfu, and his posthumous title Xiaoxing. 268. The elder brother of Yu Sŏngnyong, a famous state councilor during the Imjin War. His courtesy name was Ŭnghyŏn, and his pen name Kyŏmam. Without taking the civil ser vice examination, he

784

book IX

had practiced wrongdoings, taking advantage of their yangban status, but his predecessors had been unable to check them and had always treated them with courtesy. When Yu Unnyong suppressed their irregularities with no leniency, they slandered him until the people were agitated. Nevertheless, Yu continued to be firm in dealing with them, and the public anxiety finally dissipated. The following happened when Yun Sŭnghae became magistrate of Sŏngch’ŏn. There was a man among the influential local gentry who had recklessly killed an official entertaining girl but had escaped punishment because his predecessors, maintaining an ambiguous attitude, had overlooked his crime. Yun Sŭnghae launched an investigation of the case and beheaded the man who had committed the murder. The following happened when Chŏng Ŏnhwang became magistrate of P’yŏngsan. The custom of the district had originally been rude and treacherous, so there were many who used violence for their purposes. They gathered idle people and forced them to work for them instead of working for the local government. Chŏng Ŏnhwang arrested one of the leading figures among them and brought him to justice. Since in ordinary times the man was well connected to powerful people in Seoul, they sent Chŏng Ŏnhwang letters requesting pardon. When Chŏng Ŏnhwang dealt with the man even more strictly, refusing all their requests, the man ran away and died of anger. Then, searching out some eighty people who were missing on the military register, Chŏng Ŏnhwang made all of them pay their military taxes. From then on, the local men of influence began to be afraid of their magistrate and quickly followed his orders. The following happened when Chŏng Kyŏngsun became magistrate of Ch’ŏngju. A certain man of influence borrowed grain from the government but was unwilling to pay it back. When Chŏng ordered that he be arrested, issuing a warrant called chup’ae [red tally], the man returned the tally to him after writing on its back as follows: “Chŏng so-and-so is a traitor.” Leading out all the clerks and law-enforcement officers, Chŏng surrounded and arrested the man. Interrogating the man, Chŏng asked, “What makes you think that I am a traitor? It is you who are a traitor.” The man replied, “Why is this so?” Then Chŏng wrote a deposition and showed it to him to read, which stated: “Since disobeying government orders is called treason and stealing government grain is called robbery, it is certain that I am a traitor, and therefore I beg you to punish me.” Then the was appointed to public office and served as assistant director of the Royal Stable Court, and as magistrate of P’unggi, of Indong, and of Wŏnju. 269. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty. 270. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Sujŏng. He also served as minister of justice.

Administration of Justice

785

magistrate ordered that he be punished by thirty strokes of beating with a heavy stick, and the whole district trembled with fear and obeyed. Those Youngsters Who Act as Vigilantes and Commit Crimes, Engaging in Blackmail and Robbery, Must Be Restrained Quickly; Otherwise Their Behavior Can Lead to a Social Disturbance. The following happened when Yin Shang became magistrate of Chang’an. In the streets of Chang’an there was a gang of wicked youngsters, and their number increased day by day. They took money for murdering clerks or avenging individuals, and the way they committed these crimes was even more terrifying. They selected their victims, playing with glass beads. Those who found red beads killed military clerks; those who found black beads killed civil clerks; and those who found white beads removed their dead bodies. As a result, the bodies of the dead were strewn on the streets, and the sound of alarms never stopped. Yin Shang renovated the jail and dug a large pit, looking like a coffi n, that was constructed with bricks and covered with a heavy stone, and he called it den of tigers. Then he began to arrest the wicked youngsters one by one, dispatching his men to wherever they were, and eventually confined them all in the den. When he removed the stone from the den after several days had passed, he found that they had all killed one another. The following happened when Xue Yuanshang became metropolitan governor. When a gang of wicked youngsters, tattooed black on their skin, plundered the people in the market, Xue Yuanshang arrested twenty of them. This happened three days after he took office, and he beat them to death. The lives of the people were soon stabilized. The following happened when Han Yanshou became prefect of Yingchuan. He created a local security system by establishing village heads [zheng] and mutual-responsibility groups of five neighboring households [wu] and had the people take control of their villages on the basis of fi lial piety and brotherly love, never allowing wicked people to stay with them. The evildoers, therefore, were unable to dare to trespass on the border of his district because the officials learned immediately if any matters of emergency broke out in the villages or the fields. At fi rst, the system appeared too complicated; however, people soon found it more convenient because it reduced the troubles of officials who 271. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zixin. He also served as prefect of Jiangxia. 272. An official of the Tang dynasty. He also served as prefect of Hanzhou and provincial military commander of Zhaoyi.

786

book IX

pursued criminals and the worries of the people, who were often subject to interrogation and torture. The Tyranny of the Proud and Powerful Is Serious Enough to Generate Poison and Sickness among the Common People, and Their Corrupt Practices Are Too Numerous to Enumerate. The most serious of the tyrannies of the proud and powerful are as follows: lands belonging to the palace and royal families; military colonies; seizing land through trickery and blackmail; and claiming or exercising proprietary rights over public property. Let me briefly explain about these four abuses. The so-called lands belonging to the palace and royal families are on the increase day by day and month by month, so that various palaces and royal in-law families occupy vast areas of land and collect taxes, dispatching their agents, who are called stewards [tojang]. Although they only increase their private income while enjoying tax exemption, the magistrate does not dare regulate them. Furthermore, there is no limit to the abuses of their agents, who exploit the people at their will. What goes to the palace is one-tenth, and what goes into the private pockets of the agents is nine-tenths, and as a result, the king’s lands gradually diminish, the sufferings of the people are aggravated, and the lands of the royal families gather less profit. Since only those who are idle and wicked become fat and nourished from this, these maladies must be removed. The so-called military colonies are also on the increase day by day and month by month, so that several military headquarters and various central government offices occupy extensive rice paddies and dry fields that are run by low-ranking military officers or clerks called supervisors of the military colony. These supervisors, fierce and craft y, run everywhere and severely abuse the people until they acquire what they want from them; nevertheless, what goes to the military headquarters and central government offices is only one-tenth, and the remaining nine-tenths goes into their private pockets. As a result, the king’s lands diminish day by day while the sufferings of the people increase, and the military headquarters and central government offices themselves profit little. Only those who are idle, lawless, and craft y enjoy the privilege of protection and making their fortune, and this is the reason that the irregularities related to military colonies should be straightened out. What is seizing land through trickery and blackmail? Suppose that in the house of a rich man there is a prodigal son who indulges in drinking, making his parent worried. Then a family higher than the rich man in social status lures the prodigal son into signing a loan contract that amounts to thousands of taels. The magistrate, who lacks dignity, accedes to the demands of the family whose social status is higher, as well as the request of the prodigal son, and

Administration of Justice

787

immediately orders the rich man to be arrested. Furthermore, he deals strictly with the rich man, torturing him with flogging and forcing him to wear a cangue and manacles. As a result, he snatches a deed of 1,000 kyŏng of fertile land from the rich man and hands it over to the family of higher social status. Th is type of malpractice is spreading everywhere, but it is most serious in the region of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. Although the magistrate may be limited in his power, how can he just sit by and watch such an injustice without taking any action? What is claiming or exercising proprietary rights over public property? This means that a family of higher social status makes its own deeds or claims of proprietary rights over various types of land, such as rugged mountains, numerous peaks, extensive mudflats, and small islands, which are not included in the official land register. They do nothing but collect the rents, claiming that every blade of grass or tree or fish or crab belongs to them, and as a consequence of their claims, woodmen’s paths are blocked and cutting trees is strictly prohibited. Fish traps are not registered on the public records, and the salt on the flats is exhausted because of private gathering. Sometimes distant descendants of merit subjects or royal in-law families argue that the lands the people presently cultivate were originally the lands of their own ancestors, which are called sap’aeji, and the lands to which they lay claim extend to hills and plains, but no one can stand up to them. Little people go broke, decline, and eventually perish. How can the magistrate sit idly by and watch such tyranny even if he may be incompetent and powerless? Those Who Are in Public Office Must Be Prohibited from Practicing Trickery and Lechery, Mixing with Entertaining Girls and Prostitutes. According to The Great Ming Code, “In all cases where officials or functionaries sleep with entertainers, they shall be punished by sixty strokes of beating with a heavy stick.” (Those who drink with entertaining girls are also subject to this statute.) An annotation to the statute states, “Entertainers are the females listed on the records of musicians.” Those who as civil or military officials sleep with entertainers are punished because their conduct is dishonorable. In my observation, the designation of civil or military officials is broad enough to include clerks and functionaries, and sleeping with prostitutes means sleeping in the quarters of female musicians. In China only those who are registered as 273. Lands granted to royal families and merit subjects. 274. “Officials or Functionaries Sleeping with Entertainers,” Laws on Penal Affairs (Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 217).

788

book IX

musicians are called prostitutes [changji]; in our country, however, those who trade their sex on the streets are all called prostitutes [haengch’ang]. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Those who as male prostitutes [hwarang] and loose women [yunyŏ] stay in the town must be searched out and brought to justice.” The annotation on this statute states: “Both male and female prostitutes should all be searched out; the children of people of good status should be made slaves for their lifetime and assigned to dilapidated districts; and public or private slaves of base status should be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and life exile to 3,000 li.” In my observation, words like hwarang and yunyŏ no longer exist now. This statute should be applied to vagrant monks with a full head of hair [kŏlsa], itinerant nuns, and those who sell sex. The law is extremely strict on officials who play around with prostitutes. However, since it has already long been the case that official discipline has gone slack and the practice has hardened into custom, it can only raise a commotion to prohibit the old custom abruptly. Since activities like having a picnic in the mountains or at the sea along with entertaining girls are not appropriate for clerks and military officers, the magistrate should issue a strict warning to them when a month has passed since he took office: “Those who as clerks and military officers dare to play with entertaining girls will be strictly punished according to the law and dismissed permanently, and those who get into a fight at the house of entertaining girls, causing a disturbance, as well as litigation, shall be punished by the heavier penalty and shall never be forgiven.” These days the number of female slaves is decreasing because the magistrates increasingly make entertaining girls their concubines and take them away when they depart from their posts. So they let entertaining girls accuse women of lewd behavior and make them slaves by force, and when this happens, false accusation becomes a custom and bribery a general practice. This is very serious among the violations of the law. In the tenth year of Sukchong’s reign [1684] Minister of Punishments Kim Tŏgwŏn told the king: “In the region of Honam there is a couple who committed adultery although they were cousins with different family names, and they have already confessed their crime. According to the law, they are subject to the punishment of one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for three years. Years ago, when the trial of Yehyŏng was held, the 275. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chajang, and his pen name Hyugok. He also served as third state councilor. 276. The wife of Hŏ Kyŏn (?−1680), an illegitimate son of Hŏ Chŏk, the chief state councilor and the leader of the Southerners faction. Her family name was Hong. She was accused of committing adultery with a man named Yu Ch’ŏl. She denied the charge and committed suicide.

Administration of Justice

789

ministers all agreed that the case should be dealt with under the Supplementary Law Code of 1493 [Taejŏn songnŏk] and received the approval of Your Majesty, and the concerned statute in it stated, ‘The woman belonging to the clan of literati who commits adultery and desecrates the good custom shall be put to death along with the adulterer.’ Since the ministers at that time repeatedly requested that the offenders be punished immediately and Your Majesty granted their request, should we apply that precedent to the current case and immediately execute those people?” The king replied, “My approval at that time was only a one-time decision mainly intended to discipline and chastise the evil, and therefore, it is not necessary that it should be made a formal precedent.” Those Who Are Drunk in the Marketplace and Make Off with Merchandise or Curse Elders Should Be Disciplined. In every marketplace there are always one or two who misbehave, practicing violence on the merchants. They often act like wolves and tigers so that in China they are called by a nickname, “Little Overlord” [Xiaobawang]. These gangsters intervene and take control of trade, playing tricks on weights and measures. They also hire prostitutes in the tavern and sell the meat of beef cows illegally slaughtered, or, dead drunk, curse the people and seize things belonging to others. No one can stop them even if they knock down crocks and break jars with faces that are red and eyes that are mad. The magistrate should order a special investigation of their behavior, severely punish them with beating until their flesh is torn off, and put them in jail with heavy cangues around their necks so that they become really scared and will not dare to commit such wrongdoings in the future. Then merchants will sing on the streets, residents will be delighted in their villages, and the praise of the magistrate will resound in all directions. When many people live together in a large village, there is always a man who is dead drunk on the market day, cursing elders, insulting his superiors in social status, and causing damage, as well as embarrassment, to the whole village. The magistrate should separately investigate such a person and strictly punish him by sixty strokes of beating with a heavy stick. However, if the man happened to make a mistake simply because of his drunkenness, the punishment must be made lighter. If he is made to provide extra corvée labor for three or five or six days when there is construction work in the village, this measure will also serve as proper punishment. 277. After the National Code (Kyŏngguk taejŏn), new laws began to accumulate. Hence King Sŏngjong ordered Yi Kŭgjung, Ŏ Segyŏm, and others to compile a supplementary law code titled Taejŏn songnŏk.

790

book IX

Making a Profession of and Living from Gambling, Gathering People Together, Must Be Prohibited. According to The Great Ming Code, “In all cases of gambling for property, the offenders shall be punished by eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick. The gambling devices and money shall be forfeited to the government. Those who run gambling halls shall be punished the same. (Those who joined the gamblers without participating in gambling shall also be punished.) Only those who are seen and discovered on the spot shall be punished. (This is intended to prevent false accusations.) If officials in ser vice gamble, the penalty shall be increased one degree. (If the magistrate himself gambles, how can he govern the people? The penalty in this case shall be increased one degree, and he shall be punished by ninety strokes of beating with a heavy stick.) Those who gamble for drink or food shall not be punished.” The magistrates nowadays, sitting in the hall of the yamen, play the games of majo and kangp’ae with liaison agents and personal secretaries, but they are not ashamed of what they do. How, then, can they prohibit the people from gambling? How can they not think of the meaning in the law that made the penalty for magistrates much stricter? The first among various gambling games, which destroy the minds of individuals, as well as their families, thus bringing worries to the parents and the whole family, is the game of majo, and the second is ssangyuk and kangp’ae. Since the fact that yamen clerks misappropriate taxes and law-enforcement officials commit corruption often has to do with their gambling, the magistrate must repeatedly admonish them to stay away from it. If any of them continue to practice gambling, the magistrate privately sends his personal servant or agent to look into their activities. When they are found guilty, he collects fines from them, and with the money he helps hardworking slaves or saves prisoners in jail. Investigations should also be conducted of those who misappropriated a great amount of public funds, and if the crime was related to the game of majo, he arrests the one who won the money and makes up for the missing public funds with the gambling money collected from him. Since the person who set up a place and arranged gambling is a ringleader, the penalty for his crime should be twice as heavy, although it is the same according to the statute. The Great Qing Code stipulated: “He among the soldiers and civilians who enters the residence of royal families and lures out one of their members for gambling shall be expelled to the border to serve in the army. Those who gamble, whether they are civilians or soldiers, shall all be punished by one hundred 278. “Gambling,” Miscellaneous Offenses (Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 218).

Administration of Justice

791

strokes of beating with a heavy stick and the imposition of cangues for two months, and those who set up a gambling den by three hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and the imposition of cangues for three months. “Officials in ser vice who gambled for money shall be dismissed and interrogated with the enforcement of the cangue; furthermore, they are not allowed to pay redemption fines for their release and are permanently dismissed from public office. “In all cases where banner-carrying soldiers make and sell zhipai (which is madiao) or touzi (which is jiangpai) for gambling, the chief offender shall be banished to a disease-ridden place along the border to serve in the army, and the one who actually sells those items shall be banished to the remote border to serve in the army.” (The penalty for those who hold the status of civilian and sell those items is relatively light.) In my observation, the reason that the Qing code is twice as strict and heavy as the Ming code is that the people increasingly indulged in gambling as customs deteriorated to a greater extent. The Three Judicial Agencies [Sambŏpsa] in our country also issued prohibitions against gambling. However, since gambling instruments, such as chip’yae, t’up’ae, changgi, ssangyuk, and so forth, are openly sold on the market, this is like trying to stop running water without blocking its fountain. How can one prohibit gambling under these circumstances? Since men of higher social status, such as grand councilors and celebrities, as well as royal secretaries and officials of the Office of Special Counselors, spend their time on these games, what can you say about ordinary people? Since the games popular among those who raise cows and pigs have made their way to the royal court, this is also lamentable. However, since the administration of a local district is totally up to the magistrate himself, efforts to prohibit such evils must not be abandoned. The Shows Presented by Actors, the Per formances of Puppeteers, Soliciting Donations with Exorcist Music, and Those Who Make It Their Profession to Deceive People with Beguiling Words Must All Be Prohibited. Because extravagance and license have become their manners and customs, the yamen clerks and law-enforcement officials in the south, when the weather is gorgeous every spring and autumn, enjoy funny jokes and hilarious performance of actors day and night. The magistrate not only does not prohibit this practice but also brings it into the yamen. Even worse, he allows the womenfolk inside the yamen to watch the vulgar performance of the playful actors through a hanging 279. Zhipai originally meant identification tallies made of paper; however, here it seems to indicate one of the materials used in gambling. 280. The Board of Punishments, the Office of Inspector General, and the Seoul Magistracy.

792

book IX

screen, which is greatly against propriety. Since such performances are also open to the general populace, there is no one, man or woman, who does not run madly after them. Because people have become licentious and have lost their discipline, crimes like misappropriating government grain or stealing taxes, by and large, have to do with this kind of dissolute custom. The magistrate, therefore, must admonish the residents by posting a notice so that they may not allow vulgar people to enter their district. Then public morals will be stabilized. When the temple is in disrepair and the statue of Buddha is discolored, the monks solicit donations by performing rituals and ceremonial music called naak, which is their way of sending an official notice to the people. When the sound of gongs and drums shakes the temple, and the banners on the poles are flying high, people gather in a group of several dozen or several hundred and march around jumping and dancing. Children imitate what they see, and their moral character is formed in such a way that they become impatient and disorderly. Since the people are cheated of their property in this way, and their property is often turned into funds for the monks’ private purposes, this practice must also be prohibited. It must also be prohibited that itinerant nuns wander around chanting a spell and beating a sogo drum to collect money from the people. Petty Tales by Hanam stated: “Numerous tricks are rampant in remote border areas: geomancy [pokbun, which is fenshui]; fortune-telling by observing ancestral graves [kansang]; fortune-telling by hour and date of birth [sanmyŏng]; fortune-telling by using divining sticks [sŏmyŏng]; fortune-telling by drawing a portrait [hwayŏk]; fortune-telling by analyzing the Chinese characters of an individual’s name [p’aja]; fortune-telling by reading the face of a female customer [sadan]; disinterring bones or a skeleton from inauspicious places [kulmae]; removing bones or thorns from the bowels and stomach through vomiting [t’osu]; and exorcism [sinjang]. If the magistrate imposes a ban on these wicked practices and makes an example of one or two persons by banishing them to a distant place, he will deserve to be called a magistrate who observes the law properly.” Slaughtering Cows and Horses for Private Purposes Must Be Prohibited; Collecting Redemption Fines in Connection with Such a Violation Is Not Appropriate. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Those who privately slaughter horses or cows shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and penal servitude for three years.” 281. A small drum with a handle. It is held by the left hand and beaten with a stick with the right hand. 282. “Prohibitions” (“Kŭmjejo”), Laws on Penal Affairs.

Administration of Justice

793

Since our custom disallows horse mating [conducted by individuals], breeding horses is blocked and has finally ceased to exist. The number of horses in a district of ten thousand households does not exceed several dozen, and therefore, private slaughtering of horses is very rare except of ones that die of sickness. However, the restrictions on illegal slaughtering of oxen must be strict. Since no goats are raised in our country, and therefore no meat except beef is available during the festive season, one cannot enforce the law too strictly on things that the people generally want. Influential clerks and residents make it their custom to slaughter oxen for their family events, such as weddings, feasts, funerals, and ancestor worship, and this must be prohibited. How can it be allowed to slaughter oxen while even slaughtering dogs is supposed to be made illegal? Reporting violations to the higher authorities, however, is not necessarily advisable since it will only cause damage to the property of the people and contribute to the luxury of high officials. A better option for the magistrate under the circumstances is to reduce the punishment from one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick to fift y strokes of beating with a light stick and substitute redemption paid with the hide, tendons, and horns of the slaughtered oxen for the three-year penal servitude. So it is advisable for the magistrate himself to take care of the matter in that manner without reporting it to the superior office. The governor, who is avaricious, is always strict in enforcing the law against private slaughtering of cattle. Since he depends on the clerks for his information and does not try to listen to the testimonies of the residents, cunning clerks often turn his practice into opportunities for carry ing out reprisals against residents whom they dislike. They falsely charge those who have troubles with taking out or paying off a loan or those with whom they have personal problems, no matter how little they may be, with private slaughtering of cattle. Although a charge anonymously submitted, according to the law, is not supposed to be accepted, the governor, who is interested only in collecting redemption fees, extorts money without conducting an investigation. As a result, the power and influence of the clerks increase day by day, and the property of the people diminishes day by day. No impropriety in administration can be more serious than this. According to the laws of the Seoul Metropolitan Office and the Board of Punishments, the punishment of one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick and three-year penal servitude is to be redeemed for a fee of 28 taels; the general practice of provincial governments, however, is that they conduct interrogations combined with beating with a heavy stick three times (ninety strokes) and transfer the convicts to various places so that they can collect a redemption fee of 42 taels from them. Since there is no limit to violating the statute and disregarding the law, how lamentable! If one once observes the way the redemption fees are collected, he can tell whether or not the magistrate does his job properly.

794

book IX

An annotation in the Supplement to the National Code states: “It is allowed that an ox be slaughtered every five days in the major districts like Kaesŏng, Kwangju, Suwŏn, and Kanghwa, and as to those who violate this statute, the magistrate punishes them, applying the severest provision that can be found in the concerned law.” This indicates that the butchers belonging to the local governments were officially allowed to slaughter an ox every five days. Since in our custom goats are not raised, and oxen have been the main source of our meat, the prohibition against slaughtering oxen is rather mild and indirect like this. However, it is clearly against the law for the magistrate to allow the reckless slaughtering of oxen, enjoying the taxes that are paid in meat. So he must strictly follow the statute that allows an ox to be slaughtered every five days. (Unless the amount of beef used by the local government is extremely great, there will be no harm to the kitchen slaves; they will not complain even if the prohibition is enforced.) Zhu Xi stated in “Essay on Encouraging Agriculture” [“Quannong wen”]: “Since work like weeding and cultivating a field totally depends on the strength of oxen, one must take care of the oxen, feeding them properly, and never recklessly slaughter them unless one desires to risk disrupting his farming. If there is anyone who disregards this prohibition, he shall be punished like the person who disobeyed royal decrees. He shall be punished by twenty strokes of beating with a heavy stick and imprisoned with the imposition of a penalty that amounts to 50 guan of copper currency for each ox. Furthermore, he will be pressured to pay his penalty with no mercy.” The following happened when Zhang Yi governed Yizhou. Because they were starving, many people were arrested for butchering their oxen and were banished to Guanzhong. Zhang Yi memorialized to the king: “The people killed their oxen to save their lives, and this is different from illegal slaughtering of cattle. I plead with Your Majesty to release all the exiled people so that they can return to their livelihood.” His petition was granted. As I have observed, it is hard to find even bean pods when the harvest is poor. Since starving oxen were exposed to various diseases, the people decided to slaughter them. The following happened when Min Sŏnghwi served as governor of P’yŏngyang Province. Because he treated illegal slaughtering of cattle as if it were homicide, the number of oxen in the region increased, and agriculture began to show signs of recovery once again. 283. “Prohibitions” (“Kŭmjejo”), Laws on Penal Affairs. 284. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sangji, and his pen name Choldang. He also served as minister of punishments and visited Qing China as an envoy. He died in Beijing while he was carry ing out his diplomatic mission.

Administration of Justice

795

The prohibition of slaughtering oxen, in my view, must be strict; however, it is disturbing to see that a crime like that is dealt with as if it were homicide. Under circumstances in which people find punishments like banishment and payment of redemption already too painful, how can they survive if human life is made to substitute for the lives of cattle? If the slaughtering of oxen was investigated and supervised by the personnel of the kitchen in the local government or the market, and if it happened that a group of common people banded together and butchered oxen that were sick, what they did really does not deserve punishment. In the Case of Those Who Fabricated Official Seals, the Magistrate Must Pass Judgment after Closely Examining the Real Situation and Facts about Their Crime. Those who forge royal seals are mostly those who forge documents of peerage, such as official of excellent goodness [kasŏn taebu] and defending general [chŏlch’ung changgun]. Since, because the law is loose, it is easy to counterfeit them and the profit is great, how can the people resist the temptation to violate the law? If the government punishes people only after they commit the crime, is the government not luring them into the crime? Those in the government should be equally blamed. When I was appointed temporary recorder [kajusŏ] and carried out the duty of writing royal decrees, I discovered that there were twenty people among those convicted by the Board of Punishments for forging royal seals. After ten years, when I became third minister of the Board of Punishments and investigated charges against offenders, I also found that there were another twenty people who committed the same type of crime. I asked a clerk, “Are they the old convicts whose cases have remained unresolved during the last ten years?” The clerk replied, “How can that be possible? Cases like that are solved within a year, and then new ones arrive, whose number is about the same as that of the previous year. Sometimes it happens that the number of those who are convicted in a year amounts to as many as forty to fift y. Their number this year is relatively small.” Those who forged official seals or the seals used in various palace agencies are to be punished in accordance with the respective laws. It happens that some of them put together the two seals belonging to the chief clerk of the district magistrate and produce a square type of official seals, and others simply make a crude

285. A title awarded to high civil and military officials whose rank was above ju nior second rank. 286. A title awarded to high military officials whose rank was above senior third rank. 287. An official of the Royal Secretariat with senior seventh rank. His chief mission was to draft royal instructions dictated by the king. Tasan served as temporary recorder in 1789, the thirteenth year of Chŏngjo.

796

book IX

type of seal script [zhuanwen] by using p’aech’ŏngong or dry gourds. The punishment for such offenders should be light. The following happened when Li Cong became surveillance commissioner of the Hunan region. When a fisherman presented him with a carp, Li Cong had it cooked, and a seal was found in the belly of the carp. When he examined it, it read, “Seal of Hengshan District.” Li Cong searched out the latest official documents of Hengshan District and compared the official seals with the one found in the fish, and the latter appeared suspicious. Then he summoned the magistrate of Hengshan, ordering him to bring an official seal with him that he was currently using. When Li Cong examined it, he was convinced that the seal was a new one. Ordering his staff to leave the room, he interrogated the magistrate, and the latter finally made a confession: “The original official seal happened to be stolen, so my clerks and I in fear of punishment secretly employed a craftsman to make a new one. I wait only for death now.” Keeping the matter secret, Li Cong broke the new seal and let the magistrate return to his district with the old one, and there was hardly anyone who knew about what had happened. C H A P T E R : E L I M I NAT I NG T H R E AT S A N D H A R M S

Since Eliminating Harms to the People Is the Duty of the Magistrate, the First to Be Eliminated Is Thieves and Bandits; the Second, Superstition; and the Third, Tigers. When These Three Things Are Eliminated, the Calamities of the People Will Disappear. If we ask people who gather and talk in ordinary times what they are most afraid of in the world, their responses are all different according to each individual. Some say that they fear thieves and bandits, others spirits, and others tigers. Hence it is clear that these three things are threats to the people. The troubles caused by spirits happen only when those spirits are summoned by the people. We should eliminate the illicit shrines and shamans that attract spirits. By eliminating witchcraft, we will eliminate the problems spirits inflict on us. Since There Are Three Reasons That Thieves and Bandits Are Produced, Efforts to Eliminate Them Are All Useless if Those Who Are Above Fail to Maintain Their Dignity and Integrity, and Those Who Are in the Middle Do Not Obey Orders, and Those Who Are Below Are Not Afraid of the Law. That those who are above fail to maintain their dignity and integrity means that officials like royal messengers and magistrates commit irregularities marked by 288. The meaning of this term is unknown. 289. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Xianfu. He also served as edict attendant (daizhi) of the Hall for Treasuring Culture.

Administration of Justice

797

avarice and iniquity. That is the reason that the people call an official traveling under the parasol [ilsan] a main thief. Since the way he carries himself is already out of shape, how can his shadow be straight? Even the thieves secretly whisper among themselves, “How can a man who is so high in rank, commanding attention and respect from others, be so avaricious like that? Although he enjoys all the graces and privileges accorded by the state, he is interested only in stealing property from others. When a man like that behaves in such a way, what should common people like us do? Under circumstances in which no one knows what will happen to us, should we just stand still and watch what goes on?” Since this is the talk of thieves at ordinary times, how can one prevent them from violating the laws? Confucius once said to Ji Kangzi, “If you can suppress your own greed, [the thieves] would be so ashamed that they would not be thieves even if you asked them to be.” This applies exactly to the situation discussed here. The following is a story in Cool Stories of Hasan [Hasan naengdam]: “A hermit called Kalŭi Gŏsa was a man of eccentric gallantry famous in the south. One day it happened that he passed through a market in Ssanggyo and witnessed law-enforcement officers leading away a thief with his hands bound with a rope and his head covered with a colorful paper cap [kokkal]. All of a sudden Kalŭi Gŏsa stepped forward to block the way of the thief and officers. Holding the arm of the thief, he wailed aloud, profusely shedding tears. Comforting the man, on the one hand, and muttering words to himself, on the other hand, he said, ‘How miserable and wretched you are! What happened to you, and who made you like this?’ The people who saw him were greatly surprised, and soon spectators surrounded the scene. The chief law-enforcement officer, now greatly surprised, ordered his runners to arrest Kalŭi Gŏsa, the hermit, and the latter asked them, ‘What did I do? Do you think that I am also one of the gang? You should first listen to me before you arrest or release me.’ When the law-enforcement 290. The parasol used by high officials during their outside trips. 291. An official of the Lu Kingdom and a disciple of Confucius. 292. “Yanyuan pian,” Analects. Legge translates this passage as follows: “If you, sire, were not covetous, although you should reward them to do it, they would not steal” (Legge, Confucius, 258). 293. A work attributed to Tasan. Hasan means “mountains in twilight.” 294. Kalŭi Gŏsa literally means a hermit who always wears a robe made of coarse hemp. It is not clear exactly when he lived, but he is presumed to have lived in the late Chosŏn period. Chang Chiyŏn in his book titled Records of Hermits (Ilsa yusa) also talks about him in detail. Always wearing a robe of hemp cloth, he traveled throughout the country. One day it happened that he ran into bandits and became their chief. Soon he and his followers dominated the Honam region, and he became the person most wanted by the authorities. When innocent people were arrested and tortured for his sake, Kalŭi Gŏsa voluntarily appeared in the local government office and rebuked the corrupt officials and the times, as shown in the quotation here, and suddenly disappeared. 295. A place in Kobu, North Chŏlla Province.

798

book IX

officer asked what it was that he had to say, the hermit replied: ‘Right now this land is fi lled with thieves. From the land they steal the lands declared natural disasters; from the people, taxes; from the famine relief fund, grain; from the granary where repaid grain loans are stored, benefits; from lawsuits, bribes; and from thieves, stolen goods. Nevertheless, governors and provincial army or navy commanders in conspiracy with the thieves try to hide their crimes instead of uncovering them. The higher in rank the thieves are, the stronger in power they become, and the more generous their stipend is, the greedier they become. These corruptions notwithstanding, they raise their banners high when they go out for a trip, set up a tent with a curtain where they stay, and make sure that the blue uniform with a red belt in which they are dressed looks splendid. Although they lead a life of luxury in this way, no one can dare to talk about them. Then a man who was starving to death committed petty larceny and is now going through all this shame and disgrace in front of the people. Is this not very sad? This is the reason that I cry aloud, and no other reason.’ The law-enforcement officer said, ‘Huh! Sir, what you are saying is not unreasonable.’ Then the officer treated the hermit with wine and let him go.” That those who are in the middle do not obey orders means that all military officers [t’op’o kungwan] in charge of investigating and arresting thieves are more or less the leaders of the thieves. Without their support and protection the thieves cannot do their job. Pursuing the thieves and driving them into a main road or the middle of a large market, they steal stolen goods from them in concerted operations. Therefore, the thieves cannot steal by themselves. Since there is no way of selling the goods that they stole from rich people, it is only the military officers who can actually sell them. If the stolen goods are worth about 10 taels, the thieves take 3 taels and the military officers 7 taels, which is a general practice. When a new thief is admitted to a gang, he is required to perform a ritual called ch’amallye [bribing the superior with entertainment and money] and is allowed to take stolen goods for himself only after presenting them to the superiors three times. If he happens to disregard this rule, he is arrested and taken directly to the government authorities. It also happens that the military officers instigate the thieves to implicate the rich people in their crimes, falsely confessing that those named by them were members of the gang they belong to or bought stolen goods from them. Thus many innocent people are charged with crimes and arrested. Then the military officers clear them of the false accusations 296. Lands declared natural disasters (chaegyŏl) were granted exemption from taxes. Stealing chaegyŏl here means stealing the benefits granted to them. 297. Military officers belonging to the provincial military commander’s headquarters, whose duty was to investigate and arrest thieves. 298. Ch’amallye was originally derived from the custom that officials paid their respects to their superiors twice a year, during which the evaluation of their job per formance was made.

Administration of Justice

799

after sucking all the blood out of them. Furthermore, they help the inmates escape from the jail by providing them with ropes or ladders. The so-called military officers of garrisons and a provincial military commander’s headquarters, therefore, are none other than the leaders of Liangshanbo. Fully understanding this situation, the magistrate should secretly admonish the military officers to find the owners of stolen goods if civilians appeal to him that they were robbed. This is what happened when I became magistrate of Koksan. There was an incident in which a thief killed a man and stole his ox, but it was over a month before the incident was discovered. Everyone said that the thief would already have gone far away, but when I showed my firm determination to arrest the suspect and bring him to justice, it took only seven days until the thief was arrested. This incident is also introduced in my book Toward a New Jurisprudence. Most dealers in stolen goods stay in the taverns in the district capital; hence deserted villages in remote mountains cannot be the den of thieves. Since the inns and taverns are crowded with numerous travelers every day, no one is suspicious of a traveler who looks unfamiliar. On the other hand, in a place like a remote village, the identity of a traveler cannot be hidden for long. Even if there is only a single traveler who stays overnight, the residents will try to find out who he is and what he is doing in their village; thus he is exposed in no time. Therefore, those who want to hide themselves from the eyes of the people always make places like taverns and inns centers of their operations. Since they are stationed 5 or 10 li apart in a circle and have gatherings in the taverns if they have matters to discuss or information to be passed around, hiding or entrusting stolen goods is carried out in such places. The Best Way [to Eliminate Thieves] Is to Pardon Their Past Crimes in the Spirit of the King Who Is Anxious to Extend His Grace to All His People and Help Them Abandon Evil Ways So That They Can Return to Their Livelihood and Start Anew. The following happened when Gong Sui became prefect of Bohai. At that time there had been poor harvests for years, and thieves and bandits were rampant. Appointing Gong Sui to the office of prefect, Emperor Xuan said, “How would you suppress thieves and bandits?” Gong Sui replied, “Located in a deserted stretch of coast, Bohai was beyond the reach of the grace of Your Majesty, and officials failed to take care of the residents although they suffered from starvation. That is the reason that they seized the weapons from the armory and ran riot. Now, does Your Majesty want me to suppress them or allay them?” Very pleased with the way Gong Sui responded, the emperor said, “My purpose in selecting a 299. The famous den of outlaws in the Chinese novel Water Margin (Shuihu zhuan).

800

book IX

virtuous official for such a task was originally to pacify the people.” Gong Sui said, “In dealing with rebels, as I know, one must be as cautious as when he handles a bunch of tangled, twisted strings. He should not be impatient but slow and steady as he works on it. I will be most grateful if Your Majesty allows me to have a free hand in this task so that grand councilors or royal inspectors, as well as various government regulations, may not interfere in what I do.” The emperor not only granted his permission but also gold as a special gift and sent him away. Upon hearing that a new prefect was arriving, the district of Bohai dispatched an army to greet him. However, Gong Sui returned the army to its place and sent official dispatches to the districts in his jurisdiction. He ordered that all the clerks engaged in arresting thieves be dismissed, and he prohibited inspecting those who had farming equipment such as hoes and rakes, regarding them as people of good status; he allowed searches and inspections only of those who carried weapons, regarding them as potential suspects of robbery. After giving these orders, he arrived at the office in a single carriage without escorts, and it did not take long until the whole district was united and the rebels disappeared. The following happened when Jiang You of the Jin dynasty became magistrate. Hundreds of households rose up in revolt, taking rugged mountains for their protection, but the magistrates both before and after failed to suppress them. Upon taking office, when Jiang You generously pacified their leaders, providing them with aid, the people hidden in the mountains returned to their villages, carry ing their children on their backs. Earlier Jiang You said, “Since the rebels had better be treated with grace and the ignorant masses persuaded with reason, who will take up arms if hunger and cold can be avoided? Since the court has already imposed heavy taxes and labor ser vice and the local government adds extortion to them, plundering and looting are only a way to survive, not a way of raising a rebellion.” The following is a record in the History of the Northern Dynasties. An official named Fang Jingbo became prefect of Qinghe. Earlier it had happened that a resident named Liu Jianhu had behaved disrespectfully to Fang Jingbo, and at the news that the latter was arriving as the new prefect, Liu Jianhu ran away, taking his whole family. Fang Jingbo ordered his clerks to look for Liu and at the same time hired Liu’s son as a clerk of the section in charge of military affairs. After that he admonished the bandits to return to the community, and the bandits came down from their hiding place in the mountains because they were convinced that the new prefect was not concerned with their old crimes. In the regions of Guangji and Caihe a bunch of villainous people habitually harassed fishermen, seizing their property while disregarding their own liveli300. His courtesy name was Daozai. He rose to the position of chamberlain for ceremonials. 301. Rivers in Henan Province.

Administration of Justice

801

hood. Every year they burned ten fishing boats or so to display their power. Upon taking office, Cheng Hao captured a member of that lawless gang and, using him as a decoy, arrested dozens of his associates. Neither investigating nor punishing them for their past crimes, Cheng Hao assigned them to certain places and had them make their living by pulling boats; he also made them keep their eyes on those who were engaged in evil acts. After that, troubles like setting boats on fire disappeared from the district. Only When the Magistrate Governs the People with Such Benevolence and Generosity Will Thieves and Bandits Mend Their Evil Ways and Disappear. Then People Will Never Keep Things Found on the Road and Will Be Good Enough to Be Ashamed of or Correct Their Wrongdoings. Will This Not Also Be Nice? When Zheng Yi of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Zou, he governed his district with benevolence. People who found a treasure on the road returned it to its owner. When Yan Xian became magistrate of Mianzhu, he enlightened the people with propriety and humility. There was a man named Du Cheng who found a bag of cloth on the road while traveling at night. Returning the bag to its owner, the man said, “We have a virtuous magistrate in our district. How can I disregard his enlightenment?” The following happened when Su Qiong became prefect of Qinghe. The place had abounded with thieves and bandits, but with his arrival they vanished, and his district was now so secure that rich people in other districts moved their property to where Su Qiong was for their security. A native of Jizhou whose surname was Cheng was a millionaire. When he was attacked by bandits and thrown into danger, he said, “My property has already been entrusted to the care of Magistrate Su.” Upon hearing what he said, the bandits just left. The following happened when Fan Chunren became metropolitan governor of Luoyang. An official named Xie Kezhuang on his way home from Heyang stopped at a tavern in order to take a rest and feed his horse. There he happened to find an old man enjoying the sun under a fence. Then a man came and told the old man that his calf had been stolen, but the old man kept on sitting as he was without even turning his head around. Although the man repeated what he had said a little later, the old man still remained calm and finally said slowly, “Probably my neighbor hid it for fun.” Curious about the old man, Xie Kezhuang approached him and asked, “You have heard twice that your calf was stolen but paid no attention to this. What is the reason?” The old man laughed and said, 302. Unknown. 303. An official of the Later Han dynasty.

802

book IX

“Who can dare steal a calf from me when Magistrate Fan is in charge of this district?” Sometime later Xie Kezhuang learned that the calf had indeed returned to its owner. Deeply impressed, Xie Kezhuang left the place. The following happened when Zeng Gongliang governed Zhengzhou. The district had abounded with thieves and bandits, but they all ran away to other places when Zeng arrived as their new magistrate. Then the people did not keep the things they found on the roads and left their gates open all the time. So the people called their magistrate by a nickname, “Zeng Kaimen” [Zeng Opengate]. One day it happened that an official from the central government lost some of his belongings while traveling through Zeng’s district. Sending an official letter, he requested that Magistrate Zeng capture the person who had stolen them. Zeng replied that the suspect must be one of the official’s followers, not a resident of his district, because there were no thieves in his district, and what he said turned out to be true. If the People Who Are Wicked and Powerful Do Not Mend Their Ways but Band Together to Commit Crimes, the Magistrate Must Take Action, Fully Demonstrating Decisiveness and Power So That the People Can Live in Peace. This Way Is the Second Best. The following happened when Han Bao of the Northern Zhou dynasty became prefect of Yongzhou. Because his district abounded with thieves, Han Bao conducted a secret investigation and found that the crimes were mainly the work of powerful local families. Pretending that he was ignorant of the fact and treating the thieves with respect, Han Bao said, “Since this prefect was originally a scholar, how can he know about the ways of dealing with thieves? So I would like to share my concern with you, relying on your expertise.” Then he assembled all those who were fierce and wicked, the main troublers of the district, and made them the leaders for capturing thieves, assigning their individual areas of operation. He also made an agreement with them that anyone who failed to capture a thief was to be punished under the law of aiding and abetting. When this happened, those who became the leaders were all afraid and finally confessed their past crimes. Then they submitted a list of thieves and provided information on those who had run away or were in hiding. Keeping the list and information, Han Bao posted a public notice on the gate of the fortress as follows: “Those who repent of their crimes and turn themselves in without delay will immediately be granted amnesty. Those who refuse to surrender themselves to the law, however, will be 304. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Mingzhong. 305. An official of the Northern Zhou dynasty. His courtesy name was Siye. Learned in the classics and history and distinguished for wisdom, he also served as prefect of Fengzhou.

Administration of Justice

803

executed, and their property will be distributed to those who voluntarily surrendered as a reward.” In just over a month the thieves all surrendered to the authorities. Han Bao compared their names with those on the list of thieves, and they perfectly agreed with each other. When Han Bao forgave their past crimes and made them start their lives anew, the activities of thieves became quiet (History of the Northern Dynasties). Yanzhou used to abound with thieves. When Li Chong became prefect, he built a pavilion for every village in his domain and installed a drum in it so that people could use it as a signal in an emergency. They beat the drum whenever thieves invaded their village, and then the people in the neighborhood quickly set up blockades on the main roads. In a moment the sound of the drum spread far in all directions, and the people who lay in hiding at every checkpoint captured the suspects in no time and took them to the authorities. As a result, thieves vanished from the district. It started from Li Chong that the local districts built pavilions with drums for the purpose of preventing thieves. The following happened when Xiang Wenjian governed Yongxing. He received a report that prison guards were planning to raise a rebellion, taking advantage of the ritual performance to drive evil spirits away [nuoli]. Secretly ordering the soldiers to wear armor under their robes and lie in ambush in the servants’ quarters, Xiang Wenjian on the following day invited his aides and military officers to a banquet to enjoy the food and wine and finally told the ritual performers to enter. When the performers arrived at the stone stairs, he quickly sent a signal to the soldiers by brandishing the sleeves of his dress. Jumping out of their hiding places in a flash, the soldiers captured all the performers and discovered that the latter were carry ing weapons. Xiang Wenjian executed the rebels on the spot and had the yard cleaned. Then he ordered the musicians to play music and enjoyed the banquet as if nothing had happened. His guests and aides all trembled with fear. The following happened when Yuan Zhen of the Wei dynasty became prefect of Nanyuzhou. At that time barbarians on Dahu Mountain often raided his district, so Yuan Zhen invited their chief to the archery competition in his district. First selecting about twenty people among his aides who were good at archery, he personally shot a couple of arrows to hit the target; then he ordered the archers he had selected to shoot arrows, one after another. Earlier he had disguised a condemned criminal as a soldier and had made him join the group of 306. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Th ree Kingdoms period. 307. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Xiang Minzhong. Wenjian was his posthumous title, and his courtesy name was Changzhi. He also served as vice director of the Department of State Affairs. 308. An official of the Northern Wei dynasty and a son of Gan, Prince Zhaojun. 309. “Barbarians” here indicates the indigenous people who lived in the south.

804

book IX

archers. When the criminal failed to hit the target, he executed him on the spot, demonstrating his authority to the chief of the barbarians. Also, he had earlier made an arrangement to have about ten condemned criminals disguised as barbarians. Ordering that they be brought into his presence, Yuan Zhen looked up at the sky, where the wind was blowing. Then he said to the chief, “Since the weather is getting fierce, it looks like some barbarians have entered our district for a raid. Their number will not exceed ten, and they will be somewhere in the southwest, at a place 50 li away.” Then he immediately ordered his cavalry to capture the alleged barbarians, and their number indeed turned out to be ten. (They were actually the ten condemned criminals disguised as barbarians.) Yuan Zhen said again to the chief, “Since your people invade our district like this, you deserve to die.” The chief and his followers all deeply bowed down. Yuan Zhen immediately beheaded the ten criminals and made the chief return to his place with an admonition. After that the raids and tyranny of the barbarians stopped. The following happened when Yu Unnyong became magistrate of P’unggi. At that time the disturbance of the war was still not over, and plagues and famines were rampant. Relying on the rugged mountains, barbarous bandits banded together and ruthlessly plundered the villages and the people, committing all kinds of atrocities. Because they set fire to villages and even ate human flesh, the districts they frequented were too scared to take any action. Yu Unnyong established a strategy to wipe them out and eventually succeeded. The gang of bandits was scattered, and the districts around Chungnyŏng settled down. Yu was promoted when his good work was reported to the court. The following happened when Pak Chŏng became magistrate of Namwŏn. At that time there was a gang of thieves, and their [family] roots and dens were so complicated and contagious that even the authorities could not control them, although they constantly harassed the people. Secretly securing a reliable person, Pak Chŏng sought information and devised a strategy to eliminate the gang. Taking advantage of an opportunity when the thieves gathered together for a drink, he captured them all. When he interrogated them, they accused each other and finally confessed their crimes. The ones he executed numbered several dozen, perhaps hundreds. As a result, the people within a perimeter of several hundred li in Honam and Yŏngnam regions were finally able to live in peace. As a reward for his achievement, Pak Chŏng was promoted to official of excellent goodness [kasŏn taebu] and granted the title Lord of Kŭmju. Then it happened that a thief who had escaped arrest attempted to take Pak’s life. Breaking through the window of 310. The Japa nese invasion of Korea in 1592, which is known as the Imjin War. 311. A rugged mountain pass located between P’unggi County, North Kyŏngsang Province, and Tanyang County, North Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. 312. Naju, South Chŏlla Province.

Administration of Justice

805

his quarters, the thief attacked Pak, aiming at his head with his weapon, but succeeded only in hurting his feet because Pak in sleeping lay with his head in the position of his feet out of fear that this kind of incident could happen. That was why the plan of the thief failed. When this incident became known, the king was more impressed and invited him to the royal court in Seoul. When he departed, the residents requested that Pak take soldiers with him for his safety, but Pak declined them. The thieves themselves also could not dare to attack him again. It Is the Third Best That the District Pledges Rewards and Amnesty for Those Who Provide Information or Assistance That Leads to Arresting and Annihilating Thieves. When Zhang Chang became magistrate of Shanyang, a large number of bandits rose up in the regions of Jiaodong and Bohai. Pledging rewards and amnesty, Zhang Chang let the bandits provide information or kill each other and actually pardoned the crimes of those who had cooperated. In addition, he recommended to the government the clerks who rendered a great ser vice in capturing the bandits, and those of the clerks who were appointed district magistrates numbered several dozen. As a result, the bandits scattered, killing each other, and officials and the people were able to enjoy peace. The following happened when Chen Biao of the Wu kingdom became general. A few men stole government property, but the investigators captured only a man named Shiming and tortured him. A man of strong constitution and fierce character, Shiming refused to confess his crime even at the risk of his life, so the chamberlain for law enforcement [tingwei] reported this to the central government after making the matter into a questionable judicial case. Sun Quan sent Chen Biao to find out the truth. Upon arriving, Chen Biao first decided to win Shiming’s heart. Hence he removed the shackles and handcuffs from Shiming and treated him with food after letting him take a bath. Deeply impressed, Shiming confessed his crime and submitted a list of his accomplices. Reporting the result of his investigation to the king, Chen Biao released Shiming but executed all the other collaborators of the crime (Book of Wu). The following happened when Liu Qing of the Northern Zhou dynasty became aide to the prefect of Yongzhou. A family whose surname was Hu was 313. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zigao. He also served as metropolitan governor and prefect of Jizhou. 314. A military official of Wu during the Th ree Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Wenao. He also served as commandant of Xinan and was invested as Marquis of Duxiang. 315. Sun Quan (182–252) was the founder of the Wu kingdom during the Three Kingdoms period. 316. His courtesy name was Gengxing. He also served as vice director of the Department of State Affairs.

806

book IX

plundered by thieves, and because of this incident many of their neighbors were detained for investigation. Thinking that the thieves were simply a rabble, Liu Qing was convinced that he could capture them by using a trick, so he posted an anonymous notice on the gate of the yamen as follows: “We are the ones who plundered the house of Hu. Because our gang is too disorderly, we are afraid that our crime will soon be revealed. We would like to surrender ourselves to justice but cannot for fear of death. If the authorities allow those who voluntarily turn themselves in to be exonerated of their crimes, we would like to come forward.” Then, next to this notice, he attached a certificate of acquittal. The following day a servant turned himself in with his hands bound behind his back, and using him, Liu Qing captured all the thieves (History of the Northern Dynasties). When Han Qi [Han Weigong] governed Yunzhou, the region of Jingdong abounded with thieves. At that time the deadline for capturing thieves was set at a hundred days, which in turn were divided into three stages, and the officials in charge were punished unless they produced results by the deadline. As a result, thieves were not necessarily captured, and only the number of officials who were disciplined increased. When Han Qi allowed the officials to make up for their failure by capturing some other thieves and thereby avoid their punishment, many thieves were apprehended. Turning that precedent into the law, our government has been using it until the present time. It Is Also an Idea to Capture Thieves by Secretly Marking Their Clothes with Red Ink. Although It Is a Little Trick, It Works like Removing Weeds from Paddy Fields with a Hoe. The following happened when Zhang Chang became metropolitan governor. At that time the markets abounded with so many thieves that all the merchants were troubled by them. Upon taking office, Zhang Chang secretly conducted investigations of a few leaders of those thieves and was surprised to find that in the eyes of their neighbors they appeared like respectable persons in ordinary times because they traveled on horseback, taking servants with them. Zhang Chang summoned them and reprimanded them for their wrongdoings but released them on condition that they work with the authorities in making their gang members surrender to justice. Then the leaders of the thieves said, “We are afraid that the thieves may be surprised if we abruptly have them show up at the government office, so we would like to request a special favor from Your Honor: have us be your clerks for the time being in order to carry out our task.” Zhang Chang granted their request and had them return to take a rest. Now the leaders of the thieves threw a party, and all their subordinate crew gathered to offer their congratulations on the new job of their leaders. When the thieves became drunk, the

Administration of Justice

807

leaders marked their sleeves with red ink. Standing at the entrance of the village, the clerks inspected those who were returning from the party and in one day arrested hundreds of thieves who had red marks on their sleeves. When Zhang Chang interrogated them, he found that one of the thieves had committed the same crime over a hundred times; he punished them all in accordance with the law. Thereafter the sound of drums reporting robbery was seldom heard, and in the marketplaces thieves were no longer seen. The emperor was pleased. The region of Zhaoge was rampant with several thousand thieves for a few years, including one named Ningji. Yu Xu, who became magistrate of Zhaoge, recruited thieves under three categories and told his clerks and subofficials to recommend the candidates as follows: the first consisted of those who were experienced in plundering; the second, those who stole property and caused physical injury to the people; and the third, those who neglected their families while they were wearing mourning dress. In this way Yu Xu recruited over a hundred thieves and entertained them at a banquet. Furthermore, he forgave all their past crimes and had them slip into the den of thieves so that they could lure out the thieves to plunder the villages. When the time came, he ordered the soldiers, whom he had earlier placed in ambush, to slay hundreds of thieves engaged in plundering. He also selected a man among the poor who was good at sewing and sent him to the den of the thieves. When the man sewed the clothes of the thieves with colorful threads, the clerks were able to capture them easily whenever the thieves came out to the markets or villages. As a result, numerous thieves all scattered, and people called Yu Hu a divinity [shenming]. The following happened when Gao Jixuan of the Song dynasty became director in chief [dujian] of Yizhou. The people of the Chu kingdom, who were rich and extravagant in their lifestyle, used to light lanterns on a large scale on the eve of New Year’s Day, and Prefect Xue Kui reinforced security against thieves. Gao Jixuan gathered juvenile delinquents and, after treating them with food and wine, had them mark the backs of the thieves during the night. The following day he captured all the thieves. The following happened when Sheng Chang became magistrate. During the night several hundred thieves came down to rob the state granary. Carrying two brushes and red and black ink, Sheng Chang secretly climbed a tree in the yard of the granary and sprinkled the ink on the clothes of the thieves who moved in 317. His courtesy name was Shunju. He also served as defense commander of Luozhou. 318. Originally a title given to eunuchs in the palace, it became the designation for low-ranking administrative officials similar to modern chief clerks or office managers during the Song dynasty. The office of the dujian was mainly in charge of tax revenues. 319. Unknown.

808

book IX

and out of the granary. The following day he secretly ordered the guards to close the gate of the fortress and arrest all those whose clothes were stained with red and black ink. He let no one escape. The following happened when Chen Shugu governed Jianzhou. In the district of Pucheng someone lost his belongings but could not find out who had stolen them. Chen Shugu spread a lie in order to capture the culprit. He said, “There is a mysterious bell in a certain shrine that can tell whether a person is a thief.” Then he ordered his men to bring the bell and set it up in the back of his office and personally offered sacrifices to it. Assembling the suspects in front of the bell, Chen explained, “This bell does not sound if an innocent person touches it; however, it sounds if the one who is guilty does the same.” With these words he offered sacrifices with the utmost seriousness. Then he ordered a tent to be set up over the bell and secretly had his men apply black ink on its surface, and finally let the suspects enter the tent one by one to touch the bell. When he inspected the hands of the suspects as they came out of the tent, he found that there was only one whose hands were clean without a stain of black ink. He interrogated the suspect and received a confession from him. He could not dare to touch the bell lest the bell make a sound. The following happened when Gao You of the Northern Qi dynasty became prefect of Dingzhou. An old woman whose surname was Wang lived alone, cultivating a few patches of vegetable gardens. However, it often happened that someone stole her vegetables, so Gao You secretly had his men engrave letters on the leaves of her vegetables, and the following day he found the vegetables with the letters in the market and captured the thief. Thereafter the thieves in the district disappeared. Since a Bier Is an Instrument Often Used by Cunning Thieves to Transport Their Stolen Goods, It Is a Little Trick of Investigation to Observe Closely the Mourners Attending a Funeral. The following happened during the reign of Zetian Wuhou of the Tang dynasty. Earlier she bestowed on Princess Taiping some treasures contained in two boxes inlaid with mother-of-pearl, which were worth 100 yi of gold. However, they were stolen not long after they were granted. Extremely indignant, Zetian 320. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Chen Xiang. Shugu was his courtesy name. He also served as director of the Department of State Affairs. 321. His courtesy name was Zixin. He was enfeoffed as King of Pengcheng during the reign of Emperor Wenxuan (550–559). 322. A daughter of Emperor Gaozong and Zetian Wuhou. 323. Yi (㙙): a measure of weight, equivalent to 24 liang or taels. According to another view, 1 yi is 20 or 30 liang.

Administration of Justice

809

Wuhou said to the administrator, “I will put you to death unless you arrest the culprits within three days.” Su Wuming, an aide to the prefect of Huzhou, volunteered his ser vice in capturing them. He said to Zetian Wuhou, “If Your Majesty allows me to apprehend the culprits, setting no time limit, I will certainly capture them for you.” The time was the Cold Food Festival [Hanshijie]. Su Wuming summoned all the clerks and functionaries and gave his orders as follows: “Go down to the gate in the northeast in tens or fives and be on the watch for anything suspicious. If it happens that ten or so northern barbarians in mourning dress go to Mt. Beimang, you should follow them.” While the clerks were on their watch, northern barbarians who fit this description were found. The clerks returned to Su Wuming in a hurry to report what they had found: “The northern barbarians arrived at a new grave and wailed after offering food and wine, but there was no sadness in their faces; moreover, they smiled at each other, looking around the grave.” Su Wuming was pleased and said, “Now is the time.” He immediately sent his clerks to the cemetery and apprehended all the northern barbarians. When he dug into their grave, the treasures that he was looking for were indeed there. Zetian Wuhou asked Su Wuming, “How did you find those thieves?” Su Wuming replied, “On the day when I was appointed to my present office, I happened to see their funeral procession and instantly realized that they were thieves. However, I did not know where they placed their stolen goods. Since it happened that that was the time of the Hanshijie holiday, I figured that they would go out to check the place where they had buried the treasure. Since there was no sadness on their faces, although they set up food and wine for sacrifices, it was clear that the dead person was not their parent. That they smiled at each other, looking around the grave, upon finishing their wailing indicated that they were pleased to find that the treasure buried in the grave was safe. If Your Majesty had applied pressure to arrest those thieves immediately, they would have run away with the treasure. When they found, however, that the authorities were not anxious to pursue them, they naturally felt relaxed and did not hurry to take out the treasure.” Zetian Wuhou promoted Su Wuming by two ranks, rewarding him with gold and silk. The following happened when Lü Yuanying of the Tang dynasty governed Yueyang. Rambling around outside the yamen, he happened to notice that a bier followed by five men in mourning dress was standing on a side street. He said, “Since that funeral carriage looks too elaborate if it is intended for a long trip and 324. A traditional holiday celebrated in China and Korea that falls on the 105th day after the winter solstice. 325. A mountain located in Luoyang, Henan Province. It is famous for the graves of rulers since the Later Han dynasty, so it came to symbolize a home of the dead. Mt. Beimang here, however, appears to be an ordinary cemetery located in the suburban mountains. 326. His courtesy name was Jingfu. He also served as mentor of the crown prince.

810

book IX

too simple if it is intended for a short trip, the persons with it must be members of a wicked gang.” When he had his men search the coffi n, it was fi lled only with weapons. Then the thieves confessed, “We originally planned to cross the river to plunder the people, so we disguised ourselves as carriers of a bier to avoid looking suspicious to the boatmen.” During further interrogation they also confessed that they were supposed to join their gang on the other side of the river. Lü Yuanying also arrested the rest of the gang and brought them to justice. In my observation, the traitor Yi Injwa and his gang in Musin year [1728] also used the same tactic. Concealing their weapons in a bier, they passed by Ch’ŏngju around late afternoon. They lay in ambush in the woods on the east side of the town and attacked and killed the provincial military commander the same evening. Catching Fish from Deep Water by Using Intelligence and Devising Schemes and Finally Uncovering Things That Are Hidden Are Things That Only a Man of Ability Can Accomplish. The following happened when Murong Yanchao of the Later Han dynasty became magistrate of Yunzhou. Establishing a public depository [ku], Murong loaned money to the people on security. A cunning man borrowed 100,000 maces after depositing 2 fake silver ingots as security, but the clerk in charge discovered it after a long time. Upon hearing the report, Murong secretly ordered the clerk in charge to break into the wall of the depository building during the night and move the gold and silver to another place and report to him that they had been stolen. On the one hand, he posted a public notice to capture the culprit, and on the other, he had the people report to his office for compensation for the things they had entrusted as security. So the people rushed in to report the items they had left as security. Thus, sometime later, Murong was able to find the person who had entrusted the fake silver, and the man confessed his crime. The following happened when Gao Qianzhi of the Later Wei dynasty became magistrate of Heyin. A man bought a horse and ran away after handing over a bag of gold that was in fact filled with some scraps of a tile and small pebbles. Giving orders to capture the criminal, Gao had a convict with a cangue around his neck brought to the middle of the marketplace. He said that he would punish the person who had stolen a horse after committing fraud and at the same 327. An official of the Later Han dynasty during the Five Dynasties period (907–960). He also served as military commissioner of Zhenning. 328. His courtesy name was Daorang. He also served as superintendent of coinage (zuqian dujiang changshi).

Administration of Justice

811

time ordered his men to observe closely the spectators who whispered among themselves. Then they found a man who looked pleased and said, “Now there will be no more worries.” When he finally arrested and interrogated the man, the latter confessed his crime (History of the Northern Dynasties). The following happened when Yan Jimei of the Tang dynasty governed Kangnan. A boatman carried a merchant across the river along with his cargo, which contained 10 ding of silver. Noticing that the silver was concealed in the cargo, the boatman stole it and sank it in the water to hide it while the merchant was out visiting some place near the river. The boat left the ferry that night, and upon arriving at his destination, the merchant discovered that the silver hidden in his package was missing. So he grabbed the boatman and took him to the authorities for investigation. Yan Jimei asked the merchant, “Where did you stay last?” The merchant replied, “I stayed at the waterside that is 100 li away from here.” Yan Jimei ordered a warrior to go with the merchant for investigation, secretly telling him as follows: “The boatman must have hidden the silver in the water. If you take a few watermen with you, you will be able to draw it out of the water with a hook. You will be amply rewarded if you succeed.” The warrior drew the silver out, following Yan Jimei’s instruction, and found that the seal on the box that contained the silver still remained unbroken. When Yan Jimei interrogated the boatman, the latter soon confessed his crime. The following happened when Wei Gao of the Tang dynasty governed Jiannan. There was an inn that happened to have a rich merchant as its guest. The merchant was rich to such a degree that the extent of his property could hardly be measured. When he fell ill, however, the innkeeper poisoned the guest to death and took all his property for himself. Wei Gao knew about this. Then it also happened that a merchant named Su Yan, who traveled down from the north to the land of Chu on business, fell sick and died. Wei Gao examined the paper related to his death and found that it had already been fabricated by the hand of the same innkeeper. Looking into the case, Wei Gao extended his investigation to the clerks, and the remarks of the clerks were all different and sounded suspicious. He finally interrogated a man working in the inn and received a confession of the whole truth from him. What had happened was that the innkeeper had divided the fabulous wealth of the dead merchants with twenty clerks. When Wei Gao brought them to justice in accordance with the law, travelers who met with a suspicious death disappeared from the region of Jiannan. 329. Wei Gao (745–805) was a general of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Chengwu. He served as military commissioner of Xichuan Circuit for many years, conducting his military campaigns against Tufans who often made repeated incursions into the territory of the Tang dynasty. Emperor Dezong (779–805) created him the Prince of Nankang and awarded him with honorary titles of minister of education, commander in chief, and chancellor.

812

book IX

The following happened when Sang Yi of the Song dynasty became military inspector [xunjian] of Yongan. In the later years of Emperor Renzong’s reign there were natural disasters like drought and locusts in the region of Jingxi. At that time there were also twenty-three bandits who were notorious for their atrocities. The Palace Secretariat [Shumiyuan] called Sang Yi and ordered him to capture them. Closing the wooden barricade of his headquarters and pretending that he was scared, Sang Yi secretly pursued the bandits. Disguised as a bandit, he left his place with a couple of military officers during the night and started following the trail of the bandits. People, both old and young, all ran away except an old woman who was preparing some food. It seemed that she was cooking to feed the bandits. Sang Yi returned to his place and after three days visited the old woman again. That time he took food with him and gave some of it to her so that he could win her favor. Believing that Sang Yi was really one of the gang, she began to reveal information about the bandits little by little. When their conversation came down to the situation of the bandits, the old woman said, “Upon hearing that the military inspector was on his way to pursue them, they all ran away. These days, however, they are increasingly returning to their old places after learning that the military inspector just stays in his headquarters without taking any action.” Then she provided him with information about the whereabouts of certain bandits. After three days Sang Yi visited the old woman once again, but this time he rewarded her with generous gifts and finally revealed his identity to her: “I am the military inspector. Keep watch on their whereabouts for me and never disclose this to anyone.” Then he sent soldiers and captured all the criminals. The following happened when Zhang Chun became magistrate of Yongkang. At that time it was ten years since a notorious bandit called Lu Shiba had plundered the public treasury, and the authorities had failed to capture him. The censor entrusted the task of capturing the bandit to Zhang Chun. Setting three months as a time limit, Zhang Chun requested that every month the censor send dozens of dispatches that would urge him to arrest the bandit. When the dispatches came down one after another, Zhang Chun pretended to laugh at them, saying, “Where can I find him since he ran away a long time ago?” Then he put them aside and took no action. Then there was a certain clerk whose wife became intimate with Lu Shiba, the bandit. The clerk heard what Zhang Chun had said, and the words of the clerk reached Lu Shiba via the wife of the clerk. Lu Shiba was glad to hear that Zhang Chun had abandoned his search for him. Now Zhang Chun ordered another official to accuse the clerk falsely of embezzling public funds and threw him in jail. Then he secretly summoned the clerk from 330. He also served as audience usher (hemen zhihou) and military director in chief of Jingyuan Circuit.

Administration of Justice

813

the jail and reprimanded him for colluding with the bandit, which was a crime that deserved the death penalty. Then he told the clerk to request that he be allowed to go out and make up for the stolen money while his wife was imprisoned on his behalf. Upon hearing this news, Lu Shiba hurried to meet with the clerk’s wife, and while he was drunk, Zhang Chun finally succeeded in capturing him. When Zhang Chun reported the matter to the censor, it was only two months since he had taken it over. Nothing Can Be Concealed under Any Circumstances if One Observes How Things Work, Separating Right from Wrong, and Only He Who Is Intelligent Is Capable of Doing This. The following happened when Fu Rong of the Former Qin dynasty became magistrate of Jizhou. An old woman was robbed on the street in late afternoon, and a pedestrian who happened to be near ran after the robber and caught him for the old woman. But the robber, on the contrary, accused the pedestrian of being the robber. Fu Rong said, “Let the two men run together, and the one who first hits Penyang Gate is not the robber.” After the two men returned from their race, Fu Rong with a serious countenance said to the one who fell behind the first runner, “You are the one who robbed the woman.” The way he uncovered the crime and exposed what was concealed was like this. Being a man of intelligence, Fu Rong calculated that a robber who was good at running could not be captured by a pedestrian, so he figured that the front-runner was the one who actually captured the robber (Book of Jin). The following happened when Yang Hui of the Song dynasty governed the prefecture of Xingyuan. A certain clerk reported that someone had broken the wall of the public warehouse and stolen the silk, and he requested an investigation. When Yang Hui arrived on the scene, the footprints did not look like those of a man, so he interrogated a trainer of monkeys in the yard of the yamen office, and the latter immediately confessed his crime. When he put him to death, people called Yang Hui a god. The following happened when Gao You of the Northern Qi dynasty became prefect of Dingzhou. A certain man had a black ox stolen and reported that his ox had white hair on its back. As a way of capturing the thief, Gao You fabricated a dispatch from his superior and said that his office would purchase the hide of 331. His courtesy name was Boxiu. When Fu Jian founded the Former Qin dynasty, he was enfeoffed as Marquis of Yangping, and he served as grand guardian of the heir apparent and general in chief conquering the south. 332. His courtesy name was Yuansu, and his pen name Wuweizi. He also served as administrator of Xingyuan Prefecture and edict attendant of the Hall of the Heavenly Emperor.

814

book IX

oxen, paying twice the regular price. Then he had the owner of the stolen ox examine the hide and finally captured the thief. The following happened when U Honggyu served as magistrate of Chuksan. One day he visited the district of Yongin, and there was a man who sold his ox in the market for 10 taels, but his money was stolen. When he put the money beside him, a thief ran away with it. The man ran after the thief, but the thief in turn claimed that the money he had was his own, so they brought their case to the authorities. Magistrate U asked them, “What kind of string did you use for threading the coins?” The thief replied correctly, but his victim could not answer, so the magistrate gave the money to the thief. However, he became suspicious and detained them after asking about their place of residence. Then he secretly sent a man to bring in their wives and interrogated them. The wife of the one who had sold the ox said that her husband had gone to sell his ox, and the wife of the thief said that he had gone to the market empty-handed. When he interrogated the thief and finally uncovered the truth, the whole district was deeply impressed. Since It Often Happens That the Conduct of Sons or Daughters Can Be Crude in a Year of Poor Harvest, It Is Not Really Necessary to Discipline Them Severely if They Commit Petty Crimes. The following happened when Kong Wenju became magistrate of Beihai. A certain man wailed under the tomb of his father, who had recently died. Since there was no sadness in his countenance, Kong Wenju chastised him. There was another man who had stolen ripe barley from his neighbor for his mother. She wanted to have new barley of the year while recovering from her sickness. Kong Wenju granted him a special award and said, “If you need anything that is not in your house, ask for it at my office and do not steal.” Since It Is Not Uncommon That Innocent People Are Made to Appear to Be Thieves Because They Have Been Framed, the Magistrate Who Pays Attention to This Injustice and Clears Them of False Accusations Will Be Called Benevolent. The following happened when Kong Xun of the Later Tang dynasty governed the district of Changyuan. There were four thieves who owned a great deal of 333. An official of the late Chosŏn period during the reign of Yŏngjo. He also served as provincial military commander of the left of Kyŏngsang Province. 334. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His name was Kong Rong. Wenju was his courtesy name. He also served as superior grandmaster of the palace. 335. He also served as military commissioner of Henghai.

Administration of Justice

815

property. When their crimes were discovered, however, those who were arrested were four poor people. Taking bribes, men of influence collaborated with prison officials and fabricated the case. Even without having any interrogation, they made a case that required the death penalty. Thinking it strange that the convicts kept silent, Kong Xun noticed that they often looked back when they were escorted by the guards and passed by the fence. Now convinced that the case was suspicious, Kong Xun called in the convicts and asked them about their charges. He soon discovered that the case was fabricated, and the reason that they kept silent was that they could not speak because the prison guards lifted the ends of the cangues worn around their necks. When they explained their situation in detail when they were alone with the magistrate, they were able to demonstrate their innocence, and the four thieves were all brought to justice. The following happened when Shao Ye of the Song dynasty served as administrative supervisor [lushi canjun] of Pengzhou. At that time Yang Quan was prefect of Pengzhou. His character was fierce, and he was ignorant and indiscreet. Three residents in his district, including one named Zhang Daofeng, were falsely accused of robbery and condemned to death. Discovering that they were innocent, Shao Ye did not sign the authorization paper for the death penalty and requested that Yang Quan conduct a thorough investigation of the case, but Yang Quan would not listen to him. Zhang Daofeng and the other accused men protested in tears. Later the real culprit was arrested, and Zhang Daofeng and the others were released. Because of this incident, Yang Quan was stripped of his office and made a commoner, and Shao Ye replaced Yang Quan and returned to the court. Upon seeing him, Emperor Taizong rewarded him with 50,000 maces of copper currency and said, “You saved my people.” He also proclaimed a royal decree that exhorted officials to uphold justice, following the example of Shao Ye. Years ago, when I served as magistrate of Koksan, the governor sent me an urgent dispatch that said: “There are forty to fift y bandits in Kŭmch’ŏn County, and they are led by a commander who rides a white horse. Capturing a military officer of T’osan District and taking him to their den in the rugged mountains, the bandit leader admonished the officer and released him. The following day, however, he and his gang of forty to fift y bandits attacked the yamen office of T’osan District, but the clerks and government slaves of the district repelled them. Therefore, lose no time and dispatch quickly an army of several hundred officers, soldiers, and auxiliaries to the den of the bandits.” When this dispatch arrived, the whole district trembled with fear. I tried to calm the people and called a low-ranking military officer whose physique looked frail. I told him to go 336. His courtesy name was Rihua. He also served as magistrate of Guangzhou. 337. An official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Emperor Taizong. He was notorious for his cruel administration.

816

book IX

directly to the den of the bandits and deliver my letter but to carry no rope for binding criminals with him. I also told him to bring with him three bandits who looked like their leaders. Upon hearing my order, the officer just shed tears. I said, “If you go down to Kŭmch’ŏn and hear the people talk on the streets, you will be less scared. If you decide that it is really dangerous to enter the den of the bandits, you may just return.” The officer bade me farewell and left. The following day he returned with three bandits who were actually innocent people. The truth of the matter was that the military officer in T’osan had made a false accusation about those people. (Hong Pyŏngdŏk, magistrate of Kŭmch’ŏn County at that time, said, “The people of Kŭmch’ŏn survived because of this measure.”) The following happened when Kim Hwangwŏn of the Koryŏ dynasty governed Sŏngju. A certain clerk arrested a robber who had allegedly committed homicide. Looking at the offender closely, Kim Hwangwŏn declared that the man was not the right person and ordered his immediate release. Yi Sagang, his aide, strongly argued, saying, “He already confessed his crime.” Nevertheless, Kim Hwangwŏn would not listen to him. Later another offender was arrested and brought in, and he turned out to be the real culprit whom they were looking for. The clerks and residents all admired his sagacity. The following happened when Im Yunsŏk  became assistant magistrate of Hamhŭng. A resident named Chu Chinjŏng and his old mother were murdered by a robber, and a man named Pak Tumun was indicted as a suspect. Believing that Pak was falsely accused, Im Yunsŏk deliberately delayed the case and, because of this, was dismissed and returned home. Several years later the real culprit was finally captured, and Pak Tumun was released. Then the people realized that Im Yunsŏk was truly a man of judgment. The following happened when Ch’oe Sisŏl became magistrate of Yŏngyu. One day paper for official use, which amounted to several dozen bundles, was found to have disappeared. There was a certain clerk who owned a large amount of paper. He moved his paper to the house of his neighbor out of fear that he might be suspected of theft and was arrested in the process of moving it. People thought that they had captured the real culprit, but Ch’oe Sisŏl only detained the clerk without interrogating him at all. After some time the real culprit was captured, and the clerk was released. The residents deeply admired their magistrate.

338. He was an ŭmgwan official who was appointed to public office without taking the civil service examination. 339. His courtesy name was Ch’ŏnmin, and his posthumous title Mungan. Talented in literature, he also served as Hallim academician. 340. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Hyŏnjong. He also served as magistrate of Ch’ŏngyang and of Miryang. 341. Unknown.

Administration of Justice

817

If the Magistrate Takes Vengeance on the Enemies of Criminals by Slandering Prosperous People and Torturing Them Recklessly or Helps Clerks and Military Officers Amass Property, He Will Be Called Immoral and Ignorant. Shen Gui, prefect of Meizhou, was cruel and good at extorting money from the people. He made the officials in the jail induce robbers to slander prosperous people and extorted bribes from them. Pointing at the jail gate, he often said, “This is the den from which the money of my family is produced.” He was indicted and imprisoned and later driven out to the position of revenue manager [sihu] of Weizhou but was executed by poison on his way when he arrived in the district of Xipu. When Liu Hao became magistrate of Lincheng, he was strict and clear in carry ing out state affairs. On one occasion he interrogated a robber, and a clerk in charge of the jail recommended further investigation of his crimes. Earlier, before the interrogation started, the clerk had made the robber falsely name about ten people who were involved in purchasing his stolen goods. Pretending to be ignorant of such matters, Liu Hao granted the clerk’s request but also told him to bring up the alleged suspects. When the newly accused people arrived and Liu Hao observed them, he found that they were well-dressed men of resources. Then he had the clerk in charge of interrogation leave the scene and ordered another clerk to bring the robber into his presence. When he crossexamined both the robber and the ten suspects, he discovered that they did not know each other (the robber and his counterparts had never seen each other). Liu Hao asked the robber, “You accused them of a crime but do not know who they are?” Greatly surprised, the robber confessed the truth. When Liu Hao immediately released the suspects charged with purchasing stolen goods and punished the clerk in charge of interrogation severely, the whole district was afraid of him, and people dared not try to deceive him any more. When I served as commissioner for suppression and apprehension [t’op’osa] years ago, I saw clerks and military officers inducing robbers to accuse prosperous people living in the countryside of illegally obtaining stolen goods. He who attempts to suppress robbers must keep this in mind. Those who are falsely accused and brought in for investigation cannot help but offer bribes to clerks and officers even if they are vindicated at the first investigation. The same abuses take place as the investigations continue, and by the time the fourth investigation is held, several dozen people become implicated in a crime. When police officers arrive at the house of the people carry ing a rope for binding criminals, an ox they were raising disappears right on the spot, and when the commoners are

342. Unknown. 343. Unknown.

818

book IX

brought into the yamen office for investigation, a piece of their land is either sold or mortgaged even if they are vindicated. Keeping this situation in mind, the magistrate should not readily trust charges against those who are accused of purchasing stolen goods from the robber; he should repeatedly ask the robber about the complicity of the accused and finally issue an arrest order only after he receives from the accuser a pledge to die without complaint if his accusation proves to be false. If it indeed turns out to be false, the magistrate should torture and interrogate the accuser to find out which clerk or military officer instigated him to do so and punish those who are responsible with no mercy. I have observed that experienced military officers first say to the magistrate, “Criminals who accuse people of purchasing stolen goods from them cannot be trusted.” Then they change their words according to the situation, and this is their standard trick. The magistrate usually trusts their words, believing that they are discreet and reliable; however, he does not realize that they are actually the ones who instigated a false accusation and are now preparing a way of escape if things go wrong. The Reason That Spirits and Deities Raise Disturbances Is That Shamans Induce Them To. If the Shamans Are Killed and Their Shrines Are Destroyed, Then We Will Not See Any More Supernatural Disturbances. There are “spirits” who can get people to make fools of themselves and worship them. They concoct manifestations of spiritual power and get people to worship evil. Sometimes they rely on an earth deity or a stone Buddha, or sometimes wild animals and poisonous insects, none of whom have any intelligence at all. These are all the works of shamans, wizards, fortune-tellers, and wicked monks, which are intended to rob the people of their property. The magistrate must pay attention to such people who delude the world and the people, and if he punishes them with no mercy, wicked things will disappear. The Great Ming Code says: “Shamans and other specialists in the supernatural pretend to be able to summon evil spirits. There are some who create amulets, some who style themselves the incarnation of the Maitreya Buddha, and some who gather as a ‘White Cloud sect’ [Baiyun zong]. All such practices create disorder by deviating from the correct path. Some people secretly collect esoteric images and statues. Some of them meet to burn incense together or stay up all night together, not returning home until dawn breaks. The leaders of those who entice and delude the people shall be strangled. Their followers shall be beaten 344. A Buddhist sect created during the reign of Huizong of the Song dynasty (1107–1110). Influenced by Maitreya Buddhism, it spread among the people as a religion of hope. However, it also became a voice for change and rebellion.

Administration of Justice

819

one hundred times and banished 3,000 li away.” Since the articles of the law are like this, the magistrate must be careful not to violate it. The following happened when Xi Menbao became magistrate of Ye. Every year the district elder [sanlao] and headquarters clerk [tingyuan] of Ye District collected money from the people in order to offer a young girl to the river god, Hebo, as his bride. Selecting a pretty girl from the daughters of commoners, they bathed her, put her in a basket draped with red cloth, and floated the basket down the river until she drowned. According to the local custom, they believed that they would have a great flood and people would be drowned unless they offered a young girl to Hebo as his bride. Xi Menbao wanted to abolish that custom. Saying, “I will also join you to see the bride off,” Xi Menbao went down to the riverside where officials, leaders, and elders of villages were gathered. Then he ordered, “Bring the bride to me. Let me see how she looks.” When the bride arrived, he said, “Since this bride is not pretty, the old shaman should first go down into the river and report this to Hebo and find another girl for him.” Then he immediately ordered his men to throw the old shaman into the water. A little later, he said, “Why does it take so long?” This time he ordered his men to throw as many as three of her disciples into the water. Then he said, “It appears that they have difficulty in carry ing out their job because they are all females. It is better for the elder person to take the trouble of seeing Hebo and let him know the situation at the moment.” So he threw him into the water. Sticking a pen in his headgear, he pretended to wait for those he had sent to Hebo, and when no one appeared, he said, “How come they are so late?” When he now pressured the clerks and village leaders to jump into the water, they all asked for mercy, knocking their heads on the ground until they became bloody. Then he finally said, “Since it looks like Hebo is going to detain his guests for a long time, let us close down this event and go home.” After that incident the clerks and residents were so surprised and scared that they could not dare to talk about marrying a girl to Hebo. Using the river, Xi Menbo soon constructed twelve aqueducts to provide water to rice paddies. The following happened when Qian Yuanyi governed Xinding. One day a fire broke out in the village, and thereafter fires became frequent, so the people were worried and afraid. An old shaman named Yang spread wicked words, saying, “There will be a fire in a certain place again.” What she had said turned out 345. “Prohibiting Sorcery of Wizards and Witches” (“Jinzhi shiwu xieshu”), Laws on Rituals. See also the translation of Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 112. The quoted passage in the source text is not the full text. 346. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Warring States period. 347. An official of the Five Dynasties period. His courtesy name was Binghui, and his posthumous title Xuanhui. He also served as Secretariat director and was enfeoffed as Prince of Jinhua Commandery.

820

book IX

to be true. When this happened, the people rushed to the shaman for advice and prayer. Qian Yuanyi said to his aides, “Since fire breaks out in accordance with what the shaman says, the one who is setting the fires must be the shaman. She must be put to death.” When he beheaded the shaman in the market, fires no longer broke out. The following happened when An Yu of the Koryŏ dynasty became assistant magistrate of Sangju. At that time there were three shamans who worshipped wicked spirits, deluding the people. Passing through various counties starting from Hapju, they made a sound like “Make a way” that appeared to have come from the air. Wherever their carriage arrived, people who were impressed rushed to serve them with sacrifices. Even the magistrates joined them. Upon arriving in Sangju, An Yu beat them with a heavy stick and put cangues around their necks. The shamans threatened that the gods would be angry and bring him calamities in the future. The people of Sangju were all afraid, but An Yu was never shaken. When a few days had passed, however, the shamans begged for mercy. When An Yu released them, the wicked practices finally disappeared from the district. The following happened when Sim Yang became assistant magistrate of Kongju (this was in the era of King Ch’ungyŏl). There was a woman in the district of Changsŏng who said, “The Great King of Kŭmsŏng descended and made me the shaman of Kŭmsŏngdang.” She also spoke to Kong Yungu, a resident in the same village, with what she said were the words of the gods. Discussing the matter with his subjects, the king decided to invite the shaman, and the magistrates of the local districts through which they passed all came out as far as the suburbs to greet her and entertained her entourage with food, displaying all their sincerity. Since Sim Yang ignored her when she arrived in Kongju, she was furious and sent a message to Sim Yang: “I will certainly bring a curse on Sim Yang.” Then she withdrew to Ilsin Post Station to stay overnight. When Sim Yang had his man spy on her at night, she was found sleeping with Kong Yungu. Finally,

348. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty. Also serving as attendant censor, he, along with Yi Sŭnghyu, tried to submit remonstrances to the king, who was excessively indulging in hunting and banquets, and in the process of carry ing out his job he was once severely tortured and imprisoned but did not yield. 349. The designation for the god of Mt. Kŭmsŏng, located in Naju, South Chŏlla Province. 350. Th is is presumed to be one of the five shrines on Mt. Kŭmsŏng. According to the Revised Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea (Sinjŭng tongguk yŏji sŭngnam), in the fourth year of King Ch’ungyŏl’s reign [1278] a mountain god appeared to a shaman and said, “When the government suppressed the rebels of Chindo and T’amna (Cheju Island), I gave my assistance. All the warriors who participated in the campaign were rewarded, but I was left out. What is the reason? I want your government to confer the title of Lord of Chŏngnyŏng on me.” So the government granted the title to the god of Mt. Kŭmsŏng, as well as rice, so that people in the nearby villages could offer sacrifices to the god every spring and autumn.

Administration of Justice

821

Sim Yang arrested her with her paramour and executed them after interrogation. Nam Iung, Lord Ch’unsŏng, was a man of strong and courageous character. When he became an official in charge of judicial affairs, he tried to arrest and punish a certain shaman because she deluded the people with her sorcery. People were scared when she practiced her witchcraft and made the chairs on which they sat shake strongly to such a degree that they could not control their bodies, but Nam Iung showed no fear at all. When he had the chairs taken out, the shaman again made the room shake. Nam this time sat down on the floor, leaning against the wall, which made the shaman’s magic powerless. Finally, he beat her with a heavy stick until she died. The following happened when Min Sŏnghwi became magistrate of Andong. When a certain shaman practiced her black magic, people gathered around her like clouds. He beat the shaman to death and confiscated all her property to supplement the labor ser vice of the people. Those Who Lead the People Astray with Talk of the Occult, Supporting Their Claims with References to Buddhas or Other Spirits, Should Be Eliminated. During the time of Shijin there was an iron Buddha statue in a temple in the district of Guanshi. It was over eight feet tall, and its inside was empty. One day monks and common people gathered like clouds to see the Buddha because they had heard a rumor that the iron Buddha was able to preach about doctrines and precepts. A member of the Three Capital Guards named Zhang Lu, with the intention of investigating the wickedness of the rumor, surrounded the temple with his men and secretly inspected the temple after letting the monks out. Then he found a tunnel under the floor leading to the bottom of the iron Buddha statue. Following the tunnel, he entered the inside of the Buddha and with a stern voice enumerated the crimes of the monks and finally executed their leader. The following happened when Lin Jun governed Heqing. The people of the district worshipped Buddha and believed in spirits. Because it was rumored that there was a living Buddha in Xuanhua Temple, numerous men and women gathered at the temple whenever the festive season came, and as many as twenty or thirty thousand people scrambled to plate his face with gold. Lin Jun ordered 351. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chŏngman, and his pen name Sibuk. He also served as second state councilor. Rendering a ser vice in suppressing the rebellion of Yi Kwal, he was appointed Chinmu merit subject third class and invested with the title of Lord Ch’unsŏng. “Chinmu” means something like “display of martial bravery.” This title was given to those who rendered distinguished ser vices in suppressing the rebellion of Yi Kwal. 352. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Daiyong, and his pen name Jiansu. He also served as minister of justice.

822

book IX

that the Buddha be burned, but the elders of the district said that there would be a hailstorm disastrous to their crops if the Buddha was violated in that way. However, they were eventually persuaded and waited for the signal, making a pile of straw to burn the Buddha. The hailstorm indeed came down but soon stopped. After burning the Buddha, Lin Jun sent several hundred taels of gold to the government office and destroyed 360 shrines. Then he exhorted the people to be more sincere in offering sacrifices at the shrine of Confucius and had them perform a ceremonial dance called bayiwu. The following happened when Kwŏn Hwa became magistrate of Ch’ŏngju. A wicked commoner named Yi Kŭm, a native of Kosŏng, called himself Maitreya Buddha and deluded the people as follows: “Those who offer sacrifices to Singi, those who eat the meat of horses and oxen, and those who refuse to share their property with others shall all die. If you cannot believe my words, wait until the month of March. The light will disappear from the sun and the moon.” He also said, “I can produce blue flowers out of grass and grain out of trees, or I can make you harvest twice from the field that you planted once.” Trusting these words, foolish people donated their rice, silk, gold, and silver, and wherever Yi Kŭm traveled, he was greeted by the magistrates. Upon arriving in Ch’ŏngju, Kwŏn Hwa arrested five leading figures among Yi Kŭm’s followers, immediately sent his report to the Supreme Council of State [Todang] and various provinces, and executed all their gang. Those Who Delude the People with Wicked Words, Practicing Fetishism, Must Be Eliminated. The following happened when Kong Daofu became judge [tuiguan] of Ningzhou. When a serpent came out of the Hall of Zhenwu in a Daoist temple called Tianqingguan, the people of the district regarded it as sacred, and the provincial army commander tried to report it to the royal court after offering a sacrifice to it, gathering his soldiers and clerks. Kong Daofu went straight to the serpent and killed it, smashing its head with his official mace. The people who saw this were shocked at first but admired him later.

353. Bayiwu (䈐౏⯑) was a ceremonial dance performed at the palace or in the royal sanctuary. 354. An official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn periods. He also served as right vice director of the State Finance Commission. 355. Also called Top’yŏng’ŭisasa, it was later replaced by the Ŭijŏngbu. 356. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuanlu. He also served as fourth censor of the left and district magistrate of Yunzhou. 357. A Daoist god in charge of the north, whose original name was Xuanwu.

Administration of Justice

823

The following happened when Wang Sizong of the Song dynasty governed Binzhou. In the shrine of Duke Lingying, which was located in the east of the fortress, there was a lair of foxes, and a wicked shaman told fortunes by using them. When Wang Sizong demolished the shrine and captured over ten foxes and killed them all after blowing smoke into the chimney, wicked sacrifices finally stopped. The following happened when Gao Fu was in charge of Quzhou. It was part of the local culture to respect shamans and spirits. Over twenty households, including the Mao and Chai families, manufactured and used poison from generation to generation. Especially in an intercalary year they happened to harm more people, and when they were engaged in fighting with their neighbors, they hurt them with poison. When Gao Fu arrested and punished them all, the calamity of poison finally stopped. The following happened when Chŏng Sŭbin governed Yŏngch’ŏn County. When he was about to start his duty after he was inaugurated as magistrate, a clerk requested that he visit a Daoist altar for preventing disasters and burn incense according to the custom. Chŏng Sŭbin said, “Where can disasters come from unless an official like myself makes mistakes? If disasters occur even if I am blameless, I will have to accept them as they are.” Then he ordered the clerk to dismantle the place. If Tigers Often Abduct People and Harm Oxen and Pigs, the Magistrate Must Set Up Traps to Eliminate the Troubles Caused by Them. The best way to catch tigers is to use devices like sword traps made of doubleedged crescent swords, and the next best is pit traps, and the next best is spear traps. The least effective way is to use cannon. When hunters go out to chase tigers, they band together in a group that numbers ten to a hundred and run rampant through the villages, extorting food and wine from the residents. Since the 358. His courtesy name was Xiruan, and his pen name Zhonglingzi. He also served as palace aide to the censor in chief (yushi zhongcheng). 359. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhengchen. He served as prefect of Quzhou and as academician of the Hall of Worthies (Jixiandian). 360. Poison here means substances made from poisonous snakes, centipedes, toads, insects, and the like. 361. An official of the late Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of King Kongmin. A strict NeoConfucian scholar, he deeply hated what was deemed irrational or superstitious. He destroyed one of the Buddhist pagodas in his domain, which was called Musint’ap (No Faith Pagoda), because he felt the name was ridiculous. His act incurred the wrath of Sin Ton (?–1371), the powerful monk who virtually ruled the country at that time, putting him in danger of facing the death penalty. However, his life was spared, and eventually he was made a commoner after all his titles and privileges were taken away. He was reinstated later when Sin Ton died.

824

book IX

damage they cause is more serious than that of tigers, this kind of riotous behavior should not be tolerated. If each village captures tigers by installing sword traps, the tigers will run away and disappear. Essays of Tasan states: “He who captures a tiger should be rewarded generously. As I hear from tribute middlemen, the price for the skin of a leopard always exceeds 20 taels, and that of a tiger is also more than 10 taels. The reward currently given to those who captured tigers, however, is less than a bag of grain at most, which barely covers the expense for installing sword traps. Who, then, would install the traps? The authorities must compensate for tiger skins according to their size and the current price. In addition to the reward and compensation, the one who rendered the greatest ser vice in capturing the tiger should be made a military officer and should be exempt from military duty, as well as labor ser vice. (The exemption from labor ser vice should not exceed one year.) Furthermore, if the authorities encourage hunters to capture tigers by providing food and wine, as well as entertainment with music, people will also be eager to join them.” The following happened when Ch’oe Yundŏk became magistrate of Anju. A country woman appealed to him in tears, “A tiger has devoured my husband.” Saying, “Let me avenge your husband’s death,” Ch’oe chased and captured the tiger by shooting an arrow. When he opened the tiger’s stomach, he found the bones and flesh and arms and legs of the victim. When he gathered them in a piece of cloth and buried them after putting them in a coffin, the woman cried with gratitude, and the residents of the whole district still respect him as if he were their parent (Dramatic Essays of Ch’ŏngp’a ). 362. Dramatic Essays of Ch’ŏngp’a (Ch’ŏngp’a kŭkdam) was a work of Yi Yuk, an official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sŏngjong who served as governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng and Kyŏnggi provinces. Ch’ŏngp’a was his pen name. His essays mainly consist of gossip and his personal observations.

X

Public Works Administration

C H A P T E R  : C U LT I VAT I NG A N D M A NAGI NG MOU N TA I N F OR E S T S

Since Mountain Forests Are One of the Sources from Which Tribute and Taxes Are Derived, the Sage Kings Paid Special Attention to Administering Them. In Rites of Zhou there is a record as follows: “Mountains are graded into three categories in terms of their sizes: large, medium, and small. So are the forests. Thus they are divided into dalu, zhonglu, and xiaolu and are maintained by twelve managers. During the eleventh lunar month [Zhongdong] logging is allowed, but there is a time limit for the ordinary people engaged in logging. However, there is no such restriction for the artisans hired by the government. Those who log trees without authorization are subject to punishment as criminals.” The Spring and Autumn Annals states, “The forests are kept and managed by a forest manager [henglu].” According to “Proceedings of Government in the Different Months [“Yueling”],” during the sixth lunar month the forester [yuren] takes care of trees, and during the eleventh lunar month trees are cut down to make arrows. Since the law concerning forests has been made like this since the times of Yao and Shun, Shun served as dalu, an official in charge of timber. According to Book of Rites, the great steward of the Ministry of State collects taxes from mountain forests and streams and ponds in order to prepare for funerals because 1. Large, medium, and small forests, respectively. 2. Dalu, which means “large forest,” is also a designation for an official who was in charge of timber.

825

826

book X

the coffins and the items buried with the dead are derived from them. In the ages preceding the Zhou dynasty there was not an inch of land that did not belong to the king, so the king distributed farmland, mountains and forests, and streams and ponds to the people and collected taxes and tribute, which became the source of revenue for his rule. After the Qin dynasty, however, it happened that the king possessed no land of his own, and for this reason, the people complained when they paid taxes on their land and the government logged the trees in the mountains. Since the hilt of the Taia sword was held by the subjects, not by the king, and it has been that way for a long time, the king became powerless, and his people became ignorant of the virtue of the king. This is one thing about which those who are well informed on state affairs are deeply worried. Since our government policy on forests is simply limited to the prohibition of logging pine trees, it has virtually no restrictions on trees like firs, nut pines, maples, and nutmegs. As for the prohibition against logging pine trees, the law is very strict, and its details are extremely elaborate. This policy, however, completely shuts off all ways of obtaining the supplies necessary for ordinary people who have to raise those who are alive and bury the dead; thus it looks like an overflowed dam that is in danger of breaking out any moment. Since orders from above are already disorderly, the people are at a loss about them. Although the government keeps issuing prohibitions despite the fact that its words sound empty, or pretends to punish violations of the law, the mountains increasingly become barren, and the forests fail to provide the revenues necessary for the use of the government. So the forests at the present time contribute very little to the finances of the state, on the one hand, and fail to meet the demands of the people, on the other. Since this problem is beyond the power of the magistrate, the best thing that he can do under the circumstances is to carry out his duty carefully within the boundary of the law and thereby keep himself safe from making potential mistakes. Since Logging of Pine Trees Raised in the Government-Reserved Forests [Pongsan] Is Strictly Prohibited, the Magistrate Must Try to Follow the Law, Paying Close Attention to All the Attempts and Abuses Related to Law Enforcement. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Special crop assessors [kyŏngch’agwan] shall be dispatched to the government-reserved forests of each province where pine trees of the highest quality are raised, and in Kyŏngsang Province and Chŏlla Province logging shall be carried out every ten years, and in Kangwŏn Province, every five years, for the supply of timber used for the coffins 3. One of the legendary swords with a magical power in ancient Chinese history. It was made by Ou Yezi, a legendary master of sword-making in the Spring and Autumn period and dedicated to King Goujian of the Yue kingdom.

Public Works Administration

827

and tombs of royalty.” (The timber produced in the southeast region is used for the interior of the coffins and tombs of royalty, and that produced in the islands is used for the exterior of the same.) The Supplement to the National Code also stipulated: “Those who recklessly cut down the pines raised in the forest reserves shall be severely punished, and provincial military commanders or navy commanders or district magistrates who recklessly allow logging of the mountains where quality pine trees are produced shall be punished under the law against secretly selling military weapons [samae gungiyul], and those who set fire to the pine forests shall be punished by the death penalty.” The annotation of the Supplement to the National Code states: “The magistrates and military commanders in the border areas who privately collected redemption fines from those who recklessly logged pine trees in the mountains shall be punished under the law of bribery.” In my observation, the timber produced in our country is mostly not of the highest quality, so we use only pine trees for timber, and houses and coffins are all made of pine. However, since the articles of prohibition are so numerous and elaborate, as shown above, how can the law be obeyed as it was originally intended to be? Let us take the example of Wando island, for it can also tell us about the situations of other places. This island is known as a place where pines of the finest quality are produced. Therefore, the garrison commander guards it, the district magistrate manages it, the provincial navy commander prohibits logging on it, and the governor rules it as a whole. A small offense is subject to severe beating and 5,000 p’un for legal fees; a serious offense, to beating with an interrogating stick and 4,000 p’un for redemption, as well as twenty or thirty thousand p’un of legal fees. Nevertheless, the people living in an area of several hundred li around Wando always rely on the island. Carpenters rely on it when they build houses; shipbuilders rely on it when they construct boats; undertakers rely on it when they make coffins; blacksmiths rely on it when they make farm equipment; fishermen rely on it when they produce salt; potters rely on it when they fire kilns; and woodcutters and charcoal producers all rely on it when they try to make their living. There is nothing that is not related to the timber produced in Wando among all the man-made products that are laid down on the earth, launched on the water, burned in the kiln, and heated in the stove. When the law we have is looked at from this perspective, it is problematic because it is not possible to punish all the violators of the law. Every time a commoner is arrested and imprisoned, a hundred additional trees are cut down. Since the one who is arrested because of logging is also released because of logging, and the one who is condemned to die because of the trees is also saved because of the trees (this indicates that the offenders charged with logging cut down more trees for their release), this is

828

book X

the law of nature. Even if Shang Yang governs the island, he will not be able to prevent the people from doing what they are doing. There is no profit in the law except that it profits only the governors and magistrates, fattens the clerks and officers, harms the people, and damages the state. There is indeed nothing to gain except that the mountains become barren, the villages agitated, the laws useless, and property wasted. What needs to be done is that, following the examples of ancient times, the government during the eighth lunar month supervises the mowing of the people and during the eleventh lunar month their logging of trees, saving the trees for prospective timber, on the one hand, and eliminating the trees for firewood, on the other, thinning out the pines that are too dense and pulling out the trees that are useless. If the government supplements the public fund with the revenues derived from these operations, and the people are freed from their fear by obtaining official sanction for their activities, nothing can be more convenient for both the government and the people. However, since there is clearly a limit to what the magistrate of a district can do, it is probably most advisable under the circumstances that he prohibit what is to be prohibited but be generous to offenders so that the people may not lose their property day after day, and the resources of the state may suffer less damage day after day. Essays of Chasan [Chasan p’ildam] states: “Since the timber for shipbuilding is always produced in the reserved forests, the shipyard must be built near the forests, and the shipwrights must be made to live together in the shipyard so that they can fully dedicate themselves to their work of shipbuilding. Those who repair old boats or who build ships with the timber produced from privately owned forests should also be required to bring their work to the shipyards. Those who build boats at some other place ought to be punished under the law against privately casting copper cash. If this policy is implemented, the advantages are numerous: first, the government can increase its revenue by selling the timber for shipbuilding; second, the technology of shipbuilding can be improved because the shipwrights live together; third, the deadlines for making new ships or repairing old ones or shipping cargoes can be met without fail; fourth, there will be order and discipline in logging when the government builds a shipyard and supervises building activities in circumstances in which logging is unavoidable.” But implementing a policy like this appears to be beyond the power of a local magistrate. 4. A book written by Chŏng Yagchŏn, Tasan’s second-oldest brother, who was exiled to Hŭksan Island. Chasan, which Chŏng Yagchŏn took for his pen name, indicates Hŭksan Island. 5. According to The Great Ming Code, the penalty for privately casting copper cash is strangulation.

Public Works Administration

829

As for the laws concerning timber for shipbuilding, I made a detailed discussion in the section “Discourse on the Shipyard” [“Sŏnch’ang non”] in my Design for Good Government; hence I will give no further discussion here. Records of Tasan stated: “One day a forest fire broke out in Wando island. The light from the fire lit up the heavens and the earth, and more than several thousand trees were burned. Conspiring to deceive the government, a clerk of the island and a clerk of the district reported to the provincial office that the number of trees damaged by fire was eighty. At the same time they offered the attendant officer of the governor a bribe that amounted to 80,000 maces for their protection. Then the two clerks divided countless pieces of fi rewood and charcoal between them.” When a forest fire breaks out in the government-designated mountains for the supply of timber, the magistrate must inspect them in person instead of sending an investigator on his behalf. The Prohibition against Logging Pine Trees in Privately Owned Mountains Is the Same as in the Case of the Government-Reserved Forests. Prohibition against Logging Pines [Kŭmsong chŏlmok] stipulated: “Pine logging is strictly prohibited within the distance of 30 li from the coast even if the mountains are privately owned.” In my observation, the reason that forests are raised privately is that people want to use them for their private purposes. If the government prohibits the logging of private mountains as it does the government-controlled reserved forests, who would try to raise his own forests? People will not try even if the government forces them to, whipping them every day. Since this is the reality, there are no mountains along the coast that are not bare; there are some trees only on the mountains with the graveyards of the nobility. If private mountains are clearly differentiated from the reserved forests in the degree of restriction and thereby private owners are allowed to have a free hand to a certain degree in handling their own property, the forests on the mountains will undoubtedly be twice as thick and green as those at the present time. If the magistrate, fully aware of this situation, does not enforce the prohibition too rigorously on those who are charged with illegal logging and at the same time helps and guides those who are exploited or thrown into trouble by the provincial navy commander’s headquarters so that they can avoid serious financial losses, the people will sing their praises of his benevolence.

6. It is not clear whether this work is a separate book or a part of the law. According to the source text that I am using, it appears to be a separate book.

830

book X

The following is a memorial submitted to the king when Chŏng Mansŏk served as magistrate of Yŏnil: “Because the districts along the sea have many reserved forests, the residents are often harassed by various requisitions and demands from the provincial navy commander’s headquarters, as well as the local government. Every time they transport and present products like pine nuts, pine resin, mushrooms, and pine boards, they have to bear the burden of expenses that are not light, but this burden is confined only to the residents living under the mountains. What are really disturbing, however, are the troubles that concern all the residents of the district. When a resident happens to use a twig of a pine tree or a piece of pine board for his purposes, the clerks and officers of the provincial navy commander’s headquarters and the local government office seize those things under the pretext of the law, and there is neither the law nor an end to their abuses. For this reason, he who is building a house is afraid to gather timber, and he who performs a funeral to make a coffin, and at worst, he tears down the house already built and digs up the coffin already buried. The purpose of building a house and making a coffin is to nurture the people and bury the dead. Since a man is not allowed to make his people happy with his own property, how lamentable this is! “The reserved forests in the district of Yŏnil used to be only two places: Mt. Chinjŏn and Mt. Unje. Later they were extended to four more mountains, Mt.  Kalp’yŏng, Mt. Ŭngt’ae, Mt. Puksongjŏng, and Mt. Taesongjŏng. Furthermore, because mountains like Chinjŏn and Unje are located as far as 20 li from the coast, the transportation of the timber is extremely difficult. Besides, the mountains themselves are good for nothing because neither a hinge nor a rafter is allowed to be taken from them even if it is needed to repair warships or the guest houses for the Japanese. Furthermore, because Mt. Kalp’yŏng and Mt. Ŭngt’ae are deeply located father inland than Mt. Chinjŏn and Mt. Unje, their scale is small and their forests are thin. Although Mt. Puksongjŏng and Mt. Taesongjŏng are located on the coast, their terrain is low and flat, and the quality of their soil is barren, so they have had stretches of sands from the beginning instead of pine trees, which have numbered only a few. Nevertheless, since the demands of the government and the labor duties imposed on the residents of these mountains do not differ from those in other places, how can this not be a great pain to the people? Since the six mountains have become their traps, how can the people survive? In my humble opinion, it may be difficult to exempt Mt. Chinjŏn and Mt. Unje from the status of reserved forest; however, if Your Majesty allows the newly designated four mountains to revert to their previous status so that the people can clear them for cultivation, they will certainly contribute more to the revenue of the state than the government-controlled reserved forests, which bring little profit.

Public Works Administration

831

“Also in my humble opinion, the prohibition against logging pine trees is extremely strict and elaborate in its details; nevertheless, all the timber required for the use of our district is supposed to be obtained from the government-reserved forests in our district, and the woodcut or engraving blocks used in various government agencies in Seoul or our province must also come from the forests in our district. However, since the mountains are already stripped of forests and people are required to pay taxes in cash instead of timber, where can the people living in shacks and shanties find the money they need? The only way they have is to cut down pine trees and sell them. When the traces of logging are discovered and the offenders are arrested and brought to the local authorities, they bribe the officials to avoid their punishment, and in the process they have to sell their oxen or take out a loan. In addition, they have to pay the penalty for their offense. So they are forced to log pine trees once again. Since the government uses its reserved forests as an instrument of exacting revenues from the people, and the people have no choice but to use the forests in their district to pay off their taxes, it appears that the government itself is actually responsible for logging the pines even though it is not directly involved in it. The difference eventually is paper-thin. If the government establishes a regulation that prevents the provincial or district offices from exploiting the people who live in the government-reserved forests, the situation of the people will improve a little, and the trees in the mountains will also be able to grow.” Fallen Pine Trees in the Government-Reserved Forests Are Not Supposed to Be Used, Although They May Be Left to Rot. Prohibition against Logging Pines stipulated: “Pine trees toppled by the wind shall be prohibited from being sold. The fallen trees should be left to rot on the spot.” It also stipulated: “When pines of the highest quality for making coffins and tombs for royalty, which are called hwangjangmok, are logged, the boards are to be made according to the standard measurement, and the parts of the timber cut off on both sides cannot be sold; they must be burned on the spot.” I have observed that people often say, “Pine trees toppled by the wind are certainly infested with insects.” Some say, “Since the character p’ung [㢴], which means ‘wind,’ makes the character ch’ung [⽕], which means ‘insects,’ this is why the trees knocked down by the wind are infested with insects.” How absurd their talk is! All the birds and beasts that suffer sudden death taste better than those that have a slow death. (There is in Classic of Poetry a theory of the taste of meat in relation to the speed of slaughtering animals.) So do trees and plants. The resin or sap of those that suffer sudden death is intact, while that of those that suffer slow death is dry. This is the reason that withered pines trees are infested with

832

book X

insects. If they are toppled by the wind, how can they have problems with insects right away? If they are cut and sawed at the time they fall, the quality of their timber will hardly be different from that of living trees cut down through logging. However, the present situation does not take this fact into consideration. When trees are initially toppled by the wind, they are not to be touched. They are allowed to be sawed and made into timber only after a few months have passed. How can they be safe from insects under these circumstances? Burning the top and bottom parts of the timber used for the coffi ns and tombs of royalty is also a reckless waste of resources. However, since these are the laws and precedents, a request to use withered trees cannot be made even if there is an urgent need to repair public buildings. The Magistrate Should Keep His Eye on the Abuses and Tricks in Corvée Labor for Carrying Hwangjangmok down from the Mountains. When the timber used for the coffins or tombs of royalty is dragged down from the mountains, the residents of several districts are all mobilized to work together, and fierce clerks and ferocious military officers supervise them, whipping their backs and kicking their buttocks. Those who are rich or the villages that are affluent usually make up for their labor ser vice with money; only the poor and sick are forced to bear all the pains of corvée labor. The magistrate must keep this in mind. If one wants to pull heavy things, he first must clear the way and next make carts to transport them. If the way is flat and wide, three persons can perform the work of ten persons, and if the vehicles move well, ten persons can do the work of a hundred. Why, then, should we not make roads and carts? The vehicle called yuhyŏnggŏ was created when King Chŏngjo constructed the fortress of Suwŏn, and the manufacturing cost of each vehicle is no more than 100 maces. A piece of timber used for the coffins of royalty is less than the amount carried by one vehicle, and the vehicle can be operated if it is pulled by two persons in the front, pushed by two persons from behind, and guided by two persons on each side. If the tree happens to be too big to be loaded into the vehicle or unloaded from the vehicle so that its transportation requires a great deal of manpower, it is advisable to use a pulley called kijungga to reduce trouble and expenses. The next step is to calculate the number of people needed for transporting timber, as well as the expenses paid to each household in the village to hire the necessary manpower, which will be no more than a few pieces of coin per household. This will significantly reduce the damage to the people. 7. A vehicle created by Tasan in order to transport stones and timber during the construction of Suwŏn Fortress. 8. A pulley designed by Tasan for the construction of Suwŏn Fortress.

Public Works Administration

833

Merchants Should Be Prohibited from Secretly Taking Out Pine Boards. The Magistrate Must Observe the Law, Maintaining His Integrity. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Merchants who trade pine boards shall obtain authorizations from the Board of Works and the Funeral Regulatory Bureau [Kwihusŏ]. As to the materials for the coffins arriving on the Han River, whether public or private, the Funeral Regulatory Bureau collects one-tenth of the materials for tax, and as to wood panels for decorating a house or pine boards that are not appropriate for making coffins, the Board of Works collects one-tenth of their value for tax.” The Han River has two headwaters; one is Hwanghyosu or Namgang [South River], and the other is Nokhyosu or Pukgang [North River]. All the drink expenses of the magistrates who govern the districts along the two rivers derive from the pine boards that were confiscated and forfeited to the state. If the clerks and military officers capture ten offenders, only one person out of ten is indicted, and the rest are released after offering bribes. If the magistrate captures ten, the goods of only one person are forfeited to the state, and the others recover theirs by appealing to the magistrate through the men of power they can find. As a result, the national resources increasingly suffer damage and contribute little to the needs of the state. What must be done, then, is to start logging during the eleventh lunar month, following the precedent in Rites of Zhou, have forest inspectors [imhyŏng] supervise the forests, and contribute to the public finance by collecting taxes, and that is what the laws are about. Although the Law Requires the People to Plant and Cultivate Pine Trees, It Is Not Really Necessary to Do So Because the Requirement Can Be Fully Satisfied of Itself if They Only Do Not Harm the Pines on Purpose. The National Code stipulated: “In the prohibited mountains [kŭmsan] of the local districts logging and forest burning are prohibited. Every spring young trees should be planted or seeds sowed, and at the end of the year the number of newly planted or sowed trees should be reported to the government. The mountain managers who violate this statute shall be punished by eighty strokes of beating with a heavy stick, and the officials in charge who do likewise by sixty strokes.” The Comprehensive National Code stipulated: “In all cases, of the people living in the countryside, he who personally planted one thousand pine trees and

9. An agency in charge of funeral supplies. It was created in the sixth year of King T’aejong (1406) but was abolished in the fi rst year of King Chŏngjo (1776), when its mission was transferred to the Directorate of Construction (Sŏngonggam). 10. “On Planting Trees,” Laws on Works.

834

book X

made them grow until they can be used as timber shall be rewarded by the magistrate after the latter personally inspects and reports to the governor.” The pine forests, in my observation, are created naturally when the seeds are blown by the wind. Why, then, should we take the trouble to plant seedlings when the mere enforcement of the prohibition against logging is good enough to raise them? Tŏksanch’obu wrote a poem titled “Monk Pulls Out Pine Trees,” and it reads as follows: In the Sŏngnŭm Peak to the west of Paengnyŏnsa [White Lotus Temple] there is a monk who moves here and there, pulling out the seedlings of pine trees. The seedlings, barely a few inches tall, sprouted with tender arms and soft needles, which look so pretty. These young things, like babies, need our love and protection, for they will grow to provide us with timber. What, then, makes the monk anxious to pull them all out as soon as he sees them? Why does he want to destroy those tender leaves, as well as the roots of the young pines? Like a farmer who works on the weeds, wielding hoes and sickles, or like a township guardian who cuts down thorns and vines when he clears public roads, or like the young Wei Ao who cruelly killed a poisonous snake on the roadside in order to perform a secret act of charity, or a hairy ghost who jumps around making a noise and fluttering its red beard, he snatches and destroys all the pine seedlings, which are as many as nine thousand. When I called the monk and asked about the reason, he could not speak but shed tears, choked with emotion. In the old days when the law of raising pines was implemented in this mountain, we worked hard. Mindful of the law, the monks sometimes ate cold rice to save their firewood or patrolled the mountain until the bell sounded early in the morning. The woodcutters of the town did not dare to approach the mountain, not to mention the village people. They never had a chance to use their axes. One day, however, an officer from the provincial navy headquarters arrived with the orders of his commander. 11. “On Planting Trees,” Laws on Works. 12. One of Tasan’s pen names, meaning “Woodcutter of Mt. Tŏksan.”

Public Works Administration

835

When he dismounted from a horse at the gate of the temple, his fierce manner was like that of bees. Pointing at a pine tree knocked down by the storm last year, he punched a monk on the chest. Although the monk cried out and appealed to Heaven, the officer did not relent in his anger. So he had to settle the crisis with money, which amounted to 10,000 maces. This year they also said that they were cutting down pine trees to build battleships for the fight against the Japa nese, and yet not a battleship has been built so far; only our mountains have become stripped of trees and lost their old appearance. Although these pine seedlings are very young, they will become disasters if they are left to grow. How, then, can I neglect eliminating the seed of our disasters? From now on, I will try to destroy these seedlings as hard as I tried to plant them, leaving only some scrubs to spend the winter. This morning we received an official dispatch demanding nutmegs from us. I guess we will also have to pull out that tree and close down the temple.

Planting Trees of Various Kinds Is Also Only One of the State Affairs Required by the Law. The Magistrate Will Try to Abide by the Law if He Believes That He Will Continue to Stay in Office. If He Knows That He Will Be Replaced, However, He Will Think That It Is Not Necessary to Take the Trouble to Plant Trees. The National Code stipulated: “Every village is required to plant trees and cultivate them, keeping a record of the trees they raise, including paper mulberry trees, lacquer trees, and bamboos, and having its copies kept in the Board of Works, as well as the province and district to which it belongs. “Every government agency is required to plant and cultivate ten paulownias, and the Board of Works inspects them. Every local district plants and cultivates thirty paulownias, and the governor inspects them.” In his replies to the proposals on improving agriculture [nongsŏ pidap] King Chŏngjo stated: “These days, mountains and valleys, having no trees and plants, are all barren, so that streams are dried up when there is no rain for ten days, and hills collapse when it rains for several days, causing damage to rice paddies and 13. “On Planting Trees,” Laws on Works. 14. In the twenty-second year of his reign (1798) King Chŏngjo ordered officials and scholars throughout the country to submit proposals on the improvement of agriculture. Twenty-seven people in all responded to the king’s order, and one of them was Yang Sŏngt’ak, a scholar who lived in Yangju. The quoted statement is part of the king’s reply to Yang’s proposal.

836

book X

farmland. How can the willow be the only exception? Trees like pines, catalpa trees, white elms, elms, citron trees, paulownias, wild walnut trees, lacquer trees, and others are all in bad shape. Years ago a late state councilor compiled a book called Essentials of the Administration of Pine Forests [Songjŏng chŏlmok] and proposed that the government grant a special award to those who planted more than ten thousand trees, but no province or district ever followed the orders of the government, as far as I know. So it is not really necessary to promulgate new laws for now; only the efforts to follow the old laws should be made more vigorously.” Records of Tasan stated: “Planting paulownias is a foremost priority of our country. When they build boats, the Chinese use an adhesive called youhu, which is made of a mixture of oil, ashes, and cotton, to plaster the gaps in the boards, and the oil of that adhesive is extracted from paulownias. The paulownia oil needed for building all kinds of commercial boats and battleships, owned either by private citizens or by the state, amounts to several thousand catties. Where, then, can you use the thirty paulownias that are planted and cultivated by each district? If the demand is to be satisfied, each district should plant and grow no less than three thousand paulownias. However, the government should check only the number of paulownias but should never interfere when it comes to the use of those trees. If the people want to use their trees for making oil or coffins, the government should allow them to; if the people want to trade their trees for money, the government should pay for them and never seize them for free. Then the people will at last make their best efforts to plant paulownias. Unless the government acts likewise, the situation will not improve even if the government forces the people to plant the trees, whipping them every day.” History of Tangerine [Kyulsa] stated: “Six or seven districts on the coast of the South Sea all produce tangerines and citrons (the districts range from Haenam in the west to Sunch’ŏn in the east), and so do the numerous islands belonging to those districts. However, during the last several decades their production continued to decline day after day and month after month so that only a few trees can be found either in the houses of noble families or the office of the district magistrate. When I asked the reason, they replied as follows. Every year when the eighth lunar month arrives, liaison agents visit the villages carry ing warrants issued by the local district. They mark the trees and count the number of fruits hanging on them. Then they return when the fruits are ready to be harvested, and if a few fruits have fallen to the ground because of the wind, they blame the farmers and have them make up the difference; if the farmers do not accede to their demands, they levy a tax on the difference. Furthermore, they take away baskets of tangerines without paying a penny. In the meantime, the residents are 15. Th is is presumed to be a work of Tasan, although there is no evidence to support this presumption.

Public Works Administration

837

busy entertaining the liaison hostelers, cooking their chickens and slaughtering their pigs, which costs a great deal of money. Then the liaison hostelers loudly reprove the farmers who failed to follow their request and make up their loss from others. Unable to stand these tyrannies, the residents secretly drill holes into their fruit trees and fill them up with black pepper because withered and dead trees are removed from the official record (the trees fi lled with black pepper wither of themselves). The citrus trees and citron trees disappear because the farmers cut off the shoots from the stump and pull up the seed sprouts from the earth as soon as they see them coming out. “The same types of abuses, as I have heard, are taking place in Cheju Island these days. Unless they are stopped, the tangerines and citrons will disappear from our country within a few decades. What should we do if we cannot provide the supplies for our ancestral sacrifices? Since the present law was flawed from the beginning, its side effects and abuses have become this serious. The trees are sown by the heavens, are nurtured by the earth, and grow thick from the spring breeze and rain and dew, so it is not necessarily a good idea to send a man to keep watch on them; likewise, it is not a good policy to dispatch an official to inspect them. If the government only urges the people to grow fruit trees, does not interfere with what they do, and generously pays for their products and prohibits officials from extorting the products from them, the fruit trees will flourish. Since the more elaborate the law of prohibition is, the more desperate the people become, who would want to plant trees and enjoy growing them?” At a place a hundred paces to the west of Tasan there lived a poor scholar. He grew a citrus tree in his yard, which annually brought him an income of five or six hundred pieces of copper. With this income from the tree, he used to repay the grain loan that he had borrowed from the government. When this became known, liaison agents rushed into his house and threatened him in outrageous ways. Unable to withstand their insults and his anger, he chopped down the tree with an ax and threw it to them, and his family, who had to watch this, all wept. Composing a poem, “Chopping Down a Citrus Tree” [“Ch’amgyulsa”], I tried to console the scholar. Since the Logging of Trees Raised in the Area of Military Strongholds [Yŏngaek] Is Strictly Prohibited, the Law Must Be Duly Observed. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Those who recklessly cultivate the land or cause a fire within the perimeter of military strongholds in which logging is strictly prohibited shall be punished under the law against illegal logging [Songjŏnyul].” The so-called yŏngaek indicates a military stronghold established at a strategic point for the purpose of repelling the enemy. Growing trees at this strategic

838

book X

point, however, must be carried out in accordance with the strategic condition of the place. Although the construction of the defense system may not be necessary during ordinary times, it will be necessary to build wooden barricades during a crisis. (It is also possible to build the fortification with earth.) The outside of the stronghold must be cleared so that enemy soldiers have no place to hide, but the inside of the stronghold must be planted with many trees so that the friendly army can cover itself from the enemy attack. Furthermore, the army can use those trees for building barricades or make them into the logs dropped from the fortress on top of the attacking enemy during the battle. These days, however, the work of planting trees in the military stronghold is carried out at random. As a result, the stronghold has neither a boundary nor outer and inner yards. The mountains and valleys are all so thick with trees that they serve only to block the way of troops. If the enemy troops launch a surprise attack and discharge firearms and arrows, covering themselves behind those trees, the trees that were raised and protected will benefit only the enemy rather than the friendly army. What good are those trees, then? Notwithstanding these problems, the prohibition against logging trees in the military stronghold is much stricter than the forest-reserve laws. If it happens that a resident living in the vicinity of the military stronghold gathers some trees for firewood, tigerlike military officers of the provincial military commander’s headquarters and the mobile border commander’s headquarters and the wolflike clerks of the local district will reveal their teeth and display their power. Then the man wastes his property and, much worse, is expelled to some other place. The trees for the common people, therefore, are like traps, and the traps are scattered all over the place like the stones of the go game or the stars in the night sky. Since the forests in the military stronghold cannot provide even a rafter to repair the public office or a board to remodel battleships, and they serve only as traps for the people, what is the purpose of keeping them? However, since the law has already been established, we should observe it as much as we can. Yi Chŏnggwi in Record of Tok Fortress [Toksŏnggi] stated as follows: “Located in the middle of the plain, the fortress has no rugged obstacles except a mountain that protrudes by the wayside. Because the place has no trees and looks bald, they called it Bald Fortress [Toksŏng]. People did not pay much attention to it before the Imjin year; however, during the Japanese invasion Supreme Field Commander Kwŏn Yul made it his stronghold and repelled the enemy many times. 16. Also called Toksŏng sansŏng, it is located in modern Osan, Kyŏnggi Province. 17. A military official of the mid-Chosŏn period and one of the heroes during the Imjin War. His courtesy name was Ŏnsin, and his pen names Manch’widang and Moak. He served as magistrate of Naju, governor of Chŏlla Province, and fi nally supreme field commander. In the Battle of Haengju Fortress, he fought against more than 30,000 Japa nese forces with only 2,300 soldiers and

Public Works Administration

839

Then the people realized that the terrain of the fortress is one of the important strategic points for national defense.” When I examine this record, the mountain was originally bare; nevertheless, its bareness posed no problems for battling against the enemy. Since the outside areas around the perimeter of the fortress are now thick with forests, who can tell if those trees can cause problems? Governor Kwŏn Su of Hwanghae Province submitted a memorial as follows: “Tongsŏllyŏng mountain pass is a strategic point, and its ruggedness is reliable. If we create thick forests by planting trees over there, it will be useful for hiding our troops and laying an ambush, and once a crisis breaks out, we can use them for making barricades or blocking the advance of the enemy.” The purpose of establishing the perimeter of the military stronghold in which illegal logging is prohibited, as I think, was originally like this. Would it not be advisable, then, to set the limit of forest reserves only after closely observing the topography of the military stronghold? When I was in Koksan, I wrote an essay titled “Record of an Excursion to Wŏlhyŏllyŏng Mountain Pass” [“Yu Wŏlhyŏllyŏng ki”]: “The place called Munsŏngbo is a strategic point leading to the four mountain passes in the north, as well as Koksan in the south, but there is also a place in the south, called Wŏlhyŏllyŏng, which is a mountain pass. Because the forests of this place are under the protection of the government, they are so thick that they cover all the mountains and valleys that extend as far as 20 li; nevertheless, people are allowed to touch neither a tree nor a plant in them. What is strange is that there is a road between Munsŏng and Koksan, and the road is very smooth to such a degree that ten thousand horses can run at a time without having obstacles on their way. The question, then, is this: who would take the road leading to Wŏlhyŏllyŏng, abandoning the easy and direct one between Munsŏng and Koksan? I am mystified by this.” The Prohibition against Cultivating the Side of the Mountain Must Have Criteria. The Criteria That Are Set Should Be Neither Too Loose nor Too Narrow. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Cultivating the upper parts of the mountains shall be prohibited. As to the lower parts, the lands already cultivated are allowed to exist; however, reclaiming the mountains anew after removing the trees is strictly prohibited.” won a great victory. He was granted the title of Sŏnmu merit subject first class and posthumously promoted to chief state councilor. 18. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. He served as royal secretary, governor of Kyŏngsang Province, and of Hwanghae Province. 19. “Lands and Reservoirs” (“Chŏntaekjo”), Laws on Taxation.

840

book X

In my observation, mountains are all different in their height; so are hillsides. Since the law is already ambiguous about the height of hillsides, it is hard to expect the people not to violate the law. Cultivation of places like hills and slopes cannot be prohibited even if they are on a mountain ridge, and it is not really necessary to prohibit cultivating the hillsides down to the bottom on both sides of a mountain range, although cultivation of the top of a mountain range that stretches far should be prohibited. Only in the case of mountains with the tombs of a clan [chongsan] and major mountains that are tall enough to reach the sky can the height of hillsides be discussed for establishing criteria for law enforcement. In order to establish the criteria, one should set up a sign on level ground and measure the height of the hillsides. The limit of their height for cultivation depends on the best judgment one can make. It can be either 300 or 200 chang, but once the limit of their height is decided, it should be made clear to the people so that they can be prevented from violating the law in ignorance. Since the Taxes on the Ginseng and the Fur of Sables Produced in P’yŏngan and Hwanghae Provinces Need to Be Generous to the Taxpayers, the Magistrate Shall Be Lenient to Those Who Happen to Violate the Law. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “When the merchants dealing with ginseng go down to Kangye [to purchase ginseng], they are first required to buy a permit to trade ginseng [hwangch’ŏp] issued by the Board of Taxation (each permit costs 3 taels). Those who enter the region without this permit are punished under the law against committing illegal transactions, and the goods are forfeited to the state. If anyone finds those who secretly trade ginseng and reports them to the authorities, all the confiscated ginseng shall be awarded to him. In all cases where the magistrate of a district that produces ginseng fails to search out illegal trading of ginseng, and such trading happens to be connected to other crimes and is discovered later in the process of investigation, he shall be severely punished.” This statute is in the section of the laws on taxation in the Supplement to the National Code. Since various regulations and prohibitions related to the collection of taxes and forfeiture of confiscated goods to the state, which concern the peddlers and secret traders who frequent Yanjing and Japanese guest houses or trading posts [waegwan], are in the laws on both taxation and penal affairs, he who is in charge of this matter must consult them for his reference. Sable fur and ginseng are precious resources of our country. Historically since the days of the Book of Han, History of the Southern Dynasties, and History of the 20. One chang (Ch. zhang) is approximately 3 meters. 21. “Miscellaneous Taxes,” Laws on Taxation.

Public Works Administration

841

Northern Dynasties, people generally have regarded sable fur and ginseng as most precious when they discussed the national resources of Han colonies like Nangnang and Hyŏngdo, as well as Koguryŏ and Parhae. This is the reason that the prohibitions against illegal trading are made strict and elaborate. However, all the revenues that the state can draw are 3 taels for each permit, which are collected from individual merchants, and the confiscated goods of secret trading all go into the pockets of avaricious officials under the pretext of forfeiting them to the state. Since the present system contributes little to state revenues while it only provides excuses for extorting property from the people, what good is it? Those of the residents of Kanggye who cultivate ginseng enter the mountains with an official permit issued by the district office. They spend autumn and winter eating and sleeping, wet with dew and suffering from the wind. They go through all kinds of hardships, living with the danger of bears and boars and fighting against tigers and leopards. When they finally harvest their crop and descend from the mountains, however, they run into the officials who wait for them at the checkpoints. Their baggage and pockets are thoroughly searched, and all the ginseng in their possession is sold to the government at the lowest price. But most of it, in fact, goes into the pockets of the officials themselves. Cunning clerks and craft y military officers secretly manipulate the trade from afar so that there can be room for irregularities and bribery of which they can take advantage. Since the law of the state is not carried out properly and only worsens the corruption of the officials, what good is the law? Fully aware of this problem, the magistrate should purchase ginseng at its cost price if it is a public tribute of the people; even if it is not, he should not steal it; furthermore, he should let the people sell their goods at will without seizing a piece. If any resident violates the law, the magistrate should pay close attention to the circumstances in which the violation took place and be as lenient as possible if it deserves his consideration and sympathy. If the case is too wicked and outrageous to deserve his kind consideration, he should truthfully report it to his superior without using it for his personal gain. If it happens that the superior does not respond to his report, and he has no choice but to forfeit the confiscated ginseng to the state, he should save it for public purposes, such as the repair of military weapons or prizes for the contest of martial arts. The magistrate should not touch it even if it is a small amount; then he will be able to preserve his name and honor. The following happened when Kang Yuhu became magistrate of Kanggye. The custom of the district was to make a living by gathering ginseng that grew across the national border, so it happened that residents were often caught by the barbarians, and the government was embarrassed about this. Naturally, strict laws were made to prevent them from crossing the border, and the residents were now unable to make their living. Although Kang Yuhu diligently taught and

842

book X

recommended agriculture and sericulture to the people, that was not good enough to save the people from hunger and cold right away. Calculating the distance to the border and setting a deadline, he sent the residents to gather ginseng and said, “You must come back by the date I set. Otherwise, you will be punished under the law of illegal border crossing.” The people returned as they had pledged and said, “Since the magistrate’s concern for us is this great, disasters will befall us if we disobey his order.” The Magistrate Must Keep an Eye on the Existing Mines Producing Gold, Silver, Copper, and Iron to Prevent Them from Employing Wicked People and Must Prohibit Smelting in the Newly Established Mines. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “The places throughout all the provinces that produce silver are subject to taxation, and those who privately excavate silver shall be banished to an island for life.” The National Code stipulated: “The iron mines throughout all the provinces shall be required to keep a record of iron processing, shall place the copies of the record in the Board of Taxation and the provincial and district offices to which they belong, and during the farmers’ slack season shall present the smelted iron to the government.” In my observation, the office of the official in charge of mines [gongren] in Rites of Zhou supervises the land where minerals like gold, jade, tin, and stones are produced and prohibits illegal excavation while promoting excavation according to the needs of the state. Since the Han dynasty the rights to salt and iron, which are great sources of revenue, have belonged to the state. It is my concern that foundries [nojŏm] should be established in the places where gold, silver, copper, and iron are produced so that they can contribute to the revenue of the state, and gold, silver, and copper can be minted into coins according to their values. (This matter is discussed in detail in my treatise on the land system.) The foundries of the present time, however, are ones privately established by wicked people. Furthermore, the tax revenue collected by the Board of Taxation is extremely small, and those foundries provide shelters to fugitives and criminals so that they become dens of rebellion. As a result, farmers cannot find their day laborers and farmhands, and merchants fi nd it difficult to carry their goods freely. Since fertile lands decrease day by day (gold foundries purchase farmland to expand their gold mining) and the natural environment is likewise increasingly destroyed, it is likely that the minerals will run out as the vitality of mountains is weakened. Many years later the ministers in the court may discuss implementing effective ways of producing minerals, but it will be too late. The best way that one 22. “Mines,” Laws on Works.

Public Works Administration

843

can take for now, therefore, is only to prohibit the reckless proliferation of those mines. As for existing mines, the magistrate must keep an eye on them in order to prepare for unexpected popular uprisings (Hong Kyŏngnae, the rebel leader from Kasan, originally used a gold foundry as his base while recruiting his followers), and as for the new ones, he must not cease destroying the bud of rebellion from the beginning by capturing the ringleader of disturbances. When I served as magistrate of Koksan, a group of three or four wicked people received a permit from the Board of Taxation to open a silver foundry and arrived in my district, accompanied by an accountant. I strictly chastised them, ignoring their permit. Gold and silver foundries, according to a general practice, pay taxes to the district office every month. Incurring a great disaster to the district because of this little profit is not the kind of thing that the magistrate should do. According to Writings of Sage Kings [Yŏlsŏng ŏje], King Chŏngjo at the end of his reign replied to the memorial of Second State Councilor Sim Hwanji that requested the prohibition of mining gold. The king said: “Looking back, I am ashamed of the current general custom that seeks the branches [mal] instead of the root [pon], so I have tried to implement a policy to restore the root and suppress the branches so that they return to their proper places. One of the efforts I made was the ‘Royal Decree on the Administration of Agriculture’ [‘Nongjŏng yunŭm’], which I issued to warn against seeking profit without working. I admonished and ordered the eight provinces to prohibit this practice and at the same time abolished the foundries, including those that had already been established, so that the people [engaged in mining] could return to their farmlands.” In my observation, the law of the former king was to divide the work of the people into nine kinds, so that the farmers could produce grain, the foresters could produce timber, and the officials in charge of mining could produce gold and tin. It does not necessarily follow, however, that one has to give up many good secondary things only because he has to accord more priority to the root. What is needed is to prohibit wicked people from excavating minerals for their private gain and to supervise mining activities by dispatching officials of the Board of Taxation to the spot. 23. A collection of poems and essays by the kings of the Chosŏn dynasty. First compiled by Prince Ŭich’ang in 1631, during the reign of Injo, it was expanded to include the works of successive kings, including King Ch’ŏlchong (1849−1863). 24. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of King Chŏngjo. His courtesy name was Hwiwŏn, and his pen name Manp’o. He served as censor general, inspector general, minister of personnel, of rites, and of punishments, and fi nally chief state councilor. As a leader of Party of Principle, a faction that supported King Yŏngjo when he starved his son, Crown Prince Sado (1735– 1762), to death, he ruthlessly persecuted Catholics when he became chief state councilor after King Chŏngjo’s death.

844

book X

The following happened when Yi Sanggŭp became magistrate of Tanch’ŏn, which was known as a silver-producing district. He said, “This place is a pit where profit is generated. Unless the magistrate is extremely careful in his conduct, regrettable things can befall his body and name.” Then he served in his office with integrity. If there was anything left after paying the annual tribute, he used it to make up for the labor ser vice of the people. He also reduced his personal expenses to pay for the loss when soldiers deserted or died and their neighbors were forced to take responsibility for the incidents. His efforts of this kind saved the people from exploitation and harassment. People Should Not Be Harassed or Abused for Excavating Precious Stones Produced in Their Districts. The National Code stipulated: “The districts in which precious stones are produced shall keep a record of their mining activities, and the copies of the record must be kept in the Board of Taxation, as well as in the provincial and district offices.” So-called precious stones are the following: crystal produced in Kyŏngju, topaz in Sŏngch’ŏn, dark jade in Myŏnch’ŏn, greenstone in Changgi, inkstone in Namp’o, agalmatolite in Haenam, and orpiment in Hŭksan Island. Since the people of the districts in which precious stones are produced are extremely abused, the magistrate, mindful of this, should neither accede to requests for precious stones nor start mining them even if there is a report that precious stones are newly found in his district nor take those stones in his baggage, no matter how small they are, when he returns home after finishing his term. Then he will deserve to be called a clean official. C H A P T E R : M A NAGI NG WAT E RWAYS A N D R E SE RVOI R S

Since Waterways and Reservoirs [Ch’ŏnt’aek] Are the Basis of Successful Agriculture, the Administration of Them Was Also a Priority for All Sage Kings. The offices of guardian of the waterways [chuanheng] and supervisor of marshes [zeyu] in Rites of Zhou are charged with watching the waterways and marshes, supervising the prohibitions related to them, and collecting taxes. According to the National Code of our country, the Bureau of Mountains and Marshes

25. “Treasures” (“Pomul cho”), Laws on Works. 26. Called yangjisŏk in Korean, which means “goat fat stone,” it was known to be good for carving or sculpture.

Public Works Administration

845

[Santaeksa] belongs to the Board of Works since the tasks of digging ditches and providing irrigation water to rice paddies are included in the laws on works. The law of former kings assigned an official solely to the task of managing the water for agriculture. How can the magistrates today, on the other hand, just watch that task with their arms folded? Since silt settles in the lakes and ponds, it must be removed on a regular basis; since banks break down, they must be repaired and reconstructed once in a while; since aqueducts become blocked, the obstacles in the waterways must be removed; since hills along the water are sometimes eroded, the passage of water should be redirected (this work should be done in the upper reaches of the river, where the streams collide); and since reservoir channels are often destroyed, the people should be urged to repair them, and when the ridges are too close together and the furrows are too shallow, they should be encouraged to make those furrows wider and deeper. Nothing in the duties of the magistrate is more urgent than efforts to improve agriculture, and nothing in these efforts is more urgent than managing water. Therefore, when King Yu and Hou Ji personally engaged in agriculture, they first regulated reservoir channels, and Shi Qi and Li Kui only managed irrigation. If we look back at history in a general perspective, great achievements of outstanding officials were all related to the management of water. Since the magistrates of our time, however, tend to look at the matter as if it were none of their business, what is wrong with them? If a Stream Runs through the District, It Is Advisable to Make a Reservoir to Irrigate Land and Thereby Create Public Land to Save the People from the Burden of Their Labor Service. This Is Good Administration. One of the pressing concerns of the state is the public depository. The burden of the public depository is increasing month by month and year by year to such a degree that the people are no longer able to bear it. If the magistrate examines the

27. A government agency of the early Chosŏn period established in 1392. Its duty was mainly to manage or supervise waterways and irrigation, and to maintain and grow forests. 28. An official of the Wei dynasty during the Warring States period. 29. An official of the Wei state during the Warring States period who served as advisor to Marquis Wen of Wei. He wrote a book titled Canon of Laws (Fajing), which had a deep influence on Shang Yang (390–338 B.C.), chief advisor to Duke Xiao of Qin and the author of The Book of Lord Shang, who formulated the dogma and basis of the harsh Chinese philosophy of legalism. Li Kui also took charge of canals and irrigation projects in the Wei state. 30. The expression “look at the matter as if it were none of their business” refers to a passage in Han Yu’s essay “Zhengchen lun.” In the essay the people of Yue, residing in Zhejiang Province, look at the sufferings of the people of Qin, living in Shanxi Province, as if they were none of their business.

846

book X

topography of his district and makes reservoirs, cultivates public land through irrigation, and uses the revenue derived from the public land, to relieve the burden of public depository taxes, this will bring great benefits to the people, and they will exceed those from several hundred kyŏng of good land in the future. In order to make reservoirs, one must first cut off the flow of the stream. Severing the stream is called hong, which means “flood.” In order to sever the flow of the water, one must use large rocks that can prevent the dam from falling over. When one moves large rocks, he should employ various methods, including equipment like pulleys. First, the road from the rocks to the stream should be cleared and made even, and the rocks should be carried on several vehicles called yuhyŏnggŏ to the construction site and finally unloaded and lifted by the pulley. Using this method, one can reduce the cost of construction. It is also highly recommendable to build various water mills such as yongmigŏ and okhyŏnggŏ. However, because of the lack of skill in refining iron, we have failed to produce outstanding water mills. Years ago Royal Secretary Sin Kyŏngjun, a native of Sunch’ang, built water mills several times, but his efforts failed to produce the expected results, not because his study was flawed but because there were no good artisans in the country. In recent years a scholar of great learning also attempted to design water mills, but the result was not much different from that of his predecessor. This matter, therefore, can be discussed only when skilled artisans have been secured, and I will not elaborate on it here. Master Sŏngho said, “What is most regrettable under Heaven is to turn useful things into useless ones.” When the fields in every direction become dry and wither, is it not regrettable to let the streams continue to flow into the sea? Those who nowadays supply water to their land by blocking the water always say that the water is low and their land is high or are worried that the currents are so strong that the banks are in danger of breaking down, but their problem is that they do not work hard to improve the situation. The water originates from a high place since it descends from the mountains, but it runs low because the earth has been burrowed and hollowed out in the course of time. If one builds banks by piling rocks and fi lling the hollows over time so that they can block the currents of the water, the level of the water will gradually rise as sand and silt are deposited at the bottom of the water. If the banks are made higher to hold the increased water level safely, why should it be impossible to supply water for irrigation? When Xi Menbao of the Wei dynasty became magistrate of Ye (during the reign of Marquis Wen of Wei [445–396 B.C.]), he constructed twelve reservoirs by 31. Sin Kyŏngjun (1712–1781) was an official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Sunmin, and his pen name Yŏam. He served as librarian of the National Confucian Academy, as royal secretary, and as fourth minister of war. He supervised the compilation of Terrestrial Map of Korea (Tongguk yŏjido) and Map of Eight Provinces (P’ado chido).

Public Works Administration

847

recruiting the people. Tapping into the Yellow River, he irrigated rice paddies. As a result, agriculture improved, and the residents became affluent. When Shi Qi served as magistrate of Ye (during the reign of King Xiang [651–619 B.C.]), he attempted to tap into the Zhanghe River to irrigate farm fields, but the people of Ye complained and almost raised a disturbance, so Shi Qi did not dare to come out and had to hide for his safety. When this happened, the king ordered another official to carry out the construction work, and when the waterways were finally connected for irrigation and the residents benefited from it, they sang in praise of Shi Qi: “There was a benevolent magistrate in the district of Ye, and he was no other than Magistrate Shi. Because he drew the water from the Zhanghe River to irrigate the land of Ye, rice and millet are now growing in the once-barren land.” When Wen Weng of the Han dynasty became prefect of Shu Commandery, he dammed the estuary of the Yushui River to irrigate the 1,700 qing of land, and this brought great benefits to the people. In my observation, by opening the Jingshui River, Zheng Guo created a reservoir; Li Bing, Shu Reservoir; and Emperor Wu of the Han, Wei Reservoir, Longshu Reservoir, and Bai Reservoir. These reservoirs are all old ones, and those made thereafter were countless. The following happened when Cui Yuan of the Han dynasty became magistrate of Ji. Because his district was marshy, it was impossible to cultivate. When he opened the reservoirs and irrigated rice paddies, the barren land became fertile once again. The people who had benefited from the measure sang as follows: “Heaven gave us a wonderful magistrate who made sweet rain by opening reservoirs.” In my observation, Cui Yuan made reservoirs in the areas fi lled with marshes so that the higher ground could be cultivated for grain and the lower ground could supply the water. The following happened when Xue Zhou of the Sui dynasty became prefect of Yanzhou. East of the fortress the Yishui River and the Sishui River merged and ran to the south, forming a great lake that often flooded. When Xue Zhou made embankments by piling rocks so that the water could flow to the west, the swamps and bogs filled with water all turned into good farmland, and at the same time water transportation was made possible. The residents who had benefited from 32. He served as prefect of Shu Commandery during the reign of Emperor Jing (156–141 B.C.) and founded local schools throughout the country during the reign of Emperor Wu (141–87 B.C.). He is credited with having founded such local schools for the fi rst time in history. 33. An official of the Han dynasty and an expert in dealing with water projects. Using the Jingshui River, he created a reservoir and a water channel that connected Zhongshan to Guakou. 34. An official of the Qin dynasty during the Warring States period. 35. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziyu. 36. His courtesy name was Shaoxuan. He also served as minister of punishments.

848

book X

these changes called the reservoir Lord Xue’s Good Harvest Yanzhou Reservoir [Xuegong fengyanqu]. When Pak Taeha  became magistrate of Sŏnch’ŏn, he constructed a reservoir by making a tunnel through the mountain and used the water to irrigate barren lands. When fertile land was thus created, the people called the reservoir Lord Pak’s Reservoir [Pakgongbo], as the people in the past had named reservoirs like Cheng Reservoir or Bai Reservoir. The following happened when Hŏ Mansŏk  became magistrate of Yŏngi. He built a large embankment in the north of the district, which was 15 li away, to make a reservoir that supplied water to over 1,000 kyŏng of rice paddies. The embankment he built was on the border of Ch’ŏngju. When he first built the embankment, he personally supervised the construction work, but the people made complaints. The residents of Ch’ŏngju, who numbered a thousand, approached him and spoke insolent words, forming a group composed of a hundred or so. They even threatened him, breaking the flat bench on which he sat, but when he lifted his bow to shoot, the mob could not dare to approach him any closer. The construction of the embankment was finally completed, and it brought benefits to the people, so the residents still praise his good work. There Are Seven or Eight Famous [Man-Made] Reservoirs in Our Country, but the Others Are All Small and Narrow. Furthermore, These Reservoirs Are Covered with Weeds and Remain Unrepaired. Yu Hyŏngwŏn [pen name Pan’gye] said: “The reservoirs like Pyŏkgolje in Kimje, Nulje in Kobu, and Hwangdŭngje lying between Iksan and Chŏnju were pretty large, so they produced great benefits for the districts to which they belonged. In the old days it cost the state a great deal of strength to build them, but now they are all laid waste and destroyed. However, the spots that are broken 37. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Muŏp, and his pen name Songgok. He also served as assistant director of the Royal Stable Court and as magistrate of Naju. 38. Names like Chengqu and Baiqu may refer to the reservoirs made by Cheng Guo and Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty. 39. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sejong. He also served as bailiff. 40. Yu Hyŏngwŏn (1622–1673), a great scholar of the mid-Chosŏn period, was better known by his pen name, Pan’gye. According to contemporary historians, he was “one of the first, if not the foremost, of the new school of scholars of Practical Learning (Sirhak) who turned their attention away from earlier concerns with Confucian ethics and metaphysics to the problem of statecraft” (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 5). Though he became a presented scholar after passing the preliminary civil ser vice examination, he gave up an official career and lived as a recluse, devoting himself to writing and scholarly contemplation. As a result, he produced a monumental work which was modestly titled The Jottings of Pan’gye (Pan’gye surok), a virtual encyclopedia of Confucian statecraft, designed to bring reform to the Korean system of government.

Public Works Administration

849

down are no more than a few chang in length, and repairing them takes only the manpower of one thousand people with ten days of their labor. Although this repair cost is nothing compared with the original cost of their construction, it is very regrettable to find that there is no one who proposes the restoration of those reservoirs. If these three reservoirs can be made to irrigate 1,000 kyŏng of land, there will be no poor harvest in the region above the Noryŏng mountain range.” In addition to those three reservoirs, the large reservoirs in our country include Konggolje in Hamch’ang, Ŭirimji in Chech’ŏn, Hapdŏkji in Tŏksan, Kyŏngyangji in Kwangju, and Namdaeji in Yŏnan. However, since all of them are now useless because of the sediments deposited in their basins, the magistrates are responsible for this problem. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “As to the dykes in all districts, they must be surveyed in accordance with their old records, and the Embankment Construction Agency [Cheŏnsa] shall dispatch staff officers [nangch’ŏng] to investigate violators of the law, driving out cunning people and punishing those who cultivated without authorization. As to the destroyed dykes and reservoirs, the magistrate and the clerks shall be punished under the law against failing to repair at the proper time. Projects like constructing new reservoirs and dykes should first be requested by the people themselves. Then the magistrate personally examines the project, reports it to the Supervisorate of Dykes and Reservoirs if he believes that it will benefit the people, and finally does his best to get the job accomplished.” In my observation, although it is not that the law is inadequate, these days there are hardly any reservoirs or dykes in our country that are not abandoned. “Record on Pyŏkgolje Reservoir” [“Pyŏkgolje ki”] stated: “In the fifteenth year of T’aejong’s reign [1415] the government once again dispatched Pak Hŭijung, crop assessment officer, to repair the reservoir along with Governor Pak Sŭp. According to the inscription on the monument, the circumference of Pyŏkgolje Reservoir is 77,406 paces. It has five waterways to irrigate rice paddies, and the extent of the irrigated rice paddies amounts to as much as 9,840 kyŏl and 95 pu. These figures are found in the old record, and the five waterways are as follows: first, Suyŏgŏ; second, Changsaenggŏ; third, Chungsimgŏ; fourth, Kyŏngjanggŏ; and fift h, Yut’onggŏ. The farmlands irrigated through these waterways are all fertile and productive. These waterways used to benefit the people from the Three Kingdoms period, and during the time of King Hyŏnjong of the Koryŏ 41. “Fields and Houses,” Laws on Revenue. 42. His courtesy name was Chain, and his pen name Winam. He also served as section chief of the Board of Personnel and magistrate of Namwŏn. 43. He served as governor of Chŏlla Province and of Kyŏngsang Province, and as inspector general, minister of war, and minister of punishments.

850

book X

dynasty it was restored to its original state. In the spring of the fifteenth year of King T’aejong [1415] of the Chosŏn dynasty, the king ordered Pak Sŭp and others to repair the reservoir. With permission from the king, Pak mobilized ten thousand civilians, and the officials who supervised them numbered three hundred. They started working on Kabin day of the ninth lunar month and completed the work on Chŏngch’uk day of the tenth lunar month. North of the dam there was T’aegŭkp’o, where tidal water was rapid and violent, and in the south Yangjigyo, a place whose water was too deep to build a dam. So they first built a dyke at T’aegŭkp’o to reduce the power of the tidal waves. Next, at Yangjigyo they made five wooden barricades, planting gigantic pillars and fi lling them with earth. Also, they fi lled the parts of the dyke that were damaged or destroyed with earth until the top of the dyke became flat, and they planted willows on both sides to reinforce them. So the dyke [when it was completed] was 30 ch’ŏk on the top, 50 ch’ŏk at the bottom, and 17 ch’ŏk in height. The floodgate of the reservoir looks like a small hill. The three bypass channels in the middle were made by repairing the old stone columns, and the water is released through two of them. The foundation of the floodgate was laid with smooth rocks, and its gates were framed with pillars of zelkova trees that were planted in the carved stones. The gate itself, which was also made of Chinese scholar trees, was installed between the stone pillars and drawn by chains linked to the rings attached to the gate. The gate was 13 ch’ŏk in width, and the stone pillar 15 ch’ŏk in height, but one-third of the pillar was planted in the ground. The crevices in the lower part of the stone pillars were fi lled and patched with melted iron. Then the bridge was finally made on top of the floodgate. The stone pillars on both sides of the gate were used as bases, and wooden boards were put together and laid down so that people could walk on them. The time was the thirteenth year of Yongle’s reign [1415].” In his reply to the memorial submitted by Pak Myŏngsŏp, magistrate of Ch’ilwŏn, King Chŏngjo stated as follows: “Good use of water is crucial in developing agriculture because the benefits it brings are very extensive. Since feeding the people by digging the ground and supplying the land with water has been the way of raising them throughout history, how can we allow Lord Bai to get all the credit for irrigating farmland? Concern for the people led to the creation of

44. According to the Veritable Record of King T’aejong, Kabin day is the nineteenth day of the seventh lunar month. There is no Kabin day in the ninth lunar month. 45. The thirteenth day of the tenth lunar month. 46. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of King Chŏngjo. He also served as third minister of works and second minister of punishments. 47. Lord Bai here seems to indicate Bai Juyi (772−846), prefect of Hangzhou during the Tang dynasty.

Public Works Administration

851

reservoirs like Pyŏkgolje, Hapdŏkje, and Konggŏmje, and if this original design is understood, the design for the rest of the reservoirs can be inferred, and it can be said that seven or eight out of ten government policies at the present time are all related to this matter. There will be further admonitions on this matter.” In my observation, in the third lunar month the ruler of the state charges his minister of works, saying, “The seasonal rains will be coming down, and the waters beneath will be swelling up. Go over the states and visit the towns in order, inspecting everywhere the low and level ground. Put the dykes and dams in good repair, clear the ditches and larger channels, and open all paths, allowing no obstruction to exist.” This is from the section “Proceedings of Government in Different Months” in Book of Rites. If, following the example found in Book of Rites, the king in every third lunar month orders the governors of all provinces to inspect and repair the dykes in their domains and immediately report their work to the court, the dams and dykes will not fall into a state of disrepair and devastation. It Must Be Strictly Prohibited That the Local Gentry and Nobility Exclusively Irrigate Their Own Lands. The following happened when Wang Ji became assistant magistrate of Longxi. In the district there was a reservoir as large as a few hundred qing, but a member of the local landed gentry monopolized the water after paying taxes. Searching out all his irregularities, Wang Ji secured water and irrigated the lands of the people. After that the residents no longer suffered severe drought. The following happened when Guo Fen became transport commissioner of Jinghu. In the district of Liling there lived a certain member of the landed gentry. When the man seized land from a resident and built his own house and, furthermore, moved the old dyke in the upper stream to another place, the farmlands of the people became devastated, so lawsuits ensued from this and continued for several decades. Guo Fen said, “It is not too difficult to bring an end to the case.” Examining the records of the controversial lands, as well as their maps, and extracting a confession of his wrongdoing from the accused after a single interrogation, 48. Hapdŏkje is actually the same place as Hapdŏkji. Literally, the former means Hapdŏk dam and the latter Hapdŏk reservoir. 49. A reservoir located in Hamch’ang in Sangju, North Kyŏngsang Province. It was repaired in 1195, the twenty-fi ft h year of King Myŏngjong of the Koryŏ dynasty. 50. “The Yueling,” Li Ki, Part 1, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 264. Legge’s translation is partially revised. 51. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Juchuan. He also served as administrator (zhi) of Hongzhou. He was known to be a man of strong character. 52. Unknown.

852

book X

he restored the dyke in its original location and solved the problem of irrigation to the farmland. The following happened when Ch’oe Sisŏl became magistrate of Yŏngyu. In the district there was a reservoir called Tŏkji whose circumference was 40 li. It had been a long time since the residents benefited from the reservoir for the supply of water they needed, but the defense commander [suŏsa] of the region wanted to destroy the reservoir in order to create military colonies. Ch’oe Sisŏl sent an official letter of appeal to the governor, stressing that the defense commander’s decision was wrong. However, with the support of high officials in the court, the defense commander made the governor succumb to his will and sent his military officers to destroy the dyke of the reservoir. In the autumn of that year there was a poor harvest throughout the whole district. When Ch’oe Sisŏl reported this to the governor once again, the military colonies were finally abolished. The Breakwater Constructed at the Seacoast in Order to Create Fertile Farmlands Is Called Haeŏn. The following happened when Fan Zhongyan was in charge of the salt storehouse [yancang] of the Xixi region. The three districts along the coast, Tongzhou, Taizhou, and Haizhou, were all hardly arable because their soil was too salty, since the seawater came to the walls of their walled towns. Fan Zhongyan requested that the government allow him to build a breakwater, which would be a few hundred li long, to protect the farmlands from sea tides. Granting his request by sending down a royal decree, the government appointed Fan magistrate of Xinghua and ordered him to take charge of constructing the breakwater. The residents in their gratitude dedicated a shrine to Fan Zhongyan, regularly offering sacrifices, and adopted his family name when their sons were born. In the years of Zhihe, Shen Qi governed the district of Haimen. Because the sea tides swept over farmlands, he built a breakwater that was 70 li long and connected it to the one constructed by Fan Zhongyan. Thus he was able to prevent salty water and diverted the river to irrigate farmlands. Because of his work, more land was reclaimed for agriculture, and the living conditions of the people improved. The following happened when Zhang Lun of the Song dynasty became vice transport commissioner [fayunfushi] of Jianghuai. The breakwater on the coast of Taizhou stretched for 150 li, but the seawater flooded farmlands every year 53. One of the reign names of Renzong of the Song dynasty, who ruled from 1022 to 1063. Zhihe refers to the years 1054 to 1055. 54. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Xingzong. He also served as edict attendant of the Hall of the Heavenly Manifestations and as administrator of Guizhou.

Public Works Administration

853

when its maintenance continued to be neglected for years. When he proposed to repair it, his opponents argued that this would be a difficult task, and furthermore, even if the worries about the salt water might be solved, there would be a flood after heavy rains because the rainwater would be blocked from flowing out to sea. Zhang Lun replied, “If the worries about salt water are said to be nine out of ten, the worries about a flood are only one out of ten. Hence profit is greater than loss in this endeavor. What, then, should you be worried about?” Then he submitted his proposal to the court three times and volunteered to take charge of the project. The court finally granted his request and also made him concurrently take charge of Taizhou on a temporary basis. Finally, Zhang Lun accomplished the task and restored 2,600 households to their old places. The residents in their gratitude built a shrine dedicated to him while he was still alive. When the Rivers and Watercourses Flood Regularly, Causing Damage and Trouble to the People, the Magistrate Must Stabilize Their Housing by Building a Dam. The following happened when Wei Dan of the Tang dynasty became prefect of Hongzhou. He blocked the river by building a dam that extended to 20 li and installed a floodgate in the dam so that the floodwater could be released. The following year, when he left office, a flood occurred, and the level of the swollen river became almost even with the top of the dam. The residents, including the young and the old, all shed tears, thinking of the departed Wei Dan, their former prefect, and said, “If this dam had not been here, our dead bodies would all have been swept down to the sea.” Removing harms and increasing benefits for the people should be carried out just like following one’s own tastes and desires. The following happened when Xue Ping became military commissioner of Zhenghua. The Yellow River at first flooded east of Huzi and overflowed into the land of Hua so that the flood almost reached the fortress of the district. Searching the old watercourses to the southwest of Liyang, Xue Ping made the people register their farmland in the ways of the old watercourses on the official record and compensated them with land in other places. Then he finally restored the watercourses, which extended 20 li, thereby greatly weakening the ferocious strength of the flood and returning 700 qing of flooded farmland to the people of Xianan. Thereafter the people of the Hua region were free from worries about floods. The following happened when Chen Xiang of the Song dynasty governed Changzhou. Because a local water channel blocked the way of Zhenze [Taihu] Lake, making the accumulated water unable to flow into the Yangtze River in the 55. His courtesy name was Wenming. When he served as prefect of Rongzhou, he taught agriculture and sericulture to the people and promoted education. He was promoted to surveillance commissioner of Jiangnan Xidao, and his achievements as a local administrator were highly praised.

854

book X

north, the farmlands in several districts, including Changzhou and Suzhou, had suffered flood damage for many years. Comparing the length of the water channel with the size of the farmlands, Chen Xiang assigned the parts of the water channel to the people and made them dredge the areas they were committed to. The project was completed in no more than a month. When they finally removed the old dyke at Wangting, the accumulated water of Zhenze Lake began to recede to the north, and the troubles of the people were finally eliminated. The following happened when Zhao Changyan of the Song dynasty governed Tianxiong Military Prefecture. When the Yellow River in Chanzhou flooded and overflowed into the Yuhe River, it almost threatened the fortress of the prefecture. Mobilizing local soldiers under his command and making them carry earth on their backs, Zhao Changyan built an embankment to block the flood, but the soldiers whom he could recruit were fewer than a thousand, so he searched out Forbidden Soldiers to make them join the construction efforts. Emperor Taizong rewarded him with a decree written in his own hand. The following happened when Lu Youkai governed Weizhou. When the people were starving because of a flood disaster, he loaned them money and grain in the Ever-Normal Granaries at his own discretion. After he was transferred to Jizhou, he repaired the dykes. The residents said, “This district has no worries about flood damage. Why should you do such a thing?” Lu Youkai replied, “Making preparations in advance when one is free from worries is known to be best from the old days.” He finally finished the project, and the following year it happened that the Yellow River overflowed. Although the flood raided the district, it could not destroy the dyke that Lu Youkai had constructed. Controlling Floods and Fortifying the Dams in the Canals That Are Busy with Marine Transportation and Activities of Merchants Are Also Matters of Importance. The following happened when Du Yu governed Xiangyang. Baqiuhu is a place where the Yuanshui River and the Xiangshui River converge, and its mountains and rivers are so rugged that Jingman [referring to the Chu and Yue kingdoms] can depend on it for security. Establishing Yangkou as a port, Du Yu made the waterways safe for transportation and travel [by controlling or diverting] those 56. His courtesy name was Zhongmo. He also served as vice transport commissioner of Jinghu Lake, administrator of Qingzhou, and vice director of the Board of Works, and of Punishments. 57. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuanhan. He also served as controller general of Hangzhou and grand master of the palace. 58. Du Yu (222–285) was an official of the Jin dynasty. His courtesy name was Yuankai. Born into a distinguished family, he married the sister of Emperor Wen and rendered a great ser vice in conquering the Wu kingdom. He is also known to have been an ancestor of Du Fu, a famed poet of the Tang dynasty.

Public Works Administration

855

over 1,000 li leading to the Yangtze River, which started from the Xiangshui River to reach Baling, and at the same time opened a canal between Lingling and Guilin for water transportation. The following happened when Guo Yan of the Sui dynasty became director of water transportation [kaicao taijian]. Leading the engineers under his command, he constructed the canal that started from the Weishui River via Daxing Fortress to Tongguan in the northeast, which was 400 li long. Because this canal made water transportation possible, people called it Canal of Prosperity [Fuminqu]. When Lu Zongdao of the Song dynasty became magistrate of Haiyan, he repaired a harbor in the southeast and drew the seawater close to the town. The residents, who found his work profitable, named the harbor Lord Lu’s Harbor [Lugongpu]. The following happened when Zhai Pufu of the Ming dynasty governed Nankang Prefecture. His district was close to Poyanghu Lake, but there was no safe harbor for the boats when they ran into stormy weather. When he constructed a dyke that was 100 zhang high, travelers found it convenient. Commodities Such as Fish, Snapping Turtles, Lotuses, Water Chestnuts, and Cattails That Are Produced in Ponds and Swamps Should Be Strictly Guarded So That They Can Make Up for the Labor Service of the People; the Magistrate Should Not Touch Them for His Private Gain. Book of Rites in the section “Proceedings of Government in Different Months” stated: “In the tenth lunar month [Mengdong] orders are given to the superintendent of waters [shuiyu] and the master of fishermen [yushi] to collect the revenues from rivers, springs, ponds, and meres, taking care not to encroach in any way on anyone among the myriads of the people, so as to awaken a feeling of dissatisfaction in them against the Son of Heaven. If they do this, they shall be punished for their guilt without forgiveness.”  In my observation, even the Son of Heaven, despite his nobility and authority, does not dare to levy heavy taxes on ponds and marshes out of fear of provoking complaints from the people; then, it goes without saying that the magistrate does not dare to levy such taxes. The magistrate who is vulgar often says, “Do not bother putting out the fish traps [which catch only a few fish at a time]. I do not need to worry about what will happen here after my term is up.” Then he drains the ponds 59. His courtesy name was Yanwen, and his posthumous title Xiang. He served as grand master for splendid happiness (guanglu dafu) and marquis of Zhending. 60. His courtesy name was Guanzhi, and his pen name Tuisiyan. He rose to the position of vice grand councilor. 61. “The Yueling,” Li Ki, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 301.

856

book X

to catch the fish for the pleasure of one meal, eventually eliminating their eggs; he also recklessly gathers lotuses, lotus roots, sedges, cattails, and so forth, showing no restraint. Since this is the reason that the ponds and marshes in the country become empty, is this not shameful for the magistrate? As I suggested previously, he needs to have a person who can watch over the reservoir, providing him with a cottage at the edge of the water. If there is a need for the things produced in the reservoir, he should purchase them at a reasonable price. If he establishes this rule and has the people follow it in the days to come, this will prevent natural resources from being abused or wasted. The following happened when Ki Kŏn became prefect of Yŏnan. Because there was a large reservoir in which carp were raised, local officials required the residents to catch the carp for use at public functions or for private consumption by the officials any time they wanted, which the residents felt was a great harassment, so they called the reservoir a grave of carp. Upon taking office, Ki Kŏn said, “How can I injure my honor merely for the pleasure of my mouth and stomach?” Therefore, he never had dishes made of carp. Furthermore, because he prohibited the people from catching carp unless their fishing was intended to serve official guests, the residents were very pleased. (This episode is found in An Author’s Trivia, as well as in the epitaph on Ki Kŏn’s tombstone.) The following happened when Yi Chiham [pen name T’ojŏng] became magistrate of Asan. When he asked the residents about their troubles, they indicated a pond in which fish were raised. The residents were required to take turns catching the fish in the pond and to offer them to the officials, which they felt was a nuisance. Yi Chiham soon fi lled up the pond and thus removed future troubles permanently. In my observation, the people of Yŏnan say that the source of their trouble is Namdaeji Reservoir, and the residents of Chech’ŏn complain that their woes derive from Ŭirimji Reservoir. Carp were originally beautiful things, so why should they be troubles to us? Why should we drain the waters because of them? The problem just lies in lack of thought. Record of Koksan stated: “The Nŭng River, which passes by Munsŏngbo fortification to flow southwest to the Taedong River, is a place where fish are produced. Years ago the local government distributed hundreds of taels to the residents on the riverside and made them sell fish and, with the interest from the loan, purchased fish for official use. However, because there was no discipline in spending the interest money collected from the residents, and the clerks privately exploited 62. A scholar of the mid-Chosŏn period. He is better known by his pen name, T’ojŏng, which means “clay hut.” As his pen name suggests, he led the life of a recluse, saving the poor and elderly. He was also the author of Secrets of T’ojŏng (T’ojŏng p’igyŏl), a book of fortune-telling.

Public Works Administration

857

them, the system became an abuse to the residents on the riverside and was fi nally abolished. Afterward the local government bought fish in the market even when it had an important guest like a concurrent mobile inspector but had no problems. Things similar to this can happen in all the districts along the rivers.” C H A P T E R : R E PA I R OF T H E YA M E N OF F IC E

If the Yamen Office Is Allowed to Remain Unrepaired until It Tilts Sideways and Part of the Building Crumbles, Rain Drips through the Ceiling, and Gusts of Wind Blow In, This Is Also a Great Fault of the Magistrate. The magistrate who is not benevolent is anxious only to make his fortune and keep his position as long as he can, and therefore he neither loves the king above him nor cares about the people below him. Since he is reluctant to fi x things even if they collapse or crumble, this is the reason that the yamen office building in bad condition always remains unrepaired. If the magistrate happens to repair the building, he tends to seek personal profit under the pretext of carry ing out his official duty. Thus he recklessly decides on the goods and expenditures at will to enrich himself while he begs for support from the provincial office. Sucking the fat and blood of the people in conspiracy with clerks, he manipulates the grain in the granaries and snatches what is left to fill his pocket. However, he soon falls into the net of the law. Fixing the yamen office in disrepair, for this reason, is regarded as something that entices a man into a quagmire of crimes. Hence the magistrate, however upright he may be, becomes so cautious and fearful that he prefers to avoid doing anything risky while he is in that post. Supporting a wall with a wooden block and patching the holes in the roof, he just finishes a few years of his term and transfers to another post, but his successor also does the same. Do they not realize that the yamen office is a place that the king specially prepared for the residence of his magistrates, as well as for the guesthouse for accommodating his messengers? If one of the shingles in the office building is broken, the magistrate should be responsible for it. How does he dare to neglect maintaining the yamen office like this? In the early years of the Chosŏn dynasty the magistrate was strictly prohibited from repairing the yamen office privately. That kind of law was probably made because some avaricious magistrates misappropriated part of the repair funds. However, many officials who were outstanding in integrity and capability defied the prohibition and actually repaired the yamen office during their terms, and the facts were all recorded in the introductions and records produced by distinguished officials and celebrities. Nowadays the state sets no prohibition, and the people feel sorry when they look at the run-down yamen office. Under these circumstances, should it be right for the magistrate just to look at the run-down yamen office without taking any action?

858

book X

The following is in Sun Qiao’s chronicle of Baocheng Post Station: “When the guests arrive in the evening, they want blankets to cover themselves, as well as food to satisfy their hunger. However, since they arrive in the evening and leave in the morning, how can they be expected to care about the place in which they happen to stay overnight? Figuratively speaking, they are like those who rent a boat and, ignoring any repairs that need to be made, keep fishing until the oars are broken or the gunwale is damaged or the weathercock on top of the mast falls off; they are also like those who, while fishing, stop fishing only after draining the pond and catching all the fish, rummaging through the mud. Much worse, they feed their horses in the porch and make their hawks sleep in the main hall. Thus it is difficult to prevent them from damaging the building, as well as the fi xtures in it, let alone making it dirty.” In my observation, it is the custom of the magistrate who lacks benevolence not merely to make his home in the yamen office but to leave it dirty or damaged. In olden days, when Yi T’oegye departed from Tanyang after finishing the term of his magistracy, the clerks and residents were very pleased to find that the rooms occupied by the former magistrate had been cleaned, and there were no stains or dirt marks on the white wallpaper, as if it was newly furnished. Why cannot the people of our time pattern themselves after him, imitating this exemplary conduct? This may appear trivial, but the way in which one handles public and private property testifies to his personality. Yang Guihou of the Tang dynasty became prefect of Rongyang and repaired Guancheng Post Station, and Liu Yuxi wrote a chronicle [jiwen] on it: “Since the yard of the post station is good for raising banners [yajie] for honored guests and the servants’ quarters for keeping travelers’ equipment, the place looks respectable, and there is no sign of shabbiness in it. The kitchen is placed inside and the stable outside; the barn’s ceiling is high and its room spacious; and firewood is stacked in the sunny place and hay in the dry spot. So the arrangements in the station are fully in accord with propriety. The master of the post station is provided with his private residence, and the men working for him are also given their own quarters. There is a banquet hall for transferring soldiers, and there are separate quarters for the personnel who have their families. The station is surrounded with high walls, and on top of them there is a pavilion that is designed to show respect to departing guests. The guests may feel that the people standing in the pavilion are watching them until they are out of view. This is the best part of this post station.” 63. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Kezhi or Yinzhi. He associated with Han Yu, a famous poet and a precursor of Neo-Confucianism, and rose to the position of supreme pillar of state (shangzhuguo), one of the highest merit titles granted to high officials. 64. Unknown. 65. A famous poet of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Mengde. He served as academician of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies.

Public Works Administration

859

When Zhu Shouchang of the Song dynasty remodeled a pavilion equipped with drums and horns when he was in charge of Guangde Military Prefecture, Zeng Gong composed a chronicle for him: “In repairing the gateway and the pavilion, he neither called nor urged the people, but they volunteered to work, encouraging one another. They started on the first day of the tenth lunar month and finished on the first day of the twelft h lunar month. The pavilion they repaired has high walls around it, and the buildings inside appear in layers facing one another, but they, though loft y, appear neither presumptuous nor luxurious. Here all state affairs and laws are carried out while scholars and officials, as well as traveling guests, constantly move in and move out.” The Great Ming Code Contains a Provision That Restricts Reckless Repair of Public Buildings, and the Law of Our Country Prohibited the Same When It Was Initiated and Carried Out on a Personal Basis; Nevertheless, Our Predecessors Did Not Always Abide by the Rule; They Repaired or Constructed Public Buildings if Necessary. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “In all cases where civil or military officials engage in construction and manufacturing, if they should report to their superiors but do not do so, or if they should await [their superiors’] replies but do not do so, and they levy labor ser vices without authorization, they shall be punished in accordance with the law against obtaining illicit goods through malfeasance. In all the above cases, the price of the things and the money paid for the labor shall be jointly paid back [by the artisans, officials in charge of the ser vices, and proctorial officials and functionaries] to the government . . . If, when city walls collapse or granaries, treasuries, or other public buildings are damaged, [the officials] immediately dispatch laborers or military soldiers to make repairs, this provision shall not be applied.”  The Great Ming Code also stipulated: “In all cases in which damage occurs to public buildings such as offices, granaries, treasuries, bureaus, and institutes, responsible officials or functionaries shall immediately send dispatches to the competent officials having authority to make repairs. Any violations shall be punished by forty strokes of beating with a light stick.”  “When [the officials] 66. His courtesy name was Kangshu. He was born the illegitimate son of a father named Xun. When his father died, his mother, Lady Liu, married another man, and he and his mother had to live separately. In the early years of Emperor Kangxi, he resigned from his office to seek his mother. After copying the Diamond Sutra with his blood, which demonstrated his strong determination to fi nd her, he wandered around the country for years and fi nally found her, along with two brothers, in Shanzhou, and brought them home. Wang Anshi and Su Shi praised Zhu’s act in their poems. 67. “Engaging in Constructions and Manufactures Contrary to the Law,” Laws on Public Works (Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 244 ). 68. Ibid., 245.

860

book X

engage in construction, if the estimated or petitioned amount of materials and labor is not correct, they shall be punished by fift y strokes of beating with a light stick.”  If we examine these two provisions, although the law prohibits licentiousness in the repair of public buildings, it also enjoins officials from neglecting the repair of public buildings. How can their neglect, then, be justified under the pretext of various excuses? What they need is a good intention and strict accounting. When Kim Yusŏn became magistrate of Sŏngju, he repaired the yamen office, and Sin Sukju composed a chronicle: “Because in recent years the law has been strict and the people are truculent, those who are magistrates are reluctant to repair public buildings; they just watch them falling apart, fi xing neither a stone nor a tile, until they fi nish their term. After Kim arrived as magistrate, he lamented, ‘If the magistrate does not violate the law, however strict the law may be, why should he be afraid of the law, and if he does not harass the people, however fierce the people may be, why should he shun them?’ Then he gathered timber, put the carpenters to work, and in less than a few months finished the repair.” When Kim Ch’ungyŏng became magistrate of Naju, he repaired House of Phoenix Tree [Pyŏgohŏn], and Sŏ Kŏjŏng composed a chronicle: “Since those who are incompetent and ignorant among the magistrates of our time are at a loss, sweating hard in dealing with loads of paperwork, how can they afford to pay attention to other matters? Even a magistrate who is reputed to be benevolent makes an excuse and says, ‘I cannot help being concerned with the strict prohibition of the state, as well as the complaints of the people.’ Therefore, even if public buildings are damaged by the rain and are in danger of collapsing in the wind, he neither tries to prop up the wall with a log nor moves a stone to patch a hole leaking with rainwater; he just tarries, only hoping that it will not collapse, as if it were an inn, and figuring that it will still not be too late to work on the repairs and construction when the building actually happens to collapse. If the old building collapses under these circumstances, a new one has to be constructed, and the burden of the work falls on the people. How can we describe their hardship and harassment until the job is completed? The current magistrate hires the people in a proper way without causing damage to their property; he makes sure that they do not miss the farming season; and he is not anxious to make profits [out of re69. Ibid., 243. 70. An official of the early Chosŏn period. 71. Sin Sukju (1417–1475) was an official of early Chosŏn Korea. His courtesy name was Pŏmong, and his pen names Pohanjae and Hŭihyŏndang. Talented in literature and a scholar of repute, he contributed to the creation of hangŭl, the native Korean alphabet created by King Sejong, and served in numerous high-ranking offices until he rose to the position of chief state councilor. 72. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Myŏngjung. He served as section chief of the Board of Rites, second inspector, and chief of the Bureau of Slave Administration.

Public Works Administration

861

pairing public buildings]. Since he has already brought benefits to the people, what among his works is against the law?” When Kim Paekgyŏm became magistrate of Hwangju, he repaired the guesthouse in the yamen, and Sŏ Kŏjŏng wrote a chronicle: “In Pyŏngsin year [1476], when Director of the Ministry of Revenue Qi Shun and Messenger Zhang Jin of the Ming dynasty visited, carry ing an imperial message, I escorted them to Hwangju as escort commissioner. When we arrived in Hwangju, it was Day of the Clear and Bright Festival. When we held a banquet in Gwangwŏllu Pavilion, a storm suddenly broke out, so we moved to the main hall of the guest house. But the main hall was narrow, and its ceiling was low; furthermore, because it had no columns in the front but the rafter that was designed to fend off rain or snow, the water from the rafter kept running down as the rain continued, making an annoying noise. Those who entertained the envoys at the table were all wet and lost their dignity. Since Magistrate Kim decided to start reconstructing the guesthouse, is this not what everyone waited for? Being used to inertia, those who are magistrates nowadays idle away their time, looking at the yamen office as if it were an inn where they stay overnight. Thus they move neither a log nor a stone to fi x the public buildings that are in disrepair; they take action only after the buildings are completely destroyed, which increases the damage several times more. Since the current magistrate has raised what had been run down for hundreds of years, how can we not praise him?” The following happened when Song Yonyŏn became magistrate of Hongju. Planning to build a new guesthouse, he said, “The guesthouse is for welcoming and entertaining guests and visitors, and the main hall is for performing the ritual ceremony to pay respects to the royal court where the king is [manggwŏllye] on the first and fifteenth days of the lunar month. The present guesthouse, however, being located at a low level, cannot show the dignity of the place for establishing memorial tablets of the kings [yŏmp’ae] and, being too small in scale, has no space for performing the manggwŏllye ceremony. Besides, since it is in danger of collapsing any minute, how can we not make it new through reconstruction?” Then he finally completed the construction of the new guesthouse. Cho Wi wrote a chronicle: “When I observe provinces and counties, all the public buildings in recent years are new and recently built. The ones that are tilted or broken down are no more than 73. A military official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chayang, and his posthumous title Yangho. He also served as fi ft h minister-without-portfolio and provincial military commander of P’yŏngan Province. 74. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kisu. He also served as director of Quartermaster Bureau. 75. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Maegye, and his posthumous title Munjang. He served as royal secretary, governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, and headmaster of the National Confucian Academy.

862

book X

two or three out of ten, and the new ones are all so grand and luxurious that they cannot be compared with the old ones in the past. How come the artisans of the old days were all backward in their craftsmanship and the artisans of our times are all outstanding in their skill like Zi Ban and Ying Ren? This is only because the royal court is clear and bright, the state is safe and secure, the lives of the people are comfortable, products are plentiful, and there is a surplus of work and strength.” In my observation, this happened when our dynasty was prosperous. Since in the vicissitudes of public buildings one can see the future of the state, how can one neglect their maintenance? A Pavilion or Gazebo from Which a Scenic View Can Be Enjoyed Is Something Every District Capital Should Have. Yi Ch’ŏm in the chronicle on Isŏpjŏng Pavilion of Kanghwa stated: “The need for a place for sightseeing in the district may not even be an appropriate subject for discussion. However, when the state of mind is stressful, thought is disturbed, sight is blind, and will is stagnant, the superior man definitely needs to have a place for rest and refreshment. There he looks around, walking slowly, until his mind regains its peace. Then he will find that in his administration what is complicated turns out to be simple, what is disturbing settles, what is stagnant starts to move, and what is knotted becomes unloosed.” When Kim Chil served as magistrate of Andong, he was good at solving lawsuits. Especially when it came to lawsuits concerned with land and slaves, the whole population of the province wanted to take their cases to Magistrate Kim, sending requests to the governor, and both winners and losers in their lawsuits were satisfied. Because of this success in legal matters, the treasury and warehouse of Andong became fi lled with court fees paid either in cash or cloth. With the revenue thus made, Magistrate Kim renovated Yŏngholu Pavilion, and Kim Chongjik wrote a chronicle on it: “It is now one hundred years since the pavilion fell into decay. How is it possible that there were no magistrates who could repair it? The reason that the pillars, rafters, floors, and guardrails are rotten and shaken, and the roof tiles and bricks, though cracked and broken, are unattended 76. A famous artisan of the Lu state. 77. A native of Ying, the capital of Chu state. He was known to be good at carving wood. 78. An official in the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn periods. His courtesy name was Chungsuk, and his pen name Ssangmaedang. Learned and talented in literature, he compiled the Condensed History of the Three Kingdoms (Samguk saryak), and one of his poems is included in the Revised Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea (Sinjŭng tongguk yŏji sŭngnam). 79. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Suong. He also served as second inspector, fourth royal secretary (chwabusŭngji), second minister of war, concurrent mobile inspector of P’yŏngan and Hwanghae provinces, and minister of punishments.

Public Works Administration

863

and abandoned, is that the ways people think are not the same. Since the magistrates who are interested in paying respects to their superiors are anxious to see them with bribes, and those who are obsessed with the rules and customs are busy with keeping documents and records in proper order, it is hardly strange that the pavilion decays and crumbles day by day. Magistrate Kim’s outstanding work, therefore, cannot but be praised.” This is what happened when Chŏn Sŏngan served as magistrate of Suwŏn. Because there was an old pond that was in disrepair, he dredged it and in its center built a small pavilion after making an island. Yi Saek wrote a chronicle on this: “The finances for the construction were not drawn from the state, and the construction work was not imposed on the people. When the pavilion was finally finished, the people of the district were all surprised and said to each other, ‘How could such a thing be accomplished so easily? There must be someone who provided help. How could he do it without recruiting us?’ ” The following happened when Pak Kŏmyŏng became magistrate of Yongin. He did not recruit people for a new pavilion that he built east of the guest house. Kim Suryŏng wrote a chronicle for him: “When I observe magistrates these days, they tend to spend their time as if they were dreaming without doing anything. Regarding the yamen office as an inn for travelers, they prop up the walls only after they tilt to one side and fill up the holes only after the roof starts leaking; much worse, although they never replace a piece of tile on the roof, they say, ‘I am taking good care of the people,’ and without plucking a weed in the yard, they remark, ‘No one brings us lawsuits.’ The reason that the buildings of the yamen office fall into decay is always people like them. How can we easily fi nd a man like Magistrate Pak?” Since Work like Gathering Timber and Recruiting Skilled Workers Should Be Carried Out in the Context of a Comprehensive Perspective, One Must Think Ahead How to Prevent Potential Problems and Reduce Expenditures and Use Manpower Efficiently. The following is in the Daily Record of Koksan Prefecture Regarding the Renovation of Its Main Office [Sangsanbu chŏngdang kaegŏn ilyŏk]: “The most important 80. An official of the late Koryŏ and early Chosŏn dynasties. 81. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of King Sejo. 82. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His pen name name was Soyangdang. He was chosen as one of the Chwari merit subjects and granted the title Lord Pokch’ang. The title of Chwari merit subject was given to the officials during the reign of King Sŏngjong (1469–1494) who served the king in an outstanding way. 83. Sangsan is an old name of Koksan in Hwanghae Province, which Tasan once governed as magistrate. It appears that this record was made by Tasan himself while he served there.

864

book X

things in constructing the main office are as follows: first, to find the right person to supervise the whole project; second, to secure competent foremen capable of carrying out the tasks they are charged with; third, to select skilled workers; fourth, to raise finances; fift h, to gather timber; sixth, to secure clay; seventh, to secure water; eighth, to quarry stone; ninth, to fire bricks; tenth, to purchase iron and hardware; eleventh, to pick out workers; and twelfth, to keep records. When these things are properly carried out, the whole work of construction will be praised.” What does it mean to find the right person to supervise the entire project? Men of capability tend to cheat; men of honesty are often foolish. That is the reason that it is difficult to find a good supervisor. He who is from out of town cannot oversee the tricks of clerks even if he is a member of the yangban or local gentry. The supervisor must be selected from the experienced and outstanding clerks or military officers who are currently out of office. After making him supervisor, the magistrate should discuss the matter with him, observe whether he is sincere, and admonish him to be diligent and devoted to the work. Then the selection of the supervisor will work out well. Also, seeking a few foremen, he has them take charge, respectively, of hardware, timber, water, clay, and the like, making sure that each person takes care of only one area so that their missions may not be mixed with one another. He also admonishes and encourages them with rewards and punishments, making them work harder and compete with their skills and talents. Then the job of selecting foremen will be accomplished. Although it is not difficult to find good timber, it is really hard to find good carpenters. When there is a good carpenter, there are few mistakes in planning or judging and no waste in the use of timber, so it takes less effort, as well as expense, to finish the whole task. If one fails to find a good carpenter, however, he who uses an ax and he who handles a saw, lacking proper instruction, fail to produce straight or crooked timber in proper ways in accordance with their shape; furthermore, it happens that workers become idle because they are often not provided with work regularly, which causes delay of construction, as well as lack of control and waste of money. It would be advisable to choose skilled workers out of those in the three capital cities [samgyŏng]. The ones in the neighborhood who are recommended for personal reasons all should not be trusted. As for the ways of raising finances, the magistrate must fully consult the governor. If he manipulates the grain in the warehouse for his personal interest, he commits a serious wrongdoing, for it is against the law and brings about complaints from the people. However, if he saves and wisely uses the items of property stored in various state warehouses for the public interest without diverting them into his pocket, they can be the source of fi nances for his construction project. When 84. Th is term seems to mean Seoul, Kaesŏng, and P’yŏngyang.

Public Works Administration

865

he adjudicates lawsuits, he collects from litigants various handling fees, which include redemption money, and the use of these revenues requires the approval of the superior office. So, with the approval of his superior, he can secure extra finances for construction. When trees have fallen in a fierce rainstorm, he can also use them to make extra income. If he cuts them in time, with the approval of his superior, so that they do not dry up and are not eaten by worms, they also become a source of extra revenue. (In this case authorization should be obtained from the Border Defense Council.) If the district he governs has a good harvest and other districts do not, he can purchase grain and sell it in the spring after keeping it in the granary during the winter. The profits he makes out of this trade can contribute to the finances of construction. No matter how poor the district may be, its financial situation will be better than that of a rich merchant. If he really intends to make money through this type of commerce, will there not be ways to do it? If the magistrate uses the profits made through his endeavors for the good of his district, he has no reason to be ashamed or feel restrained in what he does. The magistrate’s order concerning the logging of timber must be very articulate and cautious. If rumor gets out prematurely, the owners of private mountains, in conspiracy with the clerks and military officers, may try to hoard good timber secretly, and then there will be a hole of tricks. If the magistrate plans to renovate the buildings in the yamen office, he should first make architectural plans and secretly dispatch a reliable man to Seoul. Arriving in Seoul, his agent will recruit carpenters and discuss the architectural plans of the building to be constructed with them, especially the timber to be supplied; thus they figure out the exact amount of timber needed for construction and illustrate item by item, such as crossbeams, girders, pillars, rafters, hinges, thresholds, crossbars, and doorposts. If the carpenters calculate an estimate of the timber like this, the magistrate will know how many pine trees, which are all available in big, medium, small, and miscellaneous sizes and types, are needed for his construction. Examining the list of timber provided by the carpenters, the magistrate secretly inspects the mountains in his district, and within the bounds of 10 li he takes big pine trees, within the bounds of 20 li, medium-size trees, and within the bounds of 30 li, small-size trees because these limits have to do with manpower requirements. (In case the timber is transported by boat, big pines can be taken even within the bounds of 100 li.) After secretly deciding how many big pine trees he will take from the mountains of an individual named Chang, and how many medium-size pine trees from another individual named Yi, he summons clerks and military officers to make an announcement about his plan for constructing office buildings. He dispatches them to log the trees according to the plan he had already made, providing them with official papers in which the number of trees to be logged is recorded. If they show the papers to the owners of mountains, they cannot increase or reduce the number of trees to be logged and therefore cannot cheat on

866

book X

the trees. Besides, the logging must be carried out during the eleventh lunar month [Chungdong] according to the examples in Rites of Zhou. If it is carried out in the spring or summer when the trees are full of sap, the timber will be vulnerable to worms and will be destroyed within a few years. The transportation of trees is also a great challenge. The roads must first be prepared in the autumn, and ten yuhyŏnggŏ vehicles should be built in late winter, and if the timber is transported to the yamen when the roads are frozen with slippery ice, this will save the people a great deal of effort. The way to secure clay for construction is naturally to dig the ground near the construction site. The clay on top may be rotten and dirty, but the clay deep in the ground will be all sticky and will look yellow. When the ground is dug out, a pond with water is produced, which can serve to quench fires in an emergency or as a place for holding a small banquet. Because fortresses have moats, this way of securing clay serves two purposes. The way of tamping the ground, according to our old custom, is first to throw roof tiles and gravel into the pit and place a foundation stone after ramming the pit down, but this is not a good way. If one first digs a pit, fi lls it up with a mixture of lime, sand, and clay [samhwat’o], and rams the mixture down, the pit becomes hardened like rocks in a few months. Then he finally places a foundation stone on it. Buildings whose foundations are made in this way will permanently have no problems like tilting and sinking. (Samhwat’o was used in building the main hall of Koksan Prefecture, but it has neither cracked nor tilted so far, although twenty years have passed.) One does not need to worry about securing water if there is a well or a spring in the construction site. However, if the well or spring is outside the wall, and therefore it is difficult to have the needed water, one must make a pond in the construction site that is connected through a long bamboo conduit to a pinewood container outside (the conduit can be made of a long piece of pinewood). This device will provide a sufficient water supply even if one makes a child draw water from the well and pour it into the container, and it will also save a good deal of money. The quarrying of stones had better be carried out in the nearest mountains, and the stones, cut into various sizes, should be lifted by a pulley called kijungga and loaded into yuhyŏnggŏ vehicles to be transported. This will also reduce expenses. When one installs a kiln to produce roof tiles, he should make its inside wall straight upward so that fires can move up straight and one can thereby bake tiles with a minimum amount of firewood. After the summer solstice the weather becomes so humid that clay is damp and roof tiles are either broken or twisted; therefore, the kiln should be installed during the vernal equinox, and the production of tiles should not be delayed any longer. The kiln must be established near the construction site. When the tiles are finally made, they should be kept in the kiln and well guarded until the day of roofing. When the day for roofing arrives, the magistrate recruits all the clerks and government slaves, as well as the

Public Works Administration

867

children in the town, and has them line up from the kiln to the roof of the new building. (A ladder is needed to climb to the roof.) He makes them stand a few paces apart. Then person A hands a tile to person B, and B in turn passes it to person C, and C again passes it to D, and so forth, making sounds and alternating both hands. Passed from one hand to another, the tiles move like floating clouds until they arrive at the roof, and the job is finished in a short while without damaging a piece of tile. In this way one can save a great deal of effort, as well as money. Unless the work is carried out in this way, the number of tiles that an individual can carry on his back will be no more than twenty, and many of those tiles will be broken in the process of loading and unloading. Furthermore, since many people move back and forth, it will be hard to prevent them from taking a break, so it will cost ten times more effort and expense. It is very difficult to prevent tricks concerning the expenses for iron and hardware. The magistrate must select a man of integrity to take charge of this matter. If iron is already purchased, the magistrate picks out a lump of iron at random and has it weighed. Then he orders a blacksmith to refine it and has him make nails in his presence. After the nails are made, he weighs them to find out the difference between the weight of the nails and that of the lump of iron. Likewise, he weighs the nails, rings, dippers, and clamps and compares their weight with the iron that was originally purchased. Then he will know about the difference, which consistently arises in the manufacture of all iron products, and no one will be able to cheat him. As for the workers, the magistrate should recruit clerks and government slaves for the major workforce and employ civilians only as their assistants. On the day when the construction starts, he assembles all the workers, including clerks and officials, and admonishes them: “Whose house is it that we are going to build now? Since a magistrate like myself is only a passing traveler, I do not know where I will be next year. Thus this building is certainly not for me. The civilians are the people who work in the fields. Since they cannot draw benefits from this building, whether under scorching sun or fierce rain, no one can say that this building belongs to them. Then who is there except you, who will seek shelter from the sun and shun the rain in it, bequeathing it as fathers and inheriting it as sons? Although this building is for you, I am the only one who works hard, and the civilians, who have little to do with the building, are forced to work, which makes no sense.” Old military officers and clerks can hold timber while younger people are engaged in sawing; government slaves can carry timber or trim and cut it; those who are in poor health should be given a break, and those who are in good health should extend their shifts; and the poor should be provided with lunch. If the magistrate encourages and urges these people to work harder, making them sing while working, or lashing them if they get lazy, there will be nothing to worry about except recruiting workers. Surveying the entire population in

868

book X

the district, he levies two days’ labor ser vice on rich households and one day’s on regular households. Those who can come to work in the morning and return home in the evening should be allowed to commute from their homes; those who are unable to do so should be made to pay 25 p’un for their labor, but the money levied on them should not exceed that amount. The request of those who want to work even though they live far away should not be denied. Those who become drunk and get involved in fighting should be made to work for two extra days as punishment; those who cause physical injury during their fight should be made to work for three extra days; and those who did the same but in a group should be made to work for ten extra days as punishment. If the magistrate also makes those who deserve to be punished for their wrongdoings come out to work, he will be able to increase the workforce. In keeping records, the magistrate must be meticulous and cautious in making entries. He must carefully record all the incoming items of property, as well as the expenses paid out. It is also advisable that he personally sign the records, stamping his seal, and report them to his superior so that there may not be any controversies in the future. On the day of celebrating the completion of the building, it is the old custom to invite the elders and wealthy people to a banquet and let them pledge to make monetary contributions when the banquet is over. Since this custom is really vulgar and controversial, it must not be followed. Once the Yamen Office Building Is Either Constructed or Repaired Properly, It Is Also a Fine Taste of a Scholar to Grow Flowers and Plant Trees. When Pan Anin of the Jin dynasty became magistrate of Heyang, he made the people cultivate peaches and plums extensively. The people sang, “The administration of Magistrate Pan deserves our praise. The district of Heyang is overflowing with flowers.” C H A P T E R  : R E PA I R OF T H E F ORT R E S S

It Is Also the Duty of the Magistrate to Strengthen Defense and Protect the People by Repairing the Fortress and Digging Moats around It. According to the “Proceedings of Government in Different Months,” in the early autumn one is supposed to strengthen walls and enclosures and repair city and suburban walls; in the midautumn, to construct city and suburban walls and repair granaries; and in the early winter, to put broken walls into good repair and 85. A famous writer of the West Jin dynasty. His name was Pan Yue. Anin was his courtesy name. Talented in literature, he served as grand mentor.

Public Works Administration

869

to defend the gates of towns and villages. If one looks at the Spring and Autumn Annals, the repairs of the fortifications that were carried out every year are all recorded. The fortifications we have now in the districts and counties were constructed in the distant past; however, neither a stone nor a tile has been added to them for ages, ever since they were constructed. Much worse, the discussion of repairing fortifications starts only after they collapse and moats are fi lled. If they were repaired in a timely manner and properly maintained, how could this happen? Repairing fortifications is certainly a priority of the magistrate. Yu Jing of the Song dynasty left Guangxi and constructed a new fortress in Guizhou. At that time Nong Zhigao rose in rebellion, but there was no one in twelve prefectures in the south who was willing to repair fortresses. When Yu Jing under these circumstances constructed a fortress on a massive scale, it stretched 6 li in all directions, and the building materials, including timber, bricks, tiles, and stones, amounted to 4 million pieces when they were counted individually; the number of workers mobilized for this task was over 100,000, and the fortress was fully equipped with all the defensive devices against enemy attack. Starting in the eighth lunar month of the first year [1054] of Zhihe, the construction was completed in the eighth lunar month of the second year of Zhihe, and Zeng Gong wrote a chronicle on this: “King Wen ordered Nan Zhong to construct a fortress in the northern frontier, and King Xuan charged Zhong Shanfu with building a stronghold in the eastern frontier, and now Prefect Yu is like these two subjects.” The following happened when Li Suzhi governed Yingzhou. When there was a powerful earthquake in the region of Hebei, city and suburban walls, as well as houses, were all destroyed, and the grain stored in the granaries was exposed to heavy rain. As soon as the rain stopped, he submitted a request for spare soldiers and supplies to the court and purchased timber in Zhending, raising 100 million maces, and finally constructed a new fortress. The new fortress was 15 li long in all directions and, being much higher, wider, and stronger, surpassed the old one in magnificence. The rooms in the watchtowers and structures for battle amounted to as many as 4,600, and all the houses that were destroyed were completely restored. Using the strength that was still left over, he also constructed a road connecting the south to the north, and because of this new road, the people could travel on a flat road instead of a muddy one. During the reign of King Muyŏl of Silla, Kim Inmun became regional commander in chief of Apdokju [modern Kyŏngsan] and constructed Changsan 86. A famous rebel leader of the Zhuang minority ethnic tribe. He revolted against Song China and set up an independent kingdom in the south, but his uprising was short lived. 87. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongyi. He was praised for his outstanding administration, and his family for loyalty and fi liality. 88. The second son of King Muyŏl (654–661) and the younger brother of King Munmu (661– 681). His courtesy name was Insu. He played an important role in orga nizing the joint army of the

870

book X

Fortress. In recognition of his ser vice, the king granted him a district with three hundred households. When Liu Gongchuo became magistrate of Gancheng, the court ordered the districts on the coast to build fortifications for defense against Japanese marauders. The construction project was huge, whereas the workers to be mobilized were scarce. Therefore, he consulted the elders of the district and decided upon labor ser vice based on the amount of land owned by the residents; he also encouraged and admonished the people, providing food and wine to those who carried stones. Pleased by his treatment, the young people, including both men and women, worked hard and finished the construction in a few months. The fortifications they built were also very strong (Collected Works of T’oegye). In Case the Fortress Is to Be Constructed in an Emergency Situation, Such as When War Breaks Out and an Enemy Invades, the Magistrate Must First Take a Look at the Terrain and Take the Realities of the People’s Lives into Consideration. When Yuan Chongzu of the Qi dynasty became prefect of Yuzhou, he wanted to repair the outer fortress and construct a dam in the Feishui River to strengthen defense. However, all the civil and military officials said, “In the olden days when Foli invaded, we had difficulties in defending the outer fortress because it was too large, even though we had more soldiers than now. So we had to withdraw and defend the inner fortress. Besides, ever since the Feishui River has existed, we have never constructed a dam in it. We are afraid that we will just waste our energy for nothing.” Yuan Chongzu replied, “If we abandon the outer fortress, the barbarian invaders will certainly use it to build observation towers on it, and we will be captured, being unable to resist the enemy.” Finally he built a dam northwest of the Feishui River, and north of the dam he constructed a small fortress and dug moats around it. The army of the Wei dynasty indeed attacked that small fortress. Wearing a white funeral cap and riding a palanquin, Yuan went up to the fortress and broke the dam he had built. The soldiers and horses of the Wei dynasty, which were about a thousand in number, were drowned, and the army of the Wei ran away. Silla kingdom and the Tang dynasty to defeat Paekche and Koguryŏ, the rival kingdoms of Silla, and bringing about the Silla unification. 89. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Kuan. He served as provincial military commander and minister of war. He was granted the posthumous title Yuan. 90. The collected works of Yi Hwang, a great Neo- Confucian scholar of the mid- Chosŏn period, better known as his pen name, T’oegye. Published in 1598, the thirty-fi rst year of King Sŏnjo, it consisted of poems, essays, instructions, memorials to the king, sacrificial invocation, and biographies. 91. An official of the Southern Qi dynasty. 92. Emperor Taiwu (408–452) of the Northern Wei dynasty. Foli was his courtesy name.

Public Works Administration

871

When Kim Sŏngil [pen name Hakbong] was provincial military commander of Right Kyŏngsang Province, he repaired Ch’oksŏk Fortress and added many turrets on the walls of the fortress. As a result, the fortress could be safe from enemy attack. Although the fortress was originally located on rugged high ground, it was relocated in Imjin year [1592] to a spot to the east that was lower down on level ground. There the enemy was able to built eight watchtowers so that they could look down inside our fortress. Cutting down bamboo forests, they also made stockades with bamboos to protect themselves against arrows and stones; concealing themselves behind the stockades, they ceaselessly discharged their fowling pieces, and bullets rained down on the heads of the people within the fortress. So the people could not dare to lift their heads, and the fortress finally collapsed in eight days. When Min Yŏgŏm served as magistrate of Kwaksan, there were signs of enemy invasion day after day. He used to say in ordinary times, “How can he who serves the king choose what is easy and avoid what is difficult? If I have to die, I have to.” After he took office, he immediately constructed Nŭnghan Fortress for the defense of his district. During the construction he personally carried clay and stones on his back. The people who saw him eagerly offered themselves for the work as if they were in competition, and the fortress was finished in less than a month. Constructing a Fortress at a Time That Is Not Right Can Be Worse Than Not to Construct It at All; to Proceed with It during the Farmers’ Slack Season Is Appropriate according to the Old Custom. In the Spring and Autumn Annals there are records of constructing fortresses, and it is recorded that twenty-three out of twenty-nine fortresses were constructed in an unseasonable time. The sage’s admonitions against constructing fortresses at an inopportune time are serious, as shown in the record. How can you ignore the right time in carry ing out such an undertaking? If one can recruit unemployed people for the work, there will be nothing wrong even if it is carried out in the spring. The following happened when Fang Keqin governed the prefecture of Jining. In the middle of summer the military commander constructed a fortress and recruited the people. Fang said to him, “The people are now busy with their farming. Why do you give them a hard time, forcing them to do extra work?” Then he requested that the Secretariat stop the construction. Previously there had been a heavy rain after a severe drought. The people of Jining sang, “Who stopped the construction and gave us a break? It is our dear prefect. Who made 93. The enemy here was the army of Qing China.

872

book X

our crop revive? It is the rain sent by our prefect. Please do not leave us, dear prefect! You are the parent of all of us!” (History of Ming). The So-Called Construction of Fortresses in Olden Days Meant the Construction of Massive Earthen Walls. Nothing Is Better than This Earthen Fortification for Repelling the Enemy Once a War Breaks Out. Since stamping earth is called zhu, making walls by piling stones qi, and piling up bricks layer by layer zhou, the meanings of these characters are all different. Classic of Poetry used the word zhucheng; so did the Spring and Autumn Annals. Even the Great Wall constructed and defended by Mengtian was also originally an earthen fortress. The fortress of Shitou was also originally an earthen fortress but was later renovated with bricks. Separately constructed with stones at the time of Yixing, it was named Shitou, which means “stones.” This indicates that stone fortresses were rare in the olden days. The fortress of Fenglin District in Yanzhou is called Heliancheng, and it was constructed by Helian Bobo. A historical record tells us that the fortress was so strong, like a stone, that slicing into it with a hoe created a spark. It again shows that this fortress was also built with earth. Although brick fortresses in our days are better than earthen ones since they are built with layers of bricks both inside and out, they are not worth discussing because the people of our country hardly know how to produce bricks. Stone fortresses not only cost a great deal of expense, as well as effort, but also are, in fact, less durable than they are expected to be and are incapable of defending against enemy attack. They may look strong, but their inside is often so soft that they easily collapse or get holes, and in a few years they start crumbling while they are undergoing freezing and thawing during the spring and being wet during the summer. Furthermore, enemies who know how to attack such fortresses will try to pull down the walls, wearing rough-looking armor to protect themselves and grappling the stones in the wall with iron hooks. Since stone fortresses are vulnerable to this type of attack, what good are they? Therefore, when there are signs of enemy invasion, the magistrate should fi rst repair the earthen fortress. If the hub of the district appears to be defendable, he must repair existing fortresses; if the terrain is flat and not fit for defense, he should build a rampart or a fortress, selecting a place on a higher level that protrudes from the ground like a piece of garlic (Yu Sŏngnyong called this little hill “garlic peak”). In the lower and flat parts of the fortress some regular gaps should be constructed, and they [the lower and fl at parts] should be a couple of chang [about 20 feet] high and over a chang [10 feet] thick, for discharging guns and 94. Emperor Wuli (381–425), the founding emperor of the Xiongnu state Xia.

Public Works Administration

873

arrows, and on steep parts of the fortress on higher ground only half a chang on top of fortress walls, which will be sufficient for defense against the enemy. The Manner of Establishing Walls around a Small Fortress Should Follow Yin Geng’s Construction Manual [Baoyue], and the System of Battlements and Watchtowers Needs to Be Reinforced. According to Yin Geng’s instruction manual for constructing fortresses, “What is important in building a fortress is neither its scale nor its shape but its capacity for garrisoning troops and a vantage to watch over the enemy in the distance.” A large fortress is indeed no better than a small one, and a straight one is no better than a curved one, because when the fortress is small and curved, it is stronger and easier to defend. Therefore, the founding emperor of the Song dynasty with a brush crossed out the fortress map presented by King Han of the Zhao kingdom and prohibited the use of fortresses whose shape was straight, and Zhan Meihe of the Jin dynasty, glancing at Bian Fortress, said that it would be easy to attack the fortress. In my observation, a good way of constructing fortresses is to use geographical conditions of hills and mountains. No matter how small a fortress may be, a fortress without protruding bastions [ch’isŏng] is good for nothing. Since our fortresses have no protruding bastions but rely on holes for cannons in the crenellated parapets [biye], what good are they? If the enemy soldiers crawl to the base of the fortress wall and take out stones from the wall, they can be safe from our attack, which includes the showering of stones or hot water, not to mention bullets and arrows. On both sides of the gatehouse L-shaped walls [koksŏng] should be built, instead of a semicircular rampart called jar walls [ongsŏng], which are to protect the main gate; in the case of fortress walls with no gates, protruding bastions should be installed, but the space between two parapets should not exceed 50 to 60 paces so that arrows and bullets can hit their targets. Then the fortress can be safe from enemy soldiers scaling the wall. On top of L-shaped walls, corner towers equipped with artillery, which are called p’ook (also called chŏkdae, gate-guard platform on the bastion, or kakdae if they are rectangular), must be established. These emplacements should be plas95. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as surveillance commissioner of the Henan region. His book, titled Baoyue, is presumed to have been an instruction manual related to the construction of fortresses; however, this is not confi rmed, and the book does not survive. 96. The commanding general of the Jin army. 97. An old name for Kaifeng, the capital of the late Song dynasty.

874

book X

tered with earth, but it is not necessary to cover them with straw thatches in ordinary times; if they are covered only when it rains, there will be no worries from the attack of incendiary arrows. Yin Geng’s instruction states: “Once circular curtain walls are already established, the next step is to build watchtowers on them, for the defense of the curtain walls depends solely on watchtowers. Even if they are straight in all directions, they can be defended when they are equipped with watchtowers; even if the curtain walls are curved, they cannot be defended when they have no watchtowers. Furthermore, it is good to have as many watchtowers as possible. When there are plenty of them, it is easy to defend the walls, and when they are tall, they are advantageous for attacking the enemy. Yu Zijun, Lord Sumin, in his discourse on curtain walls and watchtowers, contended that the ideal space between two watchtowers should be 1 li because he figured that the range of enemy attack extended to over 300 paces. If the spaces between watchtowers are too wide, it will be hard to coordinate counterattack effectively. “The number of watchtowers should be decided on the basis of the scale of the fortress. If the fortress is large, it requires more watchtowers; if it is small, it requires many fewer. The distance between the watchtowers should not exceed 50 paces. Furthermore, since some parts of fortress walls are protruding and others are not, the terrain must be closely examined before the watchtowers are constructed, and the spaces between them must be decided in accordance with the range of mutual firepower. If watchtowers are built without considering the distance between them or protuberances or hollowness on the walls, the walls will be vulnerable even to arrows and stones and will easily fall into the hands of the enemy.” Yin Geng also stated, “The fortresses and watchtowers of our times have many problems because they are constructed in ignorance of proper rules. Although corner towers [kakdae] were originally supposed to be vertical, they are now built at an angle, nor are they made to protrude. Being framed in an awkward way, they are simply added on top of the walls. Since the terrain of the fortress is already wrongfully selected and the passageways of arrows are all made slanted, how can the fortress walls be defended even if there are watchtowers, since one is incapable of attacking the enemy with arrows and stones from them?”

98. An official of the Ming dynasty. In 1471, when he served as provincial governor, he built a wall for the defense of the border in a very short time, including eleven fortresses and nearly one hundred beacons, which extended about 850 kilometers from present northeast Shenmu County of Shanxi Province to present Yanchi County of Nixia Hui Autonomous Region. Later he served as minister of war. His posthumous title was Sumin.

Public Works Administration

875

When the Repair of Fortresses Is Intended for Tourism, It Should Be Carried Out in Accordance with the Old Custom, Using Stones. Essays of Tasan stated as follows: “None of the fortresses along the southern coast can be repaired easily, and none are worth repairing anyway. Only those that are so decayed and disintegrated that one feels saddened to observe them should be made to look good by fi xing the parts that are broken down and connecting the things that are cut off. What is to be done in this case is only to cut stones to make walls; it is not always necessary to build all the defense structures, such as jar walls, firearms bastions, watchtowers, lookouts, arrow-launching platforms [nodae], sentry towers [p’oru], vertical slots made to see the enemy below a bastion [hyŏnan], water tanks [nujo] and so forth. However, the fortresses in towns like Chinju and Ulsan where provincial military headquarters are located, as well as the mountainous districts like Yŏngbyŏn, Chŏngju, and so on, although they were originally stone fortresses, must have a complete defensive system of their own. Since Mao Yuanyi’s Treatise on Military Preparations and Tang Shunzhi’s Book on Martial Arts [Wubian] provide detailed information on this subject, they need to be consulted.” Essays of Tasan also stated as follows: “Those who quarry stone in our country tend to think that quarrying is possible only in the stone mountains that are exposed above the ground. Therefore, when they construct fortresses or towers, they bring stones from a long distance without realizing that stones are, in fact, the basic structures of all mountains. How can a mountain be without stones, and what stones are not good for building a fortress? The stones, therefore, should be quarried from the mountains near the site of the fortress; they need not be transported from a distant place with great effort. When King Chŏngjo constructed Suwŏn Fortress, His Majesty at first planned to quarry at other mountains. Because his thought was wise and distinguished, however, he ordered men to try a nearby mountain called Angbong and found that the whole mountain was composed of stones. The stones quarried from the mountain turned out to be sufficient to construct the new fortress. This shows a good way of finding stones to build the fortress. If bringing the stones from a distant place happens to be unavoidable, it would be convenient to use a kijungsoga crane for

99. Tang Shunzhi (1507–1560) was a famous scholar-official of the Ming dynasty who fought the Japanese in Jiangyuan. His courtesy name was Yinde, and his pen name Jingchuan. As a distinguished writer, he favored old-style prose (guwen) and left Collected Works of Jingchuan (Jingchuan ji). 100. A type of pulley invented by Chŏng Yagyong to lift heavy materials. Its mechanism consists of a wheel on an axle or a shaft that may have a groove between two flanges around its circumference. A rope usually runs over the wheel and inside the groove.

876

book X

lifting them, along with a small cart called yuhyŏngsogŏ for their transportation.” Since the detailed discussion is included in Strategies for Constructing Fortresses [Sŏnghwajuryak], let me stop here. C H A P T E R : C ONS T RUC T ION A N D M A I N T E NA NC E OF ROA D S

It Is Also an Outstanding Work of the Magistrate to Prepare Roads Well and Make Travelers Want to Take Them for Their Trips. The Ministry of Justice in Rites of Zhou stated: “Yelu Shi in his inspection tour arrived in the royal domain, making sure that the people repaired state roads in their districts so that the roads might not be severed. When the roads or waterways were narrow, he had the boats and vehicles pass in order. When there was an important affair of state, he had the people prepare the roads by assigning them to various tasks.” The Ministry of Military Affairs stated: “Hefang Shi was charged with ensuring free and easy passage across all the roads under Heaven.” In my observation, the “Ministry of Public Works” (“Kaogongji”) in Rites of Zhou stated: “When engineers construct the roads, the width of straight roads [jingtu] is 9 gui; that of curved roads [hauntu] 7 gui; and country roads 5 gui. The straight roads in the marquisate are made 7 gui, and those in smaller cities 5 gui.” Since 1 gui (which is the length of the space between the two wheels of a vehicle) is 8 ch’ŏk [approximately 8 feet] according to Zheng Xuan’s commentary, 7 gui is 7 ren, and 5 gui 5 ren. The roads of local districts should be made comparatively much smaller. To speak of the roads in our country, for example, the main roads in the walled town should be made 3 ren wide (The roads of towns like Kongju and Chŏnju where the provincial office is located should be made just as those of small cities in the marquisate); the roads leading to large districts 2 ren wide; and small roads running through farmlands 1 ren. When the width of roads is found to be less than 1 ren, the magistrate should strictly admonish the people to expand them up to 1 ren; unless he strictly prevents them from encroaching into the roads, there will be serious inconvenience for everyone in using them. 101. Also called yuhyŏnggŏ, it is a type of cart or vehicle designed to carry heavy materials such as stones or timber for the construction of fortresses and buildings. Invented by Chŏng Yagyong, it was employed for the fi rst time in building the Hwasŏng (Suwŏn) Fortress, along with the pulleys called kijungsogŏ or kijunggŏ. 102. A section in the book titled Hwasŏng sŏngyŏk ŭigwe, the detailed history of the construction of Hwasŏng Fortress (modern Suwŏn) during the reign of Chŏngjo. 103. A chapter in Rites of Zhou. Its original title is “Winter Ministry with the Overseer of Public Works” (“Dongguan kaogongji”). 104. Gui ㌮ is a measure of length that originally referred to the space between two wheels of a vehicle; 1 gui is approximately 8 ch’ŏk or feet; it is equivalent to a ren ௠, another measurement of length.

Public Works Administration

877

Liu Zihou in “Record of Travels through Xingzhou” [“Xingzhou jiangyun ji”] stated: “The cliffs and valleys west of Xingzhou were so rugged and narrow that the road in a section 10 li long curved as many as a hundred times. Those who climbed the road carry ing heavy baggage felt like they were walking on the sharp blade of a knife; they kept falling down or being trampled, so that their blood soaked a hanging bridge. The road like that stretched as far as 300 li. Upon taking office, Inspector Yan removed huge rocks and large trees from the road. Then he burned trees and poured vinegar on them. When he finally finished the road, it appeared that it had existed that way from the beginning. The people in the west region, in their gratitude to the inspector, raised a stone monument in which they recorded his achievements of cutting mountains and diverting the river and honored him by offering sacrifices to him.” When Gui Rong became prefect of Liangzhou, he constructed a new post road. Liu Yuxi composed a chronicle on Gui Rong’s achievement: “The road that post-station horses traveled through was steep and narrow. At that time there was a good harvest, and because there were no accidents in the district, the soldiers spent the slack season in ease, and the civilians thought about making extra income. So Gui Rong recruited the people for wages and started making a road in mountain valleys, preparing various tools for tunneling, digging, rolling, and chopping, as well as equipment like stretchers, carts, straw baskets, shovels, and so on. Beating drums, he controlled the construction and encouraged the workers, feeding them with food and wine. As soon as his orders were given, people gathered from everywhere to execute them. The area that I was charged with stretched from Youfufeng to Jiange, which was a distance of 1,100 li, and between Sanguan and Baocheng there were as many as fifteen camps that were supervised by Gu An, security officer of the general in chief. From Baocheng via Lizhou to Guwen there were seventeen camps that were supervised by Shi Wenying, concurrent vice military commissioner. Upon receiving the orders, these two generals divided their soldiers and hastened to their assigned areas. The gigantic rocks in the mountains, which were in the way of the road to be constructed, were of various shapes. Some stood tall above the ground, while others were hollow; they were gigantic and steep or slanted, reminding the spectators of billowing waves or crouching animals. When we fired charcoal and poured strong vinegar into the rocks, they soon turned into dust and black dirt, so we were able to sweep them away with a single stroke. The hanging bridge down in the valley stood on the cliff, held by wooden posts and iron chains. We widened the narrow 105. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhang Zhi. He served as minister of war. 106. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhiru. He also served as Hanlin academician reader-in-waiting.

878

book X

bridge, securing it with a rail, and, furthermore, expanded all the roads that stretched endlessly, as well as being narrow and deep and joined together, so that vehicles could pass side by side with no problems. The horses that ran through the night carry ing urgent messages were not scared of darkness. The things that were split, bent, stuck out, and entwined were made level and straight in a day. The construction started and was completed so fast that the people throughout the land did not know about it. Thereafter, travelers on the road saved trouble; tourists ran their horses slowly to enjoy scenic views; those who traveled with their families slept comfortably; those who carried heavy baggage no longer had bruises on their back; those who walked had no blisters on their feet; and travelers on horseback did not have to trim the hooves of their horses too often.” The following happened when Chen Gang became magistrate of Qianyang. The state road in southern mountains of the district, which was a few li long, was so narrow that travelers on that road during the nighttime often fell off the cliff and died. However, the rocks of that cliff were too tough to be broken. Recruiting the soldiers in the post station, Chen Gang heated the rocks with fire and poured vinegar and rice wine into them and finally expanded the narrow path by 1 chang, placing safety rails on the edge. Travelers found this convenient. Essays of Yusan stated: “The historical records show that Gui Rong opened Jiange and Chen Yaozuo Mt. Taixing for traffic, and these works were possible only when they leveled or tunneled through rugged places. Aeoge [modern Ahyŏn-dong] in our capital city is a road to the Sŏgang River, and Yakjŏmhyŏn [Yakhyŏn] leads to Yongsan. Although these roads are very crowded and heavy with traffic, they are extremely uneven and hard to travel because neither a stone nor a puddle is removed from them. They are always muddy and slimy even during a drought. Travelers who pass through the hills on these roads find their robes and dresses all stained with mud. If road conditions in the royal city are terrible like this, one can imagine the roads in other parts of the country. Never thinking of doing anything about the steepness of hills and cliffs, those who are in the government always say, ‘Because the terrain of our country is too rugged, it is not good for the use of vehicles.’ How lamentable! Some people remark that roads should not be made on the national border, but this view is absolutely ignorant. The strength of border defense, as far as I know, mainly has to do with the construction of strongholds and fortresses, not the ruggedness of roads or passages. During the Imjin War the Japanese crossed Choryŏng Pass. Were they 107. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Jianyuan. He also served as controller general. 108. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Xiyuan, and his pen name Zhiyuzhi. He served as vice grand councilor and grand preceptor of the heir apparent. 109. Th is happened in 1592, the year the Imjin War broke out.

Public Works Administration

879

able to cross it because the mountain pass was not rugged enough? I have never heard that rugged roads are good for military defense. The reason that vehicles and horses were unable to run and there were no traveling merchants and trade activities was simply that the magistrates of the concerned districts failed to do their best in their administration.” A Bridge Is a Structure That Enables Men to Cross over an Obstacle. Construction Should Start Immediately When the Weather Becomes Cold. When Zichan [Gongsun Qiao] was charged with administering the state of Zheng, he let the people cross the Zhen and Wei rivers in his own carriage, and Mencius made a comment on this as follows: “It was kind but showed that he did not understand the practice of government. When in the eleventh month of the year the footbridges are completed, and the carriage bridges in the twelfth month, the people do not have the trouble of wading.” In my observation, the eleventh month is now the ninth lunar month, and the twelft h month is now the tenth lunar month. Monthly Proceedings of Xia [Xialing] says, “In the early winter bridges are constructed.” “Proceedings of Government in Different Months” [“Yueling”] also says, “In the early winter, passes and bridges are carefully looked after.” In a word, one cannot but give orders to make sure that on the days of Frost Descent [Sanggang] the walking bridges are repaired and, again, in the Onset of Winter, the bridges for vehicles and horses. Du Yu requested that a bridge be built at Fupingjin because Mengjin Ferry was dangerous to cross. However, the general opinion in the court was against it. When the bridge was finally constructed, the king went out to the banquet, leading the officials. Offering wine to Du Yu, the king said, “Unless it was you, no one could do this.” Wang Yizhou governed Sizhen with benevolence. When it happened that a vehicle carry ing grain was overturned when a bridge collapsed, Wang said, “That the bridge was not properly looked after is the fault of the prefect.” Then he paid compensation for the loss of grain and repaired the bridge. The following happened when Chen Xiliang governed Suzhou. The district government constructed a bridge over the Bianshui River, but it often damaged passing boats when currents hit the bridge hard, so Chen Xiliang finally constructed

110. “Lilou II,” in Legge, The Works of Mencius, 317. 111. The eleventh and twelft h months here are those in the calendar of Zhou, and the ninth and tenth months those in the present lunar calendar. 112. The eighteenth of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; the twenty-third and twenty-fourth of the ninth lunar month. 113. A ferry in the district of Meng, Henan Province.

880

book X

a suspension bridge with no pillars [pigyo], and from that time on, the districts along the coast began to build suspension bridges. When Li Zhengtong governed Guixi District, he built a bridge named Shangqingqiao. Zhu Xi composed a chronicle on his work: “The waters of Guixi have three ferries, and the boats were all small. When the water level went down, the length of the water to be crossed did not exceed about 100 chi, so the residents wanted to build a floating bridge for crossing the ferry. Thus Magistrate Li planned to build a bridge with 80,000 taels, which was the reserve fund of the district, and called engineers to discuss the project. Upon hearing the news, major clans of the district wanted to provide their assistance. Some of them donated strong iron chains, and others, bamboo forests that extended over 10 li. The prefectural office also donated 100 hu of rice. Magistrate Li built a floating bridge at the spots between the two ferries in Guixi where the current of water was smooth and slow. Starting in the sixth lunar month of the third year [1192] of Shaoxi, he finished the construction in less than one hundred days with enthusiastic support from the people. On the cliffs of both sides he made stairs by cutting the rocks, and the tallest stairs were as high as 500 chi, and the ones not as tall as that were four-fift hs of that length. The bridge was 900 chi long, and the boats used for the floating bridge numbered seventy. In addition, it could be either expanded or reduced in length according to the increase or decrease of water currents.” When Yang So-and-so was in charge of Huangyan District, he built a floating bridge and called it Lisheqiao. Ye Zhengze composed a chronicle on it: “The bridge is 1,000 chi long and composed of forty boats. Its sides are secured with guardrails and ropes, and a picture of a lion is drawn on its entrance. The construction was completed in 90 days, and it took 9,000 catties of iron, 25,000 pieces of timber and stones, and over 60,000 workers. Those who travel from the southeast with vehicles and horses or carry baggage on their backs arrive at this bridge, and those who gather greens and carry wood from the northwest and are headed for the town also pass through this bridge. A handful of high officials who crossed Mt. Tiantai and passed through Huangyan after climbing Mt. Yantang were all pleased and said, ‘We now have one more bridge.’ The people used to rush to the ferry and fight among themselves to catch the boat, but now such worries and turmoil are things of the past. Private houses and flourishing markets are now faced with the bridge, which offers a real spectacle.” When Wang Yuan was in charge of Chaozhou, there was a bridge called Guangjiqiao east of the fortress, but because it was very old, it was about to col114. An official of the Song dynasty. 115. Ye Shi, a famous Neo-Confucianist of the Song dynasty. Zhengze was his courtesy name. 116. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Qize, and his pen name Weian. He served as prefect of Chaozhou.

Public Works Administration

881

lapse at any time, so Wang Yuan reconstructed the bridge, collecting 10,000 taels from the people. At that time it happened that a man was killed while Wang Yuan was administering the punishment of beating with a heavy stick, and the son of the man who had died appealed to the court. Wang Yuan was arrested and taken to the capital, and the reconstruction of the bridge was also investigated. The crime he was charged with was subject to the penalty of penal servitude. The people of Chaozhou went up to the capital in a group and appealed to the court, banging on the gate of the palace. As a result, the government allowed that he be restored to office. Years later, when Wang Yuan submitted a request for his retirement, the people of Chaozhou appealed to the court, requesting that it let their magistrate remain in office, but they failed to persuade the government, so they established a shrine for him and honored him by offering sacrifices. The following happened when Fourth Tutor [sasŏ] Kim Sŏgu became magistrate of Haenam. There was a large stream in the district that made the people worry about flooding every year. He built a dyke with rocks and, at the mouth of the water, a stone bridge in the shape of a rainbow. The bridge looked nice and strong, and the residents were pleased with it. Since he personally supervised the construction in work clothes, sitting on the bridge all day long, the people could not dare to slow down in their work. The following happened when Minister Chŏng Minsi became governor of Chŏlla Province. The people suffered serious inconveniences because the dams in the south of Chŏnju flooded every year, and the bridges broke down several times. When Chŏng Minsi built a bridge with layers of rocks and three floodgates shaped like a rainbow under the bridge, pedestrians found it convenient. In my observation, Mansegyo Bridge of Hamhŭng was supposed to be built with stones, but from the olden days it was instead built with wooden boards to reduce expenses. Therefore, when there was a heavy rain, they were easily washed away, and the bridge had to be repaired every year, which caused a great deal of trouble to the people. In the olden days the monks liked to do such repair work, so our predecessors used to talk about them in their essays when they wrote about individual bridges. However, because the strength of monks has declined, they are incapable of such things these days. What Merchants and Travelers Most Desire to See Are Boats Always Available at the Ferry and Shelters for Travelers [Chŏng] Marked with a Road Sign [Hu]. Essays of Yusan stated: “At a ferry called Kaech’aejin in Wŏnju there was a boatman who was known to be very rough to customers. Calling himself a member of the literati, he was reluctant to carry his customers in his boat. When merchants and travelers wanted to cross the ferry, he took them after charging them twice the regular fare, and when scholars who looked too poor to pay the fare

882

book X

wanted to cross the ferry, he hid his boat in the rocks and never showed up at the ferry all day long. Since the magistrate is also responsible for things like this, he should strictly admonish those who are engaged in ferrying the people if there are ferries and passageways in his district, posting public notices. Those who charge twice the regular fare or do not respond to the call of customers must be strictly supervised and disciplined. In addition, if the magistrate prevents people like itinerant puppeteers and wandering entertainers from entering his domain, he will enjoy resounding praises from the people, and his reputation will spread afar.” The Essays also stated: “The reason that shelters for travelers are established at every 5 li, and a signpost [hu] at every 10 li, is to provide guidance to travelers. If the magistrate establishes a milestone at every 10 li that carries detailed information about nearby places, including their names and distances, travelers will appreciate this. The only problem is that the distances of the roads in our country still remain unsurveyed, except those in the western region. Hence so-called 10 li often become 15 li, and 1 sa almost 2 sa. As a result, first-time travelers to the district lose their way and feel at a loss. Therefore, it would be advisable to make 6 ch’ŏk into 1 po, 10 po into 1 mu, and 30 mu into 1 li. Then, multiplying 1 li five times, one should establish a road sign at every 5 li and a shelter at every 10 li, doubling the distance of the 5 li.” The following happened when Wei Xiaokuan became prefect of Yongzhou. The roads in his district used to have a sign at the interval of every 1 li, and the sign, being a pile of earth, required constant repair when it was exposed to rain. After he took office, Wei Xiaokuan ordered that Chinese scholar trees be planted where the road signs were located, and the trees not only saved the trouble of repair but also provided shelters to travelers. Being curious, Zhou Wenhou made an inquiry and found out the purpose of planting the trees. He remarked, “Why should this good system be limited to only one district? It should be followed by the whole state.” Then he ordered all the districts to plant trees to replace the old road signs. So a tree was planted at every 1 li, and two trees at every 10 li, and five trees at every 100 li.

117. A wooden post whose top was carved with the face of the village’s guardian deity. It was also called huin. 118. Probably Hwanghae and P’yŏngan provinces, where the travel routes used by Korean and Chinese envoys were located. 119. Sa (⯂) is a measure of distance; approximately 30 li. Th is was the distance that soldiers were required to march in a day. 120. Po (ṁ) and mu (⏿) are both measures of distance. 121. Wei Shuyu, an official of the Northern Zhou dynasty. His name was Wei Shuyu. Xiaokuan was his courtesy name. 122. Th is seems to indicate Emperor Wen of the Northern Zhou dynasty.

Public Works Administration

883

If People Are Not Forced to Carry Baggage from Inn to Inn or to Carry Palanquins across Mountain Passes, Then Their Shoulders Will Be Free from Strain. If the Inns Do Not Hide Miscreants, and the People in the Local Government Office Do Not Indulge in Immoral Behavior, Then the Minds of the People Will Be Free from Worry. Essays of Tasan stated: “So-called baggage carry ing [chŏnim] is one of the serious abuses taking place at the inns. Once attendant officers of the provincial office or privately hired secretaries of the district leave the gate of the yamen office with baggage, which they had acquired by cheating their superiors, their tyranny starts. Unable to bear their pressure, the people at inn A carry their baggage for them. Then the people at inns B and C are awed into obedience and do the same even without requests from them. When this abusive practice becomes established, it is so quickly imitated by others that liaison agents, stewards [tojang], local landlords, and even prodigal sons, escorted by cunning servants who wear military caps, call out the master of the inn and force him to transport their baggage, whipping and kicking him. Abuse like this is seldom seen even when government personnel transport tribute and taxes. The practice of coercing people to carry baggage and palanquins, in fact, has been outlawed several times; nevertheless, even men of low social rank dare to continue such abusive behavior. How can this be? The magistrate who happens to find such abuses while traveling on a public road must report to the superior office and strictly punish the offenders in accordance with instructions from his superior. If he hires a capable person to infi ltrate the inns and captures one of the gang, choosing the right time, and severely punishes a culprit after reporting the matter to the superior office, the aforementioned abuses will decrease to a certain degree.” The reason that the government allows exemption from various labor ser vices to those who carry sedan chairs was originally to entertain foreign envoys and receive the magistrate of the neighboring district with courtesy. On the other hand, people like attendant officers, privately hired secretaries, local landlords, and cunning liaison agents in Seoul force the people to carry sedan chairs and pull vehicles for their private purposes, imposing their personal authority. Recklessly picking out carriers from the people who are working in the fields, they make them shoulder their sedan chairs, treating them as if they were animals. The way they mistreat the people is so outrageous that one can hardly describe the sufferings and troubles that those innocent people have to bear. Fully aware of this problem, the magistrate must strictly prohibit such abuse and make people cross the mountain passes on foot, including his own son. If the use of sedan chairs or vehicles is unavoidable, the magistrate must hire people for wages, posting a public notice. He should remunerate the people for their ser vice except to envoys, magistrates, and attendant officers. Poor people will be able to

884

book X

breathe a little if the magistrate himself sets an example, paying wages to those who carry sedan chairs for his mother and wife when they have to cross a mountain pass. Essays of Tasan stated: “Having lived so long among common people, I know at least a little about their living conditions. The places that thieves most favor for their hiding are inns because it is hard for them to stay safely in the village. Once a new face shows up in the village, villagers tend to talk about him, so a thief who hides in the morning is discovered in the evening. The inns, on the other hand, are convenient for hiding because the people in them do not stay there for long. Therefore, everyone knows that the inns usually shelter cunning people, all interconnected throughout the state for sharing information. When a thief happens to be captured, his colleagues or petty guards run quickly during the night to pass the information so that others in hiding can escape. Since all the innkeepers and tavern hostesses are, in fact, living in a den of thieves, and they are all secretly connected with district personnel and military officers of the provincial office, how can the magistrate investigate and arrest culprits? Fully aware of this problem, the magistrate must strictly admonish all the inns not to hide cunning people. If he happens to capture a culprit at one of the inns someday, he should not forget to investigate the innkeeper strictly because he is also likely a member of the wicked gang. If the magistrate prohibits the stay of all strangers whose conduct is suspicious, woes related to thieves will decrease to a certain extent.” Only If the Magistrate Does Not Spread Yellow Earth on the Roads and Does Not Place Torches along the Sides of the Roads Can He Be Said to Understand Propriety. Essays of Tasan stated: “No one knows when yellow earth began to be spread on the roads during a royal trip. Some say that the custom of spreading yellow earth has to do with the orbit of the sun. However, this is not certain. When an envoy carry ing a royal message arrives in the district, district officials also spread yellow earth on both sides of the road, but the distance that is covered is only from the orijŏng pavilion to the guest house. (When a sorcerer sends off a demon, he also spreads yellow earth on the road because the name of the demon is Pyŏlsŏng, which also means an envoy carry ing a royal message.) However, these days this custom of spreading yellow earth for royalty is also practiced with little change even when the governor visits the district for inspection. Furthermore, the custom of lighting torches on both sides of the road, which was originally designed as a protocol for the royal visit, is now carried out during the inspection tour of the governor. Since he who lights torches becomes a flatterer, and he who receives the treatment of this courtesy becomes presumptuous, this custom should not be followed.”

Public Works Administration

885

C H A P T E R : M A N U FAC T U R I NG G O OD S

It Is a Sign of Avarice Actively to Promote Manufacturing of Goods by Gathering Artisans. The Office of an Upright Official Should Be Unconcerned about Manufacturing Goods Even if All the Artisans Are Fully Ready. The following happened when Wei Zhongfu served as assistant magistrate of Yongchuan. Because he was upright and anxious to preserve his good name, he was extremely cautious whenever his district grew interested in manufacturing various goods. He first made artisans calculate the expenses for manufacturing goods, and when they submitted their report, he told them to hold the implementation of the concerned project for now. The projects that he thus suspended during his term amounted to several hundred or thousand min of copper cash. In my observation, the way in which Wei Zhongfu dealt with manufacturing goods should serve as an example for all magistrates. Therefore, I say that great avarice [for personal integrity and honor] is necessarily no different from integrity. The following happened when Shang Ze served as commandant of Linqiu. He was a man of integrity. One day there was a banquet, and those who attended all danced, including the district magistrate. The magistrate danced waving his hands, but Shang Ze merely moved his body. The magistrate asked why Shang Ze danced that way, and the latter replied, “When the magistrate moves his hands, his aide will follow him. If a low-ranking official like myself does the same, how can common people survive?” The following happened when Ch’oe Yundŏk served as magistrate of T’aean. When a decorative metal piece fell off his quiver, the artisans in his district fi xed it, using iron belonging to the state. Upon learning that it was repaired, he immediately ordered the fi xed piece to be taken off. The intensity of his integrity was like this. The following happened when Min Yŏgŏm served as magistrate of Kwaksan. Because his saddle was worn out, his subordinate requested that he repair it, saying, “The saddle is also military equipment.” Min replied, “Was it because of our saddles that our army was defeated and ran away when the Japanese invaded years ago?” He always repaired his old armor instead of replacing it and wore it all day long along with his helmet. At night he did not take off the helmet but made it into his pillow, even when he had a boil on his head. The following happened when Yi Suil became regional naval commander. Before he was appointed, his predecessors used to drive the artisans to manufacture goods day and night, which were to be used as bribes to men in power, and this cost 1,000 taels every month. Abolishing this abuse, Yi Suil honestly reported 123. Unknown. 124. Unknown.

886

book X

to the court about the military provisions, eliminating all the items existing only in name. As a result, some of the taxes to be paid to the government were either remitted or exempted, and various villages in his district found this convenient. Deeply resenting from the beginning that the provincial military commanders who owed favors to higher officials [ch’aesu] practiced bribery, he did not present anything to those in power, not even 1 mace or 1 ch’ŏk of silk. In the Supplementary Volume to the Literary Essays of Yi Tŏngmu [Ch’ŏngbi songnok] there is the following record: “When the traveler entered the yamen, he found that there were three or four wooden frames spread in the yard and on top of them large pieces of ox hide dried under the sun, which reminded him of the surface of octagonal drums, and official slaves were tanning them, applying oil. When he entered the manufactories, artisans were crafting five or six chests that were made of chestnuts and oaks, having a monk trim and apply varnish on them. On one side, several skilled craftsmen were making sedan chairs for males and females, Amur cork chests, small lacquer tables, and so forth, sawing wood and carving a pattern of clouds on the pieces. On the other side, a couple of tanners were sitting together, making silk shoes embroidered with a pattern of clouds on the front and leather pouches. In the next room there were silversmiths who were making jewelry, including Korean-style hairpins, bracelets, rings, decorative knives in the shape of sea turtles, female knives [carried by women to protect themselves], and so forth. Observing all these activities, the traveler realized that the magistrate was an avaricious official indulging in the charms of women. Since it would be no use to admonish him with the examples of famous judges like Gong Sui and statesmen like Huang Ba, the traveler all of a sudden turned around and hurried out of the yamen gate, fearing that he would have to share the blame of the magistrate if he stayed to have dinner with him.” Petty Tales by Hanam stated as follows: “Goods like wooden chests made of chestnuts and oaks, leather boxes, and small lacquer tables are things that vulgar magistrates are eager to make and wise magistrates hold in contempt. All the goods manufactured in the government are generally expensive but low in quality. To take oak chests as an example, the capacity of government-made ones is only half that of those produced by civilians; nevertheless, they are deemed chests. Furthermore, it takes no less than 20 taels to transport each of them over 1,000 li. This means that the price for such a chest amounts to 30 taels, including the original cost of its production, which is 10 taels. Since one can have four of them 125. In 1778 Yi Tŏngmu visited Qing China as a member of a Korean diplomatic mission, met with the foremost Chinese scholars, learned about Western learning, and returned home with the books of Evidential Learning, which was popu lar in Qing China at that time. One of his many books, Ch’ŏngbirok is a set of critical essays on Korean traditional literature, as well as Chinese and Japa nese literature. Ch’ŏngbi songnok here appears to be a sequel to the original Ch’ŏngbirok.

Public Works Administration

887

for the same amount of money if he purchases them in the markets in Seoul, the magistrate who manufactures them in his yamen is, in fact, foolish, and all that he gains is nothing but a bad reputation. If he packs his baggage with a crude wrapping cloth instead of such wooden chests when he departs from his office to return home, the number of horses needed for transportation will be reduced by half, and he himself will not lose his good name. Is not this way much better?” To take another example, the cost of manufacturing wooden chests is twice the market price of the same in Seoul, and furthermore, they can be damaged in the process of moving them to Seoul. When they are transported, they are usually tied on horseback with their legs sticking out, and because the gates of the inns are small and low, they are hit and broken. Then the carter will yell and pedestrians will gather to see the spectacle, saying, “The magistrate of such-and-such district is indeed a greedy official. If he sells a small lacquer table, he will make a small fortune.” What could be more shameful and humiliating than this under Heaven? Since all other goods that he has made and carried are subject to the same sort of condemnation, it is really desirable not to manufacture goods from the beginning. Essays of Tasan stated: “In Naju there is a so-called commissioner in charge of wooden products called mongmul ch’ain, and this post was traditionally given to military officers. The commissioner was also given the privilege to manage twelve islands so that he could collect over 6,000 sŏk of rice and barley every year and exploit the islanders, either taking away their fish, abalones, seaweed, and cotton or having them pay for their taxes with these products. No military officers throughout the state could make more fortunes than the ones in Naju. So the expenses for manufacturing goods in the local government, especially the products made of rare and precious timber, as well as the cost of carving and crafting, were all paid by the commissioner. As a result, the taxes collected from the islanders contributed little to the treasury of the local government. How sad! How can it be possible to squeeze sweat and blood from the people to fatten one military officer and pay for manufacturing goods? The benevolent magistrate would never allow this to continue.” If It Is Unavoidable to Produce Goods, It Should Not Be Allowed That a Greedy Mind Affects the Quality of Manufactured Vessels. Essays of Tasan stated: “When I observed old vessels, the copper in them was very thin, and when I observed old books, their paper was extremely thin. The trend of society these days has become so avaricious that the weight of bronze vessels is thrice as heavy as that of the old ones, and paper is one and a half times as thick as old paper. When I asked the reason, they replied, ‘If we produce paper

888

book X

that is thick and heavy, we will get a good price for it when we hit difficult times and sell it.’ Alas! If this is the way they think, how can they deserve long-lasting prosperity? These two things made me really ashamed.” Authorization Is Needed for Manufacturing Vessels. In a district that produces copperware, the following is the main source of trouble: when the official price of copperware is lower than the market price, or when slave artisans in the manufactories privately produce goods under the pretext of an official order, or when the inner house of the magistrate or the private secretary of the magistrate privately requests that the chief clerk produce the goods in unseemly quantities, it is bound to bring about complaints and troubles. Upon taking office, the magistrate gathers all the artisans in the yard of his yamen office and admonishes them as follows: “From now on, when the government decides to manufacture copperware, it will first issue the orders before you start working on it. As for the price, you yourself write it down so that it can serve as evidence.” The form of the official authorization is filled out in the following manner: In the first line, you write, “Year Kapja, February 9, Official Permit”; in the second, “1 brass bowl, weight 10 taels, and price 5 maces”; in the third, “1 brass vessel, weight 8 taels”; in the fourth, “5 brass dishes, weight 2 taels per piece”; and in the fift h, a name and signature, that is, chief of slaves Tŭkson and a seal in the middle of the line. When the manufacturing of goods is finished, artisan Kim Ikch’ŏl personally writes down his name and records the price in each line. Other goods, such as cauldrons, hoes, shovels, ceramics, pottery, leather shoes, leather saddle pads, and wickerwork, should be handled in the same way. It Is the Magistrate’s Duty to Promote Agriculture by Manufacturing Farm Equipment and to Encourage the Weaving of Womenfolk by Making Looms. In the olden days Zhao Guo of the Han dynasty taught the people how to sow seeds by manufacturing farm equipment called louche and loudou, which greatly reduced the efforts of the people. When he governed Queshan district, Chen Youxue of the Ming dynasty manufactured eight hundred weaving machines and distributed them to the poor womenfolk in his district (History of Ming ). These things are all flowery accomplishments of local magistrates in the olden 126. A type of sowing cart used in ancient China. 127. It is presumed to be a sort of sowing machine or a container holding seeds used for sowing.

Public Works Administration

889

days. Although the farm equipment produced in modern days is much more sophisticated, only the people of our country are ignorant of its existence. Is it not advisable for the magistrate to study the law of things at his leisure and reduce the efforts of the people by devising equipment useful for farming and weaving? Making the lives of people convenient by providing tools and equipment and abundant sustenance, which are the three major affairs [of state], are next to the rectification of the people’s virtue in their significance, and the ancient sages knew their importance. Once the irrigation equipment, such as longwei, yuheng, hongxi, and heyin, is put to good use, it will be able to reduce the pain of drawing water all day long during drought. If the use of millstones and water mills is popu larized, it will not be necessary for the whole family to gasp for breath, working hard to mill wheat and rice. If the ways of turning machinery by the wind and bringing water to the ground by the wheel are found, it will not be hard to draw or transport water, and if winnowers and cotton gins begin to be used, it will not be difficult to remove chaff and separate the seeds of the cotton plant. If a system of pulling a plow by a rope is used, epidemics among the cows may not be worth dreading. Since these devices and systems are recorded in detail in books like Complete Studies on Astronomical Instruments [Yixiang zhi], Treatise on Military Preparations, Diagrams and Explanations of Wonderful Machines [Qiqi tushuo], and so forth, I will not undertake any further discussion. Yi Kiyang [pen name Pogam] procured a cotton gin when he visited the Qing dynasty as an envoy and presented it to the court on his return. King Chŏngjo ordered the Five Army Garrisons to manufacture a cotton gin based on the Chinese model and proclaimed it to the whole state. When the machine was completed, the king passed away, and therefore, the proclamation was not carried out as the king instructed, and the distribution of the machine itself was permanently 128. In the section entitled “The Counsels of the Great Yu” (“Dayumo”) of the Classic of History, the sage emperor counsels that “rectification of the people’s virtue” (zhengde), “supplying the conveniences of life” (liyong), and “securing abundant means of sustenance” (housheng) should be sought together, and his predecessor, Emperor Shun, also said that these are the three major affairs of state, to which all rulers and officials should give priority. Shu King, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 47. 129. These are devices and equipment for irrigation found in Complete Book of Agricultural Administration (Nonzheng quanshu), which was compiled by Xu Guangqi (1562−1633), a scholar and scientist of the Ming dynasty. 130. Th is is presumed to indicate one of the astronomical books called Yixiang kaocheng published in the early Qing dynasty. 131. The first monograph on Western mechanics that was ever compiled in Chinese. It was written jointly by Johann Terrenz Schreck and Wang Zheng in 1627. Its original title was Collected Diagrams and Explanations of Wonderful Machines from the Far West (Yuanxi qiqi tushuo luzui).

890

book X

suspended. When I looked at the cotton gin, it had two axles, and one of them was wood and the other iron. The iron had a thin groove, and the head of the axles had no nuts. There was a spinning wheel in the shape of a cross, which was designed to be both hand driven and foot driven by a person sitting on a chair. Since one person could separate as much as 200 catties of cotton seeds, the machine could save a great deal of manpower. (One of the iron shafts is still in my house.) Pak Chiwŏn in his Rehe Diary stated: “The structure of the spinning machine of silkworms [sogŏ] consists of large toothed wheels and makes a sound similar to that of a turning millstone. Because both ends of the machine are also toothed, the machine keeps revolving as the teeth of the wheel go in gear with one another incessantly. The sogŏ spinning machine has a huge reel that is as large as several armfuls, and the silkworms are boiled a few dozen paces away, and between the sogŏ machine and the boiling containers there are several dozen shelves that are set up in ascending stairs. At the end of each shelf there is a metal piece that has a hole as small as the needle’s eye. When the thread is put through this hole and the machine starts moving, the wheels also start turning, and the turning wheels make the reel revolve. Then the teeth of the wheels go in gear, neither fast nor slow, spinning out thread. Because each line of thread is spun separately and automatically, the threads do not get entangled, and the thickness of the threads is even. When the thread drawn from the cauldron enters the reel, it is supposed to pass through tiny metal holes, and in the process of its passage it is made smooth and refined. By the time it reaches the reel, it is already dry and clean and shiny, having been exposed to the sun. Without being soaked in lye, therefore, the thread is directly connected to the spindle of the loom. “The people in our country spin threads by using their hands, ignorant of the ways of producing them through advanced machinery. When they are handled by human hands, the threads are often entangled and uneven so that they become stuck together and look messy. They also lose their gloss and become fragile, as if mixed with sand. Furthermore, it becomes much harder to remove the crude stuff from the threads or trim them because people have to use their mouths and fingers all the time, which is very difficult. The efficiency of the sogŏ machine is simply amazing. When I asked about the ways of preventing worms during the summer, they answered that moths could be prevented if the cocoons were slightly fried; if they were dried on a warm floor, there would be neither moths nor worms. Therefore, they said that there would be no problem even if one spins the thread during the winter.” 132. The cocoons are susceptible to bacteria in warm weather during the summer. However, if they are processed as explained above, they can be preserved until winter. Then the people do not have to work only in summer to spin thread out of cocoons.

Public Works Administration

891

Although Weights and Measures Are Different from House to House and Are Hard to Change, They Must Be Made Uniform in the State Granaries and Markets. “The Ministry of Public Work” stated: “Li Shi properly regulated the measure of quantity and boiled gold and tin once again.” Weights and measures are the responsibility of the Winter Ministry. Since it was King Wu who was cautious and articulate in determining weights and measures, and it was the “Proceedings of Government in Different Months” that emphasized the importance of making weights and measures uniform and scales even, weights and measures are a great affair of state for all those who want to rule the people with justice. Since weights and measures in our country at the present time are all different from house to house, how can a magistrate of a local district straighten them out? All he can do under the circumstances is to gather various pieces of measuring equipment used for commercial activities in his district and standardize them. Then he has the clerk in charge of military affairs collect the rulers, which are used to measure the military cloths paid for taxes, and standardize them, consulting the chapter on the measurement of cloth and silk in the Five Rites of State [Kukcho orye ŭi]. He should also make a new standard measure, collecting dry measures from the markets and another dry measure called kok from the state granary. Then he makes scales called hyŏng after collecting them from the markets and the clerks in the government office who weigh cotton brought from the people. When these measures and weights are standardized, they must be used in all commercial trades and government transactions. However, this is possible only when the people are fully enlightened. If the magistrate who is newly appointed to the district carries out these reforms with little preparation, he can only aggravate the problems, causing chaos and raising the suspicions of the people. Nevertheless, the problems with the measure kok for weighing grain, which is used in the state granary, must be straightened out, and the measure toe, which is used in the street markets during a poor harvest, must also be strictly supervised. According to the History of the Northern Dynasties, Zhao Jing was respectable and benevolent to the people when he was prefect of Jizhou, but in the markets there were many cunning people. When he made the merchants use copper dry measures for grain and iron rulers for cloth, which he had newly standardized, the residents found them to be convenient. The Great Ming Code stipulated: “In all cases where volume measures, weights, or linear measures are manufactured without authorization and incorrectly and are used in markets, or where government-issued volume measures, weights, or linear measures are deceitfully increased or reduced, the offenders shall be 133. An official of the Northern Zhou dynasty. His courtesy name was Tongxian. He also served as ju nior vice director of the Imperial Secretariat.

892

book X

punished by sixty strokes of beating with a heavy stick. The government artisans shall be punished the same. “If government-issued measures are not manufactured in accordance with the rule, the offenders shall be punished by seventy strokes of beating with a heavy stick. If officials in charge are negligent in inspections, the penalty shall be reduced one degree. If they know the circumstances, they shall be punished by the same penalty [as that for the offenders]. “Although the volume measures, weights, or linear measures that are used in markets are correct, if they are not inspected and stamped by the government, the offenders shall be punished by forty strokes of beating with a light stick. “If officials or functionaries in granaries or treasuries increase or decrease the government-issued volume measures, weights, or linear measures without authorization and use them to receive or pay out government property incorrectly, they shall be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a heavy stick.” 134. “Manufacturing Volume Measures, Weights, or Linear Measures without Authorization,” Laws on Taxation (Jiang, The Great Ming Code, 108−109). Translation is slightly revised.

XI

Famine Relief

C H A P T E R  : PR E PA R AT ION OF R E L I E F S U PPL I E S

Since Relief Administration Is What the Former Kings Deeply Cared For, It Can Serve as a Touchstone to Determine the Magistrate’s Administrative Talent. The Main Part of the Magistrate’s Duty Is Accomplished Only When His Relief Administration Is Successfully Carried Out. The grand minister of education in Rites of Zhou said that the king gathers the people by performing twelve types of relief administration: first, providing grain seed and provisions on loan [sanli]; second, reducing taxes [baozheng]; third, reducing penalties [huanxing]; fourth, reducing labor-service requirements [chili]; fift h, relaxing prohibitions on mountains and ponds so that the people can find food [shejin]; sixth, suspending searches at gateways and markets [quji]; seventh, reducing the scale of celebrations and entertainments for guests [shengli]; eighth, simplifying the performance of mourning rites [shaai]; ninth, putting away musical instruments [fanle]; tenth, holding many wedding ceremonies without adhering too closely to what propriety normally requires [duohun]; eleventh, restoring the worship of spirits who have been neglected [suoguishen]; and twelft h, eliminating bandits [chudaozei]. The granary keeper [canren] is the person who manages the grain kept in the granary for the purposes of the state. It is his duty to save the surplus grain for the years of poor harvest and distribute it to the people (this is so-called sanli).

1. An official belonging to the Terrestrial Ministry in Rites of Zhou.

893

894

book XI

The revenue official [junren] is the person who is in charge of land administration. However, when famine takes place or epidemic breaks out, he is expected to suspend labor-service requirements, forgive the taxes in arrears, and not to collect taxes, merely keeping his position without performing his normal duty (this is so-called baozheng). The director of markets [sishi] allows the merchants in the markets to pay their taxes in cloth when there is a famine and the people are dying from an epidemic (this is also baozheng). The chief judge [shishi] in the Ministry of Justice carries out a special law called huangbian when there is famine due to a poor harvest (this is so-called huanxing). The supervisor of customs duties [siguan] stops collecting taxes at the gateway and only inspects the passengers (suspending the collection of taxes at the gateways while merely carry ing out inspection is called quji). The steward [zhangke] in the Ministry of Justice who is in charge of entertaining guests cuts back on reception expenses (this is so-called shengli). The food steward [shanfu] in the Ministry of State abstains from providing a banquet when either serious famine or epidemic breaks out (this is also shengli). The musician in chief [dasile] loosens the strings of instruments when there are serious worries in the state, such as the breakout of a serious epidemic, famine, fire, and the death of the grand minister (this is so-called fanle). In my observation, these examples are all laws practiced by former kings. The magistrate who desires to follow the way of former kings should imitate what they did when there was a poor harvest. If he collects sufficient taxes from the lands belonging to royalty to make up for the shortage of taxes from the lands of commoners, this can indeed be called sanli. If the miscellaneous expenses that the magistrate is entitled to use are reduced as far as they can be, this can indeed be called baozheng. If physical punishment is not carried out on those who are sick and emaciated from famine, this can indeed be called huanxing. If the magistrate is concerned about efforts and expenses when he dispatches government slaves, this can indeed be called chili. If the magistrate does not use sacrificial oxen [sheng] for his ancestor worship and does not flatter his superior during inspection, this can indeed be called shengli. (In other words, he reduces the amount of meat in the meal to be served to the superior.) If the magistrate refrains from enjoying entertainment, refusing to have entertaining girls and music, that can indeed be called fanle. If the markets are crowded with merchants and travelers because their taxes are forgiven, the administration of the director 2. The law carried out by the chief judge when there was a famine. Here it indicates granting generosity to criminal offenders.

Famine Relief

895

of markets is properly accomplished. If the amount of food on the magistrate’s table is reduced to save the people suffering from famine, this is the good intention of the food steward. Who can say that these ancient customs cannot be implemented in our days? “Summary of the Rules of Property” [“Quli”] stated: “In bad years, when the grain of the season is not coming to maturity, the ruler at his meals will not make the [usual] offering of the lungs, nor will his horses be fed on grain. His special road will not be kept clean and swept, nor even at sacrifices will his musical instruments be suspended on their stands. Great officers will not eat large-grained millet, and [other] officers will not have music [even] at their drinkings.” In my observation, if the magistrate during the time of famine restrains himself from lavish food and does not feed grain to his horses, he is one who knows propriety. Qiu Jun remarked: “The emperors in olden days always tried to cut down on everything they enjoyed when there was a calamity in the state, and that was not just because they were concerned about the troubles of the people but also because they were afraid of calamities from Heaven. Therefore, Rites of Zhou stated that the ruler does not slaughter oxen for lavish food whenever there is a serious famine or epidemic. How could this self-restraint be confined only to food? Since it extended to his clothes and carriages, as well as all the activities of manufacturing goods for the comfort of his life, it was intended that both the ruler and the people could help each other survive, although their status was vastly different. During a year of poor harvest the common people stricken with famine expect that the state can feed them, looking at one another anxiously; the artisans find their skills useless; and the merchants have no place to sell their goods. If the people try to pawn their belongings, even the rich have no money, and if they want to borrow money, even the powerful are helpless. Potential items of food like fish, shrimps, spiral shellfish, and clams are already completely depleted, and the roots of herbs and the bark of trees are all dug out and peeled off. Their faces looking like demons, they barely move, helping the aged along and leading the young by the hand. The pain of hunger is so extreme that they roll on the floor and groan, grabbing their empty stomachs. They gasp for breath, and it is hard to predict what will happen to them by the time morning or evening arrives. Under critical circumstances like these, in which death is looming all over, how can the magistrate, the head of the people, dare to enjoy the privilege granted to him alone? Even if he wants to enjoy it, he would have difficulty swallowing the food.” 3. The first chapter in Book of Rites. 4. Li Ki, in Legge, Sacred Books of the East, 106.

896

book XI

Master Guliang stated: “When five crops fail, it is called ‘great famine’ [daji]. When one crop fails, it is called ‘lack’ [qian]; when two crops fail, it is called ‘hunger’ [ji]; when three crops fail, it is called ‘famine’ [jin]; when four crops fail, it is called kang (kang is kangxu, serious shortage); and when five crops fail, it is called ‘great invasion’ [daqin].” In case of “great invasion” the king neither takes tasty food nor paints his pavilions nor practices archery nor takes a trip to the outside. His subjects wear plain clothes that are crudely made, and the king himself does not present sacrifices to the spirits, although he may pray to them. This is the propriety that the king should observe during a time of great famine. Since the former kings kept a special law to cope with the crisis during a time of poor harvest, he who is a magistrate must carefully take the true meaning of the old custom into consideration. Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea carries the following story. In the twenty-sixth year of King Sŏnjo [1593] there was a great famine in Seoul. The king, who had returned from his trip to Ŭiju, where he had taken refuge from the Japanese invasion, issued a royal decree in which he said, “Every day the official in charge of the royal diet presents 6 sŭng of rice for my meals, but how can I consume it all since I usually do not have three meals a day? So take half the rice assigned to me and send it to the five relief agencies.” King Yŏngjo in the ninth year of his reign [1733] proclaimed a royal decree: “The famine has continued for years until it has reached an extreme situation, and this must have to do with my lack of virtue. From now on, cut down on the tribute rice to the king [ŏgongmi] by one-fift h until the harvest, and change the rice granted to officials for meals [sŏnbanmi] into hulled millet.” In Kyŏngjin year [1760] of Yŏngjo there was a famine. The king went out of Hŭnghwa Gate and fed over one hundred beggars with porridge, and he himself shared porridge with those people. (See Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns.) Although the king is extremely high in rank and status, he tried to blame himself and cut down on his own food like this. How, then, can the governors and magistrates dare to enjoy their food without thinking about cutting down on it? In the case of morning and evening meals, which they have every day, they should mix their rice with cereals and limit side dishes to two plates. If they thus save rice to contribute to famine relief and use modest ritual food for sacrifice without entertaining their guests in a lavish manner, their conduct is generally in accordance with propriety. 5. The author of the Commentary of Guliang. Commentary of Guliang is one of the three main commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals, along with Zuo’s Commentary (or Chronicle of Zuo) and Commentary of Gongyang. 6. Seoul during the reign of Sŏnjo was divided into five areas: east, west, south, north, and center.

Famine Relief

897

Zhang Hengqu became magistrate of Yunyan in the fi rst year [1067] of Emperor Jiayou’s reign. When his district was stricken with severe famine, Zhang did not refine crude rice. When his wife tried to refine rice, he quickly stopped her and said, “How can we dare to have refined rice when the people are dying of hunger and the streets are crowded with dead bodies? We can hardly have even crude rice without feeling ashamed.” Thus he was reluctant to eat although the food was ready on the table, often sighing and lamenting. In my observation, since this is the meaning of cutting down on foods and side dishes [kamsŏn], the superior man does not do things with which he feels uncomfortable. The following happened when Zhang Yong, Lord Zhongding, governed Hangzhou. Because of the severe famine, the people illegally traded salt, violating the prohibitions of the government, and several hundred of them were arrested, but Zhang Yong treated the offenders with generosity. When his subordinates protested, he said, “If we strictly enforce the prohibitions on private salt trade under circumstances in which the people in Qiantang are dying of hunger by thousands and ten thousands like this, the offenders will grow in number and become bandits, causing more troubles to the state. If they continue their illegal activities even after the harvest is over, however, I will bring them to justice decisively.” The crisis finally ended without any disturbance in his district. The following happened when Fu Bi governed Qingzhou. When there was a flood in Heshuo and a number of people lost their livelihood, Fu Bi distributed grain and allowed them to preserve their lives by drawing profits from the use of forests and streams, and the owners of those natural resources did not dare to say anything. In my observation, this is the meaning of shejin, which is relaxing the prohibitions on mountains and ponds so that the people can find food. In the Administration of Famine Relief Nothing Is Better than Making Preparations. If Preparations Are Neglected, Things Will Be Awkward and Miserable. Lü Zuqian stated: “As to the administration of famine relief, that of the former kings is most outstanding; the next is an example set by Li Kui; the next is to move the people and grain to places that are better off so that the economy can revive through trade; and the last, but worst, is just to distribute porridge to the hungry people without establishing any relief measures.”

7. A famous state councilor of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Yanguo, and his posthumous title Wenzhong. 8. The example here indicates the law of the Ever-Normal Granary made by Li Kui.

898

book XI

Since making preparations for potential famine disaster is the way of administration of the former kings, how can the magistrate of a local district accomplish the same? What should he do in lean years as an official in charge of the king’s people? If a district is stricken with famine, the magistrate can have grain transported from a neighboring district; if a province is stricken with famine, the governor can procure grain from several other provinces. However, if the whole state is stricken with famine, as in Kisa [1749] and Kapsul [1754] years, what should he do? Because the granary is empty, he cannot procure grain within the district, and because several districts in the neighborhood are all in turmoil simultaneously, he cannot request aid from the governor. Since under such circumstances there is nothing that he can do except helplessly watch the people dying of hunger, would he not feel ashamed of himself as the so-called shepherd of the people? If the supply of goods is abundant, this is a sign of scarcity in the future; if the supply of goods is scarce, this is a sign of abundance in the future. If it happens that good harvests take place year after year until grain becomes cheap like dirt, the magistrate must privately purchase as much surplus grain as he can in order to be prepared for lean years. If he sells the grain when rice planting is already over and there is no longer fear of great famine, he will certainly make profits. If the price of grain at the market is still too cheap when he tries to sell it, he can sell it to distant districts by transporting it by water, which will certainly bring him profits. The way in which the magistrate serves in his office often appears like staying in an inn. Thus he hurriedly lets his retainer take all his earnings to Seoul, including his stipend and other income, for his savings and investment. But when he returns to Seoul after finishing his term of office, he finds that his investments made small profits or evaporated. Why, then, does he not purchase grain while he is still in office to be prepared for lean years? If there is a good harvest, he can sell it to neighboring districts to supplement the labor ser vice of the people, and if there is a poor harvest, he sells it to contribute to the relief efforts for saving the people. Since the principal investment money is still intact even if he carries out all these acts of charity, nothing in public and private business can be more fitting and profitable than this. There are two main things in preparing for famine: one is purchasing grain, and the other is collecting loans from the people. Purchasing grain has already been explained. Collecting loans, however, needs to be discussed further. The loans that the clerks privately made to the people must be checked during the years of good harvest and all collected when grain is abundant to fill the granary. If the granary is fully stored with grain as required by the law and there is no gap between the grain and the figure on the record, what is there to worry about even if a poor harvest takes place? 9. These were the twenty-fi ft h and thirtieth years of King Yŏngjo, when severe famine took place throughout the whole state.

Famine Relief

899

The following happened when Zhang Yong governed Yizhou. The land of Chu was originally rugged and had too many unemployed people, so the people in it always had trouble securing food whenever there was a little flood or drought, and the price of rice during such crises amounted to 36 maces per dou. When Zhang Yong calculated the people’s land taxes on the basis of this market price, they amounted to 60,000 hu of rice when they were converted into rice. When spring came, he conducted a survey of the poor, as well as the general population in the walled town, and let them buy rice at the original price with coupons that he distributed. Zhang reported this to the government to make it into a permanent system. As a result, there were no signs of hunger among the faces of the people for a period of over seventy years even though there were occasional famines due to natural disasters. The following happened when Yi Mubang of the Koryŏ dynasty became metropolitan governor of Kyŏngju. Formerly there had been a serious famine, but the harvest turned out to be good after he took office, so he sold fish and salt to establish the Righteous Granary [Ŭich’ang] and prepared to make relief loans. When Hong Ch’ŏryang became magistrate of Ch’ŏngp’ung, his district, which was located in a remote mountain valley, had relatively small revenues. Nevertheless, he saved funds through rigorous frugality and amassed several thousand kok of grain in three years. Then he kept it in a separate warehouse to prepare for lean years. After he left the district, the famine of Kyŏngsin year [1620] occurred, and the residents were able to survive thanks to his good works. The following is found in the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea: “In the twelft h year of Yŏngjo [1736], Third State Councilor Song Inmyŏng memorialized: ‘We had a good harvest last year, and it is likely that we will have another good one this year. A few days ago I happened to read a book by Sima Guang, an official of the Song dynasty. He said in his book that it is advisable to make local districts prepare relief grain in the years of good harvest since it is difficult to do this in lean years; furthermore, that it would be effective if the central government grades the accomplishments of the magistrates or punishes their failure on the basis of the amount of grain that they secured for famine relief. This idea seems to be absolutely sensible. If we now have each province and district throughout the state prepare its relief grain, taking advantage of the good harvest this year, and reward or punish it based on its achievements, there will be no worries about the lack of relief grain even if we are faced with poor harvests in the future.’ The king granted Song’s request.” In my observation, Mencius said, “Your dogs and swine eat the food of men (this indicates that the grain is all scattered on the ground during a good harvest), 10. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. He also served as third minister of taxation, governor of Hwanghae Province, and third minister of rites.

900

book XI

and you do not make any restrictive arrangements (this refers to gathering the grain on the ground). There are people dying from famine on the roads (this refers to the case of the famine year), and you do not issue the stores of your granaries for them” (this means opening the granary to save the starving people). According to Mencius, not to make preparations during the years of good harvest to deal with the famine in lean years is no different from stabbing a man and killing him. Since making preparations for famine relief is a matter about which all states should exert themselves, states that neglect this are states with no administration. Since the Grain for Famine Relief Is Recorded Separately in All Grain Records, the Magistrate Must Confirm the Actual Amount of Relief Grain as Often as Possible. Sangjingok is the grain for famine relief administered by the Ministry of Taxation. Kunjagok is the grain traditionally used for famine relief. Kunjangmi and pohwangok are grain funds originally created to deal with famine relief. The grain funds for famine relief, such as kyojegok, chemingok, and sansangok, were also created so that provinces could assist each other in an emergency situation. Yŏngjingok is the grain for famine relief administered by the governor, and sabigok or chabigok or sajingok is the grain for famine relief administered by the magistrate. Since we are now faced with a serious famine, how can we not use these relief systems? What the magistrate should keep in mind, however, is that he will be reprimanded unless he keeps track of the details about the real amount of relief grain and the exact amount of relief loans. What should he do in the future if the superior office takes fictitious figures as if they were real? Therefore, he must keep a close watch on the real status of relief grain. The National Code stipulated: “The activities of various military garrisons, including manufacturing salt and gathering seaweed, shall be reported to the governor with the exact figures of those products. Each district government shall make its people prepare the resources to save themselves from potential famine every year.” In my observation, in the beginning of our dynasty the law on famine relief was thorough like this. However, the outstanding law is now completely out of use, and I wonder what has happened.

11. Legge, The Works of Mencius, Book I, 132. The comments in parentheses are those of Chŏng Yagyong. 12. These terms all mean essentially the same thing.

Famine Relief

901

Once the Status of Crops Is Determined, the Magistrate Should Visit the Provincial Official with No Delay to Discuss the Transportation of Grain to Other Places, as Well as the Abatement of Taxes. Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns records as follows: “When the epidemic spread extremely fast in Hwanghae Province in the spring of the second year of Hyojong [1651], the government sent medicines and drugs along with 92,000 sŏk of relief grain to save the people.” “In the tenth year of Hyojong the government transported 10,000 sŏk of grain of the naval commands of Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang provinces [t’ongyŏnggok] to save Hosŏ and Honam, which were afflicted with severe famine.” In the thirty-eighth year of Yŏngjo [1762] there was a severe famine in the Samnam region, and the king in his decree stated: “When I read the report submitted by the commissioner of famine relief  of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, I feel like I am seeing the hungry people before my eyes. Since I allow 2,000 sŏk of rice in Kanghwa and 3,000 sŏk of rice in the granary of Hamgyŏng Province to be released for famine relief, the governors of each province should find ways to transport the rice to those who are suffering from famine. I also give my permission that 4,000 sŏk of rice be provided to Honam and 3,000 sŏk of rice to Yŏngnam.” The decree of the king also stated: “We should hurry to save the people of Honam as if we were rescuing drowning people out of water. Since the rice in the granary of P’ohang, which covers the south and north regions, is the closest to the Honam area, take 5,000 sŏk of rice to Honam by boat and fi ll the granary with the rice that is to arrive from Hamgyŏng Province” (the granary for famine relief called Kyojech’ang is located in the district of Yŏnil). If we look back, that year [1762], when a severe famine took place in three southern provinces, the government quickly appointed four officials as commissioners of famine relief and selected four transport commissioners from the officials of the Office of Special Counselors, which indicates that the government tried its best to pacify the people, on the one hand, and on the other, exerted itself to supervise the work of transporting the grain to the areas of famine, mobilizing all the available resources and manpower of the state, so that the people could escape from the tragedy of falling sick or dying. This is a fine example of good administration. 13. Ch’ungch’ŏng, Chŏlla, and Kyŏngsang provinces in the south. 14. The commissioner here, according to Chŏng Yagyong’s note, is Yun Tongsŏm (1710–?), who served as inspector general and second minister of taxation. 15. Kim Simuk (Kyŏnggi Province), Yun Tongsŏp (Ch’ungch’ŏng Province), Hong Inhan (Chŏlla Province), and Yi Ijang (Kyŏngsang Province).

902

book XI

Transporting the Grain from Distant Provinces for Famine Relief Is No Better than Saving the Grain at the Actual Place for the Purpose of Famine Relief. These Approaches, However, Are Equally Necessary and Hence Need to Be Discussed to Produce Maximum Results. In the early years of Kwanghaegun’s reign there was a severe famine. Yi Chŏnggwi, director of the Office for Dispensing Benevolence, memorialized to the king: “Transporting grain from one place to another and loaning it to the people were originally intended to save the people from famine. The present situation, however, is that the transported grain fails to help the people, only providing the clerks with the materials for their manipulations. When the clerks harass the people to pay the loans the following spring, the lives of the people become more miserable. If the government lessens the burden of their taxes and labor-service requirements so that they may have an opportunity to make their livelihood once again, they will be able to survive even if they have to depend on grass and trees for food. So I submit a request to allow the budget of the Office for Dispensing Benevolence to be appropriated for famine relief and at the same time that the rice that the people of Kyŏnggi Province are required to present this fall and next spring be reduced as much as possible.” The king followed his advice. In a memorial submitted to the king, Nam Kuman, magistrate of Ch’ŏngju, stated as follows: “Those who presently discuss the measures for famine relief say, ‘If we try to save those who are dying before our eyes, the grain reserve that we have will run out and the whole population will perish by next February or March. However, if we let those dying people die and those who are living continue to hold on until next March or April and finally release the grain reserve we have, the remaining people perhaps will be able to keep their lives.’ This remark clearly shows how desperate the situation of the people is, how problematic the measures to deal with it are, and how impatient and confused the officials appear. The grain for land taxes, uniform rice taxes, and all other grain taxes of our district, when they were transported to Seoul by land or sea, used to be so badly wasted before they reached their destination that three-fourths was lost in the process. If these rice taxes are allowed to remain in this district and to be used for famine relief, they will alleviate the present situation even if they may not be able to solve the whole problem.” In the first year [1725] of Yŏngjo there was a severe famine in the three southern provinces. Issuing a royal decree, the king stated: “Although it is not possible to cut off the rice provided to various royal palaces [saksŏnmi] completely, it can be reduced to a certain extent. Cut down the allowance of the Royal Supply Bu-

16. Called taedongmi, it indicates the tax that replaced tribute in kind.

Famine Relief

903

reau by 300 sŏk, that of Ŏŭigung by 200 sŏk, and that of Ch’angŭigung by 100 sŏk, which will amount to 600 sŏk in total. Then, dividing the rice into three portions, send 200 sŏk to each of the three southern provinces so that they can use the grain for famine relief; furthermore, notify the provincial governments not to send their grain taxes to the government in Seoul and to settle their accounts on the basis of this decree of Ŭlsa year [1725].” Whenever famine occurred, history shows that the kings in successive ages transported grain, distributed it to the people, and gave orders to reduce taxes. The records on this are too numerous to illustrate in full. He who is a magistrate will be able to deal with famine when he knows about the old examples left by benevolent kings. He will run to the provincial office and submit a request for emergency relief, expecting that the king will dispense his benevolence in time; he should not act foolishly and look confused and thereby cut off the chances on his own for the royal dispensation to save the people. The Kings Used to Bestow Goods to Add to the Efforts for Famine Relief, and Administration Modeled on This Tradition Became Rules and Regulations in the Course of Time. According to the “Regulations on Famine Relief” [“Chinhyul samok”], in Kimi year [1679] of Sukchong’s reign, the kings contributed goods to the efforts of famine relief, and they amounted to 1,000 taels of silver and 1,000 bolts of linen from the Ministry of Taxation, as well as 1,000 taels of silver from the Bureau of Famine Relief. In the eighth year of his reign [1682] Sukchong bestowed 100 tu of black pepper, 1,000 catties of sappanwood, 300 catties of alum, and 10 pieces of tiger skin on the Bureau of Famine Relief to add to the efforts of famine relief. (In Ŭlhae year the king also bestowed goods like black pepper, sappanwood, and alum.) In my observation, the royal contributions for famine relief finally became established as a tradition and continued down to the reigns of Yŏngjo, Chŏngjo, and Sunjo. When goods like black pepper and sappanwood happened not to be available, the Ministry of Taxation sent cash equivalent to their market price. “Regulations on Famine Relief” stated, “The relief agencies in various provinces shall issue letters of appointment with no names [kongmyŏngch’ŏp] and

17. The private residence of King Injo before he rose to the throne. 18. The private residence of King Yŏngjo before he rose to the throne. 19. Called tanmok in Korean, it is a species of flowering tree in the legume family. Th is plant has many uses, such as a material for making bows, reddish dye, and medicine. It was a major trade good in the seventeenth century. 20. Ŭlhae year was 1695, the twenty-first year of Sukchong.

904

book XI

distribute them to various districts that request them for the purpose of raising funds for famine relief.” In the first year of his reign [1724] Yŏngjo instructed: “I understand that the government under the critical situation of a severe famine has little choice but to issue letters of appointment with no names, but I have not seen how the districts that issue them carry out their work. They should be strictly prohibited from selling the letters of appointment except for the purpose of famine relief.” The so-called letter of appointment with no name is a letter of appointment for the official of excellent goodness [kasŏn taebu] or general in charge of breaking the advance of the enemy [chŏlch’ung changgun] without the name of the appointee. These letters of appointment were sold to people at 5 or 7 taels apiece, but in case the people did not want them, they were forcibly allocated to the districts, causing complaints that the government was extorting money from the people by selling offices and titles. Therefore, this is certainly not the right way to handle famine relief. Issuing such letters of appointment is no better than persuading the people with good words to make monetary contributions and later rewarding them with offices and titles like clerk [pongsa] or chief [chikjang]. Although the Grace of the King Is Impartial to All, Only the Good Magistrate Can Uphold the King’s Will to Be Impartial. When Cheng Baizi [Cheng Hao] governed Fugou District, the people were starving because of flood damage. Hence he submitted a request for aid to the government, and so did his neighboring district. This made the manager of agriculture [sinong] indignant, and he dispatched an inspector. When the inspector arrived, the magistrate of the neighboring district suddenly said that the famine aid was not really necessary because the harvest was close at hand. Then the inspector visited Cheng’s district, expecting a similar response from him. However, he found that there was no change in Cheng’s position and, deeply displeased with it, said that he would not grant his request for aid. Nevertheless, Cheng continued to plead for aid, contending that the people were suffering from hunger, and finally persuaded the inspector to provide 6,000 sŏk of grain for famine relief. Later the manager of agriculture was furious once again to fi nd that the grain loaned to the people was not evenly distributed, although the grades of 21. A low-ranking official ( ju nior rank 8) working at the Military Training Agency, the Weapons Bureau, or other government agencies. 22. A low-ranking official ( ju nior rank 7) working at the State Tribunal or the Seals Office (Sangsŏwŏn).

Famine Relief

905

households for relief were the same. Thus he sent a dispatch to the district and ordered the chief clerk to be flogged. Cheng said that famine relief should be carried out on the basis of the number of family members, not the grade of households, and furthermore, the distribution of the grain was actually his own work, not that of the chief clerk. As a result, the chief clerk was able to escape punishment. The following happened when Su Shi governed Hangzhou. When an epidemic spread rampantly because of a severe drought and famine, he requested from the court that the tribute taxes of his district be reduced by one-third. As a result, the price of rice was stabilized, the district government was able to release the rice of the Ever-Normal Granary at a lower price, and the residents escaped suffering from drought. When Kim P’iljin became magistrate of Wŏnsŏng, the famine in his district was so severe that ten thousand people depended solely on the relief efforts of the government. He sent a dispatch to the provincial office and requested that the government provide 2,000 sŏk of grain and 140,000 p’un of relief funds, and his efforts saved the lives of ten thousand people. When the Royal Inspector Comes Down to Manage and Supervise Relief Efforts, the Magistrate Must Visit Him as Quickly as He Can and Discuss the Matter with Him. In order to supervise relief efforts during a year of poor harvest, high-ranking officials must be dispatched. That is the reason that Han Weigong became pacification commissioner of Yizhou, and Fu Zhenggong [Fu Bi] took charge of relief efforts in Qingzhou. In our country Han Myŏnghoe, Lord Sangdang, also served as commissioner of famine relief for three provinces. Th is was because saving the lives of many people and preserving the places of their abodes are very serious matters in governing the state. In recent years royal inspectors for famine relief have been selected from young officials and dispatched, which is contrary to the old custom. Furthermore, in Kisa and Kapsul years [1749; 1754] the government sent no one to the disaster areas, so the people in the south perished, having no one to appeal to for aid, and this also was unprecedented. What good is it to send royal inspectors belatedly and investigate the problems when the starving people are already dead and have turned into nothing but bones? 23. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. He joined Great Lord Suyang (King Sejo) in his struggle for power and played a crucial role in enthroning him, eliminating his enemies who were loyal to King Tanjong, Lord Suyang’s nephew. Because of this success, Han served in numerous high-ranking positions for decades, including chief state councilor.

906

book XI

If Grain Is Available in the Neighboring Districts, the Magistrate Must Try to Secure It by Raising Funds in His District; However, His Work Can Be Facilitated Only When It Is First Authorized by the Government. The grand minister of education in Rites of Zhou stated, “When there is a severe famine, the districts are allowed to borrow and loan money among themselves.” Borrowing and loaning money here indicate mutual assistance for disaster relief. At a meeting of feudal lords at Kuiqiu, which is recorded in the Spring and Autumn Annals, an agreement was made, and an article in the agreement said, “The trade of grain [among the member states] is allowable.” In the Book of Changes there are phrases, such as youfu luanru and fuyi qilin, that mean that the right hand extends help if the left hand is disabled, and the left hand does the same if the right hand is disabled. The word luanru, in other words, indicates that neighboring states provided assistance in a time of crisis. Since the people at the present time do not understand this, and those who are public officials mostly prohibit the trade of grain for no reason, how absurd they are! The government must admonish them on this matter. When the result of the year’s harvest is known, the magistrate is supposed to send a man to neighboring districts to purchase grain with cash and cloth raised from both public and private sources, which is to be sold at a reduced price for famine relief. He should not delay in making profits that are to be used for famine relief. The following happened when Su Qi served as transport commissioner of Shanxi. During the years of Emperor Jingyou [1034–1038] there was a severe drought in Luoyang. Although the price of grain soared and the people died of hunger, the Transport Commission of Jingdong was helpless to deal with the crisis, so the magistrate of Luoyang sent a letter to Su Qi and requested 200,000 hu of grain, and Su Qi sent a dispatch to the office of Shanxi and ordered that the requested grain be transported to Luoyang. His aides said, “Since Shanxi is located on the coast, it has many military garrisons. If there is surplus grain, it had better be used for the defense of the border. Why do you want to give it away to a region that is out of your jurisdiction?” Su Qi replied, “According to the Spring and Autumn Annals, we are supposed to assist our neighbors when natural disasters break out. In a situation in which all the people throughout the state depend on the king, there should be no difference between inside and outside. If there is a need to send grain to the border, I will certainly take care of it on my own, and I will not allow that this measure will cause any trouble.” The officials 24. Modern Lankao, Henan Province. In 651 the state of Qi orga nized a meeting with the leaders of Lu, Song, Zheng, Wei, and Zhou to form a friendly alliance. 25. An official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Renzong.

Famine Relief

907

in the court who heard of Su Qi’s rescuing efforts all thought that his conduct deserved praise. Zhu Xi in his official dispatch titled “Appeal with Regard to the Prohibition of the Purchase of Rice” [“Qi jinedi zhuang”] stated: “What happened was that places like Erpi, Shantian, and so forth, which belong to Jianchang District of this military prefecture, were eager to buy grain, and the people of Jiangan and Xinjian unloaded their grain into ships for transportation. At that moment over fift y military officers and archers belonging to Fengxin District, who carried spears and sticks, lined up along the riverside and patrolled, blocking the shipment of grain by boat. Furthermore, the people sent out by Fengxin District crossed the border of their district and detained the ships that were operating in the areas of Sanbei, Tande, Yaokou, and Beishui, which are in the jurisdiction of Jianchang District. So I appeal to you and request that you arrest the officials of Fengxin District, punish them after investigation, and release the detained grain ships so that they can go back to their business as usual.” It is in the agreement made at the meeting at Kuiqiu that one should not obstruct the trade of grain carried out for the purpose of disaster relief. Would it be right, then, for the neighboring districts to obstruct the relief efforts of one another? Hu Dachu stated: “During a year of poor harvest public funds are loaned to the grain merchants so that they can purchase grain in other districts. However, the government should only let them sell their grain; it should not interfere in their price fi xing. Once there is enough grain, its price is supposed to go down by itself. When my father served as magistrate of Jinxi, there were poor harvests for two years; nevertheless, the people did not go hungry because he had used the measure aforementioned.” The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Each province on the coast shall establish granaries and transport the reserve of its grain to the neighboring provinces when the latter are faced with famine.” Narip’o Granary, located in the district of Imp’i, Chŏlla Province, is supposed to provide relief to three districts in Cheju Island; P’ohang Granary in the district of Yŏnil to Kangwŏn and Hamgyŏng provinces; and the three granaries for famine relief in Tŏkwŏn, Kowŏn, and Hamhŭng in Hamgyŏng Province to Kangwŏn and Kyŏngsang provinces. Although the law of famine relief is made like this, the government’s reserve of grain, in my view, is so limited that it cannot reach every individual who needs it. Therefore, the magistrate must secure grain on his own. Since there may be a province whose harvest is good even when the harvest is generally poor, the government should instruct the governor of that province not to obstruct other provinces from purchasing the grain in his province and allow all those who 26. “Preparation for Famine,” Laws on Taxation.

908

book XI

carry official documents to bring their boats and buy the grain that they need. In that way many people can be saved. In Case Grain Is Traded at the Riverside or Estuaries, the Magistrate Must Closely Watch the Trading Houses and Prohibit Their Malevolent Manipulation of the Market, and Then More Merchant Ships Will Come There to Trade Goods. When commercial ships arrive at the estuaries in a year of poor harvest, local merchants and their agents try to reduce the price, while the clerks and officers seize their goods and commit irregularities. Upon hearing the news, the grain merchants run away, turning their ships around. This is the reason that the price of rice goes up day after day. The magistrate must be aware of this problem and make efforts to please the merchants and try to attract them from the outside. If more merchants visit, more grain will be available, and those who have money will be able to buy it. The following happened when Zhao Bian, Lord Qingxian, governed Yuezhou. Because Zhedong and Zhexi regions were hit hard with drought and locust damage, the price of rice soared, and the people died of hunger. Various districts prohibited raising the price of rice by posting public notices on the main roads. Zhao Bian, on the other hand, allowed the merchants to raise their price as much as they wanted. As a result, all the rice merchants came over to his district, and the price of rice went down once again. There are two ways of securing grain. One is to send a trusted person to buy grain produced in other regions. The other is to raise the price of rice in order to attract rice merchants. These are the only ways to solve the problem. Zhu Xi in his official dispatch titled “Request for Permission to Sell Grain at One’s Convenience” [“Qi congbian xingfan zhuang”] stated: “I admonished the middlemen not to reduce the price of rice by posting a public notice and issued official permits to the outside merchants so that they could freely sell their grain. What makes me worried now is that the authorities of the military prefecture obstruct the trade activities of those merchants or sometimes collect taxes from them under the pretext that they are selling miscellaneous goods. As a consequence, the grain merchants avoid coming into our district and selling their grain to our people. So I strongly request that the superior office strictly stop the irregularities committed by the personnel of the military prefecture.” Zhu Xi in his essay titled “On the Tricks of Rice Merchants” [“Yueshu miya tie”] stated: “When the residents of various villages take their rice to the market, the middlemen always interfere and pressure them to sell their rice cheap. Then they use small measuring containers for rice and make a great deal of profit, which con27. Zhu Xi Daquan (Complete Collected Works of Zhu Xi), Bieji, vol. 9, “Gongli.”

Famine Relief

909

sequently makes the price of rice soar and the lives of poor people more desperate. Since the sufferings of the poor are so serious, we need to make rules and regulations to prevent these abuses.” He also said, “When the merchants from the outside come over to trade their goods, our military prefecture does not levy taxes either on the sales of rice or on the miscellaneous goods of their commercial vessels. Thus the prefectural government is able to attract grain vessels to its shore and make them sell their grain.” In my observation, the so-called helper [yaren] is a broker, who is also called zangkuai. When merchant ships arrive at the estuary, the local middlemen conspire with the yaren helpers, trying to reduce the price of rice after taking bribes from rich people or, conversely, raising the price of rice after taking bribes from the merchants who came to sell rice. Whenever a poor harvest takes place, therefore, the magistrate must strictly prohibit the activities of the yaren helpers and properly regulate the price of rice by sending out a reliable person. It Is the Old Law, as Well as the Duty of the Royal Commissioner, to Open the Granary in an Emergency without Waiting for Permission from the Court. How Can the Magistrates at the Present Time Dare Not Do So? Carrying out a royal order, Ji An inspected Henei Commandery and reported to the king on his return: “Although a man caused a fire by mistake, and the fire spread to the houses of his neighbors, that is not a matter that you really need to be concerned about. When I toured through Henan, I witnessed that over 10,000 households, who were mostly poor, had suffered damage from flood and drought, and some of the people, driven to extreme hunger, devoured each other, and among those people there were fathers and sons. Because the situation was so urgent, I opened the provincial granary of Henan to save the dying people, exercising my own authority. So I request that Your Majesty punish me for being presumptuous enough to make such a decision without your authorization.” The king commended his efforts and forgave what he had done. The following happened when Han Shao governed the land of Ying. When vagrant people gathered in his district, he opened the district granary to save them. The chief of the granary protested that his measure was not appropriate, and Han Shao replied, “If I am to be punished for saving starving people, I will be glad to die.” 28. Ibid. 29. Ibid. 30. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhonghuang. His administration was reputed to be so benevolent that even bandits avoided attacking it.

910

book XI

The following happened when Guo Mo of the Jin dynasty became prefect of Dong Commandery. When the people were starving during a year of poor harvest, he opened the granary and distributed grain to the people. Then he submitted a memorial to the king to seek the punishment appropriate for his action, staying at the traveler’s pavilion in his district. Sending down a royal letter, the king commended him, comparing him with Ji An. The following happened when Li Gao became administrator of Wenzhou. The harvest was very bad, but his district had a grain reserve of several hundred thousand hu. When he tried to release it to save the people, his subordinates urged him to wait until the imperial order arrived. Li Gao said, “Unless a man has two meals a day, he is bound to die. How can we now afford to take time to report this crisis to the emperor and wait for his answer? If I can save the lives of thousands of people by sacrificing my own, the benefits thus created will be incomparable.” Then he opened the granary and released the grain to the people; at the same time he submitted to the court a self-incriminating report on his action. The emperor regarded his conduct as commendable. The following happened when Fan Chunren governed Qingzhou. Although the streets were fi lled with people who had died of hunger, there was no grain to be released. When he tried to release the reserve grain in the Ever-Normal Granary, the officials of both the prefecture and the districts suggested that this should be done only after submitting a report to the court. Fan said, “A man is made to die if he has no food for seven days. How can we wait for the reply from the court? I want you to take your hands off this matter. I alone will take all the responsibility.” As was expected, the king finally sent his royal messenger to investigate the matter, and the people who heard the news said, “We owe our lives to our prefect. How can we sit and watch him being punished for saving us?” Then they contributed their grain and transported it to the prefectural office day and night, and by the time the royal messenger arrived in their district, there was no shortage in the grain reserve. The following happened when Yi Tongjik became metropolitan magistrate of Kwangju. There was a severe famine, and many people throughout the country died of hunger. At that time Kwangju had over 100,000 kok [hu] of refined grain, but the government did not allow him to release it for famine relief because it was designated for military rations. Yi said, “If relief is delayed for one day, a thousand people will surely die.” Even before he made another request, hungry people began to crowd around the granary. Yi immediately ran to the granary and opened its gate by breaking a lock. The people he saved exceeded ten thousand. The Border Defense Council sent him an official dispatch to stop the dis31. An official of the Western Jin dynasty (265–316). He provided relief to the refugees at the turbulent time of the revolt of the Yongjia era, and also served as prefect of Henei.

Famine Relief

911

tribution of grain, which worsened the situation, and he countered with a much more resolute attitude. As a result, the people were eventually able to escape from death and sickness. When autumn arrived and the people were supposed to pay back the grain that they had borrowed, they said, “Unless we had been provided with relief in the spring and summer, our whole family, including myself, would have died of hunger.” Then they were all eager to repay what they owed to the government. C H A P T E R  : S OL IC I TAT ION OF C ON T R I BU T ION S

The Solicitation of Contributions Called Quanfen Started from the Distant Time of the Zhou Dynasty. However, Since Politics Became Corrupt and Name and Reality Failed to Match as Time Passed, the Current Custom of Solicitation Is Not That of Old Days. The Chronicle of Zuo stated: “In the summer of the twenty-first year of Duke Xi of Qi there was a severe drought. When Duke Xi tried to burn sorcerers, cripples, and hunchbacks at the stake, Zang Wenzhong said, “That is not the proper way to cope with drought. What is to be done is to repair the fortifications (to keep out thieves from neighboring districts), cut down the number of foods for royal consumption (which means that the king does not eat a full set of foods that befit his status), reduce expenditures, promote agriculture, and exhort the people to make contributions.” (Du Yu defined the solicitation of contributions as an attempt to make those who have and those who have not assist each other.) The people in olden days were taught about brotherly love [mu], love of relatives [yin], love of neighbors [ren], and charity to the poor [xu], and those who did not follow these instructions were punished under the laws on penal affairs. If the people are encouraged to share their grain in a year of poor harvest, who, being a member of the community, would refuse to do this? If they share their food with their brothers, relatives, neighbors, and the poor and lonely, they in fact carry out the decree of the king. The property they donate for charity is different from that that is presented to the government and distributed to the people. Although the law of later ages is said to be different from that of the old days, it did not require the people to donate their property for free; it recommended that the people sell or lend their grain. However, the so-called solicitation of contributions in our country shows that the government seizes private property to distribute to the people. Nevertheless, government officials say that the law of solicitations derived from the Spring and Autumn Annals. How ridiculous! 32. Zhang Sunchen, an official of the Lu state during the Spring and Autumn period. Wenzhong was his posthumous title.

912

book XI

The Law of Solicitation of Contributions in China Recommended Th at the People Take Their Grain to the Market for Sale, Not Donate It for Free; That the People Give Their Grain in Charity, Not Present It to the Government; That the People Practice Charity in Person, Not Practice It Only with Words; and That the People Be Encouraged, Not Coerced. What Is Called Solicitation of Contributions These Days Is the Culmination of Impropriety. The following happened when Zeng Gong became controller general. When there was a poor harvest, he checked the Ever-Normal Granary and found that its grain reserve was not enough to provide relief to the people. Furthermore, the people living in the countryside could not be allowed into the walled town at one time, and if they were allowed in, there was a danger of epidemic because the people were crowded close together. So he called the rich people and had them report on the amount of grain they had. As a result, he was able to secure 150,000 sŏk of grain and distributed it to the common people at a price a little higher than the normal price. The people were now able to find grain easily and did not have to make trips to other places, and that stabilized the price of grain quickly. In addition, Zeng Gong raised funds and purchased 50,000 sŏk of grain and lent it to the people for their seeds and provisions, which made agriculture successful. In my observation, what Zeng Gong did was only to urge the people to sell their grain at a price slightly higher than the regular price and a little cheaper than the current price. Since the current solicitation of contributions, on the other hand, amounts to seizing the property of the people without payment, no one knows where this system derived from. The following happened when Zhao Yuedao [Zhao Bian], junior guardian of the heir apparent, governed Yuezhou. As a great famine broke out, he summoned affluent residents. He explained to them about the famine situation and first took off his golden belt and laid it down on the ground. Then the people across his district began to donate their money for the relief of famine, and tens of thousands of people were able to survive. The following happened when Chen Yaozuo governed Shouzhou. As a severe famine struck the land, he fed the starving people with porridge, donating his own rice. Then officials and people vied with each other to donate rice, and tens of thousands of people were able to survive. Chen said, “How can I take the credit for what has happened? I only know that leading people by giving orders is certainly less effective than motivating them to do what needs to be done.” Hu Cheng became transport commissioner of Zizhou Circuit. When famine broke out, the streets were filled with hungry people. He first donated rice to 33. Unknown. 34. Circuit (lu) is a generic name for the largest territorial administrative jurisdictions.

Famine Relief

913

save the people, and the rich and powerful families soon followed his lead. The rice thus donated saved the lives of many thousands. These three officials, Zhao Yuedao, Chen Yaozuo, and Hu Cheng, asked the people to contribute to disaster relief only after they first set good examples themselves. The magistrates nowadays, on the other hand, only urge the people to donate their property while they contribute nothing. Is this not a shame? The following happened when Han Weigong became pacification commissioner of Yizhou. Sending an official dispatch to Jianmen Pass, he instructed that the vagrants who wanted to go east not be obstructed and set prizes for those of the people who donated their grain. Then he distributed money that amounted to over 160,000 maces, which was made from the sale of the grain, to the households whose grade was below four and fed the hungry people with porridge. The people he thus saved were as many as nearly 2 million. The people of Chu said, “The commissioner is the savior of our lives.” In my observation, Han Weigong also carried out the solicitation of contributions by means of rewards. The use of coercion, instead of encouragement, in making the people contribute their money to disaster relief actually prevents them from making contributions. During the years of Xinglong the Secretariat-Chancellery [Zhongshu wenxiasheng] memorialized to the emperor: “Since Hunan and Jiangxi are afflicted with drought, Your Majesty should set prizes and admonish those who have grain to make contributions to relief efforts. Since their contributions are based on their respect for the custom of righteousness, this is not the same as presenting their property to the government.” Qiu Jun said [to the emperor]: “Though it is not desirable for the state to sell offices, it can be allowable if it is to save people from famine, not to make a profit. Th is is what the people of Song are saying: ‘Our contributions are based on our respect for the custom of righteousness, which is different from making voluntary contributions to the government.’ I request that Your Majesty reward those who during the famine donate their grain with government office along with travel expenses, if the donors have traveled a long way, as well as a document stamped with the imperial seal, and make the government treat them with due respect, just like regular officials, and refrain from depriving them of their offices even if they committed a mistake or a crime. If you treat the people this way, they will save their grain in ordinary times and vie with each other to donate their grain in the famine year. Th is is also one of the policies for famine relief.” 35. A military stronghold and gateway located in Sichuan. 36. The reign name of Xiaozong, eleventh emperor of the Song dynasty. He reigned from 1162 to 1189.

914

book XI

I tend to believe that what Qiu Jun said is sensible. In Kisa year [1809], when famine occurred, the government urged the people to contribute their grain to relief efforts, following the custom of awarding prizes. A man named Kwŏn Ch’angŏn, a native of Namwŏn who held the status of a man of letters, donated several thousand sŏk of grain in response to the call of the government. After the work of relief was over, however, the government forgot to reward him. After five years, in Kapsul year [1814], another severe famine broke out, and the government finally realized that it had made a mistake, so it belatedly decided to award Kwŏn Ch’angŏn the title of assistant magistrate [chubu] and made him donate several thousand sŏk of grain for a second time. When the relief work was finished, however, it forgot about him once again. So the people said, “Kwŏn Ch’angŏn will be promoted only when another famine breaks out.” If the government is untrustworthy like that, how can it persuade the people to donate grain in the future? Zhu Xi in his essay titled “On Famine Relief” stated: “Find out how many rich households have rice, and how much they have for their family and their tenants for provisions, and how much they can sell. Write down the names of these individuals and the amount of rice they can sell. “Twenty-five affluent households in the district agreed to donate 11,635 sŏk of rice for famine relief [to be sold at the market], and the price per sheng of rice is about 17 wen. “The number of affluent households in the district of Xingxi is so-and-so, and the price per sheng of rice is about 17 wen. The number of affluent households in the district of Duchang is so-and-so, and the price per sheng of rice is about 14 wen. The number of affluent households in the district of Jianchang is so-and-so, and the price per sheng of rice is about 12 wen.” In my observation, the system of selling grain [hechan] is more effective than that of making contributions. However, it is not clear whether the price of rice was lower than the current price. I presume that the reason that the prices of rice in the three districts were set differently probably had to do with the mountainous region in which they were located. In my observation, the solicitation of contributions in our country has no obligations with regard to their use. The relief grain is provided to the people free of charge, and the contributions to the relief efforts are required to be presented to the government, not directly to the people. Therefore, the orders of government authorities are not followed, and the use of the donated grain is unclear. 37. The official title chubu was originally a designation for recorders who were the members of a great many agencies, normally handling the flow of documents in and out of their units. However, it later became a designation for assistant magistrate on the staff of various units of territorial administration whose rank was just below vice magistrate (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 182).

Famine Relief

915

The solicitation of contributions from the rich in the case of China is no more than a request to sell or lend rice to save the people from famine. Responding to the call of the government, those who have rice sell it to the starving at a slightly lower price. When they lend rice to the starving, they charge interest. If they disregard the magistrate’s call for cooperation and choose not to sell or lend their grain, however, the magistrate can deal with them with authority and discipline. The law of our country with regard to the solicitation of contributions is not unlike the laws on penal affairs in its severity of punishment. If anyone refuses to donate his grain gratuitously during a famine, the authorities treat him as if he were a bandit. For this reason, it is the rich people who first have a hard time whenever famine breaks out. So the people in southern provinces say, “Being alive is worse than being dead, and the lives of the rich are worse than those of the poor.” Since this coercive solicitation of contributions is cruel and atrocious, he who is a magistrate must be fully aware of this problem. Those Who Donate Grain during a Famine Are Rewarded with Public Offices such as Chief of a Post Station and Assistant of Junior Fifth Rank [Pyŏlchwa]. Old Stories like These Are Recorded in the Nation’s History. In Kyehae year [1683] of Sukchong’s reign the Bureau of Famine Relief requested from the king that Interpreter Pyŏn Ich’ang, who had donated 50 sŏk of rice to the government for famine relief, be awarded the title of fift h minister without portfolio [ch’ŏmji]. The Royal Secretariat, the Office of Inspector General, and the Office of Censor General, however, contended that an office like fift h minister without portfolio, which is temporarily created, should be granted to a man of literati status, and the decision had already been approved by the king. Therefore, the king ordered the Bureau of Famine Relief to reward the interpreter with a different kind of prize. Then Min Yujung, director of the Bureau of Famine Relief, stated as follows: “Examining the record of royal instructions of Sinch’uk year [1661], I found that it was decided that offices such as chief of a post station, assistant of junior fift h rank, assistant magistrate, assistant of junior fourth rank [ch’ŏmjŏng], vice director of junior third rank [pujŏng], director [t’ongnyejŏng] of the Comprehensive Rites Agency [T’ongnyewŏn],  fi ft h minister without portfolio, fourth minister without portfolio, and so forth, which were temporarily created for rewarding those who rendered ser vice in famine relief, were generally granted in accordance with the precedents applied to principal officials [chŏnggwan]. However, an office like director of the Comprehensive Rites Agency 38. Established in the early Chosŏn period, this agency presided over matters concerning all the rites of the state.

916

book XI

is allowed only to those of literati status, and offices like fift h minister without portfolio and fourth minister without portfolio to both people of literati status and people of good status, and in the case of people of good status, they are required to contribute an additional 10 sŏk of rice. That was to make a distinction between people of good status and the literati. “People like supervising officers of military colonies [tujŏn pyŏljang] or managers in the army may pretend to donate their grain, which is in fact the leftovers that they saved from the grain of the government. In that case it is obvious that they should not be granted titles like fi ft h and fourth minister without portfolio. However, not to grant these titles to people of good status who made contributions out of their own property is clearly not right. If they are denied the privilege to which they are entitled, who will respond to the call of the government on the occasion of famine relief? Since Pyŏn Ich’ang is an interpreter, there is no reason that he should be denied the title of fift h minister without portfolio. However, it is excessive to award Yi Tŏngnyong, who is a veteran soldier, the title of fift h minister without portfolio.” Second State Councilor Min Chŏngjung said, “Since there is no doubt that Yi Tŏngnyong is a soldier, it is indeed inappropriate to grant an official title both to him and to his wife and parents at the same time. If we grant an official title to him alone, that would appear to be appropriate.” Third State Councilor Kim Sŏkju said, “The precedent of allowing the titles of fourth and fift h minister without portfolio to people of good status did not start in Sinch’uk year [1661]; it already existed in Chŏngch’uk and Kisa years [1637; 1629]. Those who donate their grain are no different in terms of rendering ser vice to the country. Is it right, then, to distinguish them just because they are interpreters and soldiers? Soldiers who are members of the cavalry, the infantry, and armored units have been men of good status for generations, and the government has treated them well. Some of the interpreters, on the other hand, are inferior in background to the soldiers carry ing baggage on their backs even though they often travel on horseback and are formally dressed. If Your Majesty distinguishes them in making rewards and this becomes a precedent, there will be no one among people of good status who will be eager to contribute to disaster relief in the future. It would be advisable, therefore, that Your Majesty allow Yi Tŏngnyong to be awarded the office to which he is entitled.” The king followed his advice. 39. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was Taesu, and his pen name Nobong. He served as inspector general and as minister of personnel, of works, of taxation, and of punishments, and fi nally as second state councilor. 40. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was Sabaek, and his pen name Sigam. He served as chief royal secretary, minister of war, and third state councilor.

Famine Relief

917

In my observation, the Office of Ministers without Portfolio [Chungch’ubu] is the Royal Secretariat [Ch’umirwŏn] of the old days. Fourth minister without portfolio and fift h minister without portfolio are great officers [taebu]. Ever since the order and hierarchy between Heaven and Earth were decided, and the king is on top, great officers next, and literati next, how can the title of great officer be awarded lightly? The wife of a great officer is called “lady” [puin], and “lady” was a title allowed to the spouses of the various marquises in old days. However, what happens these days is that the soldiers and common people of base social status are allowed to hold the title of great officer, and their wives are called “lady of loyalty” [chŏngbuin] or “lady of chastity” [sukbuin]. How can this possibly happen? Nevertheless, if they are given the title of great officer, it would be appropriate that they be treated as a great officer like regular holders of the same title, who travel in a vehicle called ch’ohŏn and offer goats during a sacrifice. Unless they are treated with the same respect and propriety, they should not be allowed to have the title of great officer. Those who serve in miscellaneous offices should be promoted from the status of gentleman for virtuous ser vice [t’ongdŏngnang] directly to that of defending general [chŏlch’ung changgun] by creating new titles of commanding general who belong to ranks 1 and 2. When they are treated with dignity befitting their titles, the titles and offices will finally be respected. However, the current situation is that offices like chief of a post station and adjunct officials of senior fift h rank [pyŏlchwa] are allowed only to those of literati status, and offices like fourth minister without portfolio and fift h minister without portfolio even to people of base status. Does it make sense? The system of our bureaucracy is that officials above junior fourth rank are called great officer, and those below senior fift h rank court gentleman [nanggwan]. Ministers are senior great officers [sangdaebu]; second ministers are ordinary great officers [chungdaebu]; and third ministers are junior great officers [hadaebu]. The officials of the third and fourth ranks belong to senior ser viceman [sangsa]; those of the fift h and sixth ranks to ordinary ser viceman [chungsa]; and those of junior seventh to ninth ranks to ser viceman [hasa]. If the government 41. A vehicle that was allowed to officials above ju nior second rank in the Chosŏn dynasty. 42. A general reference to the civil officials of senior fi ft h rank in the Chosŏn dynasty. 43. Th is statement indicates that serious discrimination existed in the late Chosŏn society against low-ranking officials or men of low status who acquired the title of grand master by contributing to relief efforts compared with the regular officials who held the same title. Tasan is not really enthusiastic about awarding official titles to common people for their monetary contributions during a famine; however, once the titles are awarded, he believes that those who are awarded the titles should be treated respectfully in accordance with their new titles. 44. Fourth minister without portfolio and fi ft h minister without portfolio, who belonged to junior second rank and senior third rank, respectively, were higher than chief of a post station or pyŏlchwa officials in their rank and hierarchy.

918

book XI

indeed intends to reward those who donate their grain for famine relief with official titles, those who donate over 50 sŏk of rice should be awarded the title of tomb guardian [ch’ambong]; those who donate over 100 sŏk of rice, clerk [pongsa]; those who donate over 200 sŏk of rice, chief [chikjang]; and those who donate over 300 sŏk of rice, recorder [chubu]. These titular offices should be allowed to go up to the office of gentleman for virtuous ser vice, which is senior fift h rank, and actual offices [siljik] up to the level of fourth secretary [ch’ŏmjŏng], administrator [p’angwan], recorder [chubu], and special assistant [pyŏlje]. If these officials are allowed to enter the royal palace and express their gratitude to the king, to travel by post horses to visit the tombs of their ancestors, to inscribe the titles of offices in their banners when they die, to write the titles on their memorial tablets after their burial, and to be exempted from military ser vice down to their great-great grandsons, many people will be eager to donate their grain for disaster relief. Why, then, should we grant them titles like great officer and lady? In Sinhae [1731], the seventh year of Yŏngjo’s reign, Third State Councilor Cho Munmyŏng said to the king: “The main purpose of solicitation of contributions is famine relief. Although it is not really desirable to sell titles and offices, it is also unavoidable when famine breaks out. Therefore, when Zhu Xi carried out famine relief in the land of Zhe, he sent a letter to Grand Councilor Wang Huai and stressed the importance of granting titles to those who donated their grain for famine relief, and Qiu Jun, a scholar of the Ming dynasty, also expressed a more or less similar view. The measure [advocated by the Chinese scholars] was already put into practice during the reigns of Hyojong and Hyŏnjong. Since the government in recent years has lost its credibility among the people with regard to this matter, the people are reluctant to follow its orders. The state cannot afford to lose credibility among its people any further, and in a year of poor harvest like this, there must be measures that encourage the participation of the people in relief efforts.” The king replied: “On the things you have said, I already gave an instruction, and I am also aware of the example made by Zhu Xi. The reason that the state has lost credibility in recent years is that the government agencies in charge of the matter have failed to discharge their duty properly. Last year the 45. An official of ju nior ninth rank. 46. An official of ju nior eighth rank. 47. An official of ju nior seventh rank. 48. An official of ju nior sixth rank. 49. His courtesy name was Sukjang, and his pen name Hagam. He served as director and commander of the Five Army Garrisons during the reign of Sukjong, and as third and second state councilor during the reign of Yŏngjo. 50. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Jihai. He served as investigating censor and received the title of Hanlin academician.

Famine Relief

919

people in Hamgyŏng Province privately contributed to the relief efforts, and the government selected one of them and amply rewarded him with honors, which impressed the people. If from now on there is anyone who is outstanding in contributing to relief efforts, let the governor recommend him immediately without waiting until the famine is over so that the government can lose no more credibility among the people. If it happens, however, that the magistrate recklessly issues letters of appointment without names to secure grain, he shall inevitably be reprimanded.” In Deciding the Donors of Famine Relief, Affluent Households Should First Be Selected and Divided into Three Groups, and Each of the Three Groups Should Again Be Subdivided. The so-called affluent households are those that have a grain reserve sufficient to feed eight family members and still have extra grain. Making a basic household survey [ch’imgip’yo], the magistrate examines the wealth and poverty of the people and gathers public opinion to select affluent households first and divide them into three groups. The three groups of affluent households are divided into three grades, that is, upper, middle, and low grades. The low grade of affluent households is again subdivided into nine grades, and the households of the ninth grade, which is the lowest among the nine grades, are assigned 2 sŏk (15 tu are 1 sŏk). Starting from the ninth grade, 1 sŏk is added to each grade as the grade moves up to the first, which is assigned 10 sŏk. The affluent households of the middle grade, subdivided into nine grades, start from 20 sŏk at the bottom and graduate to 100 sŏk on top, with the amount of grain increasing by 10 sŏk per grade. The affluent households of the upper grade, subdivided into nine grades, start from 200 sŏk at the bottom and graduate to 1,000 sŏk, with the amount of grain increasing by 100 sŏk per grade. One thousand sŏk are equivalent to 1,500 hu of grain in China and 750 sŏk in private lands (among civilians 20 tu are traded for 1 sŏk). The reason that 15 tu are fi xed as 1 sŏk is that the solicitation of contributions is also part of public affairs, and therefore the measurement of donated grain needs to agree with that used in public accounting records; it is not proper to use a measurement different from the regular one. In my observation, whenever the work of solicitation is carried out, officials count 20 tu as 1 sŏk, disrupting the rules of bookkeeping. This practice should no longer be allowed. If there is anyone who wants to contribute more than 1,000 sŏk and expects a reward, it is not necessary to set a limit on his zeal. In China it happens that an individual donates as much as 4,000 to 5,000 sŏk of grain, but our country sets a limit on the donation amount, which is 1,000 sŏk,

920

book XI

because we are so poor that there is no one in our country who can donate that much even if he is rich. Although it is not right to solicit contributions from those who make a comfortable living but have a grain reserve of no more than a few bushels, the reason that the households of the low grade with 2 or 3 sŏk of grain are included in the solicitation of contributions is that the people of our country are so poor that those who belong to the upper grade (above 200 sŏk) are only a few throughout a province, and those who belong to the middle grade (above 20 sŏk) are also only a few throughout a district. Those who belong to the low grade (from 2 to 10 sŏk) can be as many as a few hundred in a district, and therefore, there is no one to join in the solicitation of contributions if these households are excluded. The way of carrying out the solicitation should be as follows: it should be recommended that the affluent households of the upper grade provide contributions gratuitously [chinhŭi]; those of the middle grade provide contributions on loan [chindae] (the government pays back after the harvest); and those of the low grade be urged to sell their grain at a reduced price [chinjo]. Why should it be like that? According to the law of the state, those who donate over 50 sŏk are reported to the government and rewarded, not to mention those who donate over 200 sŏk. If the royal instructions of 1661 [Sinch’uksamok], which Min Yujung mentioned in Kyehae year [1683], are properly carried out, those who donated over 200 sŏk are certainly entitled to become recorder or administrator. If they are awarded these titles, how can they also be allowed to sell their grain? Since the households accorded upper-grade status do not expect to be compensated with money for their donated grain, this is the meaning of the phrase “It is fine with the rich.” Therefore, there is no reason that the rich should not be treated under the rule of gratuitous contributions. If it happens that they cannot be properly compensated because the regulations on rewarding them are ambiguous, the government asks about their wishes and grants them titles like aides for the magistrate, such as head seat and special director, or guard officer, gate commander, and company commander, or permanently exempts them from military ser vice by issuing them a formal document. If it happens that they want none of these rewards, there is no way but to allow them to contribute their grain on loan even if they belong to the affluent households of the upper grade. What is the contribution of grain on loan? The government, for instance, takes 1,000 sŏk of grain from affluent households to distribute to the faminestricken people and collects it from the people after the harvest to repay the affluent households. In this case things like grains of rice fallen on the ground and 51. The phrase derives from Minor Odes of the Kingdom of Classic of Poetry. The original phrase is ့▧ᐣெ. James Legge translates it as “The rich may get through” (“Zheng Yue,” Shi Jing, in Legge, The Chinese Classics [University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center], 192.

Famine Relief

921

chaff are not taken into account. Since the households of the middle grade are not really affluent even if they have some extra grain and are not qualified for rewards of offices and titles because their contribution of rice is below 100 sŏk (although the law stipulated that those who contributed more than 50 sŏk are rewarded, the recent precedents prove otherwise), it is appropriate that they receive their donated grain back after the harvest. What is making the people sell their grain? Although the households of the low grade are deemed affluent, that is only in name, for they barely make their living. Therefore, they cannot afford to donate their grain for free even if it is only a few sŏk, and this is the reason that they should be made to sell their grain. Selecting Trustworthy Persons in the District, the Magistrate Summons a Meeting on a Designated Day and Decides on the Affluent Households after Listening to the General Opinions. Selecting affluent households is harder than selecting starving ones. If there is a mistake in selecting starving households, it happens because of the lack of information, not because of the lack of bribes. If the rich want to avoid the status of affluent households, on the other hand, they visit the authorities and make requests, offering bribes. Even if they do not offer bribes, those who hear of their activities will not believe it. The chief of the local yangban association says to the magistrate, “Yi so-and-so is actually too poor to donate 10 sŏk, and Chang soand-so is rich enough to contribute 100 sŏk.” Upon hearing the report, the magistrate may say, “The chief of the local yangban association says that Yi so-and-so is poor. This makes me wonder whether he accepted bribes from Yi. He says that Chang so-and-so is rich. Chang said that he would give him a bribe, but did not pay it.” Under these circumstances it is hard to vindicate any individual, especially when he commits a suspicious act. Therefore, the innocent people do not answer even if they are asked about what has happened, and those who are guilty of suspicious acts cannot be trusted even if they are willing to explain. Even if the magistrate secretly sends a man to look into the matter, there is no guarantee that his man does not mislead the magistrate after listening to the words of one side only. Likewise, there is no assurance that the representatives of the people whom he invites for his advice produce a fair decision, staying away from conspiring among themselves. Nevertheless, it would be better to have public opinion than to listen only to the words of concerned individuals. In my observation, these days the magistrate prepares a banquet and invites wealthy residents. Then he asks them to write down the amount of grain they will donate for relief efforts or unilaterally assigns the amount of grain to each 52. Th is means that the quality of the rice does not matter when the loan is repaid.

922

book XI

individual on the spot. If this practice is allowed to happen, a rich man like Yi Dun will make an excuse that his provisions have run out, and a poor person like Qian Lou is likely to be thrown into trouble. So nothing under Heaven is more difficult than to carry out the solicitation of contributions for famine relief. Those who frequent the local gentry association or provincial school cannot be trusted, for they are men of cunning. Those of the literati, the local gentry, and the households of middle and low grade who live quietly, reading, regulating their families well, and exerting themselves in agriculture without frequenting the yamen office and the court for lawsuits, can show their good conscience and contribute to producing fair decisions. Searching for persons like these as if searching for men of outstanding wisdom and talent, the magistrate selects two men from upper-grade families and another two from middle-grade families out of every subdistrict and invites them to his office with propriety or to a banquet by sending official letters, setting a date for the meeting. If he invites representatives from five subdistricts at a time, there will be twenty people at the meeting (four persons from each subdistrict attend the meeting). When they have all gathered, the magistrate writes down on a piece of paper the names of the affluent households of the five subdistricts and has the invited guests mark the names whom they believe to be affluent. (Only after the people of five subdistricts have all gathered can the representatives of subdistrict A find out the situation of subdistrict B.) The magistrate says: “The way of deciding the grade of affluent households for famine relief that I tend to believe is most appropriate is as follows: from 2 to 10 sŏk is the low grade; from 20 to 100 sŏk the middle grade; and from 200 to 1,000 sŏk the upper grade. Now I would like to ask you to write down one of the characters indicating grades (they choose one character among the three, sang, chung, and ha [୕, ୯, ୖ], which mean upper, middle, and low) right below individual names.” When this process is completed, the magistrate decides who belongs to which grade. Those who received the largest numbers of the character sang are made the upper grade, those who received the largest numbers of the character chung the middle grade, and those who received the largest numbers of the character ha the low grade. If it happens that the characters of two different grades are equal in number (for example, eight chung characters and eight ha characters), the concerned individual is accorded the higher grade between the two (in other words, he belongs to the middle grade). When the process of deciding the grades of affluent households is finished, the magistrate prepares three pieces of paper and writes down the household names of the low grade and distributes them to the twenty invited guests, asking 53. A man of the Lu state. He was originally a poor scholar but made a great fortune through breeding cattle and trading salt. 54. A poor man in the text of The Mencius (Mengzi).

Famine Relief

923

them to enter the proper amount of grain to be contributed for famine relief (the low grade is from 2 to 10 sŏk, and the middle grade is from 20 to 100 sŏk). Then the households that received a large number of “2 sŏk” are assigned to contribute 2 sŏk, and those that received a large number of “10 sŏk” are also assigned to contribute 10 sŏk. This way of deciding the amount of contributions is also applied to the middle grade (those that received a large number of “20 sŏk” are to contribute 20 sŏk, and those that received a large number of “50 sŏk” are to contribute that amount). If it happens that the numbers of two different amounts turn out to be equal (for example, it can happen that seven people write down “3 sŏk” and another seven people write down “4 sŏk”), the higher amount is adopted (4 sŏk in this case). Since four people are invited from each subdistrict, it may be appropriate that they discuss the matters of the households belonging only to their own subdistrict. Nevertheless, the reason that the people of five subdistricts are invited together at a time is that in addition to making a decision concerning their own subdistricts, they also need to discuss matters concerning other subdistricts to make a final decision. The So-Called Solicitation of Contributions Means Recommending That the People Voluntarily Distribute Their Grain to the Starving during a Famine. If the System of Solicitation of Contributions Is Carried Out Well, It Can Significantly Reduce Government Expenditures. Every affluent household has brothers, relatives, and neighbors, as well as a person who takes care of its ancestral tombs. Some affluent households, however, are reluctant to help these people because they are stingy by nature. That is the reason that the magistrate urges them to contribute their grain for a good cause, and this is called solicitation of contributions. If the government confiscates the property of an affluent household and distributes it to strangers, who would approve this way of practicing charity? Since the solicitation of contributions in the olden days was not at all like this, the ideas proposed herein will certainly agree with the practice of old days if its words and meaning are fully considered. What needs to be done first is to make separate lists of poor households and affluent households. The next step is to investigate brothers, relatives, neighbors, and other related people and see whether they can be attached to the affluent households, making notes of the information (the notes are written below the individual names of the affluent households). Next, the magistrate examines the amount of grain originally assigned to the affluent households and attaches poor households to them according to the amount of their grain contributions. Since 1 sŏk is generally the amount that can save one person in the category of the old and weak, he attaches one hundred starving people to an affluent household that

924

book XI

is assigned 100 sŏk and ten starving people to an affluent household that is assigned 10 sŏk. Then he makes a record of relief and has the grain distributed in private places. Then the magistrate summons the starving people and says to them, “Since you are now attached to so-and-so household, go to the place one by one and receive relief grain distributed for free. The distribution of porridge in private places will be run as in public relief places. If it happens that so-and-so household is ungenerous and fails to do its relief job properly, let me know. I will certainly shut down that place and, instead, collect twice the amount of grain assigned to it and send it to the public relief centers.” When the Order of Solicitation of Contributions Is Issued, the Wealthy Are Greatly Surprised, and the Poor Become Avaricious. Unless the Magistrate Is Extremely Cautious, There Will Be Persons Who Exploit the Situation for Their Private Gain, Pretending to Help. The solicitation of contributions for famine relief is a matter that makes everybody scared. Suppose that there is a man of property who can afford to contribute 200 sŏk. Upon hearing the news that the order has been issued, a pack of braggarts and blusterers gathers around him. First, the head of the gentry says to him, “Since the magistrate will seek my opinion on this matter, I will say to him that the amount of grain assigned to you is unfair. What, then, can you do for me?” (This is language asking for bribes.) A Confucian student of the provincial school (who is close to the magistrate, frequenting the yamen office) secretly says to him, “Since the magistrate will ask me about you, I will certainly make sure that you are intact from harm, but what do I get from you for this favor?” Since everyone around talks to him in this way, including the chief clerk, the chief of local law enforcement, and his relatives who are close to him, the rich man is completely bewildered, not knowing what to do. Then a certain cunning clerk secretly comes to see him at night and says, “The things the others say to you are all lies, but I can offer you a real idea that can save you 100 sŏk. Since 100 sŏk cost 800 taels, would it not be better for you to keep half the money to yourself and present the other half to the authorities? If you present 400 taels now and file a complaint the following day, it will certainly be accepted.” The rich man cannot help believing the clerk since the evidence he shows sounds quite convincing. Before he is fully aware of what he is going to do, he follows the clerk to a certain house that is lit with a lamp and finds that an entertaining girl, nicely dressed, is waiting for him. This can also happen. A wandering swindler who accidentally has learned that the magistrate is not necessarily ruthless in enforcing the solicitation of contribu55. The complaint is about the amount of rice to be donated for famine relief, which was fi xed by the government.

Famine Relief

925

tions visits one of the affluent households and says, “You are rich enough to be assigned 100 sŏk for donation, and I have ways and means to cut down that amount by half. Since the price of half of your grain is 400 taels, would it not be better for you and me to divide the money half and half?” Then the swindler visits the magistrate at his office and has a pleasant chat. Feeling sorry for the man, who suffers from extreme poverty, the magistrate treats him with wine and meat. The swindler in the meantime does not say a word about the matter of the rich man’s contributions but boasts that he received the approval of the magistrate when he returns to see the rich man. The following day the same rich man appeals to the magistrate, and if he happens to receive a generous decision from the magistrate, the swindler pretends that his timely help was crucial to the good result. Since bribery is carried out during the night, no one knows about it. Therefore, at the time of soliciting contributions during a year of poor harvest the magistrate must repel all men of no account, letting fierce officers guard the gate of the yamen. Daily Records of Tasan [Tasan ilch’o] stated: “In Kapsul year [1814] of Emperor Renzong [Jiaqing] there was a Confucian student who visited the magistrate at the district yamen office. As the conversation continued, they happened to talk about the solicitation of contributions. The Confucian student said to the magistrate, ‘The order of Your Honor is strict, but what would you do if the people dare to resist it?’ The magistrate replied, ‘If the richest man in the district refuses to obey it, I have no choice but to punish him by beating with a heavy stick.’ The Confucian student agreed with him, saying, ‘You are quite right. Unless he is beaten, he will not make contributions.’ Then the Confucian student left the yamen and went straight to the rich man’s house. He said, ‘You are assigned 1,000 taels for donation. If you give me 100 taels, I will try to make an arrangement and reduce the total amount by 300 taels. Then you will still make a profit of 200 taels.’ The rich man said, ‘That is ridiculous. Who can take away my money if I have no intention to give it away?’ The Confucian student said again, ‘I know what I am talking about. Feeling sorry for my impoverished situation, the magistrate gives you a chance to help me. Unless you listen to my advice, you will certainly regret what you have done.’ Nevertheless, the rich man continued to ignore and laugh at the Confucian student. The Confucian student obtained information in advance that the magistrate would visit the state granary the following day and summon the rich man. Thus he made another visit to the rich man at night and provided him with the secret information. He said, ‘Tomorrow the magistrate will call you and punish you by beating with a heavy stick. You wait and see unless you trust me.’ However, the rich man still would not trust him. The following day the magistrate indeed summoned him and asked for his 56. Th is is presumed to be a journal kept by Tasan when he was exiled in Kangjin. The work does not survive.

926

book XI

donation. The rich man said, ‘I am afraid I am not as rich as you think I am. I will not be able to obey your order.’ Then the magistrate ordered the man to be beaten until the man finally gave in. As soon as the rich man left the yamen office, he ran to the Confucian student with money. He gave him 100 taels on the same day and requested his help in reducing his donation by 300 taels. The Confucian student said to him, ‘It is no problem if you are ready to offer 500 taels to the district government on two or three occasions. Then I will take care of the matter.’ After this remark he visited the magistrate at his office but never mentioned the case of his client, although he exchanged pleasantries with him. When the rich man finally finished donating 500 taels as he was told to, the Confucian student told him to submit an appeal to the magistrate. Because the words in the letter of appeal were extremely sad and pitiful, the magistrate relented from his anger and finally allowed the reduction of 300 taels. Since the Confucian student took credit for the magistrate’s decision, who would know about his subtle trickery? He was only praised and admired by the rich man and others around. Therefore, he who is magistrate must be extremely cautious in making casual utterances. Once a word is out of his mouth, it can produce certain changes similar to the winds and clouds, which even a superior man can hardly fathom. Keeping away from men of no importance, as well as matters of a personal nature, should be put into practice if the magistrate wants to carry out his duty properly.” Since Rumor Will Reach Far to Borders and Calamities Will Extend to Distant Descendants if One Steals Property during the Years of Famine, Evil like This Should Never Be Allowed to Sprout in His Heart. Petty Tales by Hanam stated: “Though the human nature granted by Heaven was originally good, it degenerates drastically down to the level of beasts once it has fallen, and this can be apprehended only by the superior man. The royal inspector, who indicts avaricious officials for their crimes, says, ‘When you were accused of stealing relief grain by inflating the number of people suffering from famine up to 4,800, I disbelieved this at first. However, after investigations and my personal examinations I found out that the accusation was not false.’ He also says, ‘Moreover, you collected 150 sŏk of relief grain with currency, which amounted to 2,250 taels, the price of 1 sŏk being counted as 15 taels. When I first heard this, I disbelieved it. After investigations and my personal examinations I found out that the accusation against you was not false.’ ” Those who make their fortune by stealing public property, that is, relief grain for the poor, usually purchase rare goods, such as hemp cloth produced in Okch’ŏn, abalones of Cheju Island, silver trays and silver boxes, braids for women that are 5 ch’ŏk long, bamboo mats of all colors, and so forth, and take them to the houses of influential families, carrying them on a vehicle or on their shoulders.

Famine Relief

927

The influential families that receive those gifts, on the other hand, have no idea about the way in which those gifts were acquired. They will be dismayed if they find out that they were purchased with money stolen from relief grain, not with the savings of their donors. The household members of those who receive such gifts are all pleased with what they get; however, they do not realize that those gifts are the seeds of their calamities if there are spirits between Heaven and Earth who watch over the ways of men. What a pity! Therefore, the ministers of old days refused to accept any gifts from the people because they knew well that the gifts, no matter what they were, were all poisoned and too dangerous to eat. In Various Buddhist Temples in the Southern Provinces There May Be Some Wealthy Monks, although They Are Very Few in Number. It Is Not Inappropriate That the Magistrate Persuade Them to Contribute Their Grain to the Famine Relief of Their Neighborhood and Carry Out Charity for the General Populace. The Buddhist temples in the southern provinces used to be affluent in olden days, but they are now in a state of ruin. Nevertheless, there may be one or two monks who can harvest a few hundred sŏk of grain every year. Then it would not really be wrong to make them contribute to relief efforts, grading their status according to the rules and regulations of the solicitation of contributions. It is advisable, however, that the residents of various villages near the temple or their relatives should be made the beneficiaries of their contributions. In Kisa and Kapsul years [1809; 1814] the magistrate dispatched clerks and law-enforcement officials to take over the property of Buddhist temples, and in the process of executing the order they seized the rice reserved for serving the people and offering sacrifices and, much worse, sold the bells and gongs and pulled out the cauldrons in the temples. The outcries of the monks were so piteous that the spectators could not bear what they saw. This is one thing about which the magistrate must warn himself.

C H A P T E R : T H E E X T E N T OF R E L I E F M E A S U R E S

There Are Two Things to Keep in Mind in Famine Relief: Timing and Deciding the Extent of Relief Measures. Famine Is Similar to a Situation in Which People Are in a Raging Fire or Are Drowning in Water. If So, How Can Relief Efforts Be Delayed, and How Can the Work Be Carried Out without an Operating System in Dealing with a Large Number of People and Distributing Goods to Them? However serious flood damage may be, it is confined to the flooded area, and disasters like those caused by wind, frost, insects, and hail do not necessarily affect the whole country. However, when a severe drought occurs and the dry mountains that stretch over 1,000 li appear to burn, the people throughout the

928

book XI

state are so exhausted with hunger that it becomes too late to help. From the first day of autumn the magistrate must establish relief measures as quickly as he can, and the way he carries out his work should be as speedy as an agile hawk or a ferocious beast that is suddenly on the move. Since the measures are always well ordered and regulated when they are implemented in this way, he must not neglect establishing relief measures right on time. The following happened when Zhao Bian governed Yuezhou. In the summer of the eighth year of Emperor Shenzong’s reign [1075] there was a severe drought in the regions of Wu and Yue. Before the people began to suffer famine, Zhao Bian sent official dispatches to the districts in his domain and made them report their situation with regard to drought damage. Thus he ordered them to report officially how many districts suffered drought damage, how many of them could survive on their own without aid, how many needed relief provided by the government, how many ditches and dykes should be constructed to save the people suffering from hunger, how much money and grain in the granary were available for famine relief, how many affluent households they had that could contribute grain to famine relief, how much surplus grain in the possession of Buddhist and Daoist monks was available according to the official record, and so forth. After gathering all this information, Zhao Bian made careful preparations for potential famine. The number of orphans, the elderly, and invalids among the residents who could subsist on their own, according to the reports made by the officials of the prefecture and districts, was 21,900. On the other hand, the amount of grain secured for the relief of the poor on the basis of the old precedents was merely 3,000 sŏk every year. Zhao Bian secured 48,000 sŏk and added them to the relief efforts by taking contributions from affluent households, as well as surplus grain donated by Buddhist and Daoist monks. From the first day of the tenth lunar month he instructed through public notices that 1 sheng of grain be distributed to each individual on a daily basis; however, the amount of grain distributed to children was reduced by half. When the grain was distributed, men and women were required to be separated and to receive the grain every other day, but in the amount of two days at a time, because he was concerned that there might be some disorder when the two sexes were mixed in a crowd. He was also concerned that the people would abandon their homes, so he newly established fift y-seven places for distributing relief grain both inside and outside the town in order to save the people trouble in receiving their grain. However, he warned that grain would not be distributed to those who abandoned their homes. If there were clerks who were currently out of office but resided inside the town, he had them work providing provisions (to those who were unable to subsist on their own).

Famine Relief

929

He posted a public notice that urged affluent people not to stop selling their grain to the people. He also had 52,000 sŏk of government grain released and sold to the people at a reduced price. As to the locations at which grain was sold, he designated eighteen places altogether for the convenience of those who sold their grain, showing the same kind of consideration to those who sold grain as he did to those who received grain. In addition, he mobilized as many as thirty-eight thousand people to construct the fortress wall, which extended 4,100 zhang. He paid them wages, calculating their hours of work. Furthermore, if there were people who wanted to borrow money, he made arrangements with the rich people, and the government made sure that the loans were duly paid back after the harvest. As to the abandoned children, both males and females, he allowed them to be raised by anyone who wanted to. When a massive epidemic broke out the following year, he established infirmaries and accommodated those who had no one to look after them. Then he employed two Buddhist monks to treat the people with medicine and food without losing time, and if the patients died, he had the Buddhist monks immediately gather their bodies and bury them in a place nearby. Although the rules and regulations stipulated that the release of relief grain should end by the end of the third lunar month, he extended this deadline to the end of the fift h lunar month that year. Even in cases that required him to submit reports to the court first, he immediately took action and reported later. He worked day and night relentlessly, personally carry ing out all sorts of relief efforts. On many occasions he contributed his own money to buy medicine and food for patients (see Zeng Nanfeng’s Yuezhou jiuzai ji). The following happened when Hong Hao became record keeper [silushi] of Xiuzhou. When there was a flood and the roads were cut off, he ordered a survey of the current status of the grain reserve in Xiuzhou and made that grain available for purchase at the four corners of the district capital, keeping a year’s supply 57. Zeng Nanfeng refers to Zeng Gong (1019–1083), an official and scholar of the Song dynasty during the reign of Renzong. Nanfeng was his pen name. Yuezhou jiuzai ji means Record of Saving the People of Yuezhou during the Famine. 58. An official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Qinzong, the last emperor of the Northern Song. He won respect from the populace for his timely emergency flood relief and earned the nickname “Buddha Hong.” Following the fall of the Northern Song to the Jurchen Tartars, ancestors of the Manchu, he was dispatched to the Jurchen court as a peace envoy. Unfortunately, he was detained by the Jurchen emperor, who admired him, for over fourteen years, during which time he acted as a tutor to one of the Jurchen princes, Wushi.

930

book XI

of grain in reserve. However, he had the grain sold at a reduced price, which was 5 fen cheaper than the market price (he reduced it by 5 fen per sheng). Then he ordered rice dealers to place blue and red banners marked with prices and inspected the markets without notice. When the banners were found to have fallen, he punished the merchants with no mercy. As a result, no merchants dared to sell their grain at a higher price. Those who were unable to subsist on their own were placed in two abandoned temples in the south and the east that he had rebuilt to accommodate refugees. Separating men and women, he put ten people in each room and marked the hands of the people in order to prevent disorder and taking meals in disguise. He engraved five black dots on the hands of the people in the temple on the east and three dots on the hands of those in the temple on the south. After that, he assigned them to various chores, such as carry ing relief supplies, warming rooms, preparing meals, gathering fi rewood, drawing water, and so forth. Because the people were too feeble to take physical punishment even if they violated his rules or stole the property of others or had noisy brawls, in such cases he erased the black dots on their hands until they were unrecognizable and finally drove them out. As a result, the people were afraid and were eager to obey his orders. Wang Xiaojie, royal inspector [lianfang shizhe], visited and said, “In Pingjiang there was a large crowd of hungry people shouting for help with tears. I see no such crowd over here. What is happening?” Hong Hao soon escorted the royal inspector to the two temples and had him observe the people, who were quiet and well disciplined. Wang Xiaojie could not help admiring what he witnessed. Thus those whom Hong Hao saved around that time were over 95,000 people. Whenever he went out, the people on the streets always showed their respect by touching their foreheads with their hands, calling him Hong Buddha. Lin Xiyuan submitted Collectanea of Relief Administration [Huangzheng congshu] to the government in the eighth year [1529] of Jiajing, and its content is as follows: “There are two difficult tasks in famine relief: one is finding people, and the other is conducting a census. There are three priorities: first, to provide rice immediately to those who are extremely poor and in need of help; second, to provide cash money to those who are poor but whose condition is a little better off; and third, to provide relief grain on loan to poor people whose condition is comparatively better than that of the other two groups. Furthermore, there are six urgent things to be carried out: first, to feed porridge to those who are dying of hunger; second, to provide them with medicine; third, to provide 59. An official of the Song dynasty. 60. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as a case reviewer for law enforcement.

Famine Relief

931

warm water to those who survive; fourth, to bury the dead immediately; fi ft h, to gather the abandoned children and raise them; and sixth, to take care generously of the convicts in the jail. In addition, there are three things to arrange on a temporary basis: first, to use government loans to stimulate a market in grain; second, to launch construction projects for the purpose of famine relief; and third, to lend oxen and seeds to the people. There are six things to be prohibited: first, taking property from the people by force; second, stealing; third, monopolizing the grain trade; fourth, slaughtering oxen; fi ft h, restricting activities related to making or taking out loans; and sixth, issuing official certificates to the monks. And there are three things to be wary of: first, delay or postponement; second, extreme adherence to rules and regulations; and third, dispatching messengers.” Since these guidelines are essential and urgent, the magistrate had better place them on the wall and read them day and night whenever famine breaks out. However, one of these guidelines that does not fit the situation of our country is the precaution against dispatching messengers. According to our law, it is always required to dispatch royal inspectors to supervise relief efforts whenever famine occurs, and the people have benefited from this system. Because royal inspectors were not dispatched in the years of Kisa and Kapsul [1809; 1814], the magistrates had nothing to be afraid of and naturally failed to provide relief properly. Although the royal inspectors finally arrived in the following year and reprimanded the abuses of clerks to a certain extent, they were not able to revive the people who were already dead. A Large Bundle [Hongbao], a book written by Tu Long, carries thirty articles of relief administration, which are basically as follows: To administer relief by gathering the people at one place is no better than to do the same at various places, and to administer relief by providing grain a little at a time is no better than to provide a lot at a time. When the people are gathered at one place, their body heat can generate diseases. Furthermore, when they are assembled at one place, it is difficult to find a shelter that can accommodate them all. What needs to be done, then, is to select men of integrity and ability among subofficials, local gentry, and wealthy people so that they can carry out relief activities on behalf of the magistrate, dividing the areas of their operation, and it is advisable that regular officials supervise and support them as a whole. Since the solicitation of contributions in our country requires affluent people to donate relief funds in cash, they raise the money by selling their grain and 61. An official of the Ming dynasty. He served as magistrate of Qingpu, modern Qingpu County in Shanghai. He was a reputed playwright and essayist and best known for his work, Desultory Remarks on Furnishing the Abode of the Retired Scholar (Kaopan yushi).

932

book XI

present it to the local government, and the local government purchases grain with the donated money to provide relief to the starving people. When this happens, the starving people have to visit the district office to get their relief grain even if they live next to the affluent donor of the grain. This shows how inefficient our relief administration is. Why do we not establish a number of relief centers in outside villages and let the affluent people transport their grain directly to them so that the famished people can receive the grain at the nearest places to their homes? Tu Long’s statement “To administer relief at one place is no better than to do the same at various places” indicates this case. Although the Selling of Grain at a Reduced Price for the Purpose of Famine Relief Does Not Exist in Our Law, It Will Be Possible for the Magistrate to Carry It Out if He Has the Rice Privately Purchased. The following happened when Lord Wenlu served in Chengdu. When the price of rice soared, he established eighteen places near the local government office and sold grain at a reduced price, setting no limit on the purchase amount. As soon as public notices were posted on the busy streets, the price of rice went down. In the past the government had either restricted the volume of trade or had tried to control the market price. However, such measures only contributed to the rise of prices and eventually failed. Whenever disasters take place, there must be certain measures to deal with them. The following happened when Zhang Yong governed the land of Shu. In late spring, when the grain was taken out to be sold, he reduced the sale price to onethird of the market price in order to save the poor. Organizing ten households as one security group [bao], he prohibited all the members of each security group from buying grain if any one of them violated the law. As a result, the people did not dare to disobey the law. The following happened when Li Zhongfang served as controller general of Jizhou. When famine broke out, he ordered that all the grain in the granary be released and lent to the people and collected the loans when the people had a good harvest. He remarked, “Since this is exchanging old grain for new, it is beneficial to both sides.” When the people had a good harvest the following year, they were grateful for the grain they had borrowed from the government and were anxious to repay their loan with their new grain. Thanks to the grain loaned to the people, as many as several hundred thousand households were able to survive. When I earlier investigated the granary system of our country, I found that there was no grain loan that was not intended for disaster relief when it was first 62. Unknown.

Famine Relief

933

established. However, because this grain loan was always laid aside, it became a source of embezzlement by the local clerks. When the magistrate takes a look at the granary after famine suddenly breaks out, he fi nds it empty. He thinks about killing all those who embezzled the grain but finds that there are too many of them. They bring the grain that they stole to the magistrate, but it is all mixed with dirt. How can the magistrate save the people with such grain? If there is no grain that the magistrate personally bought with his own money, he will feel helpless, for there is nothing that he can do. Therefore, the magistrate cannot help purchasing grain with his own money when there is a good harvest. As for Establishing Relief Centers, One or Two Will Be Sufficient in Small Districts, but There Must Be at Least Ten or So in Large Districts. This Is the Law of the Olden Days. Establishing over ten relief centers indicates that the magistrate needs to establish them at outside granaries or at mountain temples or at the farms of rich people, but the functions and activities of those relief centers are not all the same. Some of them sell grain at a reduced price, and the others distribute grain for free. This is the law of the olden days. According to our law, grain loans were originally established to deal with famine relief, but the magistrate is restricted in handling grain loans in the way he wants. However, if he secures relief grain with his own money, establishes relief centers, and uses the profits from grain loans as the capital for relief activities, who would say that his measure is improper? In a document called “Establishing Relief Houses in Three Districts” [“Sanxian zhichang tie”] Zhu Xi wrote that he would establish seven relief houses in the district of Xingze, eleven in the district of Duchang, and seventeen in the district of Jianchang. In my observation, the relief laws of our country require that relief centers be established only in the district capital or only at the outside granary if the outside granary exists. Therefore, they are very inconvenient for the people who have to use them. How can starving people who are sick or too feeble to walk because of hunger walk to the distant relief centers to get only a toe or a mal of grain? The magistrate who governs a large district must request that his superior allow him to build eight or nine relief centers in various places. If he makes a tour of his district and supervises the relief work, things will be carried out properly. The following happened when Teng Yuanfa governed Yunzhou. When there was a sign of a poor harvest, he borrowed 200,000 sŏk of rice from Huainan to 63. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Teng Fu. Yuanfa was his pen name. His courtesy name was Dadao, and his posthumous title Zhangmin. He also served as academician of Longtuge (Dragon Diagram Hall).

934

book XI

get ready for a crisis. As he feared, a severe famine broke out in the regions of Huainan and Jingdong. He called the affluent people residing in the walled town of Yunzhou and said, “I expect that refugees will arrive in our district in no time. Unless we have facilities to accommodate them, diseases will break out, and you yourselves will not be safe from them. Therefore, I intend to break down the old army barracks inside the fortress wall and build a spacious relief camp for the refugees.” The people agreed with him and built temporary living quarters for 2,500 persons overnight. When the refugees arrived, he assigned them to their quarters one by one, and the quarters to which they were led were equipped with water wells, kitchens, and utensils. He also assigned them to various tasks, using ways similar to those in the army. Thus he had the youths cook rice, the adults gather firewood, the women draw the water, and the old take rest. As a result, it appeared as if the refugees returned to their homes. At that time the court dispatched Wang You, director of the Ministry of Works, to the scene of famine relief for inspection. When the royal messenger made his observations, everything, including the relief camps, roads, and alleys, was in such good order that he felt like he was seeing a chessboard lined straight and an army garrison charged with solemnity. Deeply impressed, Wang You made a report to the court by drawing a picture of what he saw, and the court soon issued a decree to reward Teng Yuanfa. Because of the good works of Teng Yuanfa, approximately fift y thousand people were able to survive. Th is happened when Wang Zhiyuan governed the district of Cixi. In the fourth year of the Jiaxi reign [1240], a severe famine broke out in Zhidong, and the corpses of those who starved to death were piled like a mountain. Consulting the scholar-officials of his district for their support, Wang established a relief center in one of the temples and fed the famished people with the porridge that he had made. At fi rst, 1,000 people a day lined up for porridge, but soon their number increased to 8,000 a day as the residents of neighboring districts joined the line. As his stipend ran out quickly, Wang Zhiyuan asked higher authorities to provide help and affluent people to make contributions to the relief efforts. He continued to provide relief until the barley was ripe. A little later, he established an institute called the House for Nourishing the People (Juyangyuan) which takes care of homeless elderly and sick people, providing them with fi rewood and rice. He also established an orphanage called Asylum for Orphans (Ciyouyuan) and looked after abandoned young children. When they were sick, he provided them with medicine, and if they died, he buried them after washing and shrouding their bodies. The people living in 64. Unknown. 65. Wang Zhiyuan (1193Ѹ1257), a local administrator of the Southern Song dynasty. 66. Also called Zhedong.

Famine Relief

935

remote mountain valleys were so overwhelmed by his benevolence [that they] shed tears of gratitude and called him Wang Buddha. Establishing a relief center in the temple was not unprecedented, but establishing the house for nourishing the people and the asylum for orphans even after the barley was ripe would be a difficult thing to do. The relief laws of the Koryŏ dynasty required that the government establish institutions like the East and West Sanatorium of Great Mercy [Tongsŏ taebiwŏn] and the Bureau for Crisis and Recovery [Chewip’o] and look after those who were sick with diseases. According to Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns, King Sejo ordered that a number of relief camps be established throughout the state when a severe famine broke out in the second year of his reign. In the case of Seoul, the refugees were supposed to be divided and sent to the East and West sanatoriums [Tongsŏ hwalinwŏn], which were located in the east and west of the capital. However, the refugees were reluctant to be mixed with the invalids, so the government made separate relief camps at three places, Pojewŏn, Hongjewŏn, and It’aewŏn, supervising relief activities by dispatching officials. The officials selected from the Five Wards in the capital inspected those relief camps by taking turns on a daily basis and punished those who violated the law. In my observation, the East and West sanatoriums in Seoul were located less than 5 li from the general populace, so the metropolitan government had few problems feeding the hungry people even though their number was large and the facilities were few. Although counties and districts have less population, it happens that the distance from their civic centers to the outside villages spans nearly 100 li. Therefore, it is inevitably necessary to establish as many relief camps as possible so that the hungry people may have less trouble traveling to the 67. Th is sanatorium was established in two locations in the capital, one in the east and the other in the west. The one in the east was called Tongdaebiwŏn, and the one in the west, Sŏdaebiwŏn. These sanatoriums sometimes looked after those who were sick with famine or homeless. 68. Th is was a relief institution established during the Koryŏ dynasty that was run by loaning money or grain to the people. With the interest made from such loans, it provided relief to people during famines and looked after the sick. 69. Th is refers to East Sanatorium and West Sanatorium, which were located in Seoul during the Chosŏn period. They were government institutions established to look after the sick. They were first established in 1414, the fourteenth year of T’aejong, but their name was changed to Hwalinsŏ during the reign of Sejo. 70. The relief center located outside the Tongdaemun Gate. 71. The relief center located on the road to Ŭiju, which was the route used by both Korean and Chinese envoys. In ordinary times it was used as a resting place for the envoys. It is in modern Hongjedong in Seoul. 72. The relief center in the south side of Mt. Namsan in Seoul. It was also used as an inn for travelers.

936

book XI

camps. The royal decree issued by King Hyŏnjong should be followed as a good example. The Relief Provided by the Benevolent Magistrate Is Motivated Only by His Compassion for Those Who Suffer. He Does Not Discriminate among the Refugees Even if They Are Outsiders; at the Same Time He Makes Those Who Try to Abandon the District Continue to Stay. Qiu Jun stated: “Since there is no one who does not love his hometown, no one will leave his hometown unless he has no choice but to leave. If it is indeed possible to survive and have meals twice a day, who would want to leave his home and wander, abandoning family business and ancestral tombs, leading his children and supporting his elders? If they unfortunately have no grain saved for emergency, and the government also is able neither to provide relief because of the continuing poor harvests nor to recommend that the people lend their grain because theirs also has run out, and they have no neighbors to rely on for help, what should they do? Should the magistrate just watch the people who grab their empty stomachs and helplessly wait for impending death? How, then, can he prevent them from abandoning their homes to search for food and survival? Since the land has turned into a barren desert, the market has no rice to sell, and the inns have no food to serve, many wandering people perish before they reach their destination. Under these circumstances, the best the magistrate can do is to lead the people to where grain is available or to transport grain and distribute it to the people, considering the distance and location, as well as the number of those who are to be provided with grain. According to the Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea, the Border Defense Council submitted a memorial to the king in the sixteenth year [1638] of Injo: “Because there is a severe famine in Hamgyŏng Province, the people are struggling with hunger, and many of them are dying or moving endlessly into neighboring provinces such as P’yŏngan, Hwanghae, and Kangwŏn, leading their parents and children. Furthermore, there are reports that the people of Kangwŏn also are so afflicted with famine that they are abandoning their homes to find food. As a result, the refugees from Hamgyŏng who arrived in Kangwŏn are now unable to find food and will turn their steps to the three southern provinces. When the famished people, sick with malnutrition, travel a thousand li, begging on the way, many of them will collapse and die before they reach their destination. The 5,000 sŏk of rice provided by concerned government organizations are no more than a drop of water thrown into the blazing fire of a vehicle loaded with firewood. Since the refugees from other districts cannot obtain food, and the residents are reluctant to accept them because they find the government orders to return them to their homes too troublesome, our people are utterly helpless and

Famine Relief

937

will sooner or later die on the roads. So it seems desirable that Your Majesty order the governors of concerned provinces to conduct a survey of the refugees in their respective domains and provide relief particularly to those who came from Hamgyŏng Province. If the districts under their jurisdiction are incapable of providing relief because they lack resources, they should be allowed to request assistance from the governors and revive the refugees who are dying from hunger.” The king replied: “Since the submitted proposal is absolutely right and proper, it should be carried out as it is. However, if the people who still survive and remain in their homes happen to hear this news, even those who have so far endured hardship well may want to abandon their homes, leaving the border regions empty. Therefore, you need to be cautious when you stop their begging for food.” In Kyemi year [1703] of Sukchong’s reign Yi Inyŏp memorialized to the king: “Those who make a living by begging in the streets of Seoul are all persons who gathered from various provinces. Since they are roaming the streets with their whole families, this way of begging is quite different from the way in which one or two individuals wander the streets to beg. Emaciated and sick from malnutrition, they are nearly dead. I said to them, ‘Since various provinces have already established relief camps, there will be some way for you to survive if you go back to your original home. If you keep on wandering the streets and never return to your place, you will end up dying in ditches. Furthermore, since the time for plowing has already arrived, you must hurry to return to your place and start farming. If you want to return, I will provide you with rations, taking your traveling distance into account.’ Upon hearing what I said, many people promised that they would return to their homes. I distributed rations to them as I promised, but I was unable to verify the number of those who actually returned to their homes. Nevertheless, the people kept coming to see me, and I could not ignore them, for they are also the foundation of the state ruled by the king. Until recent years the government used to feed refugees with porridge, but its effect turned out to be negligible, and because a mass of people were together at a place, a contagious disease broke out. Since this is the reason that this spring the government did not provide porridge to the people, and the desperate refugees came all the way to Seoul to find food, we should accept them and provide them with relief. “In my opinion, we should select some healthy people from the adults and have them return to their homes, providing them with rations, as well as the seeds for their farming; as for the sick and aged, we should send people who can look after them and supervise relief activities. This measure will be better than 73. His courtesy name was Kyejang, and his pen name Hoewa. He served as magistrate of Kanghwa, as inspector general, and as minister of taxation, of punishments, and of personnel.

938

book XI

simply providing porridge to the refugees at a designated place. We can also send them to various districts around Seoul and provide them with rations, calculating the distance from the metropolitan granaries and supervising the irregularities of officials in distributing the grain. Then it will not happen that they fall and die on the road.” Although First Counselor [pujehak] Kim Chingyu alone was opposed to this measure, the king eventually accepted the proposal made by Yi Inyŏp. In my observation, the refugees from other provinces were able to be accepted because they came to Seoul. If they had been in some other places, they would not have been accepted because local districts have no laws to deal with them. The following happened when Yi Kyuryŏng became magistrate of Andong. When a severe famine broke out, he established relief camps. At that time orders came down from the central government that prohibited all the district governments from accepting refugees from other places. Yi Kyuryŏng said, “The refugees are also our people. How can we discriminate against them simply because they are outsiders? I cannot just stand by and watch these people dying of hunger on the roads.” Then he built temporary shelters for them and fed them with porridge and gruel, personally supervising the relief or sending men of virtue from the local gentry on his behalf. As a result, no refugees died of hunger on the streets in his domain, and both the royal inspector and the governor successively recommended that the magistrate be commended. The government granted him cloth for inner and outer garments as a prize. The following happened when Yi Chiham [pen name T’ojŏng] became magistrate. Feeling sorry for the vagrant refugees in rags who begged for food, he built a large shelter for them. Then he personally taught them handicrafts so that they could make a living on their own. When some of them had no knack of learning a skill, he had them make straw shoes by supplying straw. As a result, one person could make as many as ten straw shoes a day, and when the people sold their products, they could make enough money to buy one mal of rice a day. They also bought clothes with the money they made. Thus in a few months even those who were lacking in ability were able to make a comfortable living. Vagrant people, in my observation, can be produced even in a year of good harvest, and this is exactly the case.

74. His courtesy name was Talbo, and his pen name Chukch’ŏn. He served as minister of works and minister of rites, as sixth state councilor, and as director of the Office of the Special Counselors. 75. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. His courtesy name was Munsŏ. He also served as censor general, inspector general, chief royal secretary, governor of Kyŏngsang Province, and minister of punishments.

Famine Relief

939

Since the People Have No Place to Settle Down Even if They Leave Their Homes, the Magistrate Should Take Pity on Them and Persuade Them Not to Abandon Their Homes Lightly. When Zhu Xi served as prefect of Nankang, he issued a public notice to the vagrant people as follows: “Our prefecture suffered natural disasters this year, and many households are wandering after abandoning their homes. Once they leave their homes, they will be faced with hardship on their way and even lose their lives, finding no place to stay. Furthermore, their ancestral tombs, lands, and houses will be destroyed when they are abandoned. Every time one looks at the traces of devastation and asks what has happened, one feels saddened. Besides, since the harvests of Huainan and Hubei regions are not really good for now, people will not escape from famine even if they leave this district and move over there. What, then, is the benefit of leaving their homes? “Now I urge all households to realize that their local governments are endeavoring to provide them with relief, and the central government is also working hard to save them. Therefore, they should be patient and exert themselves to make their livelihood, praying for divine help and maintaining the equipment that they already have, including water-drawing buckets. At the same time they should report the damage to their lands to the authorities to obtain tax exemption or relief grain, to which they are entitled by the law. They should wait for relief from the government rather than abandoning their homes, making a mistake that they will regret in the future.” In my observation, this public notice written by Zhu Xi fully shows his genuine compassion for those who were suffering from famine. If famine breaks out because of a poor harvest, the magistrate should issue a public notice as Zhu Xi did, persuading the people not to agitate. Zhu Xi also prohibited inns from refusing accommodation to travelers by issuing a decree: “According to the investigations I made, the owners of the inns in our jurisdiction refuse to accommodate the travelers or vagrants who are alone and sick out of fear that they will die in their inns, and it happens that those people driven out from the inns eventually lose their lives. The authorities of various districts should print many public notices and place them on the inns so that those who run the inns may not refuse sick and lonely people who knock at their places; they should accommodate them by making arrangements with the nearby relief camp until they regain their health. If their guests happen to die of illness, they should report this to the superior security group [dubao] for verification of death and to the district authorities for burial.” In my observation, the law of China required that refugees be treated just the same as residents for their relief. Therefore, vagrant people were also allowed to receive grain at relief camps. However, in our country there is only death for

940

book XI

those who abandon their homes and start wandering to beg. The magistrate must well admonish the villagers and have them bring the vagrants to the official facilities if they happen to run across them. Then he deserves to be regarded as benevolent. If there are patients among the refugees whose lives are in critical condition, the magistrate should arrange that they be kindly looked after by the personnel on the spot. In Carrying Out Relief Systems Like Selling Grain or Distributing Grain for Free, the Magistrate Must Extensively Study Old Precedents and Use Them as a Model for His Work. According to my investigations of various precedents in relation to the relief system, none is more detailed than the one devised by Zhu Xi. Although the good scholar-officials of our country with no exception deeply admire Zhu Xi, they have tended to ignore him as far as the relief system is concerned, always preferring to have their own ways and hardly making use of anything in his books. Is this not rather strange? In an essay on establishing relief camps Zhu Xi stated: “The relief camp should be separated from the outside and guarded by a thorn fence; it should also have two double gates, which are so small that only one person at a time can pass through. The space between the inside of the outer gate and the outside of the inner gate should be large enough to accommodate all those who seek aid. Next to the outer gate a window should be installed, and right behind it a desk from which the certificates for ration are issued, as well as a separate gate for the camp personnel who report to the head of the superior security group on the situation of the incoming people. “When the day of relief finally arrives, the supervisor enters the camp before dawn, and his deputy takes a seat at the desk for distributing certificates. The heads of the superior security group and their director separately lead the members under their command, who are eligible for relief in their security groups, to the outer gate of the camp, carry ing their banners, and have them take a seat one by one under the banners according to their status of relief. When the supervisor calls out the names, the head of the security group escorts the director with his banner, walking ahead of the latter. The households qualified for relief move forward to the window and present tallies, which are ration certificates. “When the people pass through the gate, the deputy of the relief supervisor has them enter after stamping their left hands. Then the supervisor calls out the names of those standing in line, and both leaders of the superior security group lead out their members to receive rations. The supervisor distributes rice to each individual and places a stamp on the left of the date at the bottom of their certifi-

Famine Relief

941

cates. Then he erases the stamps on their hands with a wet towel, and they immediately exit the gate. “Next, it is the turn of the households who are eligible to buy grain at a reduced price. They are led to the window and pay the money for the grain. Once the payment is completed, the supervisor places a red stamp on their ration certificates with the distribution calendar, called litou, and lets them buy the amount of rice that they are allowed to purchase for the day. If it happens that the people are short of money, the supervisor clearly records on their litou the actual amount of rice that they have purchased and returns it to the concerned household. “The banners of the households eligible for buying grain at a reduced price are all different in color according to the relief camps and the size of the units to which they belong. In the case of the superior security group, a silk banner with its designated number, which is approximately 2 chi long, is used. As for the security group, small banners are used, but they need not be made of silk. However, their color should be identical with that of the superior security group to which they belong.” In my observation, the relief system devised by Zhu Xi is strict and precise like this. On the other hand, the law of our country is too loose. Thus, when the grain is distributed in the yard of the granary, unauthorized people are freely admitted, and no one tries to check on them. As a result, the grain set aside to make gruel for the people often disappears, and the clerks steal the rice by using false names. Therefore, following the example of Zhu Xi, the magistrate should reduce complexity in administering famine relief and find ways to eliminate tricks and abuses. The Houses and Inhabitants Suffering from Starvation Should Be Singled Out and Classified into Three Grades, and the First of the Three Grades in Turn into Another Three Grades; However, the Second and Third Grades Should Consist of Only One Grade Each. The selection of affluent households should be based on their property, and therefore the first grade in that case is naturally the most affluent; likewise, the selection of starving people is determined by the status of their suffering, and therefore those who suffer most from starvation should be classified as the first grade. The so-called first grade of starving people indicates those who are in danger of losing their lives and therefore are eligible for the benefit of receiving food free of charge. The so-called second grade of starving people consists of those whose situation is urgent but stable enough that they can pay back the grain borrowed during

942

book XI

the spring famine when they harvest later. Hence they need to be provided with the benefit of borrowing grain during the famine. The so-called third grade of starving people consists of those whose situation is urgent but still good enough that they can buy grain. They are the ones who are eligible for the benefit of purchasing grain at a reduced price. The first grade is again divided into three groups. The first group of the first grade starts receiving food from the Lesser Cold [Sohan] until the Grain in Ear, the second from the Onset of Spring to the Onset of Summer, and the third from ten days after the Onset of Spring to ten days before the Onset of Summer. The second grade is provided with grain loans twice, around the End of Hibernation [Kyŏngch’ip] and the Clear and Bright Festival [Ch’ŏngmyŏng], and the grain it is allowed to borrow each time is limited to the amount that can last for sixty days. The third grade is allowed to buy grain only once, on the day of the vernal equinox, and the grain it is allowed to buy is limited to the amount that can last for sixty days. When the households that suffer from starvation are selected, the information on an individual member should include that of his whole family even though he is the sole beneficiary. Thus it is necessary to record the names and ages of all the household members. When the information is fully secured, the magistrate places a mark above the name of the beneficiary, and if the beneficiary dies, he designates another person in his household, marking off the name in the same way. Before he collects the information, the magistrate fully admonishes the people about the importance of providing accurate information concerning their households and has them submit it to their villages, and the villages in turn to the supervisor of famine relief, and the supervisor in turn to the authorities of the district. The current law stipulates that the period of famine relief be fi xed from New Year’s Day of the lunar calendar to the end of the third lunar month, particularly focusing on the seasonal division points such as the Lesser Cold and the Onset of Spring. What is the reason behind this? The time when five grains become ripe is around Frost Descent [Sanggang], and the time when barley and wheat become ripe is around Grain in Ear. The interval between Frost Descent and the 76. The twenty-third of the twenty-four seasonal divisions according to the lunar calendar. In the Gregorian calendar it usually begins around January 5 and ends around January 20. 77. The ninth of the twenty-four seasonal divisions, around June 6 or 7. 78. The third of the twenty-four seasonal divisions, around March 5 or 6. 79. The fi ft h of the twenty-four seasonal divisions. It is also called Hansik and is around April 5. Traditionally it is a good time for outings and tending the tombs of ancestors. 80. Rice, millet, barley, wheat, and beans; a general reference to all kinds of cereals. 81. The eighteenth of the twenty-four seasonal divisions, around October 23 or 24.

Famine Relief

943

winter solstice is over sixty days long, and the interval between the winter solstice and the Onset of Spring spans nearly fift y days. By the time of these periods the harvest in the previous year was already too long ago, and the provisions in reserve have almost run out. Under these circumstances it sometimes occurs that the days of seasonal divisions can arrive as much as fifteen days earlier (the Onset of Spring can arrive in the middle of the twelft h lunar month instead of the first). Since the auspicious day of the new year is the fifteenth of the first lunar month, will it not be too late if the government chooses this day to establish the relief camp? If the days of the seasonal divisions happen to arrive early to create a gap of as many as fifteen days, the so-called last day of the third lunar month will be the fifteenth day of the same. Then the closing of the relief camp can be too premature. Therefore, the opening and closing must be carried out in accord with the seasonal divisions, not on specific dates designated by the government. When the seasonal divisions are properly used for the timing of famine relief, one will find that the days of Frost Descent correspond well to the time when the provisions in reserve run out, and the Grain in Ear, in which barley becomes ripe, to the time in which hungry people eat barley that is green and unripe [salch’ŏng]. If the magistrate is really serious about saving the people, he must use the seasonal divisions, not predetermined months and dates, for the implementation of famine relief. (Even if the time he chooses for famine relief does not agree with that ordered by the government, he should not worry.) The following happened when Yi Kyuryŏng became magistrate of Andong. Using the household register and calculating the number of families, he provided food to starving people who were on the verge of dying because of the severe famine. Some people, however, exaggerated the number of people in their households in order to receive more food, and the clerks requested that the magistrate remove them from the list of beneficiaries. Rejecting their request, Magistrate Yi said, “It is better for the magistrate to tolerate the deception of the starving people and knowingly be deceived by them than to deprive them of food by rigorously singling out those who cheat a little. Under the current circumstances in which they are all struggling to save their starving parents and wives and children from death, how can I punish them for trickery and lying, withdrawing all support?” Because of his generosity, many people were able to survive. Essays of Tasan stated: “What the magistrate should keep in mind in selecting starving people is the principle of distribution and exclusion [punbae]. The socalled principle of distribution and exclusion is mainly as follows: first, exclusion based on subdistrict [hyangbae]; second, exclusion based on village [ibae]; third, exclusion based on clan [chokbae]; and fourth, exclusion based on household [hobae]. These exclusions are intended to demonstrate fairness in the distribution of relief 82. The four terms used here indicate the criteria in carry ing out the distribution of relief grain.

944

book XI

grain by dividing it by the number of people. The most crucial matter in famine relief lies only in fi nding out how urgent the situation of starving people is and whether their needs are genuine. If all the residents of a town indeed suffer from starvation, it cannot be regarded as partial that the whole town is registered as the beneficiary of famine relief. Likewise, if all the residents of a town turn out to have enough provisions, it cannot be regarded as partial that the whole town is removed from consideration for relief aid. The same principle can apply to cases like clans and households. According to what I have heard these days, the magistrates who select starving people often allocate a certain number of households to each subdistrict in advance and make the starving people equal in number if the number of households in the two subdistricts happens to be more or less the same. In other words, when they find that a certain subdistrict has an unusually small number of starving households or an unusually large number of them, they suspect that some personal feelings or favors are involved in those figures. As a result, they simply divide by the number of the households and assign two or three people to each of them, calculating the amount of grain to be distributed, which is obviously wrong. In the case of literati whose whole families are in danger of starvation, for instance, there will be nothing wrong even if as many as ten members per household are all registered for famine relief, and in the case of affluent villages and households whose members have no problems in overcoming starvation, there will be no harm even if one hundred people in the subdistrict are all removed from the list of famine relief. He who is a magistrate should carefully examine the record of the basic household survey at ordinary times and be well aware of the financial status of individual households; furthermore, he must know full well the status of their crops by making a record of their rice planting and weeding. Then it will be clear to him that a certain subdistrict or village, being well off, does not need relief aid, and a certain family or household, being impoverished, needs assistance. If relief work is carried out in this way, the people will not complain even if some of them are excluded from relief aid, and the village heads or clerks will not feel upset even if a large crowd of people clamor for help. Only when the parched lips of starving people are wet with porridge can one say that the work of famine relief is truly accomplished. Whenever the magistrate selects starving households, he should make it clear to himself that those who truly need help should be provided with relief, and he should discard the way of helping them only to fulfi ll his official duty on a superficial level. Petty Tales by Hanam stated: “Rites of Zhou, in the chapter titled “Heavenly Ministry,” states that the great administrator (taizai) entrusts nine employ83. The Heavenly Ministry was similar to the Ministry of State, and the head of the Heavenly Ministry served as prime minister.

Famine Relief

945

ments to all the people.” The nine employments are agriculture, manufacturing, trade, forestry and hunting [wu], governing, and so forth. A poor harvest naturally indicates a situation in which the crop went bad, but it does not necessarily indicate that everyone, including those who are part of the nine employments, should suffer from it. When they have a bad crop year, the clerks pretend to be worried but in fact are secretly pleased, and the merchants rack their brains to make a profit, having an eye on their chances. Generally the people who reside in the town or in the market or near the granary or in the prosperous villages sell grain or salt, illegally log timber, hoard goods in order to sell them later at a higher price, or make wine and sweet rice drinks or rice cakes. So they not only are making a good living but also are free from worries for the rest of their lives. Nevertheless, it is known that when the record of starving people is made, every house in the town is registered, and those in the neighborhood of the granary are rarely excluded from the benefit of relief aid. The magistrate forgets goats, looking only at the oxen right under his nose, and falls into the tricks of the clerks who lie that a deer is a horse. As a result, eight members in a household all receive government grain, and three generations of a family make a living by depending on the grain from the state granary. Not only that, even retired entertaining women, peddlers, rebellious slaves, and cunning servants all enjoy the benefit of rations distributed for free. Since people like these are included in the list of famine relief while the poor people who really need help are all excluded, is this not very unfair? If the magistrate makes the residents in the district capital, who are listed as the beneficiaries of famine relief, present the names of those of the affluent people who were newly appointed chief clerk, clerk of a security group called tori or tosŏwŏn, army recruiter called kulli or sech’osaek, and granary clerk for the current year and has each of them take care of a few households to prevent starvation, and furthermore, if he can select only those who are helpless and impoverished for famine relief, this will reduce the unfairness, as well as the suffering of poor people, to a certain extent. Civil servants, farmers, artisans, and merchants [sa, nong, kong, sang] are called four classes of people [samin]. Nowadays people call the literati who are not in public ser vice [p’oŭi paekdo] ser viceman [sa], but they are wrong. The socalled sa are civil servants. They include high officials starting from ministers and great officers in the royal court down to duty officers in ministries, as well as junior civil servants [sŏsa] starting from clerks and military officers down to stable slaves. (Whoever serves in the government is a ser viceman.) However, the literati in our times who do not serve in public office are not even included in the four classes of people. Having neither stipend nor employment, they are truly poor people. Once they are faced with famine, therefore, they cannot escape death. When the magistrate selects starving people, he should give special attention to this matter.

946

book XI C H A P T E R : SE T T I NG U P C A M P S A N D OR G A N I Z I NG R E L I E F AC T I V I T I E S

The First Thing to Do Is to Establish a Place for Relief and Appoint Supervising Officials, Set Up a Cauldron, and Secure Items like Salt and Soybean Sauce, Brown Seaweed, and Dried Shrimps. Since the success of all affairs under Heaven depends on finding the right persons, it is impossible to accomplish the goal unless one fi nds the persons who are capable of carry ing it out. The personnel who are needed for relief activities are one director, two supervisory officials, and two clerks in charge of grain [saengni], and particularly the saengni clerks should be outstanding in integrity and discretion, as well as ability. When he selects the director in charge of famine relief [ch’ongam or kimin toyusa], the magistrate should be more careful. As I often observe, the director takes bribes and practices tricks. Thus he distributes grain even to those who have a sufficient reserve of grain while leaving out widowers and widows who have no one to depend on. Conspiring with the clerks and practicing all kinds of tricks, he just stands by and watches those poor people suffer. The power of selecting starving households should never be entrusted to a man like that. A man of integrity and discretion should be carefully chosen to manage the relief aid for each subdistrict. Since it is inevitable that the number of starving people fluctuates up and down, as does the number of the living and the dead, households that are extremely poor should be allowed to receive more aid by adding one or two extra members to each of them. As for cauldrons for cooking, they are either borrowed from Buddhist temples or the armory, purchased from civilians, or requisitioned from artisans’ villages, but they should be very large, and there should be no fewer than five of them. Then the relief camp is separately set up in the yard of the granary, and the five cauldrons are used to make porridge. If each cauldron can cook porridge for 50 households, the porridge produced in five cauldrons can feed 250 households a day. Since each individual in the standing line is supposed to take food on behalf of each household, which is made of four members in average, including himself, the total number of recipients is actually one thousand people a day. If warm porridge is taken out from the cauldron and distributed to starving people, would it not be nice? However, those who make porridge nowadays use only one or two cauldrons and put it into a large jar after preparing it all night long. By the time it is distributed to the people who are cold and hungry, the porridge is already cold and diluted. How uncharitable they are! During a famine year the price of salt always tends to soar because starving people take wild greens for their staple food. The wild greens cannot be swallowed unless they are properly salted. Therefore, the price of salt can easily rise

Famine Relief

947

to twice the normal price. When a long spell of rainy weather ends in the autumn, the magistrate should call the salt harvesters and pay them in advance to get them to produce salt right away and also keep good-quality soybean sauce in storage after personally tasting it. Brown seaweed should be purchased in early autumn and preserved when it is fresh and fine in quality. Since a handful of dried shrimps costs only 1 p’un, dried shrimps for 1 mace can be used for the porridge in five cauldrons. Even if porridge is made a hundred times, the cost of dried shrimps will be no more than 10 taels. However, since the satisfaction of the people and the sound of their praise spreading afar will be worth 1,000 taels, why should the magistrate begrudge a little money and avoid buying such goods? The Next Step Is to Winnow Grain to Determine the Quantity of Husked Grain and to Count the Number of Starving Households to Decide the Actual Number of Those Who Are to Be Provided with Relief. No matter how much grain there is, what can be eaten by men is husked grain, not the skin of grain or empty ears or chaff. Since the grain supplied by the provincial government and the Naval Command [T’ongyŏng] is full of empty ears and chaff, the quantity of the rice for relief is nothing but an exaggeration. Once the magistrate takes the grain and examines it after returning to his district, he finds that there is nothing in it that can be eaten and feels embarrassed. Therefore, the magistrate who carries out the work of relief should make sure that all the grain, whether it is issued by the provincial government or the Naval Command, is thoroughly threshed to eliminate all the motley stuff like chaff and empty ears. The grain stored in the granary of his district also needs to be refined in much the same way until nothing but real grain is left. Then he should convert the quantity of grain into the measurement of kok, pack the grain in strong bags after fi lling them to overflowing, and place it in the safe storage house. When this is done, he is finally ready to figure out how to provide relief to the people. The magistrate also needs to examine the grain privately purchased for famine relief [kwanmu] or through solicitation of contributions [kwŏnbun], although such grain is generally assumed to be of good quality. However, it is advisable to winnow this grain on the same day in the same way described above. If there are deficiencies in the grain supplied by the provincial government or the Naval Command, the magistrate is supposed to supplement it, but this is 84. The Naval Command for the two southern provinces of Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang (Palais, Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions, 1187). 85. Kwanmu (ᏻ㈘) is the grain that the magistrate purchases privately for the purpose of famine relief.

948

book XI

something that the authorities above him do not hear of and the people below him are not aware of. However, this is the right moment for him to put his study of watchfulness over oneself when alone [sindok] into practice. Since the gods look down from Heaven, how can he seek people to recognize and appreciate what he does? The Vagrants and Tramps Who Wander from Place to Place to Beg Are the Poorest People under Heaven and Have No One to Appeal To. The Magistrate Should Look After Them with Benevolence, Paying Close Attention to Their Plight. Since the relief administration of China is focused on the vagrants and tramps, many of those poor people have been able to survive. The relief administration of our country, on the other hand, gives more priority to settled residents; as a result, the same sort of miserable people of our country, that is, vagrants and tramps, are all bound to perish even if they are allowed to have some relief aid. How sad this is! The regulations on famine relief stipulate, “As for saving vagrants and tramps, the magistrate personally should take responsibility for securing porridge rice and soybean sauce, but he is not required to make ledgers and balance sheets.” However, how hard it is to find one who practices the benevolence required by the law! The situation of vagrants and tramps is indeed terrible. Finding a spot in the corner of the guest house, they dig small holes that are big enough for their bodies and cover them with roofs that are made of straw and grass. Nevertheless, they are exposed to extreme cold because of the snow falling on their heads and the winds blowing on all sides. The gruel that they receive from the authorities is diluted with water and mixed with dirt, and the rags that they put on barely cover their bodies. Their appearance is equally terrifying, for their hair is short and worn out, and their skin is bleeding with frostbite. They look like the demons of dead crows. At the sound of the horn they gather and eat like pigs, and when they scatter and go out to beg, they fail to get a spoon of rice. When evening arrives, they return to their holes and sleep together, but the way in which they wriggle to adjust their bodies in their sleep reminds one of the maggots in the toilet. As they trample each other, the weak are pinned down under the strong, and they catch diseases and spread epidemics. The supervisor who is in charge of those people hates them so much that he feels glad when they finally die and he can dispose of a few dozen dead bodies in a pit every day. Then the birds and beasts feast on their corpses, and nothing under Heaven is more wretched than this sight. Furthermore, when the residents who receive relief aid look weak and haggard, complaints and slanders break out, and the man in charge is reprimanded

Famine Relief

949

by his superior. However, when vagrants and tramps die, their deaths are simply taken for granted. Hence their deaths are ignored by both the superior officer and the magistrate as if nothing has happened. How different the law of our country is from that of China! Someone who is cold and heartless says, “All the vagrants and tramps are good for nothing; they are the people who are abandoned by Heaven and useless for the country. Idle by nature, they do not work, and they make stealing their living. Even if society takes care of them, it would only waste its grain. Since they will die sooner or later, there will be nothing to reap but the labor. It would rather be advisable not to provide them with any relief so that they can hurry to their death. Death for them, as well as the country, is nothing to be sad about.” This kind of talk is horrible and outrageous. During years of good harvest one cannot find vagrants and tramps; the people that one can find in the village are only people of good status. During famine years, however, one finds a great many vagrants and tramps, and that indicates that they also were originally people of good status, not people who were abandoned. What happened to them was that their families and relatives were all scattered, and their neighbors refused to help them. Thus they became widowers, widows, orphans, and disabled persons who had no one to depend on. Floating like water chestnuts or rolling on the ground like a stem of dry mugwort, they became what they are now. Worn out by hunger and cold for a long time, they have lost their good nature and sense of shame, and their intelligence and judgment have finally become dull and dark. In other words, what makes them look like demons and beasts and thus generates aversion among the people is their sufferings and miseries, not their human nature. If Heaven lets them suffer because of their idleness, why does Heaven not dislike avaricious officials but let them enjoy what they have? Since the kind of talk mentioned above is both inhumane and unreasonable, it is not worth discussing further. If a father hates the idleness of his son and whips him until he bleeds, the elder brother of the son should try to comfort his younger brother, making him taste the gruel that he made for him. This is fi lial piety and brotherly love. If the elder brother joins his father, who reproaches and drives out his younger brother, his father will be sad deep in his heart, and his anger and hatred will rather turn to his elder son. Since this is the law of human nature, the magistrate must appease the anger of Heaven by looking after those poor people who subsist by begging and wandering. When the status of the crop for the year becomes obvious and hard times are expected to arrive, the magistrate on the autumnal equinox should procure in advance a few small houses in a remote corner of the town and speak to those who sold their houses as follows: “On the winter solstice there will be people who need to live in your places. Move out to other places and come back at Grain in

950

book XI

Ear next year when the people who occupied your places depart.” Pressed by an urgent circumstance when famine breaks out, some people will be eager to respond to the magistrate’s call. If one of his aides asks the magistrate why he wants to buy the houses, the magistrate simply replies, “There will certainly be people who will need them.” The reason that the magistrate tries to be vague about the relief houses is that he is afraid of a rumor. If a rumor about such relief houses spreads in advance, too many vagrants and tramps may apply for the use of them. Then he may not be able to accommodate them all, and his relief work cannot be carried out properly, as it was intended to be. The following happened when Second Minister Yu Ŭi became magistrate of Hongju. When a mild famine broke out, five or six vagrant beggars came into the town. Taking pity on them, he let them stay in the horse stable [mabang], feeding them with gruel and warming their room. The chief of the local yangban association and the yamen clerks remonstrated with the magistrate, saying, “If Your Honor makes the lives of vagrants and tramps pleasant and comfortable like that, people like them will gather like clouds, and if that happens, what will you do?” In a few days vagrants and tramps who had heard the rumor began to gather, and their number increased to several dozen. The magistrate accommodated them all, ignoring the remonstration of his aides. The number of vagrants certainly increased but did not continue to increase any further. When I visited Hongju last time, I found that the vagrants and tramps in the horse stable came out of their shelter to enjoy the sunshine in the late afternoon. Relating what I have just described, Magistrate Yu Ŭi said, “The number of vagrants and tramps is supposed to have a limit. To say that they will gather like clouds is to prevent the work of charity. I will accept these people as far as my strength allows me to; when my strength finally runs out, will it not also be right to let them go their ways?” I am still deeply impressed by his remark. When the List of the Dead Is Made, Those Who Died of Starvation and Those Who Died of Other Causes Should Be Put on Separate Lists. Ten days before the winter solstice the magistrate sends orders to all the subdistricts and villages under his jurisdiction concerning the report of the dead. His orders require that from midnight of the winter solstice the village representatives of the subdistricts in which people died quickly report to the authorities and later submit a formal report with detailed information on the deaths. If a 86. Mabang means both a horse stable and an inn with stable facilities. The horse stable here indicates the one established in the yard of a district office during the Chosŏn dynasty. 87. Tasan served as chief of Kŭmjŏng Post Station in 1795 for approximately half a year. During this period he visited Hongju in South Ch’ungch’ŏng Province.

Famine Relief

951

person died of sickness, they are supposed to record “death of sickness,” and if a person died of starvation, “death by starvation.” Even if an old man from a rich household died a natural death, they should report this, and even if a child died as soon as it was born, they should still include that child in the report. (Children who died of abortion are to be excluded from the report.) Those who died before 9 to 11 p.m. [haesi] of the fift h day from the winter solstice should be listed in a report but reported quickly to the magistrate on the following day. Thereafter, the report on the dead should be submitted every five days until the Grain in Ear. Even if it happens that only one household is left out, the village representatives and the heads of the community compact are held responsible, and a tu of rice is requisitioned from each of them as a penalty. The grain paid for the penalty is used to subsidize the expenses of the funerals that take place in the subdistrict. (If the head of a village made a mistake, the grain for the penalty is collected from the village of which he is in charge.) I have often observed that the magistrate hardly pays attention to the death of starving people. When the supervisors of subdistricts and village heads pretend to discharge their duties by reporting the death of those people, the magistrate either neglects to report them to the superior office or provides a false report that no one in his district died of starvation. This type of deception is a serious crime because it prevents the king from learning about deaths of people due to starvation. It is understandable that the magistrate is concerned about the consequences of his truthful report under circumstances in which all other districts try to hide the death toll of starving people. If he excelled in carry ing out relief administration, but the death toll in his district surpasses that of other districts, he may be reprimanded and suffer a setback in his career, but the work he has accomplished is a great honor, not a shame. The reason that the superior man reads books and cultivates himself is to deal with a situation like this in a proper way. Therefore, not a single household should be left out in his report. Since There Is Always an Epidemic of Plague in a Famine Year, the Magistrate Should Do His Utmost to Find Ways to Treat the Sick and Bury the Dead. When it happens that some members of starving households suffer from an epidemic of plague, the village to which the patients belong should report to the relief officer in charge of the subdistrict, and the relief officer to the magistrate. Then the magistrate supplies them with necessary medicine but has their neighbors find ways of treating them. When patients die, vacancies occur in the list of those who receive relief aid, and the magistrate fi lls them with a few households whose members are also sick with the disease.

952

book XI

In case a whole family dies from an epidemic and there is no one who dares to enter its house for fear of contagion, the magistrate allows the grain that was supposed to be provided to the dead to be diverted to the village to which they belong and has the upper households of the village bury the dead by hiring workers with the grain. Those who are not registered for famine relief should be allowed to purchase medicine at a reduced price at the pharmacy run by medical clerks. When a whole family perishes and there is no one who can bury the dead, the magistrate makes the upper households of the village dispose of the property of the dead and bury them by hiring workers within three days and report to him on the results concerning the burial as soon as possible. Around this time the magistrate conducts an inspection every ten days on horseback with an attendant. Traveling through the villages and inquiring about the situation of the people, he personally visits and comforts the patients of sick families or families in mourning and asks about the burial procedures. The heart of commiseration is awakened only when the sufferings of other people are personally witnessed or experienced through the ears and eyes. The administration of the magistrate will certainly make progress if he discharges his duty, keeping the plight of the people in his mind, because there is a great difference in discharging his duty between sitting deep in his office and regularly going out to see the people and their situation. Contagious diseases are mostly transmitted by breathing through the nose. When one sits on the side from which the wind blows (when the east wind blows, one sits on the east side), he is safe from contagious diseases, not to mention those derived from starvation. Besides, since the magistrate eats rice and meat every day and therefore is not weakened by malnutrition, he is safe from contagious diseases. This is a law of nature, so he need not be afraid. If children are sick with a disease, would their parents not comfort and look after them? If the magistrate under difficult circumstances like these often visits the people and carries out the administration of benevolence, will the people not be impressed and eager to follow him? Furthermore, since one day of hard work can bring him thousands of years of honor, why should he spare anything? Those who are reluctant to put this into practice are all so foolish and ignorant that they are like the insects of summer that cannot understand ice despite explanation. When those in the relief house for vagrants and tramps continue to die, the magistrate should order the supervisor to reinforce his supervision and have the inmates bury the dead after making a mass grave, following an example of the old days. However, the bodies of the male and female dead should be buried 88. Th is refers to a historical record that Fu Bi of the Song dynasty built a mass grave for vagrants and tramps who died of an epidemic disease.

Famine Relief

953

separately in order to avoid any violation of propriety. He should also admonish the supervisor to cover the dead with thick earth so that their corpses may not be harmed by the attack of foxes and wolves during the night and crows and kites during the day. Abandoned or Vagrant Children Can Be Adopted as Sons and Daughters to Be Made into Slaves, Which Is Sanctioned by the Law; However, the Magistrate Should Persuade Adopting Families to Release Them from Slavery [if Their Adopted Children Turned Out to Belong to the Yangban Families]. In the Kapsin year [1704] of Sukchong’s reign Min Chinhu, commissioner of the Bureau of Famine Relief, memorialized to the king: “According to the famine relief regulations for local areas, ‘The government shall issue slavery documents to those who are provided with porridge for over sixty days. Those who are under the age of thirteen can be made into slaves, and their slave status is to be inherited by their children; those who are above the age of fourteen are made into slaves, but their status shall be limited only to their lifetime.’ However, after personally examining the matter, I discovered that there is a difference between the regulations in Seoul and those in local provinces. Therefore, it appears appropriate that those who are under the age of fifteen years among the starving people who are nourished for over forty days be made into slaves and their status be extended to their children, and those who are over the age of sixteen years be made into slaves and their status be limited to their lifetime, whether they are in good health or not.” The king followed his advice. (This is found in Piguk deungnok [Records of Border Defense Council].) In case vagrant children who originally belonged to the sons and daughters of yangban families are made into slaves after raising them, and if, after the famine is over, the magistrate redeems them with public funds so that they may have the status of commoner, he will deserve to be praised for his hidden charity. (There was benevolent administration like this as early as the reign of Taizong of the Tang dynasty.) The following happened when Han Yu of the Tang dynasty governed Yuanzhou. The people of Yuanzhou took both male and female children as their servants and made them into their slaves unless their ransom was paid within a designated time. Han Yu had their ransom paid with the wages that they had earned and returned them to their parents. 89. An older brother of Queen Inhyŏn (1667–1701), the second wife of King Sukchong. His courtesy name was Chŏngsun, and his pen name Chijae. He served as censor general, magistrate of Kanghwa, minister of punishments, minister of rites, sixth state councilor, and chief magistrate of Seoul.

954

book XI C H A P T E R : A DDI T IONA L M E A S U R E S F OR DE A L I NG W I T H FA M I N E

Once the Failure of the Crop Becomes Clear, the Magistrate Should Persuade the People to Sow Alternative Crops as Soon as Possible, Converting Rice Paddies into Dry Fields, and Especially in the Autumn He Should Make Sure Once Again That They Sow Barley. This is so-called sowing alternative crops [taep’a]. The alternative crops are just a few: one is millet, another is buckwheat, and another is late beans. As much as several hundred sŏk of seeds of these crops should be saved during ordinary years in order to be ready for unexpected disasters. If this is not possible, the magistrate should not stop urging the people to save seeds privately so that they can be prepared for a long drought. Since the prospects for the crop of Kisa year [1809] appeared to be bleak, the government made the people cultivate buckwheat by issuing a decree. Buckwheat seeds, however, could not be found in several dozen districts on the border of the southern provinces except in Yŏngam County. It was reported that Yŏngam had saved 200 kok of buckwheat seeds. The other districts, leading their people, visited Yŏngam to get the seeds, but the residents of Yŏngam, gathering by the thousands, refused to share their seeds with the outsiders. As a result, even their magistrate was not able to persuade them, and the people from the other districts felt sore about this, but they had no choice but to return home empty-handed. When the crop of Kapsul year [1814] already turned out to be a failure as early as the summer, the magistrate urged the people to grow millet, but the seeds could not be found throughout all ten districts on the southern border. Only the Kim clan in Changhŭng had 300 tu of millet seeds, and it sold them at 15 maces per sŭng. Thus it made 45 kwan (450 taels) in a few days, but the original price of the seeds was no more than 3 kwan (30 taels). Despite what they saw, there were no people who saved millet seed afterward. The people will be willing to sow alternative seeds in the converted rice paddies only after the magistrate promises them tax exemption in advance. If his orders are vague about tax exemption, they will be reluctant to follow them even if the magistrate urges them to. When Zhu Xi served as prefect of Nankang, he issued a public notice urging the people to sow barley and wheat: “Since the government has urged you to sow barley and wheat on several occasions because the drought this year is unusually more severe than in ordinary years, you should all be united in making efforts to save the lives of the people. According to the reports I have received, many places still remain uncultivated, which I believe is the act of those who are exceedingly stubborn and lazy. I will certainly look into the matter and punish the offenders. I announce this admonition before taking any action.”

Famine Relief

955

When the Days in the Spring Grow Longer, It Is Worthwhile to Launch Construction Work. If There Are Public Buildings That Are in Disrepair, They Should Be Repaired. The following happened when Fan Zhongyan governed the region of Zhexi. In the second year [1050] of Huangyou there was a severe famine in the land of Wu. However, he gave parties every day and let the people join him on the lake. Consequently, the people left their villages to enjoy themselves from the spring to the summer. Furthermore, Fan urged the Buddhist temples to raise great construction works, saying, “In famine years labor is cheap.” Then he repaired warehouses and the quarters for the clerks, hiring a thousand workers every day. The governor impeached him, submitting a memorial to the court. He said, “In Hangzhou the relief administration is neglected, the entertainment and enjoyment of the officials in charge are out of control, and the public projects launched either publicly or privately waste the strength of the people.” Fan Zhongyan responded in writing to these charges one by one. He argued that the reason that he gave parties and started public work projects was to help the poor by using the surplus property of the rich. Thus the people were able to sell or buy food, and the artisans and workers were able to have their jobs. No relief administration could be more effective than that since many thousands of people could survive because of that measure. That year only Hangzhou among the regions of Zhedong and Zhexi was stabilized, and none of its residents abandoned their hometowns. This was only thanks to his good work. Records for Self-Admonitions stated: “A certain Buddhist temple in the land of Puyang constructed a massive tower that cost many thousands of taels. Someone said to Chen Zhengzhong, ‘Since they start such construction work in a famine year like this, which is quite useless, why do you not inform the county authorities to stop them?’ ‘How can the monks construct the tower by themselves?’ Chen replied, laughing. ‘Since the monks employ local people for their work, they are gathering property from the rich people to help the poor. Just because of the construction, the poor people get food, and the temple acquires a new tower. Faced with a severe famine like this, I am rather worried that the monks would stop their work.’ ” Essentials of Magistracy stated: “According to the laws of the Song dynasty, in case there is a need to start new public works, such as building irrigation systems in the drought-stricken land or constructing roads or dams or a temple of the guardian deity, the governor is required to calculate all the necessary expenditures regarding construction cost, money, and grain, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of such works, and report to the court in advance. During the 90. Unknown.

956

book XI

reign of Xiaozong there was a severe famine in the Zhedong region. At that time Zhu Xi, who served as supervisor [tiju] of the region, requested that he be allowed to start irrigation works by gathering starving people, and this caused controversy in the court. When his request was eventually denied, he made another request, saying, ‘When drought disasters take place every year, the state opens its granaries to save the people. If the government adds a little more to the relief fund and appropriates it for financial resources for starting public works and mobilizing workers, it can not only save the people but also create a source of public benefits. In my humble observation, all the fields are devastated wherever one goes, but in the fields near reservoirs the rice is growing well with ripe ears as if they grew in the years of good harvest, which attests the importance of irrigation works. If each village and security group is made to produce the advantages of reservoirs, there will permanently be no worries that the people will abandon their homes and starve to death, and the government will be able to reduce expenses to lower taxes permanently and open its granaries to save the people from famine.’ ” The following happened when Second Minister Yi Husan served as governor of Kangwŏn Province. There was a famine in his district, and the provincial office still remained unrepaired after it had burned down during the Japanese invasion. He said, “Since the people in the old days raised construction works during a famine, why do we not do the same?” Then he recruited starving people by selling the grain and cloth in the provincial warehouses. A multitude of people gathered soon, and the construction was finished within a few months. The Magistrate Should Order That a Few Plants or Herbs Good for Famine Relief Be Selected and That Their Seeds and Seedlings Be Nurtured by the Students of the Provincial School So That They Can Be Widely Distributed to the People. The following happened when Yi T’aeyŏn served as governor of Chŏlla Province. At that time a severe famine broke out, and he submitted a thorough report on the miserable state of the people. In his report he requested that the government reduce the taxes of the people by allowing some edible grass seeds to substitute for their taxes in grain, which he believed would greatly help overcome their crisis. Furthermore, he had previously saved bamboo seeds and seaweed that served as alternative foods; then he gathered charitable monks and had them make porridge on the roadside to feed starving people. In the ninth year [1554] of King Myŏngjong the Bureau of Famine Relief reported to the king: “Although the main thing in famine relief is to conserve grain 91. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Chago, and his pen name Sŏlp’a. He also served as magistrate of Kaesŏng and second minister of taxation.

Famine Relief

957

to save starving people, what should we do if grain is in short supply? We cannot just stand and watch the people suffering. So our king Sejong the Great wrote a book called Ways of Solving Starvation through Alternative Grains [Kuhwang pyŏkgokbang] to save the lives of people. Since pine needles, for instance, are better than the five grains for protecting stomach function and making lifespan longer, the use of pine needles is a good way of saving those who are starving. Because they are used to luxurious customs, the people in Seoul are ashamed to have gruel for their diet, so they have tasty food in the morning and go hungry in the evening when their provisions run out. Unless Your Majesty strictly admonishes them to use this diet prescription, the orders issued by the government will be of no avail. Therefore, it should be arranged that the Five Wards, in the case of Seoul, and governors and magistrates, in the case of local provinces, make copies of the prescription in woodcut prints and distribute them widely to civilians so that everyone can know how to use pine needles for food. If there is anyone who is ignorant of this and unable to answer when the governor or special crop assessor or inspector asks a question about it, the clerks and functionaries who are in charge of the person should be reprimanded, and the magistrate should receive a negative evaluation of the per formance of his duty. So we request that Your Majesty allow us to produce woodcut prints of the prescription for the use of pine needles and distribute them widely to the people.” The king granted the request. In the twelft h year [1671] of King Hyŏnjong there was a severe famine. Second Royal Secretary Yi Tanha memorialized to the king: “Except the five grains, there is nothing better than pine needles that can be used for food. I have heard that in Kyesa year [1593], right after the Japa nese invasion, the people ate porridge made of pine needles by mixing it with rice flour in the ratio of 10 to 1. The amount of rice for porridge distributed to each individual is 2 hop per day. If 2 hop of rice are made into flour, they become 5 hop. Since 5 hop are enough to feed five people, would it not be profitable to feed the five with the amount of rice for one? If some of the districts provide only pine-needle porridge and the others only rice porridge, it will certainly happen that starving people will either try to seek or avoid visiting their relief camps, and the official who provides pine-needle porridge will be so subject to either complaints or praises from the people that he will not be able to perform his duty properly. Once rice runs out, it is impossible to make pine-needle porridge even if the 92. Written by King Sejong himself, this book is known to have provided the information on the use of pine needles as an alternative food during famine years. However, the full text is not handed down; only an abridged version translated into Korean hangŭl was published in 1554, the ninth year of King Myŏngjong. 93. His courtesy name was Kyeju, and his pen name Oejae. He served as inspector general, minister of rites, minister of personnel, and third state councilor.

958

book XI

magistrate wants to. In my opinion, therefore, pine-needle porridge should be distributed first in Seoul, and other kinds of porridge should be prohibited. Since those who are reluctant to have pine-needle porridge are not really starving, they should all be rejected, and if all the local provinces join this way of providing relief, providing pine-needle porridge, we will be able to save more lives with less rice.” In Ŭlhae year [1695] King Sukchong issued a royal decree: “A severe famine like the one this year is unprecedented. There is nothing better than acorns for saving the people from starvation during a famine. Although I ordered that the acorns that fell in the palace garden be gathered, they amounted to only 20 tu, far too few to be of any help to the people. However, their quantity will hardly matter if the intention in gathering those acorns is to save the people. So I grant these acorns to the Bureau of Famine Relief.” In a Famine Year the Magistrate Should Make Special Efforts to Eliminate Thieves. However, He Will Find It Hard to Execute Them if He Comes to Know the Real Situation. The following happened when Wang Zeng governed Luoyang. In a village there was a man who stored grain in the warehouse in a famine year. Then a large crowd of hungry people gathered and robbed him of his grain after threatening him. Although in a case like this the culprits were sentenced to death in the neighboring districts, Wang Zeng ordered only that they be flogged and released. The districts, both far and near, heard of this and tried to emulate it. As a result, thousands of people could save their lives. In my observation, the example set by Wang Zeng should not be followed. Since the work of eliminating thieves is one of the twelve tasks for famine relief of which the grand minister of education in Rites of Zhou takes charge, such generosity is excessive. The most that the magistrate can do is only to let them avoid capital punishment. The following happened when Wang Yaochen governed Guangzhou. When there was a severe drought, a gang of thieves committed robbery. Although they were supposed to be put to death according to the current law, Wang said, “Since this is a case of hungry people trying to find food, the administration of famine relief should treat them with compassion.” Then he requested that the thieves be punished without depriving them of their lives. Later a new law was enacted to this effect, and it is handed down to this day. 94. An official of the Song dynasty during the reign of Renzong. His courtesy name was Baiyong, and his posthumous title Wenzhong. He served as vice grand councilor and vice minister of personnel.

Famine Relief

959

When Xin Qiji of the Song dynasty governed Hunan, he posted a public notice concerning famine relief, using only eight characters: “Those who steal rice belonging to others will be beheaded, and those who do not sell their grain will be banished” (ຒ⚳⩽᩶ 㛚⣉⩽㒼). Zhu Xi said, “The two sentences composed by Xin Qiji can directly lead to a civil disturbance.” The following happened when Chen Liangqi governed Jiangzhou. When a severe famine broke out, there was a man who stole rice belonging to another man and physically harmed the owner when he was caught by him. He was to be put to death according to the current law. However, Chen Liangqi said, “The famine-relief administration of the old days was really intended to save the people from their sufferings; therefore, it showed compassion even to those who committed a crime during the years of famine. Why, then, should the present case be an exception?” With this remark he requested that the life of the offender be saved. In a year of severe famine it is appropriate to suspend all punishments from the autumnal equinox of that year to the vernal equinox of the following year. How can we allow poor people, who have already suffered, to continue to suffer? This compassion should not be confined only to those who stole rice belonging to others. Minister Chŏng Pŏmjo in a poem says, “As to a thief in the famine year, do not discuss his human nature since statesmanship is not in the state these days.” There was a time when I used to admire and memorize this line. Zhu Xi in his writing on the prohibition of thievery stated: “Since it is feared that those who do not discriminate between what needs to be done and what should not be done band together and secretly mow and take away rice belonging to others, the government should order patrolling inspectors to increase their vigilance, strictly punishing the offenders.” In my observation, those who mow and take away rice belonging to others are not thieves but people of good status who lost their conscience. However, he who is in charge of the law has no choice but to enforce the law strictly. On the day of the autumnal equinox the magistrate should persuade the residents to set up lookouts to watch over the crop, organizing five lookouts as one security group [po] and five security groups as one superior security group [yŏng] and making the guards communicate with each other by using wooden instruments that make a sound. If anyone still secretly mows and takes away rice belonging to 95. A friend of Zhu Xi. His pen name was Jiaxian jushi. He left Collected Works of Jiaxin (Jiaxianji). 96. Unknown. 97. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Chŏngjo. His courtesy name was Pŏpjŏng, and his pen name Haechwa. He served as headmaster of the National Confucian Academy, censor general, second minister of personnel, minister of punishments, and deputy director of the Office of Special Counselors.

960

book XI

others, the magistrate should have the person arrested and handed over to the authorities to be punished. The following happened when Zhou Ji governed the prefecture of Anqing. Hungry people banded together and stole grain from a wealthy household, but the wealthy household reported that robbers took the grain by force. Zhou Ji said to the wealthy household, “They did this because they were starving. Submit a report on the amount of grain stolen from your house. The government will make reparation for your loss.” Then he released those who had stolen the grain. When Zhou Ji died sometime later, it is said that all the residents, including officials and civilians, closed their gates and stores and cried aloud on the streets. The following happened when Zhang Chun governed the district of Nankang. When famine broke out because of drought, robberies were rampant all over the district. Issuing a proclamation, Zhang Chun vowed that he would put to death those who committed robbery. Later a man was arrested for stealing 5 dou of rice. When this happened, Zhang Chun secretly ordered that another condemned criminal be brought and beaten to death, posting a public notice that said, “This is the man who stole the rice.” Thereafter the people all became afraid and obeyed his order. Essays of Tasan stated: “During the famine years of Kisa [1809] and Kapsul [1814] people of good status turned into robbers and plundered people’s houses during the night. Arising everywhere, they banded together in groups of several dozen and committed robbery, covering their faces with fish traps called kari that were made of paper. The provincial military headquarters and garrison commands, as well as district magistrates, all put to death those who were caught for robbery or made them starve to death after throwing them into the jail, and common people found this convenient. “I have thought about this matter and have come to believe that we should not be too rigid in drawing the distinctions between robbers and thieves. Thieves refrain from violent robberies in famine years only because they realize that they will not get much loot. They are not ordinary people. In order to be able to steal, they need to have a certain talent or skill. Their acts like drilling a hole in a wall, jumping over a fence, breaking a bolt on a door, opening locks, preventing guard dogs from barking, and tricking others as goblins do are not the kind of things ordinary people of good status can do. You need to be skilled to engage in that sort of crime. In times of famine decent people might form small groups to commit robberies because they are simpleminded and naʊve. Thieves, on the other hand, do not change into decent people even in years in which there is a bumper crop. No matter how hard you try to rehabilitate them, it is impossible. But those who use force to rob others in a famine year will become ordinary people of good status again when they have enough to eat. If we look at the matter in this way, it would be regrettable to kill such robbers; they deserve sympathy if their hardship

Famine Relief

961

in their real lives is taken into account. Mengzi said, ‘In good years the children of the people are most of them good, while in bad years most of them abandon themselves to evil.’ The reason is that ‘they allow their minds to be ensnared and drowned in evil.’ How can these people be compared with gang leaders like Huang Chao and Song Jiang? What, then, should we do with them? It would be advisable to banish them to remote islands and have them return home when there is a good harvest.” Arson Committed by Starving People Must Also Be Strictly Prohibited. Essays of Tasan stated: “During the famine years of Kisa [1809] and Kapsul [1814] some of the residents of Mongjip became so resentful over a bowl of rice or a bowl of soup that they set fi re to the houses of their neighbors, losing their human nature. Eight or nine houses were set on fire every day, and four hundred houses in Namdang, as a result, were totally devastated in less than ten days, and the situation of seacoast villages was much worse. The authorities must eradicate this evil practice by strictly enforcing the law and posting a public notice.” The public notice should state as follows: “He who commits arson because of personal enmity over a bowl of rice and a bowl of soup, when he is caught on the spot or the evidence of the crime is clear, shall be investigated by the upper households of the village to which he belongs. If the suspect is found guilty, he will be immediately turned over to the authorities and banished from his community by the military officer.” The offender in this case cannot be reprimanded or punished by the rule of law used in ordinary times. If he is sentenced to the punishment of beating with heavy or light sticks, he will be dead on the spot. Since his crime does not deserve to be punished by death, he should not be allowed to die that way. The punishment for his crime should be limited to banishment and not more than that. Since There Is Nothing That Consumes More Grain than Brewing Wine, Prohibiting the Production of Spirits Is Inevitable. Prohibiting the production of spirits in a famine year has now become a general practice. However, since the clerks and law-enforcement officers exploit the 98. “Kao Tsze,” in Legge, The Works of Mencius, Book 4, 404. 99. Ibid. 100. The leader of a bandit group in the late Song dynasty. He became the model of the hero in the novel Water Margin. 101. Namdang is either the name of a village in Kangjin or Kangjin itself, which is a small town where Tasan lived in exile.

962

book XI

people under the pretext of carry ing out the law, they are unable to stop private production of spirits, and the people are unable to bear their harassment. Furthermore, since rice wine can be taken as a substitute for a meal and is also helpful to travelers, it is not really necessary to prohibit its production strictly. The problem is soju, which is generally consumed in the district capital and thereby becomes a main cause of the disorderly conduct of clerks and law-enforcement officers. This is also one of the reasons that the brewing of soju should be strictly prohibited. The law-enforcement officials should confiscate distilling implements of soju and keep them in the official storage room; they should also make sure that pottery manufacturers do not produce such implements any longer. If there is anyone who secretly produces soju, they should collect fines and add them to the famine-relief funds. In the supervision of the outside of the town, it will be advisable to apply the same rule only to the villages where the state granary and markets are located. Since the coastal towns along the roads of the P’yŏngan and Hwanghae regions and those including Tongnae [on the east coast] mostly use distilling implements made of copper (which produce twice the amount of soju), it is much easier to prohibit the use of them. Reduction of Taxes and Remission of Public Loans Were the Laws of Ancient Sage Kings. When the Magistrate Collects Grain Loans in the Winter and Land Taxes in the Spring, as Well as Miscellaneous Taxes and His Private Loans Owed to the District’s Capital Agent, He Should Generously Extend Due Dates without Putting Too Much Pressure on Taxpayers. The due date for government-loaned grain cannot be extended except for onequarter of the whole amount even in a severe famine year, and the repayment deadline for grain loans borrowed from the province or the Naval Command cannot be extended at all. The rule of keeping half the reserved grain while releasing the rest [chŏlban yugo] that is required by the law is no longer kept; all the grain in storage nowadays is distributed. If the loaned grain remains uncollected, famine relief in the following year will be impossible. Therefore, the magistrate has no choice but to put pressure on the people to repay their grain loan to the government. If the magistrate after Frost Descent persuades the relatively well-off people with all sincerity every day to repay their grain loans so that he can secure the resources for famine relief, he will be able to collect all the loans from those who 102. A distilled beverage native to Korea. Though it is traditionally made from rice, most brands replace rice with barley, wheat, and potato.

Famine Relief

963

are capable of repaying them. However, in the case of those who are incapable of repaying their loans, it will be of little help even if he severely reproaches and lashes them every day until they bleed. In collecting the government grain loan, the magistrate must personally check the grain before he accepts it, separating the grain that goes to the province from the grain that goes to the Naval Command. Then he will be able to find out how much grain can be used for famine relief provided gratis and how much can be used for relief loans. Therefore, he should not be lax in collecting grain taxes and loans. However, he should not dispatch superintendents. Since superintendents in charge of tax collection are ferocious like wolves and tigers, he should not dare to release them to harm the people. Once they are dispatched, what comes next is predictable. When winter arrives, the superior office sends an official dispatch to the magistrate and pressures him to expedite collecting the government-loaned grain. The language used in the dispatch is so intimidating that the magistrate who reads it is overwhelmed by it. It says, “In your report we do not want to see the two characters ‘not yet collected’ [misu, ᮅᨪ] except for the extension of the deadline [chŏngt’oe] allowed by the government.” The magistrate, however, should not be intimidated by a dispatch like this. At the same time he should persuade the people to repay their loans with sincere and kind words. If there are still loans that he has failed to collect, he should report them truthfully, providing a proper explanation. The report to be submitted states as follows: “Although I did my best to carry out the order of the superior office, the condition of the people was extremely serious to the degree that my pressure was to no avail. Under circumstances in which there is nothing in the grain but an empty husk and not a handful of chaff can be collected even though the marrow is squeezed out of the people, what can the magistrate do? Although it is really dreadful to think of the adverse impact that this failure may have on my public career, how can I infl ict further evils on those poor people whose sufferings and outcries I can hardly bear to see? So I cannot help but submit this report, disobeying your injunctions that the two characters ‘not yet collected’ not be included in my report.” During the famine of Kisa year [1809] there was an unemployed scholar, a resident of a village called Nasanch’on, who owed 2 sŏk of rice to the government for taxes but died before he paid it. The superintendent eventually collected the taxes from his family but ran away without depositing it in the state coffers. Now the village was required to make up for the stolen taxes. Thus the residents had to sell their lands to raise the money, and orphans and widows starved to death while wandering the streets. When the original price of the lands they had sold was

964

book XI

calculated, it amounted to 120,000 maces [1,200 taels]. How sad! When a minister conducts an inspection tour, he lights a pair of large torches, which cost 2 sŏk of rice, but the minister never realizes that those torches placed in front of his sedan chair actually cost as much as 120,000 maces. Since the grievances of the people are like this, the magistrate cannot help but pay attention to their welfare. The miscellaneous taxes collected in the name of the public depository are all illegal. They not only were illegal from the beginning but also are a major source of tricks committed by clerks. In a famine year the magistrate should personally examine the ledger and cut down the expenditures that concern his needs before reducing other expenses. If there are ordinances that can be abolished (such as the demands from the mobile border commander’s headquarters), he should abolish them, as well as other various taxes, after consulting the superior office. Laozi said, “The way of governing the common people should be like boiling a small fish” because the fish can be reduced to pulp when it is shaken a little. Would it then be right to agitate the people who suffer from famine? C H A P T E R : C ONC LU DI NG R E L I E F OPE R AT IONS

At the Close of Famine Relief the Magistrate Should Closely Examine All the Violations and Wrongs Committed throughout the Whole Relief Operation. There are three things that a man should be afraid of: Heaven, the people, and his own mind. If his intentions are not sincere, then his mind will not lead him along the straight and narrow path. In this case he deceives his superior and his country, tries to avoid punishment, and endeavors to keep his self-interest, official rank, and stipend, mobilizing all the tricks and dissimulations that he can think of. However, since there is nothing that the people do not know, no matter how small his lie or deception may be, he should always listen to what the people say if he wants to know his own mistakes. He may be able to deceive his superior or the king, but not the people. The spirits of Heaven and Earth are watching him all the time; hence he cannot deceive Heaven. He may pretend not to know or look despondent, but he feels ashamed all the same, whether he looks upward or downward, because he cannot deceive his own mind. If there is no deception concerning these three elements, there will be fewer mistakes in the magistrate’s work of famine relief. Essays of Tasan states as follows: “When a worldly official establishes a relief camp, he should be mindful of five thefts [odo], five concealments [oik], five gains 103. Th is means that although the original tax was only 2 sŏk of rice, it increased out of all proportion in the process of being recollected because the process involved all sorts of tricks and irregularities that were usually committed by clerks. 104. The magistrate.

Famine Relief

965

[odŭk], and five losses [osil]. Always keeping these dangers in mind, he should be careful not to commit a mistake. The so-called five thefts consist of the following: first, stealing through manipulating relief grain [tohŭi]; second, stealing through manipulating relief loans [todae]; third, stealing through manipulating the number of starving households [togu]; fourth, stealing through soliciting contributions [togwŏn]; and fift h, stealing through falsifying a report on the preparation of famine relief [tobi]. When the amount of relief grain is officially fi xed, it is often collected and distributed in currency if profits can be made. Since there is always room for manipulation in converting grain into money and vice versa, and therefore the money for the grain is distributed at only half the regular market price, this is stealing from relief grain. It also happens that the relief grain officially designated for relief loans is not appropriated as it was intended to be. Thus some of it is converted into relief grain distributed free of charge, and the people are unable to find the seeds for agriculture. Nevertheless, the clerks fabricate the documents and records as if the grain loans were duly made. This way of fabricating documents without lending grain is called puhwan, and that is actually stealing from relief loans. Clerks also exaggerate the number of starving people by thousands but distribute relief grain only once. Furthermore, they cut down the amount distributed under numerous pretexts and excuses so that nothing much is left when all the reductions are made. The relief grain distributed to each individual is 1 sŏk, but the actual amount that one receives is merely a few tu upon investigation, and if one is unlucky, he can have only a taste of it. (In case children and elderly people receive relief grain once and are immediately removed from the list of beneficiaries, they are provided with only 3 sŭng of rice.) Since they deceive the king and the country by counting all those who only tasted the distributed grain and exaggerating their number by thousands, this is stealing from starving people. When the day of exhorting contributions for famine relief arrives, the cudgels of law-enforcement officers raise wind, and wine flows on the table as if it were spring water. Threatening and placating alternately, they open a large storage house of a wealthy resident and transport the grain to the yamen, but on the road half the grain disappears into their pockets. Sometimes they take a bribe from the beginning and remove the name of a donor from their record. Then they hire a man to sell their bribes [which they took in the form of grain]. (When this happens, the money of the wealthy resident never comes to the district capital.) This is stealing from the contributions made for famine relief. It also happens that the magistrate, without preparing a toe or a handful of grain, reports to the government that he has prepared 100 sŏk or 1,000 kok of grain. Since he deceives the king and seeks reward, this is stealing by making a false report on the preparation of famine relief.

966

book XI

The so-called five concealments are as follows: first, concealment of the death toll [iksa]; second, concealment of starving people [iga]; third, concealment of death by starvation [ikp’yo]; fourth, concealment of death from mistreatment [iksal]; and fift h, concealment of starving households to cover up one’s irregularities [ikp’o]. Although the number of deaths continues to increase so that sounds of mourning rise from many houses every day, the magistrate reports to the superior office that only one or two deaths have occurred. When it happens that his false report makes his superior ignorant of the facts about the people’s deaths and the king unable to apprehend the real situation of his people, this is concealment of the death toll. Although the number of starving people is nearly one hundred thousand, only ten thousand of them are selected, and only one thousand of the ten thousand who are selected are allowed to have benefits from the government. If the governor, who feels suspicious, asks whether the figure in the report is true, the magistrate replies, “It is strange. The famine was not really all that bad, but the figures reflect an estimate somewhat on the high side. That is why the number is that high.” This is concealment of starving people. Although a father and a son commit cannibalism against each other or dig up a newly buried corpse and eat its flesh, the authorities hide this fact. The starving people in their desperation fight over the dead bodies of those who died on the road; they withdraw a few steps back when they hear the sound of officers and throw the dead bodies into a pit when a royal inspector arrives on the scene. Nevertheless, the magistrate fabricates lies and reports to the superior office that he personally gathered the dead and buried them with his own money as the law required. This is concealment of death by starvation. When starving people are severely beaten to death because they failed to pay their grain loans, although they are so frail and emaciated from hunger that they appear to be in danger of being blown away by a gust of wind or collapsing even if they are just touched by others, their deaths are treated and reported as deaths by illness. Since the drum outside the district office for registering complaints of official misconduct does not sound because the starving people are now too weak to travel far to appeal their grievances, those who practice these cruelties easily escape from the dangers of punishment. This is concealment of death from mistreatment. Although the harvest cannot be gathered in the autumn because the clerks already embezzled the grain distributed by the government, the provincial government, and the Naval Command, the superior office does not know about this. Since that grain was issued for the purpose of famine relief, the magistrate finds himself in a dilemma. He cannot tell the truth because he will be punished, nor can he collect the taxes right away because the people are financially broken.

Famine Relief

967

That is the reason that the magistrate has no choice but to reduce the number of starving people, and this is concealment of starving households to cover up one’s irregularities The so-called five gains are as follows: first, gain of property [tŭkjae]; second, gain of paper [tŭkji]; third, gain of awards [tŭksang]; fourth, gain of slander [tŭkbang]; and fift h, gain of a sin against Heaven [tŭkjoeŏch’ŏn]. When property procured through the five thefts is arranged to be transported to the magistrate’s hometown, that is gain of property. Although official documents are piled up like clouds, they are neglected, and although record books and calendars are stacked up like a mountain, they are taken to his private house to be used as wallpaper. This is gain of paper. If the magistrate falsely exaggerates the number of starving people and the status of readiness for famine relief, the governor through his report recommends him to the Border Defense Council. Then the council evaluates the performance of candidates in several grades and rewards them with ponies and bows. This is gain of prizes. When the people look at the magistrate as if he were their enemy, publicly complain about all the irregularities and tricks that he secretly committed, and spread their words in all directions, this is procurement of slander. When the shining spirits who fi ll the space between the heavens and the earth set up a large trap and discuss the ways of punishing men, this is procurement of a sin against Heaven. The so-called five losses [osil] are as follows: first, loss of relief grain [silhŭi]; second, loss of porridge [siljuk]; third, loss of relief loans [sildae]; fourth, loss of public support [silinsim]; and fift h, loss of a job in the government [silgwanjik]. Since the clerks secretly enter fictitious names in the record of famine relief, all their relatives, including their brothers, nephews, brothers-in-law, and aunts, receive grain while they keep servants in their households. Furthermore, they spread false names even to remote, desolate villages so that all the relief grain flows into their rice bags, and they conspire and share profits with the supervisor of famine relief [who condones the creation of false names]. This is a reason that the loss of relief grain takes place. Since the clerks steal half the rice for porridge from each kok, the porridge distributed to hungry people is so diluted that it contains only a few grains of rice and tastes like clear water. Furthermore, all sorts of slaves and servants who work in the granary, the relief camp, the yamen gate, the kitchen, the houses of clerks, and taverns recklessly enter the relief camp and fill their stomachs with porridge. The magistrate sees them but finds no problem with them; he rather trusts them and makes them his ears and eyes. This is a reason that the loss of porridge takes place. The relief loans called chindae are the seeds for agriculture and the provisions needed for farming. The clerks, however, privately replace good grain with bad

968

book XI

grain, and when there are private sales [sap’an] of grain by the government, they conspire to make the grain smell bad by using a bag of rotten meat. If the magistrate asks why the grain smells foul, the clerks reply that the smell comes from the government grain. This is a reason that the loss of relief loans takes place. Since the magistrate already stole relief grain, secured the delay of tax payments, and damaged the lives of people by the five thefts and the five concealments, the people are scared and shudder at his cruel administration. Hence they turn their back on the magistrate, and none of them follow him. This is the loss of public support. When the royal inspector investigates hidden tricks and brings them to light, he may not be able to expose all the wrongdoings; however, if he discovers even one of them, which is serious enough to deserve punishment, his ferocious runners, who wear pointed caps and carry chains, will rush to the magistrate and take him away. The people who watch him being taken away are joyful. Since the one who commits a serious wrongdoing is banished and the one whose wrongdoing is less serious is stripped of his office, this indicates the loss of a job in the government. He who is a magistrate should think over what he does in the quiet hours of the night. When he feels that he is free from all of the twenty wrongdoings, he is doing his job properly. When the Magistrate Reports to the Superior Office Concerning the Relief Grain That He Personally Prepared, He Should Tell Only the Truth without Lying or Exaggerating. The Comprehensive National Code stipulated: “The magistrate who exacts heavy taxes from the people under the pretext of making up for the shortage of relief funds and exaggerates in his report the number of starving people for his personal interest shall be investigated by the governor of the province to which he belongs and shall be punished under the law of making a false report to his superior.” How can it be possible for the magistrate to prepare relief grain by himself? Since the grain that he prepares is not from his own house or his farms, it is all from the district that he governs. Even if he prepared the grain by spending some of his monthly stipend, he cannot dare to say that he prepared it by himself, not to mention the grain that he secured from the people through threats and tricks. If he secures relief grain by recklessly exacting taxes from the people and reports that he prepared it by himself, is this not deceiving the king and committing a great crime? When he releases relief grain, he should make it clear where the grain came from so that he may not be ashamed of his report that he himself 105. The five thefts, the five concealments, the five gains, and the five losses. 106. “Famine Relief,” Laws on Taxation.

Famine Relief

969

prepared the grain. A reasonable amount of relief grain that can be reported to have been prepared by the magistrate himself would be about several dozen sŏk, and therefore, it should not be more exaggerated than that. If the magistrate is not anxious to report all his accomplishments in detail, he will be close to attaining a good name. The following happened when Im Yunsŏk became magistrate of Hapch’ŏn County. The following year a severe famine and epidemic broke out. As a result, the roads were littered with so many dead bodies that they looked like flophouses. Exhausting his efforts, Im saved many people on the verge of death. At that time the government rewarded the magistrates on the basis of the amount of relief grain that they prepared by themselves. The neighboring counties and districts exaggerated the amount, but Im did not. Consequently, Im failed to be rewarded despite his good works. The following happened when Yi Chŏk became district magistrate of Imp’i. In the year when he took office there was a severe famine. Because he did his utmost to provide relief to the people, the whole district was able to escape perishing. When the governor made his report on the accomplishments of the magistrates for rewards, Yi did not say anything about the grain that he had prepared by himself because he regarded it as a shame to seek a name and buy a reward. As a result, he alone was left out from those who were rewarded. Yi Kwan, who governed counties and districts a number of times, once said: “It will not always be appropriate that he who is a magistrate privately prepares relief grain, and it is also quite shameful to seek a reward for the preparation of relief grain. Even if he fed many starving people with the grain, it is appropriate that he should reduce the amount when he makes a report to his superior and responds to the order of the government.” When Yi Kwan served as metropolitan magistrate of Kyŏngju, a treasury official happened to read his report and lamented: “Since the relief grain prepared by a large district like Kyŏngju is only several dozen sŏk while the amounts prepared by small counties and districts are as much as several thousand sŏk, the figure submitted by the magistrate of Kyŏngju must not be the real one. Those who try to seek a reward by exaggerating the amount of relief grain they prepared should be ashamed of themselves.” The Laws and Ordinances Are Clear about What Is Properly Done and What Is Not, and about the Distinction between Rendering Services and Committing Crimes. The National Code stipulated: “The magistrate who conceals the deaths of starving people, which were caused by his neglect of famine relief, shall be severely punished.” 107. “Preparation for Famine Relief” (“Pihwang”), Laws on Famine Relief.

970

book XI

The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “The magistrate who is most outstanding in each province for the administration of famine relief shall be rewarded for his accomplishments.” This is recorded in Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns: “In the second year [1470] of King Yejong, Kim Yŏnggyŏn, junior director of the Comprehensive Rites Agency [T’ongnyewŏn], returned from his inspection trip to Chŏlla Province and reported to the king that some of the magistrates who carried out famine relief had abandoned those who had edema and little children. Then the king issued a royal decree and severely reprimanded the governor responsible for them. He also ordered the governor to discipline the concerned magistrates with the punishment of beating with a heavy stick and not to forgive them even if they were merit subjects or members of royal families.” King Hyojong in the second year of his reign [1651] dismissed Governor Nam Sŏn of Hwanghae Province because Nam failed to carry out famine relief properly. In Kyehae year [1683] during the reign of Sukchong, a scholar named Sin Chongje, a resident of Puan, drowned himself in freezing water after breaking the ice. It was discovered that he had decided to take his own life, leaving his family behind, because he was unable to endure extreme hunger any longer. When the governor reported this to the king, the king ordered that the surviving family of the dead man be provided with emergency relief and that the magistrate of the concerned district be arrested and punished by beating with a heavy stick. In Kyŏngsin year [1740] during the reign of Yŏngjo, the starving people in Seoul who originally came from the three provinces of Kyŏnggi, Hwanghae, and Kangwŏn numbered as many as 1,400. Upon hearing this, the king reprimanded the governors of the three provinces for their failure to pacify those starving people and make them settle down in their jurisdiction, and immediately ordered the Bureau of Famine Relief to provide porridge to the refugees. In the third month of Kyemi year [1763] during the reign of Yŏngjo, the governor of Chŏlla Province reported to the king: “Of 483,700 starving people, those who died of starvation are as many as 450 people.” Feeling sorry for the dead, the king said, “Minister Li Yin in olden days took it as his own fault that one person in his domain was unable to make a decent living. Since I, the king, failed to save his people from death and the number of those who died in one province alone is nearly 500 people, I have failed to follow in the footsteps of my predecessors.” Then he ordered that the number of dishes for his royal diet be reduced for three days. 108. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Noeji. He also served as second censor, fourth royal secretary, and second minister of personnel. 109. His courtesy name was Paegwŏn, and his pen name Ch’angmyŏng. He also served as fourth censor, fi ft h counselor, and royal secretary.

Famine Relief

971

On the Day of Grain in Ear the Relief Camp Is Closed and a Banquet Called P’ajinyŏn Is Held to Mark the Closing of Relief Activities. However, Music and Entertainers Should Be Excluded from the Banquet. Since the p’ajinyŏn, a banquet to mark the closing of relief activities, is intended to comfort those who have successfully carried out the work of famine relief, not to celebrate a happy occasion, it should offer only a bowl of wine and a dish of meat to treat the people who worked hard. Under circumstances in which thousands of dead bodies still remain unburied, and the moaning and groaning sounds made by those who survived but fell sick continue to be heard, and the people are still dying when they take too much barley for their hungry stomachs, it is certainly not a good time for gathering and having entertainment. In my observation, when the magistrate holds a banquet after a severe famine is over, the people who hear the sounds of the drum and singing lament and shed tears and keep a jealous eye on the banquet. Hence singing and dancing and playing of musical instruments should never be allowed. If the magistrate learned anything about the people’s suffering, how can he dare to allow anything suggestive of festivity? During the Banquet the Magistrate Rewards Those Who Made Contributions to the Relief Efforts and Reports the Results to the Superior Office on the Following Day. Persons like supervisors and subofficials of relief activities, supervisors of famine relief in outside villages, heads of townships, and those who donated over 20 sŏk of rice in response to the solicitation of contributions should all be invited to the banquet regardless of their social status. However, since the custom of remote districts is so crude and uncivilized that people of middle status can be suspicious of those of high status and people of low status of those of middle status, and those sitting in the upper floor and those sitting in the lower floor can quarrel with each other, spoiling the good occasion, the magistrate should prepare seats in the front yard of the guest house, which is on level ground, to hold the banquet. Then there will be no disputes or fights at all. If the banquet is accompanied by music and entertainment, it is a general practice that money is collected from the attending guests to pay for the musicians and entertainers. This is certainly not right because a collection is made once again from those who already contributed their money. Rewards are carried out as follows: Since supervisors of famine relief are elderly persons (they are mostly those who served as chief of the local yangban association), they are rewarded with goods like fans or shoes; supervising officers, who consist of two military officers, are given some desirable positions in the hall

972

book XI

of martial arts; and subdistrict supervisors of famine relief, who consist of about ten persons, are rewarded with goods like fans, combs, tobacco pipes, and so forth. As to the clerks in charge of relief, who consist of two persons, the magistrate awards fans and combs to each of them and promises that he will grant them better positions in the following year; as to the slaves employed for relief efforts, who consist of two persons, the magistrate awards fans to each of them and promises to assign them to better positions in the following year; as to the slaves working in the granary during the famine relief, who consist of four persons, the magistrate awards 1 sŏk of barley to each of them; and as to the female slaves in charge of making porridge, who consist of five persons, the magistrate awards 1 sŏk of barley and 20 chŏk of cloth to each of them. As to those who donated over 200 sŏk of rice, the magistrate awards a fan to each of them and has them wait for the rewards from the government. As to those who donated 50 to 100 sŏk of rice, he awards a fan to each of them and has them wait for the rewards from the government; however, if it happens that the prospect of the government’s rewards for them is uncertain, he rewards them on the district level in the near future, appointing them according to their wishes as heads of the local gentry association (such as special director, granary supervisor, and the like) or military officers (such as battalion commander, special officer, and the like). However, he does not reveal his intention at this time. As to those who donated 20 to 40 sŏk of rice, the magistrate during the banquet awards a small fan to each of them and appoints them as leaders of the local government according to their wishes. (However, their positions should not exceed the level of granary supervisor and battalion commander. The positions higher than these should be reserved for those who donated over 50 sŏk of rice.) As to those who donated less than 10 sŏk of rice, the magistrate awards small fans and later sends a piece of writing through subofficials in charge of famine relief. His personal writings should be stamped with an official seal, generating the impression that they are official documents. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “Those who privately saved a number of starving people or assisted the government by contributing their grain to famine relief shall be rewarded with prizes according to the degree of their ser vices.” The Comprehensive National Code stipulated: “As to those who make voluntary contributions to famine relief throughout all provinces, those who contribute over 50 sŏk of rice shall be placed on the record and reported to the central government, and those who contribute below 50 sŏk of rice shall be rewarded by their provinces.” 110. “Famine Relief,” Laws on Taxation. 111. “Famine Relief,” Laws on Taxation.

Famine Relief

973

When one observes the ways in which magistrates solicit contributions for famine relief these days, they first flatter the potential donors with all kinds of promises; however, once the famine relief is closed, they do not even offer them a drink or award a fan, treating them as if they were garbage or a fish trap after fishing is over. When gratitude to the contributors to famine relief is thus forgotten, the insincerity of the magistrates is too extreme. Classic of Poetry says that the ruler’s “virtuous words are so grand and brilliant that they show the people not to be mean.” If the magistrate carries himself lightly, who would trust him? His conduct is quite wrong. The People Who Are Exhausted after a Severe Famine Are like a Man Who Is in a State of Recovery after Suffering a Serious Illness; Therefore, the Magistrate Must Not Neglect Assisting the People and Stabilizing Their Lives. The ways of making the people settle down after the famine are as follows: fi rst, providing them with provisions; second, providing them with oxen; third, reducing their taxes; and fourth, remitting their debts. If the magistrate patrols the villages and farms and asks the people about the illnesses and troubles that bother them, and if he encourages them to strengthen the foundation of their livelihood, taking extreme caution not to shake or hurt it, that is the right way to cure a serious illness. The following happened when Fan Chunren governed Qingzhou. When a severe famine struck the district year after year, the people ate up all their oxen for farming. Fan purchased oxen and seeds from a neighboring district and loaned them to the residents of his district in accordance with the number of their families and households. As to the area of minority people on the border, he employed outsiders to reclaim and cultivate the land, sowing seeds on a large piece of land. Finally he reaped a good harvest. The following happened in the seventh year [1681] of King Sukchong. Earlier the Kwansŏ region had been afflicted with a poor harvest year after year, and the damage of six districts was particularly serious. Hence the government divided starving people into three groups for the purpose of famine relief: those who had relatives but no land; those who had land but no relatives; and those who wandered and begged for food, having neither relatives nor land. It provided them with provisions or grain and later forgave taxes, especially those of the people who belonged to the third category. Around that time the government, at the request of the governor, once again conducted a survey of the landless people and forgave their taxes, which amounted to 1,630 sŏk of grain. 112. “Decade of Luming” (161), “Minor Odes of the Kingdom,” Shi Jing, in Legge, The Chinese Classics (University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center). My translation.

974

book XI

In my observation, to make vagrant people [yumin] settle down is the foremost priority of benevolent administration. What is happening these days, however, is that the government pressures the people, who are still recovering from the disastrous damage of famine, to pay their taxes and collect what they owe to the government. As a result, those who are on the run flee much farther, and those who stay around are much more scattered. Therefore, the people in the southern provinces often say, “A good harvest is worse than a poor one; being rich is worse than being poor; and staying alive is worse than being dead.” Once houses and villages are deserted, they cannot be occupied again, and once the rice paddies and dry fields are abandoned, they are not cultivated again. What the government can gain [by pressuring the people who are already hard pressed to pay their taxes] is only a little; what it can lose, however, is enormous. If the people, the foundation of the state, fall down, on whom can the government rely in the future? Among the matters about which the government should be concerned and the magistrates should exert themselves, nothing will be more urgent than to stabilize the lives of the people.

XII

Departure

C H A P T E R  : R E PL AC E M E N T A N D T R A N SF E R

No Magistrate Can Avoid Replacement. If the Magistrate Is Not Surprised by the News of His Replacement and Is Not Worried about Losing His Job, He Will Be Respected by the People. There are twenty titles altogether that address the replacement of magistracy: first, replacement called kwach’e, which happens due to the expiration of the term (it indicates that three or six years of the magistrate’s term have expired); second, replacement called sŭngch’e, which happens due to promotion (it indicates cases of promotion from district to county, from prefecture to special prefecture); third, replacement called naech’e, which happens due to transfer (moving to positions in the central government in Seoul); fourth, replacement called soch’e, which happens due to a royal order (it indicates cases in which an individual is called to three offices, the Office of the Inspector General, Office of the Censor General, and Office of the Special Counselors, which are generally referred to as Samsa, or the Palace Library and the Royal Secretariat, which are called Kakwŏn); and fi ft h, replacement called hwanch’e (which happens due to transfer from one district to another). These five replacements as a whole are called “normal replacement” (sunch’e). The sixth is replacement called ip’ich’e (which is intended to avoid [working under] a superior who is a kinsman); seventh, replacement called hyŏmch’e (which is intended to avoid [working under] a superior who has a suspicious relationship with the former generations of the concerned magistrate); eighth, replacement called naech’e (which happens when an official in the central government is relegated to the local magistracy); ninth, 975

976

book XII

replacement called soch’e (which happens due to a request for resignation submitted to the king); and tenth, replacement called yuch’e (which happens due to a failure to return to a post after taking a leave of absence). These five replacements are generally called kyŏngch’e, which signifies sudden and unexpected replacement. The eleventh is replacement called p’yŏmch’e (which happens due to poor job per formance); twelft h, replacement called ch’ulch’e (which happens due to accusations made by other officials); thirteenth, replacement called pakch’e (which happens due to the impeachment of the Office of the Inspector General and Office of the Censor General); fourteenth, replacement called nach’e (which happens due to wrongdoings committed prior to or during the magistracy); and fi fteenth, replacement called pongch’e (which happens due to the closing of the granary and dismissal carried out by the royal inspector). These five replacements are generally called choech’e, which signifies replacement due to wrongdoing or crimes. The sixteenth is replacement called sach’e (which happens due to a resignation submitted to protest a superior’s disrespect or insult); seventeenth, replacement called t’uch’e (which happens due to an argument with a superior, which results in throwing away one’s official seal and returning home); eighteenth, replacement called pyŏngch’e (which happens due to sickness); nineteenth, replacement called sangch’e (which happens due to one’s parents’ death); and twentieth, replacement called chongch’e (which happens due to death). These five replacements are all cases related to one’s misfortune. If shipwrecked foreigners arrive on an island in his domain, criminals cross the national border (in the northwest), grain transport ships are shipwrecked, convicts escape from the jail, the tribute horses suffer damage or loss, tribute ginseng is rejected, an autopsy is conducted improperly, a rotating army fails to report on time (due to an unexpected flood), and so forth, which are all unexpected events, the magistrate is inevitably held responsible and removed from his office. If the causes of replacement or dismissal are this numerous in the position of magistrate alone, which is relatively low in the hierarchy of government bureaucracy, how can it be possible to rely on a government post? An old proverb, “Serving in the government is no better than working as a farmhand,” just indicates an unpredictable situation in which an official who is promoted in the morning is dismissed in the evening. Nevertheless, the magistrate who is so shallow as to mistake the yamen office for his own house and plans to stay there for a long time loses his color and control as if he has lost a great treasure when he receives an official dispatch from his superior and a letter from his capital agent concerning his replacement in office. His wife and sons shed tears, looking at one 1. Kyŏngch’e: a sudden and unexpected replacement caused by one’s own will or another person’s will, which is neither promotion nor demotion.

Departure

977

another, while clerks and servants secretly look at them in scorn. This shows that he has lost a lot more than his office. How pathetic! Therefore, wise magistrates in the old days took the yamen office as an inn, always kept the records and documents in order as if they were leaving early in the morning, and kept their luggage packed like a hawk in the autumn that perches on a branch for a moment and flies again into the sky, allowing no attachment to his post at all. Since they left immediately without showing any attachment when the official dispatch arrived to inform them that they were being replaced, this is the right conduct of a clean scholar-official. If the magistrate is indeed steadfast in his principled conduct, he will not be agitated at all even if a royal inspector looks into matters with his full power or a royal messenger traveling under a grand parasol rushes in to shut down the granary. If the magistrate always keeps this in mind while he carries out his duties, he will not lose his composure no matter what happens. Wang Huanzhi said, “When you ride a vehicle, you should be alert to the danger of falling off when your vehicle is overturned; when you ride a boat, to the danger of drowning when your boat is overturned; and when you serve in the government, to the danger of falling into misfortunes.” How true this is! When Yang Shengzhai served in public office, he deposited only a little money in a bedroom chest, which was sufficient for traveling to Kaifeng with his family. Then he warned his family against buying goods because he was concerned that they would be a burden when he returned home after serving his term. Every day he worked like a man who was packing in a hurry. Zheng Xuan said: “There was a metropolitan governor whose name I forgot. He did not take his family to his post, and all his belongings were in a worn-out chest. Every day he got up, pushed aside the curtain, and made his bed; on finishing his meal he personally washed his own dishes and put spoons in order. In front of the yamen office he placed his old, worn-out chest in a carry ing frame propped by a stick, which created the impression that he was a traveler in an inn who was about to leave soon. Although he fought with men of power and influence and repelled tyrannical eunuchs, he had nothing to fear.” When U Hun became district magistrate of Sanŭm and arrived at his post, the baggage he brought with him was less than a pack. Near the end of his term he happened to be in a neighboring district on business. There he heard of the news of his replacement; he immediately went straight home. His integrity and courage are admirable. 2. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Canzhou. Passing the civil ser vice examination before he arrived at the age of twenty, he became erudite (poshi) of the National University. 3. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sejong.

978

book XII

It Was the Will of Officials in the Old Days to Throw Away Their Offices like Old Shoes. Is It Not Shameful if the Magistrate Is Sore about His Replacement? When Wang Yang of the Han dynasty served as prefect of Yizhou, he arrived at Mt. Qionglai and a place named Jiuzheban during an inspection tour of his domain. There he stopped and lamented, “How often should I climb a rugged place like this with the body inherited from my father?” Later he quit his office under the pretext of illness. (When Wang Zun served as prefect, he ran down this slope of the mountain.) Since the people of our country, as I find, seek the magistracy of Cheju, the example of Wang Yang should make them feel ashamed. The following happened when Tao Qian [Yuanming] was district magistrate of Pengze. When a local inspector dispatched by the county magistrate arrived, a clerk asked Tao Qian to greet the inspector after straightening up his dress. Tao Qian lamented, “I cannot serve a small fry in the countryside, breaking my back for five bushels of grain.” Unloosing the seal string from his waist and handing it over to the clerk, he recited a poem celebrating the retired life in the countryside. In my observation, a local inspector called duyou is the person who oversees the irregularities of subordinate districts, and the reason that Tao Qian spoke of him as “a small fry in the countryside” was that those inspectors generally started their career at the bottom. The “five bushels of grain” were only provisions for a month; they were not the monthly stipend of the district magistrate of Pengze. The following happened when Ch’oe Chae of the Koryŏ dynasty governed Yangju. When he saw a royal representative [kanghyangsa] in charge of offering sacrifices in Buddhist temples or other places insult a relief commissioner [chonmusa], he quit his office, saying, “I am afraid that the same thing will happen to me in the future.” The following happened when Sŏl Wi served as district magistrate of Mangyŏng. He was a man of integrity and discretion. Nevertheless, when it hap-

4. Unknown. 5. One of the highest mountains in Sichuan Province, China. 6. According to the commentators, Wang Zun’s act showed an aspect of his loyalty, whereas Wang Yang’s showed an aspect of his fi liality. 7. Since Cheju is an island located far from the mainland, the sea voyage undertaken by the new magistrate was always regarded as dangerous. 8. During the Koryŏ dynasty the king dispatched royal messengers to Buddhist temples and mountains and streams for the purpose of offering sacrifices. 9. An official appointed on a temporary basis and dispatched to each province to alleviate the suffering of the people during a famine or other disasters during the Koryŏ dynasty. 10. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sejong. He served as adjutant (kyŏngnyŏk) and headmaster of the National Confucian Academy.

Departure

979

pened that he was reprimanded by the governor, he quit his office, leaving a poem that read as follows: For several years I have played the kŏmungo alone in the district with a river, aspiring to reach the peak of the mountain and the depth of the water. Since it is hard to find a man like Zhong Ziqi, who will understand the heart of Boya in the music I produce?

The Magistrate Who Keeps Documents and Records Well Ordered in Ordinary Days So That He Can Depart Anytime during His Magistracy Has the Spirit of Clean-Hearted Scholars; the Magistrate Who Makes Sure That the Details of Documents and Records Are All Correct and Clear So That There Will Be No Troubles in the Future Shows the Conduct of Wise Scholars. If the magistrate in ordinary days regards himself as a passing traveler at an inn, which is the yamen office, personally examines and arranges documents and records on a monthly basis, and makes sure that there are no debts or deficits (which are made by the clerks in charge of various sections) and no expenditures in disarray (the expenditures here indicate those that failed to be appropriated for certain purposes), it is very easy to finalize the documents and records in a few hours after he receives the news of his replacement from his capital agent because all he has to do is to close the documents and records of the concerned month. As to the records for handover or takeover [chunggi], the magistrate should start preparing them at the beginning of his term in office, leaving only several dozen lines or so to be filled out later. (He makes a separate copy of the records after taking office.) Then it becomes quite easy to arrange these documents and takes little time because all he has to do is to fill out the blank space with new details. Since it is too hasty to depart from a post upon receiving the notice of replacement, would it not be better to depart early in the morning of the following day? Every time I observe a magistrate who is replaced because of his poor job performance or impeachment by the royal inspector, he appears to be so downhearted and dejected that he looks pale as if he were a banner soaked with rain or a puppet after a performance. He goes out to stay in the hall of the clerks and spends his days like a parasite, and his family, including his parents, wife, and children, stay in the hall of the slaves, carrying themselves as their captives. The magistrate, in the meantime, finds himself terribly busy with arranging documents and records, on the one hand, and preparing for his departure, on the other, so that all the 11. Zhong Ziqi and Boya were probably men of the Spring and Autumn period. The former was originally a woodcutter but was talented in understanding music. Boya was a famous music master who liked to play music for Zhong Ziqi. When Zhong Ziqi died prematurely, Boya gave up playing his music and destroyed his musical instrument.

980

book XII

matters he carries out in haste often run out of his control. Since the clerk in charge of welcoming the new magistrate selects the personnel who will accompany him, capable servants and burly military officers, as well as fine horses and horse gear, are all assigned to join the procession of welcoming the new magistrate. Hence there are no military officers who attend the former magistrate at the door; only the clerks who are anxious to retrieve their private loans come to see him. The people throughout the whole district speak of him in contempt, breaking the news to each other, and laugh at him, spreading rumors. Nevertheless, he is eager only to steal or cheat, holding tight the box of official seals. Thus he replaces the heads of subdistricts and villages and charges fees to them for stamping an official seal on their letters of appointment. Furthermore, he manipulates the grain in the granary to pay off various requirements and ruthlessly collects what remains uncollected. As a result, the sounds of complaints and condemnations rise from all corners, but he pretends to be deaf. He does not quit his post even though ten days or a month have passed, and when his successor finally arrives, he relates his personal problems to him and tries to take his revenge by telling tales about those who dared to treat him outrageously. Oh, how can the magistrate do things like this? Therefore, the magistrate has a good reason to regard the yamen office as an inn. He will indeed be a fresh and clean-hearted scholar-official if he carries himself as if he were ready to depart anytime soon, always having official documents and records in good order in ordinary days and packing his bag. Some foolish and avaricious magistrates recklessly draw an advance and spend the stipend of their successors even though they already appropriated the public funds in the granary for their private purposes. When their successors assume their office, their irregularities are discovered without fail and reported to the governor, which results in their punishment. Besides, because they incurred the wrath and resentment of the people by exacting taxes through their clerks, it happens that they throw their lives into danger and make their reputation smell foul. Those who always keep documents and records in order and do not infringe on the apportionment of their successors will not have such calamities in the future. Minister Ch’ae Pŏnong composed an epitaph for my late father (the venerable name [hwi] of my father is Chŏng Chaewŏn), which read as follows: “When the late magistrate fell sick in Chinju, there was no one on whom he could rely. His three sons in mourning examined the official records made by his clerks and found them in disarray, so they did not know what to do. They happened to 12. Ch’ae Chaegong (1720–1799), an official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. Pŏnong or Pŏnam was his pen name, and his courtesy name Paekgyu. He served as chief royal secretary, inspector general, minister of works, minister of punishments, and, fi nally, as chief state councilor. He was the leader of the Southerners faction and a patron of Tasan. 13. Chŏng Chaewŏn actually had four sons: Yakhyŏn, Yakjŏn, Yagjong, and Yagyong. The eldest, Yakhyŏn, was born of Chŏng’s fi rst wife.

Departure

981

find a small box at the magistrate’s bedside and a piece of paper in it. In the paper there were detailed records of all the private debts and surpluses concerning each section of his local administration. When the people compared his records with those of the clerks and had the two supplement each other, all the figures turned out to be correct. The way he governed the district, which was marked by astuteness and discretion from start to end, was like this.” Essays of Tasan introduces the following episode: “Years ago there was a man who served as magistrate of Yŏngam. He borrowed several hundred taels from the clerk in charge of the kitchen but departed without repaying his debt. Although the clerk followed him as far as Naju and appealed to him for repayment of his debt, the magistrate would not listen to him. Then the clerk outran the magistrate and prostrated himself before the sedan chair that carried the ancestral tablet of the magistrate. He spoke to the tablet, ‘The honorable magistrate is leaving without paying for the food that you have had. Please have him pay for it at once.’ When the clerk kept following the magistrate all the way up to Changsŏng, the magistrate reluctantly repaid his debt.” If the Elders of the District Hold a Farewell Party for the Departing Magistrate in the Suburbs and Express Their Sadness as if They Have Lost Their Parent, That Is Indeed a Great Honor That the Magistrate Can Achieve in the World. When Liu Chong of the Han dynasty was about to return home after serving as prefect of Huiji, a few elders with long eyelashes and white hair emerged from mountain valleys and individually presented him with 100 maces, saying, “Since Your Honor came to our district, dogs did not bark during the night and the people did not recognize the clerks.” Liu replied, “You also deserve praise for your assistance.” Then he took only a piece of coin from each of them. When Xie Xuan of the Liang dynasty departed from his post after serving as prefect of Dongyang, the people of his district sent him 10,000 maces as their gift. Taking only 100 maces, he said, “I feel ashamed to accept more money than Liu Chong did.” Liu Lin governed Shaoxing, which was the district governed by Liu Chong during the Han dynasty. Because he was an upright and capable administrator, the situation of his district greatly improved in less than a couple of months. Liu Jin, a traitor, harbored resentment against Liu Lin and made him into a commoner. When the residents of the district vied with each other to offer traveling 14. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zurong. He also served as minister of education. 15. Unknown. 16. An official of the Ming dynasty during the reign of Wuzong.

982

book XII

expenses to Liu Lin, who was departing, Liu Lin said, “Knowing that my accomplishment, compared with that of Liu Chong in the old days, is insignificant, how can I dare to accept even a coin from you?” After he departed, the people of the Yue region drew his portrait and built a shrine for him. When Hua Ziyu returned to the capital after serving as prefect of Huiji, the gifts that his guests brought to him were worth several million maces. He accepted their gifts but secretly marked their names on them. Sometime before his departure he gathered all the gifts, as well as their donors, and said, “Originally I had no intention to decline your gifts. However, the number of gifts continued to grow to such a degree that they cannot be carried away in the one vehicle that I rented. Since I cannot allow myself to become a thief by carry ing treasure, as an old saying goes, I have no choice but to return them to you and hope that you will understand.” Thus the people retrieved their gifts and returned home. The following happened when Cui Ting became prefect of Guangzhou. An old man, a native of Ye District, said to him, “Earlier, some sixty years ago, I went to Linyi on a diplomatic mission, and during the trip I happened to obtain a nice jade that I hid in an island. Since I now enjoy the benevolent administration of Your Honor, I desire to present you with the jade.” However, Cui Ting declined it. When he departed from his post, all the residents, including old men and children, tried to offer silk as their gifts, but he refused to accept them. My old friend Han Iksang is a poor scholar. He had a very hard time for a few decades wandering from one post to another. When he was appointed magistrate of Kyŏngsŏng in his late years, his friends were pleased, expecting that his situation would improve a little. However, even after assuming office in Kyŏngsŏng, he continued to be upright and clean hearted, so he donated his entire stipend to famine relief, which amounted to 50,000 to 60,000 maces, and reduced the labor service of the people. When he was dismissed for a trivial matter and returned home, the elders of the district, which consisted of five thousand households, accompanied him to the suburbs to bid him farewell. They also collected one bolt of cloth from each 17. Hua Xin, an official of the kingdom of Wei during the Three Kingdoms period. Ziyu was his pen name. He served as prefect of Yuzhang, director of the Imperial Secretariat, and minister of education. 18. An old saying of the Zhou dynasty says, “The commoner is innocent unless he is carry ing a precious stone with him.” Th is means that even an innocent person is made guilty because he possesses treasure. 19. An official of the Later Wei dynasty. His courtesy name was Shuanggen. After serving as prefect of Guangzhou, he served as adjutant of the King of Beihai. When he died, all the residents of Guangzhou mourned his death and built a statue of him made of bronze. 20. The name of a state in modern Vietnam. 21. His courtesy name was Ch’imun, and his pen names Chao and Paekjol. Passing the civil service examination in 1807, he served as librarian, magistrate of Kyŏngsŏng and of Muan, and fi nally governor of Kangwŏn Province.

Departure

983

household and gave it to Han for his traveling expenses. However, Han refused to accept their gift. When he returned home, he found that his room was cold because it had not been warmed for three days, but he showed no sign of regret to the end. Zhao Gui of the Sui dynasty, administrative aide [biejia] of Qizhou, was recalled to the court by the emperor. Shedding tears, the elders of the district said to him, “Since Your Honor, while serving here, never asked for a favor from us, not even water or fire, we cannot dare to offer you wine to bid you farewell. Since Your Honor is clean hearted like water, we would like to offer you a cup of water.” Zhao Gui drank the water. Although Xu Yingkui, magistrate of Dongping, administered his district admirably, he was falsely accused of wrongdoings by his colleague and had to depart from his post. When clerks and residents bade farewell to him, the sound of their crying did not stop. Arriving late at an inn, Xu said to his servant, “Being an official, I have nothing, and all I have done was to make a few people shed tears.” His servant replied, “Since you have no money in your pocket, why do you not wrap those tears well and give them to your friends as your gift?” Xu Kingkui clapped his hands, laughing aloud. Yu Kwanhyŏn, magistrate of Kyŏngsŏng, did his best to save the people from the famine that took place in Ŭlhae year [1755]. When he departed from his post in the spring of the following year, all the people in the district came out to see him off, and those who had received famine relief individually contributed a little grain and set up a farewell banquet on the roadside, so the road was extremely crowded and his carriage could not advance. When he arrived at the gateway of Kwimungwan, several dozen of those who had been starving during the famine followed him and said, “Since there is no way for us to repay our gratitude to Your Honor, please allow us to carry your sedan chair.” Yu Kwanhyŏn replied, “It is not necessary that you should have such trouble. I already found men for that purpose.” However, the people pushed aside the carriers employed by the magistrate and vied with each other to carry the magistrate’s sedan chair. When they arrived at the lower ground and the magistrate mounted his horse, they bade farewell and returned to their home, wiping their tears. When Yi Sihyŏn became district magistrate of Kaeryŏng, a severe famine broke out, so that dead bodies of starved people were scattered on the streets. As 22. Deeply interested in learning, and distinguished in his conduct when he was young, Zhao Gui was specially summoned by the emperor and was appointed administrative aide of Qizhou. Then he was recalled to the court once again by the emperor for a higher position. 23. Unknown. 24. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. According to the Veritable Record of Sukchong, he was specially commended by the government for his outstanding famine relief efforts. 25. Kaeryŏng: a district in Kimch’ŏn, North Kyŏngsang province.

984

book XII

he carried out relief and the situation was under control, vagrant people who had abandoned their homes returned to their places, and his outstanding success became a model for the neighboring districts. When he was transferred to the magistracy of Sŏngju, all the residents of Kaeryŏng, including old men and children, came out to see him off. The crowd was so large that it covered hills and fields. Holding the sedan chair of the magistrate, they said in tears, “Unless Your Honor saved us, we would have become starved ghosts by now.” The following happened when Nam Tuch’ŏm became magistrate of Yŏngam. The treasury of the district at that time was virtually empty due to the frequent replacement of magistrates. When Nam fi rst assumed his office, the rice for his meals had to be borrowed from civilians. Nam immediately started working on improving the fi nancial situation and fi nally succeeded. When he made a trip to Seoul to bring his old mother [to live with him], the residents who were worried that he might not return to the district surrounded his horse and said, “Leave here some of your important traveling baggage so that we can be assured of your return.” The way that the people felt about his appointment and departure, which was marked by gladness and disappointment, was as intense as this. It Is an Unspeakable Shame for the Magistrate during His Departure to Encounter the Rebukes and Slanders of the People, and Thereby a Bad Rumor Spreads Afar. History of the Northern Dynasties stated: “Because the custom of Qingzhou is vulgar and evil, the people all carry bricks on their chests and pretend to obey when a new magistrate arrives and hurl the bricks at him when he departs upon finishing his term. So the people change their attitude faster than flipping their hands. Hence a popular song in the capital city says, ‘When there are no convicts in the jail, there are no people from Qingzhou.’ When Li Yanshi  was appointed prefect of Qingzhou, the king admonished him, ‘Since the people over there secretly carry bricks, you should be careful in discharging your duties.’ ” Essays of Tasan stated: “There is a cliff located about 30 li north of Haenam District that faces the main road. Whenever avaricious magistrates depart after finishing their terms, the clerks or the people, hiding themselves on the cliff and 26. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Yŏang. Starting his career as inspector (tosa) of the State Tribunal, he served as district magistrate of Changsŏng. He also served as an aide to the famine relief commissioner of Kyŏngsang Province and eventually rose to the third minister of taxation. 27. Unknown.

Departure

985

looking down, rebuke in detail the wrongdoings of the departing magistrates. Worried that the shouts of the people might be heard and problems might occur, those who guard the carriages of the magistrates run quickly when they pass by this cliff. Thus they named the cliff Rebuking Rocks [Chilch’iam].” C H A P T E R  : T H E BAG G AG E OF T H E DE PA RT I NG M AGI S T R AT E

The Baggage of a Clean-Hearted Scholar Who Returns Home Looks Neat and Humble as if He Threw Away All Worldly Stuff. Although His Carriage Is Old and His Horse Lean, They Generate Fresh Air That Filters into the Heart of the People. When Zhang Kan of the Han dynasty served as prefect of Yuyang, being humane, he was benevolent to his subordinates, and his dignity, which was impressive, overpowered the gang of cunning people. When he crushed the rebel army of Gongsun Shu, the treasures that he seized were so massive that ten generations of his descendants could have used them for the rest of their lives. However, when he resigned from his office and returned to his old home, what he took was an old carriage and a single piece of baggage in it. Upon hearing this, the emperor [Guangwu] was deeply impressed. When Kong Fen of the Later Han dynasty departed from Guzang, a district he had served as magistrate, he took only a carriage and no property. When Lu Changyuan served as prefect of Ruzhou, he maintained his integrity. Afterward, when he left the district, he used two carriages. On his use of two carriages, he was known to make the following lamentation: “When my grandfather returned from Weizhou, he took only a single carriage, and even half of that carriage was fi lled with books. I can hardly come near his standard.” Song Kukch’ŏm happened to incur the hatred of Ch’oe I, a man in power, and was exiled to an island named Amt’ado because of a false accusation made by the latter. On the day of his departure all the people, including old men and 28. A rebel leader of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Ziyang. At the end of the Western Han dynasty he raised a rebellion in Chengdu and proclaimed himself emperor after capturing the Shu and Bo regions. However, he was defeated and killed in 36 A.D. by Emperor Guangwu. 29. His courtesy name was Junyu. When he was young, he learned Chronicle of Zuo from Liu Xin. He maintained extreme integrity when he served in public office. 30. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Yongzhi. His grandfather, Liu Yuqing, served as investigating censor. 31. An official of the mid-Kory period. In 1226 he repelled the invading army of the Jin dynasty (Jurchen), leading an army of ten thousand soldiers. He also served as fourth censor and minister of punishments, as well as holding other positions. 32. An island in Sinan County, South Chŏlla Province.

986

book XII

children, cried out, “O Heaven! What did our magistrate do? If he leaves us, how can we survive?” Then they tried to block his way until escorting guards loudly rebuked them. At his departure his wife and children had to leave the district, but the horses they had prepared were only three, so some of them walked on foot. Although the residents begged them to delay their departure for one more day, they refused, and when the residents tried to hire men and horses to escort them, Song’s wife declined, saying, “Since the head of the family has been exiled, his wife and children are also all guilty. How can we cause troubles to both men and horses?” The residents kept begging them to stay longer, but she would not accept their favor to the end. Admiring her integrity, they said, “She is indeed a spouse worthy of our noble magistrate.” Ch’oe Sŏk of the Koryŏ dynasty early in his career became magistrate of Sŭngp’yŏng. According to the old custom of Sŭngp’yŏng, the magistrate who was replaced and departed was always provided with eight horses of the highest quality. When the district offered him eight horses according to its old custom, Ch’oe Sŏk said, “Any horses will do if they can carry me to Seoul, so do not bother to find excellent ones.” As soon as he arrived home in Seoul, he sent all those horses back. When the residents declined to accept them, he also said, “You decline to accept the horses because you think I am actually greedy! When my mare was in your district, it gave birth to a colt and I brought it home. Yes, I could not resist it. You must have noticed what you saw and have come to believe that I just pretended not to be interested in the horses even though I desired to have them.” Then he also sent his colt back with them. Thereafter the custom of offering horses to departing magistrates disappeared. Later the residents of Sŭngp’yŏng erected a stone monument and called it Eight Horses Monument [P’almabi]. (History of Koryŏ records, “The old custom of Sŭngp’yŏng was that departing magistrates were provided with eight horses, assistant magistrates with seven horses, and scribes with six horses, and those horses were selected by the departing officials themselves.”) The following passage is in the Monograph of Sŭngp’yŏng County [Sŭngp’yŏnggun chi]: “As time passed, the stone monument was destroyed, but Ch’oe Wŏnu  erected it once again and composed a poem on it: ‘I am ashamed to say that I spent all my days in frequenting the land of Sŭngp’yŏng and entertaining officials and guests, taking away the time of agriculture from the people. Nevertheless, do not say that I accomplished nothing. I have raised Magistrate Ch’oe’s Eight Horses Monument once again.’ ” 33. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of King Ch’ungnyŏl. The Eight Horses Monument was built by the roadside south of Yŏnja Bridge, located outside Sunchŏn Fortress. 34. An old name of modern Sunch’ŏn, a city in South Chŏlla Province. 35. Seoul here indicates Kaesŏng, the capital of the Koryŏ dynasty. 36. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Ch’ungmok.

Departure

987

When the Baggage of the Departing Magistrate Has No Newly Made Chests or Cabinets or Locally Produced Jades and Silk, It Can Be Called the Baggage of a CleanHearted Scholar Who Returns Home. When Xuan Ni of the Ming dynasty became surveillance commissioner [xianshi], he discharged his duty with integrity and was very strict. When he was appointed minister of justice in the years of Tianshun and had an interview with the emperor before his departure, the emperor asked him, “Earlier I heard that the baggage of a departing investigation commissioner [lienshi] of Zhejiang was only two bamboo chests. Was that you?” Xuan Ni bowed his head deeply and expressed his gratitude. Lu Guimeng lived in Gusu, and there was a large stone in front of his gate. Among his distant ancestors there was a man named Xu who served as magistrate of Yulin. When he returned home upon finishing his term, he had no baggage, so his boat was unable to cross the sea because it was too light. Therefore, the ferryman loaded a large stone in the boat for its safety. The people called it the Stone of Yulin [Yulinshi]. When Yi Yakdong returned home after serving as magistrate of Cheju Island, he intended to take only a leather whip that had been locally produced. Before he departed, however, he hung it on the gate of the yamen, saying, “That is also a product of Cheju.” The people of Cheju preserved the leather whip as if it were a treasure and hung it on the gate whenever new magistrates arrived. When the whip became old and was destroyed after many years, the residents of Cheju expressed their gratitude for Magistrate Yi by hanging his portrait on the spot where the whip had been. When the ship carry ing Yi Yakdong set sail for the mainland and advanced to the wide sea, it suddenly began to tilt sideways and turn around, which was very dangerous. Yi said, “My baggage carries nothing that is shameful. Is there anyone among my aides who brought anything disgraceful without my knowledge, and thus the deity now warns me against it?” Earlier the military officers of Cheju had learned that the departing magistrate had been selected as general, so they had secretly prepared a suit of armor for the magistrate as a gift and had entrusted it to those who accompanied him. His aides intended to tell him the truth after crossing the sea. When they now told him about it, he threw it into the sea.

37. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Luwang. He was better known as a recluse poet, as his pen names indicate: Jianghu Shanren, Master Puli, and Tainsuizi. 38. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Ch’unp’o, and his pen name Noch’on. He also served as fourth inspector, provincial navy commander of Kyŏngsang Province, governor of Chŏlla Province, and fi nally second minister of taxation. He was granted a posthumous title, P’yŏngjŏng.

988

book XII

Then the waves immediately calmed down, and the ship began to move smoothly. The sea where the incident took place is still called Armor-Th rowing Deep [T’ugapyŏn]. Yi Kwang, magistrate of Yŏnghŭng, was promoted and transferred to Kilju. When he departed, all he had with him were things like books and some items made of bamboo. He used to have hundreds of pieces of deerskin that he acquired through winter hunting, and they did not belong to the state. Although the residents requested that he take them all, he refused, only taking one piece. He did the same when he departed from Kilju but left the deerskin behind that he had brought from Yŏnghŭng. The following happened when Han Chi served as a local magistrate. Eighteen traveling horses were issued to departing magistrates at that time, but having little to carry, he used only two of them. Then he distributed the remaining horses to his aides, saying, “If I reduce my traveling horses, people will be suspicious that I am eager to make a name.” Earlier several of his aides had purchased Mongol horses; however, as the day of departure approached, they discussed selling them out of fear that they might harm the reputation of their chief. Upon hearing this, Han Chi said, “It is always common to purchase horses. Why should they be abandoned?” Then he ordered them to follow him, taking their horses with them. Some Magistrates Try to Demonstrate Their Integrity by Recklessly Throwing Away into Fire or Water the Things That Are Provided by Heaven, but Such an Act Is Contrary to the Way of Heaven. When Li Mian served as provincial military commander of Lingnan, he led his soldiers with integrity and diligence. When he was recalled by the court and returned home, he searched out all the pieces of baggage that the members of his family were taking with them and threw them all into the river, saying, “Do not let Wu Yinzhi mock me.” When Kong Ji of the Song dynasty served as magistrate, his two brothers returned home. Their baggage was so large that as many as ten boats had to be hired, and the baggage all consisted of silk, paper, mats, and so forth. Kong Ji ordered that all the baggage be gathered on the riverbank and burned. Then he said to his 39. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reign of Sŏnjo. His courtesy name was Samu, and his pen name Ugye. He also served as governor of Hamgyŏng Province, and of Chŏlla Province during the Imjin War. 40. An official of the Tang dynasty during the reigns of Suzong and Dezong. His courtesy name was Xuanqing. He served as grand councilor for over twenty years. 41. An official of the Eastern Jin dynasty who was famous for the episode of the “Spring of Greed.”

Departure

989

brothers, “How can you, who are called literati, behave like merchants when you return to your home?” When Li Qiangong returned home after serving as provincial military commander of Lingnan, he stopped the boat at a stone gate and searched out goods like horns of water buffaloes and ivories brought by the members of his household. He cast them away into the river and finally departed. In my observation, Book of Rites says, “Material objects are not necessarily the things that one should keep; however, it is wrong to discard them for nothing.” Why did Kong Ji and Li Qiangong not distribute them to the poor people in the riverside? That is certainly wrong. When Zhang Zhicai of the Song dynasty governed the district of Yangcheng, he discharged his duty with integrity and discretion, looking after the people. Before leaving his post, he visited the shrine of King Tang and composed a poem as follows: “Four springs have passed since I arrived to take my office, and I am not ashamed before either Heaven or the people. If the spirits know it, they will trust me. I am just as poor as when I first arrived.” Commenting on this poem, a superior man said, “The poem is close to making a boast of the poet himself.” The Best Thing Is That the Departing Magistrate Continues to Be Clean and Simple Just as When He First Took Office, Taking Away Nothing That Is Shameful to His Home. The Second Best Is That He Makes the Lives of His Family [as Well as of the People of His District or Hometown] Comfortable by Finding Means Appropriate for That Purpose. When Yang Chengzhai was transportation commissioner of Jiangdong, he saved his stipend, which amounted to 10,000 strings of copper cash, but left the money in the safe of the public treasury when he departed. His son, named Dongshan, when he defended the fortress of Wuyang, also donated 7,000 strings that he made by saving his stipend in order to pay off the taxes of common people. The rafters of his house were short, and the steps were made of dirt, so it resembled a cottage of an old man living in the countryside. It had never been repaired over three generations. When Shi Liangshu, the magistrate of Luling, visited Yang’s house near the end of his term, there was nothing in the house that did not generate his 42. Unknown. 43. “Liyun.” 44. Unknown. 45. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Mizhong. Liangshu was his courtesy name. When he returned home after serving as commandant of Xianning, his baggage was examined by his father because his father suspected that it looked unusually heavy. When it was opened, there was nothing but books. When he served as magistrate of Luling, he was praised for his good administration.

990

book XII

respect and admiration, whether he entered the gate or stood on the floor, so he had a painter draw Yang’s cottage. Every time Yang Tinghe returned home after finishing a term of office, he did a charitable work for the people of his hometown. At his first return he constructed a reservoir that supplied water to 10,000 qing of dry lands. Deeply grateful, the residents called the reservoir Academician’s Reservoir [Xueshiyan]. At his second return he contributed money for the construction of a pavilion and the repair of fortress walls. As soon as the construction was completed, the enemy invaded, and the reinforced fortress saved thousands of lives. At his last return he established so-called righteous lands in the northwest of the town in order to help his relatives and poor people. Thus he returned home three times and carried out three good works for the people. Second Minister Yun Kwangan also carried out charity work after serving as governor of Kyŏngsang Province. When he returned home, he established righteous estates and provided books for his relatives who needed help. Zheng Xuan stated: “The work of charity carried out for all people is called shiye; the work of charity only for relatives, chanye; and the work of charity exclusively for the sake of one’s families and relatives, causing harm to others, yuanye. If one engages only in chanye, people will complain; if one carries out chanye extremely to the degree of yuanye, Heaven will kill him.” Zheng Xuan also stated: “To make a great fortune in an unjust way and leave the debts of resentment to one’s offspring is not a blessing. To erect shrines for spirits and ancestors and provide help to relatives, as well as to those who are in need, is indeed commendable. However, if one is too eager to do good works, one is far more likely to commit wrongs. Hence, would it not be advisable to accumulate virtuous acts and let them generate salutary effects so that one can stay longer in office and become affluent along with the people in the course of time?” C H A P T E R : T H E PE OPL E ’ S R E QU E S T T H AT T H E M AGI S T R AT E S TAY L ONG E R

It Happens That the People, Grieving the Departure of Their Magistrate, Block His Way and Plead with Him to Stay Longer. Since Instances like This Are Recorded in History Books, Identifying Models of Shining Conduct by Magistrates for Future Generations to Follow, We Cannot Dismiss Them Simply as Displays of Emotion. The following happened when Di Wulun of the Later Han dynasty was prefect of Huiji. His wife personally prepared his meals. When his term expired, he de46. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Jiamei, and his posthumous title Wenzhong. He served as grand preceptor of the heir apparent.

Departure

991

parted, and the people grabbed the bridle of his horse and cried out, “Where are you going, abandoning us?” When Meng Chang, prefect of Hepu, departed from his post, his carriage could not advance because clerks and residents held his carriage, requesting that he stay longer, so he left secretly at night by a merchant’s boat. Hou Ba, prefect of Huaiyang during the Later Han dynasty, was recalled by the court and departed for the capital. Crying aloud, the people blocked the carriage of the royal messenger, lying down on the road and pleading with him to let their prefect stay one more year. Then they told the women to stop feeding their babies and abandon them because they would not be able to raise them once Prefect Hou left them. When Zeng Zigu [Zeng Gong] departed after administering Shouzhou with benevolence, the residents of Shouzhou detained him for several days so that he could not leave. So he left secretly, taking a horse and two soldiers with him. When he passed through other districts, there were some Shouzhou residents who still kept following him. The following happened when Yu Ch’ŏl served as magistrate of Yech’ŏn County. Soon after he took office, the district was administered well, and a good omen like two ears of barley sprouting per stalk appeared. Once he left the district to visit his parents, but because he wanted to resign from his office, he did not return to his post for many days. Therefore, the residents gathered at the gate of his house every day and requested that he return to their district. He said, “The district has a great deal of debt. I want to resign because I do not like to harass the people to pay off that debt.” Upon hearing this, the residents urged one another to make contributions and paid off the entire debt. The following happened when Yu Chŏngwŏn served as magistrate of Chain. Intending to resign from his office, he took leave and prepared for his departure. Then the residents kept watch on the yamen for three days and nights to prevent him from leaving. Therefore, he let his family stay behind for the time being and submitted his resignation as many as three times. The governor, however, refused to accept it, saying, “When the people are at a loss like children who lost their loving parents, it is not right for you to follow your personal interest, discarding the public one.” When he returned to the district, having no choice, the residents went out as far as the outskirts of the district and welcomed him. 47. His courtesy name was Junfang, and his posthumous title Ai. He also served as director of the Imperial Secretariat and grand minister of education. 48. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Pangsuk, and his pen name Ch’wiong. He also served as governor of Kyŏnggi Province and as inspector general.

992

book XII

When the People Run to the Royal Palace to Make a Request That Their Magistrate Be Allowed to Stay Longer, the King, as a Rule, Grants Their Request. This Is a Great Way of Promoting Goodness Practiced in the Old Days. Kou Xun of the Later Han dynasty served as prefect of Yingchuan and was recalled by the court to be appointed chamberlain for the imperial insignia [zhijinwu]. When he passed through Yingchuan, escorting the emperor, the residents blocked his way and requested that the emperor allow Prefect Kou to stay with them for one more year. The emperor granted their request. When Chong Gao served as prefect of Liangzhou and was recalled by the court, the clerks and residents ran to the court and requested that their prefect be allowed to stay one more year. When he was transferred to Hanyang as prefect, the residents, including both males and females, followed him to Hanyang to see him off, and when he departed, the line of people who came out to pay their respects to him extended as long as 10 li. When Wei Deshen of the Sui dynasty was transferred to Guantao as magistrate after governing the district of Gui, the elders of Gui District ran to the royal palace and requested that their magistrate be allowed to stay longer. When their request was granted, common people, as well as literati, all ran out into the streets and congratulated one another, shouting for joy. Li Junshi of the Tang dynasty, serving as magistrate of Liquan, succeeded in producing harmony among the people. One day the emperor went out to hunt west of the fortress. When he gradually advanced to the Wei River, he discovered that several dozen elders were offering sacrifices in a Buddhist temple. Asked the reason that they did so, they replied, “Since Li Junshi, magistrate of Liquan, is near the end of his term even though he performed an outstanding job in his administration, we visited the office of the prefecture to make a request that he would not be replaced and transferred to another place, and now we are also trying to rely on the grace of Buddha to keep him to ourselves.” Without making any response, the emperor returned to his palace and visibly wrote down the name of Li Junshi on the folding screen in his room. Afterward the Secretariat submitted the names of the candidates for the district of Liquan twice, but the emperor erased them all. The following year, the position of prefect of Huizhou became vacant, and the Secretariat requested that it be allowed to be filled. The emperor

49. His courtesy name was Ziyi, and his posthumous title Wei. He also served as prefect of Henan. 50. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Jingbo. He also served as attendant censor. 51. Unknown. 52. An official of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Xuanzong (846–859).

Departure

993

wrote down, “Li Junshi, magistrate of Liquan, is the right person.” Officials wondered what led the emperor to choose Li Junshi for that position but later learned what had happened (this happened during the reign of Xuanzong). When Wang Hae of the Koryŏ dynasty was magistrate of Chinju, the clerks were afraid of him, and the people were eager to obey him. When he was later appointed metropolitan governor of Tongdo and transferred, the residents of Chinju shed tears because they wanted him to stay longer. They eventually appealed to the court and requested that their magistrate be allowed to remain one more year. Their request was granted. When Yi Yubaek  was assistant district magistrate of Kyoju (modern Hoeyang), the commissioner [kamch’angsa] in charge of supervising the state granaries of the Northeast Circuit [Tongbungno] reported to the king, “Yi Yubaek is the most outstanding of several district magistrates for repairing fortresses and reservoirs, as well as equipment.” The clerks and residents of Yŏnsŏng and Changyang said, “Yi Yubaek effectively promoted agriculture and provided timely relief to the people. Although he is supposed to be replaced because his term of office has expired, we would like to request that Your Majesty allow him to stay on in our district.” Impressed by these reports, the king turned his name over to the Ministry of Personnel. If the Reputation of the Magistrate Is So Great That a Neighboring District Is Anxious to Have Him as Its Magistrate, or Two Districts Vie with Each Other to Invite Him, That Will Be a True Testimony of His Value as a Benevolent Magistrate. Xiang Min earned the reputation that every district that he had governed prospered. When the position of prefect of Caizhou was vacant, the residents made a request to the royal envoy who visited their district, “Please send us Xiang Min for only three years.” The following happened when Du Yan of the Song dynasty governed Ganzhou. Before even a year had passed since he took office, the pacification commissioner, recognizing his talent in administration, made him also take charge of the district of Fengxiang on a temporary basis. The residents of the two districts had a quarrel on the border of their adjoining districts. One group said, “This person is our prefect. Why do you take him away?” The other group replied, “He is now ours. What could be a problem with you?” 53. Modern Kyŏngju. 54. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Munjong. Th is episode is found in History of Koryŏ . 55. Modern Hamgyŏng Province and part of Kangwŏn Province. 56. Unknown.

994

book XII

The following happened when Yi Chŏngak  was magistrate of Sŏsan. At that time the king [Hyŏnjong] visited the local hot spring every year. Although there was a royal order that all the preparations for the royal trip should be made simple, it still cost concerned districts a great deal of effort and expense. Because Yi managed the problems so smoothly, clerks and residents hardly even realized that the royal carriage was arriving soon. The court eventually gave him a promotion to be magistrate of P’aju. The residents of Sŏsan grieved losing him as if they were losing a benevolent mother. They gathered and complained, “Why does the government have to take him away from here only to give him away to somewhere else?” Good Administration Is Such That the People Feel Comfortable and Anxious to Keep Their Magistrate as Long as They Can Even if He Stays in Office for a Long Time and Becomes Old. Liu Gang governed Ningzhou for as many as thirty-four years, and that was because the residents wanted him to stay longer every time his term expired. When Emperor Renzong bestowed wine and food on him, the people regarded it as a great honor. When he finally requested that he be replaced because of his old age during the years of Zhengtong, the residents fi lled the roads and bade farewell to him, shedding tears. When he died, the residents of Ningzhou established his memorial tablet in the shrine of Di Renjie. The following happened when Shi Chengzu was magistrate of Wenshang. His administration was marked by integrity, fairness, generosity, and simplicity. In the seventh year of his reign [1409] Emperor Chengzu, while taking an inspection trip to the north, dispatched secret inspectors to counties and districts and ordered them to report to him on how magistrates were doing and whether their administration was benevolent. They returned and reported that Shi Chengzu was the most outstanding in his achievements. As a result, the emperor promoted him to prefect of Jining with a commendation composed of ten lines [which was unusually long] and stamped with his imperial seal and had him concurrently govern both Jining and Wenshang. Furthermore, he bestowed a large jar of wine and a suit of clothes embroidered with gold, as well as copper currency of 1,000 guan. Afterward, whenever he was transferred from one place to another, the people requested that he be allowed to remain longer. He died at his post after serving 57. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Sui, and his pen name Aŭn. He also served as magistrate of Chiksan and Yŏnan. 58. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhengfeng. He also served as ju nior compiler. 59. An official of the Ming dynasty. He was famous for being an upright official.

Departure

995

for twenty-nine years. Shedding tears, the residents buried him in the south of their fortress and regularly made sacrifices to his spirit. In my observation, local officials in the age of Tang and Yü were evaluated three times during their nine-year term of office and were promoted or dismissed according to the results, but starting from the Han dynasty, the term of office was reduced to six years, and the successive dynasties followed the example set by the Han. Our country also adopted this system, fi xing six years as the term of office of county and district magistrates. However, the term of the magistrates higher in rank was fi xed at three years, and that of governor at two years. During the Ming dynasty, however, the term of office for prefects and magistrates was mostly fi xed at nine years. This is indeed an outstanding system that allows people to be selected according to their suitability for par ticular offices and makes the residents comfortable by stabilizing the local administration. Despite this limit of the official term, since magistrates like Liu Gang and Shi Chengzu stayed in office for almost thirty years because of the requests of the residents, this is indeed one of the farsighted policies throughout history that lead the upper and lower classes in society to trust each other. The officials in the personnel department of our times, anxious only to show their favor, recall the inspectors [taesin] who go out to serve in the local governments only after a year. Because of this, those who become magistrates do not try to make long-standing plans and policies except exploiting the people for their personal gain. This practice is quite problematic compared with the law of the Ming dynasty. In my observation, the age limits for the appointment of local magistrates at the present time are sixty-four in the case of those who are below third rank and sixty-seven in the case of those who are above third rank. This is designed to let them complete the term of their office, which is either six or three years, before they reach the age of seventy; however, since it happens that magistrates all differ individually in energy, it will also be advisable that ministers and the officials in charge of personnel specially recommend a person to the king if the candidate is distinguished for his reputation and achievements. If the Magistrate Is Reappointed Because of His Outstanding Achievements, as Well as the Residents’ Demand for Him, He Will Have the Honor of Being Recorded in History. The following happened when Huang Ba became prefect of Yingchuan. The emperor bestowed a parasol that covered his carriage, ordering that its height be extended by 1 zhang, and made his virtue known to the world by having the vehicle of his escorting officer equipped with a front bumper that was designed to 60. Yao and Shun, ancient sage emperors and the founders of Chinese civilization.

996

book XII

ward off mud. Because he was generous outwardly and well informed inwardly, he gained the support of clerks and residents. As a result, the number of households in his district increased every year, and no one could beat him in achievement. Thus he was recalled by the court and appointed metropolitan governor. Some time later, however, he became involved in a certain matter and was appointed prefect of Yingchuan once again. He served as prefect for eight years altogether and governed the district extremely well. In my observation, Huang Ba governed Yingchuan twice, Wei Xiang Henan twice, and Kou Xun Henei twice. Chen Fan also governed Lean twice, Tao Kan Jingzhou twice, and Guo Ji Bingzhou twice. The reason that these officials were able to govern their districts twice was because either the residents made a strong request or the government appointed them, recognizing their outstanding achievements and reputations. Xu Rong during his magistracy of Gaocheng left office because of the death of his parent. When the period of mourning was over, the residents of Gaocheng requested that the new magistrate be dismissed and their former magistrate Xu Rong be returned to them once again, and their request was granted by Emperor Rongzong (see History of Ming ). Kang Yanmin governed the district of Tiantai and achieved notable results. In the early years of Yongle’s reign, however, he was dismissed and returned home. When the royal inspector arrived in Tiantai in the fi rst year [1424] of Hongxi, over two hundred residents came to see him and said, “Since Kang Yanmin administered our district with integrity and fairness years ago, we would like to request that the government send him back to our Tiantai District to satisfy the wishes of the people here.” When this was reported, Emperor Xuanzong was deeply impressed and said, “I can imagine how well Kang Yanmin administered the district since the residents still think of him even though he left them twenty years ago.” Then he appointed Kang magistrate of Jiangning. When Xie Yan [pen name Zixiang] was district magistrate of Qingtian, he kept winning the highest score in his job per formance during his nine-year magistracy. When he was transferred to other places, the residents ran to his 61. An official of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Ruoweng, and his posthumous title Xian. He also served as censor in chief. 62. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Xihou. He served as prefect of Yingchuan. 63. An official of the Ming dynasty. 64. An official of the Ming dynasty. He also served as governor of Baling Commandery. 65. A county in Zhejiang Province. 66. A district in Jiangsu Province.

Departure

997

superior and requested that he be allowed to stay longer. When his superior reported this to the court, the king was impressed and immediately appointed him district magistrate of Chuzhou; furthermore, he also had him govern the district of Qingtian concurrently. When he governed Chuzhou, his reputation and achievements increased further, and miracles, such as the disappearance of tigers and the death of locusts, took place. It also happened that an ox that was designated to be slaughtered broke away and bowed its head before him as if it were pleading for its life. Xie Yan paid for the ox out of his own stipend and had it returned to its owner. Wan Guan governed Yanzhou for nine years, and his accomplishments during this period of his term were the most outstanding under Heaven. He left his office when his parent passed away, but the residents of Yanzhou waited until his mourning period ended and submitted a petition that he be allowed to return to their district. The residents of Jinqu also submitted a similar petition to have him as their magistrate. Impressed by these requests, the court appointed him to the post of Pingyang, the old capital of Emperor Yao, and to everyone’s surprise, a medicinal herb called zhicao sprouted in the shrine of the emperor. Xue Shen governed the district of Zhangqing and quit his office when his parent passed away. In the first year [1424] of Hongxi the residents of Zhangqing learned that his mourning period was over and ran up to the capital to request his return. Minister of Personnel Jian Yi said, “It is already a long time since he was replaced. If we grant the request of the people, we have to replace the magistrate once again.” The emperor said, “Since the reason that the government appoints magistrates is to gain the heart of the people, what harm would there be even if we change the magistrates many times?” Then he ordered Xue Shen to return to Zhangqing. The following happened when Ch’oe Ch’ŏkgyŏng of the Koryŏ dynasty became magistrate of T’amna [Cheju Island]. Because he worked to make the people’s lives better, implementing reforms to get rid of abusive exercises of power, the people all felt comfortable with the way he governed, but after he departed, the people of T’amna revolted. The surveillance commissioner of Chŏlla Province submitted an urgent report to the king. He stated, “The people of 67. An official of the Ming dynasty during the reign of Yongle. He was greatly praised for his benevolent administration when he governed Yanzhou. He also served as provincial administration commissioner (baozhengshi) of Shanxi Province. 68. His courtesy name was Xuanzhi, and his posthumous title Zhongding. He also served as Secretariat drafter. 69. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reigns of Ŭijong and Myŏngjong. He also served as vice minister of rites and as director of the Palace Library.

998

book XII

T’amna say that they rose in rebellion because the magistrate and his aides had exploited them, treating them cruelly. They say, however, that they are willing to lay down their arms if they can have Ch’oe Ch’ŏkgyŏng as their magistrate.” The king replied, “How can I not employ a benevolent official like him?” Then he immediately summoned Ch’oe to his royal palace and appointed him magistrate of T’amna, bestowing silk on him as a prize. Upon hearing the news of his coming, the residents immediately prepared small boats and welcomed him. When Ch’oe’s entourage approached the border, they laid down their spears and lined up in a row to pay their respects to him. Greeting their old magistrate, they said, “Since you have arrived, we are all saved.” They now looked free and comfortable. Yi Paekgyŏm of the Koryŏ dynasty, magistrate of Cheju, governed the island with benevolence. After his departure bandits named Sayong and Kŭmsŏng revolted with their men, driving out clans of the local nobility like Sŏngju and Wangja during the years of King Ch’ungsuk. The government tried to suppress them but had difficulty finding the right person to accomplish the mission. Then the gang of bandits all said, “If the government sends men like Yi Paekgyŏm and Song Yŏng to pacify us, how can we dare to disobey the authorities?” When the government dispatched Yi Paekgyŏm and Song Yŏng and pacified the rebels, peace was soon restored. Ch’ae Chŏng of the Koryŏ dynasty once served as secretary of the magistrate of Kyŏngju. Later the people of Kyŏngju, along with those of Yŏngju, revolted. Although the government discussed sending a pacification commissioner, it could not fi nd the right person. Then it learned that the people of Kyŏngju greatly admired Ch’ae Chŏng, so it appointed him vice prefect of Kyŏngju. When Ch’ae Chŏng went down to his post alone, riding a horse, the people who heard of his arrival calmed down, and their disturbance finally ended. Yu Sŏng once served as magistrate of Naju and governed the district with benevolence. During the reign of Sŏnjo the residents of Naju visited the royal palace and submitted a memorial, requesting that Yu Sŏng be reappointed as their magistrate. The king granted their request.

70. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reigns of Ch’ungnyŏl (1274–1308) and Ch’ungsuk (1313–1330; 1332–1339). He served as magistrate of Haeju and vice director of the Royal Secretariat (tongji miljiksasa). 71. The titles of the Ko and Yang clans, who traditionally dominated Cheju as the local nobility. The titles were granted to them after they paid tribute to the Silla kingdom. 72. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of King Ch’ungsuk. 73. Originally a local clerk, he passed the civil ser vice examination and rose to the position of vice commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs (Chumirwŏn pusa). 74. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period.

Departure

999

Magistrates Who Left Office Because of the Death of Their Parents Are Sometimes Reappointed Either during Their Mourning Period or Afterward. The following happened when Xiang Zhong became surveillance commissioner of Shanxi Province. When famine broke out in the province, he released the grain in the state granary to the starving people without even waiting for permission from the court, and the residents were deeply touched by his benevolence. Later they learned that Xiang Zhong’s stepmother had passed away, so they visited the imperial palace to request that he be allowed to stay in his office. Then the court ordered him to quit his mourning and return to his post. The following year he was recalled to be appointed chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review. The people of Shanxi Province once again visited the imperial palace to request that he be allowed to stay, and the emperor granted their request. Very pleased with his return, soldiers and civilians welcomed the commissioner by burning incense. During the years of Yongle’s reign, Sun Hao governed Shaoyang and left his office because of the death of his parent. When the surveillance commissioner praised his benevolent administration, Emperor Xuanzong was impressed and immediately ordered his reinstatement. When Liu Yong was prefect of Jingzhou, his father passed away, and he resigned from his office. When the soldiers and civilians, whose number amounted to over eighteen thousand, requested that Liu Yong be allowed to stay on, Emperor Yingzong ordered him to put an end to his mourning and return to his old post. The following happened when Sheng Yong governed the district of Shulu. Hearing that Sheng Yong was appointed their new magistrate, the men of power in the district admonished one another, saying, “Since this man is the one who earlier impeached Regional Commander Shi, we must be careful.” Not long after his arrival, however, Sheng Yong left his office because of the death of his mother. Although the people tried to keep him from departing, they were unable to make him stay. Waiting until his mourning period was over, the people ran to the royal palace to make a request, and as a result, Sheng Yong was made to return to his old post. Liu Boji governed the district of Dangshan but left his office before his term was over because of the death of his parent. When he finished his mourning, the residents of Dangshan visited the imperial palace to request 75. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Jinchen, and his posthumous title Xiangyi. He also served as minister of war. 76. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Kexiu. 77. An official of the Ming dynasty. He is mentioned in History of Ming.

1000

book XII

his reinstatement. The Ministry of Personnel said, “It is already two years since the new magistrate was appointed to Dangshan.” The emperor replied, “If the new magistrate is better than the old one, the people will not miss the old one. Since they still think about their old magistrate, the old one must be better than the new one.” He at last ordered that the new magistrate be replaced with the old one. When Sŏn Hwa became district magistrate of Yŏsan, he administered with benevolence and dignity, so clerks and residents gladly followed him. When he departed because of the death of his father, the residents submitted a petition for his return, and later he was reinstated to his old post. The Offense of the Person Who Secretly Conspires with Clerks and Recruits Wicked People in Order to Submit a Petition to the Royal Court for the Purpose of His Reinstatement Is Extremely Serious Because He Deceives the King and His Superiors. Liu Di served as commissioner in chief of the Commercial Tax Office [Shuikesi] of Yongning. When his term was nearly over, he invited and entertained local elders, slaughtering goats and serving wine. Then he asked them to submit a petition on his behalf for the extension of his term. So the elders went to the imperial palace and requested that Liu Di be allowed to stay on in his office. However, his scheme was discovered, and Emperor Xuanzong was indignant and sent him to jail. When Wang Ju was associate administrator of Hanzhong, he also held a banquet and asked the clerks to petition for the extension of his term, which was almost finished at the time. When the prefect reported this to the court, Emperor Xuanzong was indignant and punished Wang along with the clerks. Afterward, if the people requested the extension of their magistrate’s official term, the request was first transferred to the concerned department in the central government and investigated before a final decision was made.

78. An official of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sejong. He also served as magistrate of Yongsan. 79. An official of the Ming dynasty. Although his name appears in History of Ming, no details on his life are known other than those noted here. 80. An agency established both on the level of territorial administration and that of the district that carried out work like overseeing trade, issuing trade permits, and collecting various kinds of taxes imposed on merchants (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 439). 81. An official of the Ming dynasty.

Departure

1001

C H A P T E R : M I NOR OF F E NSE S A N D FA I LU R E S

It Was a Good Custom of the Old Days That the People Who Felt Sorry for Their Magistrate Who Committed Minor Offenses for Some Technical Reasons Begged for Forgiveness from the King on His Behalf. The director of merit awards [sixun] in Rites of the Zhou stated: “Ser vices rendered to the people through instruction in agriculture are called yong; ser vices rendered in building irrigation channels and reclaiming land, shi; and ser vices rendered in legislating laws and administering the people, zhi.” Th is is the meaning of the sentence in the code of Tangyu that reads, “The ser vices rendered by an individual are revealed through his carriage and dress.” In the case of the eight circumstances for the mitigation of punishment [bayifa] carried out by the vice minister of justice [xiaosikou], “The fourth is ability [yineng], the fift h ser vice [yigong], and the seventh diligence [yiqin].” The purpose of making all these laws is to encourage a man of ability by forgiving [his offenses] for ten generations to come. If the people are indeed sincere in their love and respect for their magistrate and their plea for forgiveness is pitiable enough to move one’s heart, would it also not be advisable to forgive him in accordance with the wish of the people even if his offenses are heavy and serious? These days, political factions have been formed and are flourishing in all corners of our society, slandering opponents and snaring them in traps. Therefore, once one is unfortunate enough to be caught in such a trap, which is usually set up under the pretext of the law, the people who try to save him are also caught in the same trap and are charged with all kinds of offenses. Since, for this reason, the people who feel sorry for their unfortunate magistrate cannot dare to express what they feel, even if they wish to take the punishment on his behalf, one can see that a serious moral degeneration has taken place in our time. It is relatively easier for the residents, who already experienced the administration of the accused magistrate, to seek forgiveness for him. Sometimes it happens that the residents 82. The ser vices rendered to the state, according to Rites of Zhou, are divided into six grades: those for contributing to founding a dynasty, which are called xun; those for the preservation of the state, gong; those for instructing the people in agriculture and other ways of making a living, as Hou Ji did, yong; those for building irrigation channels and reclaiming land, as Emperor Yu (Yu the Great) did, shi; those for legislating laws to bring about ideal governance, as Gao Yao did, li; and those for defeating the enemy, as Han Xin or Chen Ping did, duo. Gao Yao was a political advisor of Yu the Great, the founder of the Xia dynasty. 83. The eight circumstances indicate the articles of the ancient law that allowed the punishment of those who served in public office and rendered ser vice to the state to be remitted. 84. Ability (yineng) indicates talent; ser vice (yigong) indicates achievements like founding or preserving the dynasty or the king, saving the country from danger, and the like; and diligence (yiqin) indicates hard work in public ser vice.

1002

book XII

of the place of exile present a petition to the court that the exiled magistrate be appointed as their own after hearing of his reputation as a great administrator. However, since everyone is scared of getting caught in a net and does not dare to make a move first, how lamentable this is! Therefore, there must be a law to deal with this problem, and if it happens that a large number of people plead for the pardon of the accused magistrate, their plea needs to be taken care of no matter how serious the magistrate’s offenses are if his ability and talent are truly commendable. If the magistrate recruits the people to mislead the king, his trick can easily be detected, and therefore, it is not worth worrying about this. When Zhao Guanghan became metropolitan governor, he suppressed powerful people by his dignity and uncovered corruption without fail. However, later he became involved in a certain matter and was imprisoned. Then a massive crowd of people, including clerks and residents, ran to the royal palace and cried out for his pardon. A man said to the emperor, “Since I cannot be of any help to the local administration even if I am alive, I wish that Your Majesty allow me to die on behalf of Governor Zhao and let him govern and nourish the people.” Zhao Guanghan eventually died, but the people still praise him and cherish his memory. When Wei Xiang of the Han dynasty was prefect of Henan, he prohibited cunning and tricks, so the powerful people in his district were afraid of him and followed his order. However, someone falsely accused him of executing an innocent person, and his case was turned over to his superior. A few thousand rotating soldiers of Henan, who lived in the capital, blocked the way of the general in chief [Huo Guang] and requested that he pardon the offenses of their prefect, volunteering to serve in the army one more year. Furthermore, ten thousand of the sick and aged of Henan gathered before the gate of the royal palace and tried to submit their petition directly. The general in chief finally sent Wei Xiang to the prison of the imperial guards, but Wei was soon pardoned and later was reinstated as prefect of Henan. When Wang Zun was appointed metropolitan governor, the disturbances of bandits were stabilized within a month. However, he was demoted because of the impeachment he had brought against Kuang Heng and was eventually dismissed because of his illness. Gong Chengxing, an elder [sanlao] of Hu District, 85. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zimeng, and his posthumous title Xuancheng. As minister of war (dasima) and general in chief (dajiangjun), he was effectively in command of the government and powerful enough to depose a new emperor (the prince of Changyi) and replace him with another (Emperor Xuan) when the former fell short of his expectations. His action was believed to be motivated by concern for the good of the state. 86. An official of the Former Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhigui. He served as ju nior mentor (shaochuan) of the crown prince and state councilor and was invested with the title of Marquis of Lean.

Departure

1003

as well as others, presented a petition on behalf of Wang Zun. They said, “Because of Wang Zun, the disturbances of bandits were all eliminated, and the powerful and cunning people were duly punished. Despite those accomplishments, Wang Zun is now charged with cunning and craftiness and has finally been driven out. The charge against him seems to indicate that Wang Zun was benevolent for three years but became wicked all of a sudden. How can one person be like that, and how can the charge brought against him be fair?” Upon reading their memorial, the emperor reinstated Wang Zun as prefect of Xuzhou. Wang Yun of the Jin dynasty became magistrate of Wu Commandery and successfully carried out famine relief when famine broke out. However, he was charged with some sort of wrongdoing and dismissed. When the literati and residents of the county ran to the imperial palace and appealed to the emperor about the injustice that Wang Yun had to suffer, the emperor specially relegated Wang Yun to the position of prefect of Jinling. When Gao Dounan served as district magistrate of Dingyuan, he was able to administer his district with benevolence because of his outstanding talent and good judgment. However, he was reprimanded for being involved in some sort of incident along with nine others, including Yu Yancheng, prefect of Yongzhou. The elders of the district hurriedly ran to the imperial palace and reported the good administration carried out by Gao Dounan to the emperor. Impressed by their appeal, Emperor Taizu bestowed clothes and paper money on Gao Dounan, had him return to his district, and also provided the elders who had come to appeal with traveling expenses. After Gao and others returned to their posts, their achievements became even more distinguished. Later a list of officials distinguished for integrity was announced, and it included the name of Gao Dounan. The emperor also included Gao’s name in a record titled “Record for Bringing the Goodness of Administrators to Public Notice” [“Zhangshan bangsheng zhengji”]. When Yu Yancheng was in charge of the prefecture of Anlu, he was arrested for failing to meet the deadlines for tax collection. Then the elders of the district prostrated themselves before the palace and begged for his reinstatement. Emperor Taizu not only granted their request but also held a banquet for Yu Yancheng, as well as the elders. 87. An official of the Eastern Jin dynasty during the reigns of Emperors Xiaowu and An. His courtesy name was Shuren. He served as prefect of Wuxing and left general. He became the fatherin-law of Emperor Xiaowu and was posthumously invested with the title of Marquis of Jianchang District. 88. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongji. He also served as prefect of Xinxing. 89. He also served as prefect of Anlu and as salt distribution commissioner (yanyunshi) of Henan.

1004

book XII

The following happened when Li Xiang was prefect of Dongpingzhou. Emperor Chengzu in his late years often undertook military campaigns to capture the north, so he made the magistrates of Shandong mobilize the people to transport military provisions. Since the supply line was quite long, many people died while they were engaged in transporting the provisions; however, there were no deaths among the people from Dongpingzhou. Then a certain man falsely accused Li Xiang of extorting property from the people before the Provincial Administration Commission. The residents of the district, who were as many as 1,300, appealed to the touring censorial inspector [xunan yushi], the Provincial Administration Commission, and the surveillance commissioner and let the authorities know how unfairly their prefect was charged with wrongdoings. Furthermore, seventy elders among them ran to the palace and with tears revealed that their prefect was falsely accused by a cunning man. In addition, another group of elderly people, who numbered ninety, followed Li Xiang and attested his innocence. The emperor ordered the Ministry of Justice to investigate the case. As a result, Li Xiang was reinstated, and his accuser was punished under the law. In my observation, the Chinese local administration system has various offices, such as assistant magistrate [cheng], scribe [shi], recorder [zhubu], and district defender [wei], but ours has no such offices. Therefore, our magistrates are often reckless and presumptuous in governing their districts, and, because of this, the people’s lives become increasingly miserable. Han Yu in “Inscriptions on the Office Wall of Assistant Magistrate of Lantian District” [“Lantian xuancheng tingbi ji”] once said sarcastically, “The assistant magistrate, having no power, exists in name only.” However, History of Ming carries numerous records of those who were assistant magistrates but achieved outstanding results by gaining public support. Hence the success of the office of assistant magistrate largely depends on how much the government supports it. In the early Chosŏn period there were places named kyŏngso [place in the capital] and hyangso [place in the district], and they were all designed to serve as the seat of assistants. Although the kyŏngso was generally run by high officials who resided in the capital in large numbers, the hyangso was occupied by those belonging to the rank of Confucian students [yusaeng] who were the residents of the district. Since these two places were originally created for those in an assistant position, the chiefs of these places were called head seat [chwasu]. These 90. A great poet and scholar of the Tang dynasty. His pen name was Tuizhi, and his posthumous title Wengong. He was one of the Eight Great Prose Masters of the Tang and Song. His public career was often turbulent because of his uncompromising character and his opposition to Buddhism. He tried to promote Confucianism and advocated so-called old-style prose. He was enormously influential on the Chinese literary tradition.

Departure

1005

days, however, since they are occupied by people from the lower classes and by people who are schemers, conspiring with the clerks, their title [head seat] should be abolished and reduced to the level of recorder [chubu]. Besides, capital officials [kyŏnggwan] should be selected separately for the position of head seat, following the old system of the Ming dynasty. When Yi Sŏnghang became district magistrate of Yŏnp’ung, there was an order from the court to produce gunpowder. Afterward the government conducted investigations of those who did not carry out the order, and Yi’s neighboring district tried to avoid punishment by contriving excuses. Yi Sŏnghang, on the other hand, said, “If I fabricate excuses, I become one who deceives the government.” Then he voluntarily revealed the truth and was dismissed from his office. Upon hearing this, clerks and residents vied with each other to run to the royal palace and cried out for his forgiveness. When Yi Yŏnghwi served as district magistrate of Anhyŏp, he was unfairly charged with some wrongdoings and was dismissed. Greatly surprised, the residents appealed to the inspector, grabbing his horse. When Yi Yŏnghwi departed, the elders cried aloud, holding his vehicle, and they followed him until he crossed the border. Those who came out to bid him farewell were as many as several hundred people. C H A P T E R : MOU R N I NG T H E DE AT H OF T H E M AGI S T R AT E

When the Magistrate Dies during His Term, His Noble Personality Shines Much Brighter. Clerks and Residents Who Mourn His Death Cry Aloud and Cling to His Hearse and Never Cease to Miss Him Even after Many Years. This Is a Meaningful Death of a Benevolent Magistrate. When Han Yanshou of the Han dynasty was guardian of the left [zuofengyi], he served the people with benevolence and treated them with trust. Afterward he was involved in an incident and received a death penalty that required that the dead body of the convict be discarded in the marketplace. Several thousand clerks and people who came out to bid him farewell arrived at the fortress of Wei. The people, both old and young, held his vehicle and vied with each other to offer him wine and side dishes. Unable to reject the wine they offered, he emptied the cups one after another, and the amount of wine he thus drank was more than a large jar. Expressing his appreciation through a clerk to every individual in the crowd, he said, “I have caused troubles to the clerks and people who followed me for a

91. One of the three guardians (sanfu) who were responsible for supervising administration of the metropolitan area (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 524).

1006

book XII

long distance. Now I have no regrets about dying.” There was no one who did not shed tears. When Wang Huan of the Eastern Han dynasty became magistrate of Luoyang, he discharged his duty with fairness and intelligence and, being sharp and observant, often uncovered tricks. He looked intimidating on the outside but was benevolent on the inside, so the people liked him and followed him. Unfortunately, he died during his term, and there was no resident who did not shed tears. The people built a shrine and offered sacrifices to his spirit, composing poems and playing music. Impressed by this, the empress dowager, issuing an imperial decree, appointed Wang Huan’s son gentleman of the interior [langzhong]. The following happened when Ren Fang of the Liang dynasty became prefect of Yixing. When he returned home after serving his term, he had nothing to wear. Garrison Commander Shen Yue greeted him by sending him a set of proper clothes. Afterward he was appointed prefect of Xinan and administered the district with integrity and simplicity. When he passed away at his post, he was too poor to have a proper burial. In his will he instructed that not a thing in Xinan should be taken to the capital. He also instructed that his coffi n should be made from the wood of scrub trees and his corpse dressed with his old clothes after washing them clean. The whole district deeply mourned his death. Cai Junshan served as recorder of Taikang County and died at his post. Knowing that he was very poor, the residents collected some money to show their condolences. The wife of the dead man refused to accept it, saying in tears, “Our family has made it a tradition to serve with integrity in public office. I cannot allow my late husband to suffer dishonor by taking your money.” Zeng Quan was relegated to the position of clerk [dianshi] of the district of Fanshui. Although he had been driven out of his former position and demoted, he worked hard without complaining. He reclaimed land, gathered grain, logged timber for buildings or repairs, promoted trade, and made up for the district’s debts. So the district saved money, and the complaints of the people regarding the collection of taxes disappeared. He made the lives of the people comfortable by providing them with boats or coffins, as well as other assistance with regard to their weddings and funerals, if they needed any help from the government. On the day when Zeng Quan died, all the residents, including the old and young, cried aloud. In the fourth year [1439] of Zhengtong the administration vice com92. Unknown. 93. His courtesy name was Wenshi. He also served as director of the Imperial Secretariat. 94. An official of the Liang dynasty. He also served as defending general and director of the Imperial Secretariat. 95. An official of the Song dynasty. His name was Cai Gao. Junshan was his courtesy name. He became commandant of Changxi at the age of twenty and earned a reputation for his ability in dealing with criminal lawsuits.

Departure

1007

missioner [canzheng] of Henan submitted a report to the emperor on the benevolent administration of the late Zeng Quan. He said, “When I toured Fanshui for inspection, I found the residents still missing Zeng Quan, although three years have passed since he died. At the mere mention of his name they shed tears, thinking of the grace that they had received from him. Even if there were exemplary officials in the old days, can they be better than the case of Zeng Quan? So I request from Your Majesty that Zeng Quan be reinstated to his former position and rewarded by issuing an imperial decree.” His request was granted. Hai Rui, censor in chief of Nanjing, died during his term. When Assistant Censor in Chief Wang Yongji entered his room, there were only a drapery made of arrowroot cloth and a worn-out bamboo basket, which even a poor scholar was not able to endure. Lamenting and shedding tears, Wang Yongji opened the bamboo basket and found that there were only a few coins. The literati contributed money to buy the equipment for the funeral, and the people in mourning closed the market for several days. When the hearse was carried to the riverside, the line of people who tried to offer a pot of rice and a bowl of soup to the dead extended for several hundred li. When Kwak Ŭn served as magistrate of Tamyang, he governed the district with benevolence, reducing corvée ser vice and taxes. Because of his good administration, when he died during his term, the residents deeply mourned his death and offered condolences to each other, refraining from wine and meat. On the day when the bier left his office, the sound of wailing did not cease all over the town. Both the literati and the people consulted with one another and collected rice and offered sacrifices to his spirit on the anniversary of his death. The family chronicle of Kwak Ŭn says, “[Because the mourning of residents was so intense at the time of his death], an itinerant fish peddler said, ‘The people over there will not buy my fish.’ ” (This is the record written by Ch’ugang Nam Hyo’on.) No Taeha, the magistrate of Kobu County, died during his term. When the members of his family were about to wash his body, the county office sent

96. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Anbu. He also served as third inspector. 97. A member of the “six loyal subjects” (saeng yuksin). He wrote Lives of Six Ministers (Yuksin chŏn), about men who were tortured to death for protesting against the usurpation of King Sejo. The six ministers—who are better known as the “six martyred ministers” (sa yuksin)—that Nam wrote about are Sŏng Sammun, Pak P’aengnyŏn, Ha Wiji, Yi Kae, Yu Ŭngbu, and Yu Sŏngwŏn. There was another group of loyal subjects called “six loyal subjects” who joined the protest against the usurpation of King Sejo. Though they did not sacrifice their lives, they completely withdrew from public office all their lives to prove their loyalty to the former king Tanjong. Nam Hyo’on (pen name Ch’ugang) was one of them. 98. An official of the mid-Chosŏn period during the reign of Sŏnjo. His courtesy name was Suo, and his pen name Isodang. He also served as magistrate of Ch’ŏnan.

1008

book XII

patterned silk to be used for a shroud. Pak Ch’ungsaeng, magistrate of Chŏngŭp, who watched the body of the dead being washed, persuaded them not to use the silk, saying, “The late magistrate, as I know, regarded such luxurious clothing as a violation of the spirit of propriety all his life.” When the Magistrate Falls Sick and Is in Critical Condition, He Should Soon Move Out of His Official Residence, Never Allowing It to Happen That He Breathes His Last in the Administration Hall and Makes His Successors Uneasy When They Take Over His Place. The administration hall [chŏngdang] is a public space where state affairs are carried out. If the magistrate unfortunately happens to die in the administration hall, his immediate successor will dislike it, and all kinds of wicked rumors will spread. If the magistrate falls ill and keeps his bed, an arrangement has to be made soon that he move to the secretary’s room. He should not make it a virtue that he continues to suffer his illness while lying in the administration hall. Although the people, like those in antiquity who were highly cultivated, may not feel annoyed about it, it is absolutely appropriate for him to avoid dying in the administration hall. The following happened when Yi Wiguk became magistrate of Sangwŏn. The county office remained empty for a long time because many of his predecessors had died there, as it was believed to be haunted by demons. Upon arriving at his post, he ordered that it be repaired and lived in it. On the day he moved in, a horse that he used to ride suddenly died during the night. He did not mind it, and no mishaps took place thereafter. Later Yi Wiguk became the magistrate of Ich’ŏn. Before he arrived, three consecutive predecessors died in the yamen. The residents of Ich’ŏn established an altar for their spirits and offered sacrifices in the administration hall. When new magistrates arrived, they were scared, and many of them had lived among the residents before Yi arrived. Yi Wiguk said to the clerk, “If a new magistrate arrives, the former magistrate must withdraw. How can the affairs of spirits be different from those of men?” Then he immediately ordered that the altar be removed and lived in the yamen. In my observation, the things mentioned above are not the kind that ordinary persons can handle. Would it not be advisable, then, to be cautious and not give wings to wicked rumors?

99. He also served as magistrate of Inje.

Departure

1009

Since the Rice for Condolences Is the Allowance That the Government Provides [for the Funeral of the Magistrate Who Died during His Term], How Can He Also Take Condolence Money from the People? He Had Better Make It Clear by Leaving His Will That This Money Will Not Be Accepted. The Supplement to the National Code stipulated: “In all cases where the officials who serve outside Seoul happen to die or experience the death of their parents, the rice for condolences [sangsumi] shall be provided in gradation on the basis of their ranks and regions to which they belong. “If governors and magistrates experience the death of their parents at their posts, those in the Honam and Yŏngnam regions are provided with 40 sŏk of rice and those in the Hosŏ region 30 sŏk of rice. If they themselves die at their posts, those in the Honam and Yŏngnam regions are provided with 40 sŏk of rice and those in the Hosŏ region 35 sŏk of rice. In all cases those who serve in the Haesŏ region are provided with 35 sŏk of rice, regardless of whether their parents die or they themselves die. If their spouses die, the rice for condolences is also paid, but its amount is reduced by half compared with that for their own death.” (In all cases where provincial military commanders die, those in the Yŏngnam and Honam regions are provided with 35 sŏk of rice, and those in the Hosŏ and Haesŏ regions 20 sŏk of rice. If provincial navy commanders die, those in the Yŏngnam and Honam regions are provided with 30 sŏk of rice, and those in the Hosŏ and Haesŏ regions 15 sŏk of rice. If garrison commanders die, those in the Honam and Yŏngnam regions are provided with 30 sŏk of rice, and those in the Hosŏ region 15 sŏk of rice. This rice for condolences shall be supplied from the reserve rice of the local government.) In my observation, the reason that the government is so generous in providing the rice for condolences is to prevent officials from collecting it from the people. Would it be right to collect condolence rice from the people, concealing the allowances granted by the king, like the chief of Ge who took ritual food for sacrifice but ate it without making sacrifices? The condolence rice should never be accepted from the people. If the magistrate’s condition deteriorates to such a degree that he appears incapable of recovering, it will be proper for him to leave a will in which he prohibits accepting condolence rice from the people. Since his aides will certainly take care of his funeral if the magistrate is firm in his integrity and if the allowance from the government turns out to be insufficient for carry ing his hearse over 1,000 li, why should he have to collect such money from the people? The Supplement to the National Code also stipulated: “Those who earlier served as royal secretary, governor, provincial military commander, and defense commander, as well as those in the Eastern File above the second rank who

1010

book XII

died at their posts, shall all be provided with hearse-carrying soldiers, and the magistrates and border garrison commanders who died during their term shall be provided with vehicles and oxen to transport their hearses.” In my observation, since the law never fails to provide soldiers for transporting the hearses of the magistrates, although it has gradations in providing those soldiers along with vehicles and oxen, one often runs into such a funeral procession on the main road. Furthermore, the law establishes the places where hearse-carrying soldiers voluntarily gather, providing rules and regulations. The agency called Shoulder-Resting Bureau [Sikgyŏnch’ŏng] can carry out its mission when the order comes down from the superior office. The Supplementary Compilation on Funerary Equipment [Sanggu poch’an] records as follows: “Since it is extremely difficult to transport a coffin to a place 1,000 li away, the coffin must be made small, narrow in width, and light in weight. Choosing a dry wood, one makes the bottom plank 1 ch’i and 2 p’un thick, and the lid on top 1 ch’i and 8 p’un thick. There is a phrase, samch’ŏn yangji, that means that the plank at the bottom of the coffin should be made one-third less thick than the one on top. If the coffin is to be made small and narrow, one should reduce the amount of cotton and clothes in dressing the body as much as possible. He who knows what a proper burial is will bury the coffin as it is. He who is shortsighted and interested only in making the tomb look impressive often changes the coffin when it arrives at the foot of the hill. Although there is no reason that he should not do this, the coffin can be easily damaged if it is too big and heavy, and those who have to carry it up the hill dislike this since it makes them sweat and breathe hard. The reason that the sages formulated funeral rites was to make the people not dislike the funeral itself. Bereaved individuals or their families need to know this. C H A P T E R : M I S SI NG A N D HONOR I NG T H E L AT E M AGI S T R AT E

If the Residents Yearn After the Late Magistrate and Build a Shrine in His Honor, One Can See That They Truly Loved Him. When Zhu Yi of the Han dynasty was young, he served as bailiff [sefu] of the district of Tong. His administration was clean and fair; he never exercised cruelty like physical punishment or brought shame on individuals, and he looked 100. “Supply to the Outside Officials,” Laws on Taxation. 101. The title of this book suggests that it is a book related to funerary items and burial, but detailed information on it is not known. 102. One of the low-ranking officials in the local administration, mainly responsible for maintaining supplies (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 404).

Departure

1011

after the elderly, orphans, and widows. Therefore, all the residents, including clerks, loved and respected him. He was gradually promoted until he became chamberlain for the national treasury but fell ill. Faced with imminent death, he said to his son, “Many years ago I used to serve as an official of the district of Tong, and I was well liked by the residents. I want you to bury me in the district of Tong. My descendants in coming ages will not be as good as the residents of the district of Tong in the way they miss me.” When he died, he was buried outside the fortress on the west side. The residents of the district of Tong indeed offered their assistance to his family, joining them in making the tomb, and never ceased to offer sacrifice to his spirit after building a shrine in his honor. When Ren Fang of the Liang dynasty became prefect of Wuxing, his children and woman ate only barley. When he arrived in the district, he was unable to enter the gate because his dress was too shabby and worn out. Shen Yue sent him a set of clothes and ushered him in. The residents built a memorial shrine for Ren Fang and offered sacrifices to his spirit. When Han Wengong [Han Yu] served as prefect of Chaozhou, the residents really liked him and followed him. After his death the residents built a memorial shrine in the south of the fortress and never failed to offer a sacrifice whenever they had food. Especially when there were disasters like floods, droughts, epidemics, and so forth, they always visited his shrine and prayed for his help. When Kim Hŭi served as magistrate of Namwŏn, he looked after the people as if they were his children, and the way he dealt with lawsuits was like flowing water. As a result, the district enjoyed peace during his magistracy, which lasted only a few years. When he fell ill and died in office, the residents did not cease to offer sacrifices to his spirit whenever the anniversary of his death arrived. When Kim Kyehŭi was magistrate of Naju, he administered the district benevolently and promoted education. After he departed, the residents yearned after him, and when he died, they held his funeral as if he were their parent. Establishing a public fund, they observed the anniversary of his death every year, gathering at the Hall of Illuminating Moral Principles [myŏngryundang] in the county school.

103. The post at which an ancestor once served is commonly called “District of Tong” (Tongxiang), and the word originated from this episode. 104. An official of the early Chosŏn period during the reign of Sejong. 105. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kyesuk. He also served as fourth inspector, third censor, third minister of personnel, and of works, and of punishments, as well as metropolitan governor of Hansŏng.

1012

book XII

It Is against Propriety to Build a Shrine for a Living Person. The Practice of Building Such a Shrine Was Initiated by Foolish People and Has Now Become the Custom as the General Populace Has Imitated It. The custom of building a shrine for a living person originated in Xijing [Western Capital]. When Shi Qing became state councilor of the state of Qi, the people greatly admired the conduct of his family and built a shrine while he was still alive. When Luan Bu governed the land of Yan, the residents admired his integrity and fairness so much that they built a shrine during his lifetime. Thereafter, men like Xun Mian, Tong Hui, Wei Xi (he governed so well that the prisons in his district became empty several times), Wang Tang, Du Zhenzhi, and others all had shrines during their lifetime, and the practice of building shrines during a person’s lifetime proliferated after the ages of the Tang and Song dynasties. Di Renjie of the Tang dynasty served as prefect of Weizhou, and the residents dedicated a shrine to him during his lifetime. Later his son, Di Jinghui, became personnel manager [sigong] of Weizhou, but unlike his father he was avaricious and ferocious. Because the residents suffered from his wrongdoings, they demolished the shrine of his father.

106. Western Capital (Xijing), originally called Chang’an, was the capital of the Western Han dynasty. So the term refers to the Western Han dynasty itself or sometimes to the period in which the Western Han dynasty existed. 107. An official of the Han dynasty. He served as grand mentor of the crown prince, censor in chief, and fi nally grand councilor. In the Records of the Grand Historian, he is portrayed as a man of extreme discretion. While serving as grand councilor for nine years, he was so cautious in everything that what he did virtually amounted to inaction. 108. An official of the Liang dynasty. Originally a commoner, he served as state councilor of the Yan state. He was famous for his loyalty to Peng Yue, his old friend and the king of the Liang state. Though Peng Yue contributed to the victory of Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han) in the battle against Xiang Yu, he later failed to provide reinforcements to Gaozu when Chen Xi’s rebellion broke out. For this failure, he was arrested and cruelly executed. Luan Bu openly mourned the death of Peng Yue, which was strictly prohibited by the government of Han. As a result, Luan Bu was captured and interrogated by Emperor Gaozu. Before he was thrown into a boiling cauldron, he reminded Gaozu of what Peng Yue had done for him at the critical moment in the battle against his rival, Xiang Yu. Impressed by his remonstrance, Gaozu forgave him and appointed him commander in chief (duwei). 109. Unknown. 110. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Jijie. He served as chief director of Guangdu, as well as district magistrate of Hanling and Chen. 111. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Jingbo. When he served as prefect of Ba Commandery, he repelled the attack of the Xiqiang tribe. 112. Unknown.

Departure

1013

When Zhang Lun of the Song dynasty was in charge of Taizhou, he repaired the sea dykes and helped those who had abandoned their homes to return home. The residents in gratitude built a shrine in honor of him. When Xu Jiusi was the district magistrate of Jiurong, his administration was marked by benevolence. When he departed from Jiurong, the residents built a shrine at Mt. Mao in honor of him. When twenty-two years had passed since he had retired from public office, he fell ill at the age of eighty-five. Reverently gathering his palms and looking up, he said right before his death, “Mt. Mao is waiting to greet me.” When State Councilor Yi Wŏnik was governor of P’yŏngan Province, his administration was clean and benevolent. The residents built a shrine in honor of him while he was still alive. In my observation, since nowadays every district has the shrines of former magistrates or governors who are still alive, and there are neither restrictions nor regulations with regard to these personal shrines, it is impossible to record them all. Mountain Talks of Sŏlch’o [Sŏlch’o sandam] stated: “The abuses of the shrines of living persons keep on increasing month by month and year by year. The smoke from the incense in their halls never ceases to rise, but I have not heard about the shrines that were built posthumously. The practice of building a shrine for a living person arose because of flattery. When a departing magistrate happens to be a man of noble birth and appears to have a promising future ahead of him, cunning clerks and crafty residents conspire, and before the magistrate has arrived home and dismounted from his vehicle, his shrine is already completed. Unless this practice is prohibited, the abuses of building shrines will never cease. If the magistrate is alive, he must know about the shrine built in his honor. Since, being pleased in his heart, he never thinks about tearing it down, is this the right thing to do?” A Memorial Stone Erected in Remembrance of the Virtue of the Magistrate Is a So-Called Tribute Monument Dedicated to a Benevolent Official [Sŏnjŏngbi]. Not to Have Anything to Be Ashamed of in One’s Heart Is Indeed Very Difficult. Yang Hu of the Jin dynasty served as pacification commissioner of Xiangyang for a long time, governing the people with benevolence and mercy. When he died, the residents erected a tribute monument and a shrine in honor of him at 113. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Gongjin. He also served as vice transport commissioner. 114. The author of this work is unknown. 115. A famous military commander of the Jin dynasty (265–420). His courtesy name was Shuzi. He advocated plans for conquering the Eastern Wu and worked hard to accomplish this goal while stationed at Xiangyang, which was located on the western border with the Eastern Wu. Although he intended to conquer the Eastern Wu, he treated the Eastern Wu border residents with benevolence

1014

book XII

Mt. Xian, which was a place where he used to hang around and take a rest in ordinary days. The residents offered sacrifices to his spirit every season, and there was not one of them who saw the monument and did not shed tears. Therefore, Du Yu named the monument “Monument of Tears” [Duoleibei]. When Run Lue served as administrator [neishi] of the state of Qi, he succeeded in enlightening the people. When he died in office, the people of Qi wanted to erect a tribute monument in honor of him. However, because the law was very strict, none of the officials, including Minister of Education Wei Shu and those below him, were allowed to have tribute monuments. Nevertheless, the people of Qi admired the virtue of Run Lue so much that they first erected the tribute monument in honor of him and then went to the royal palace to request punishment for their transgression of the law. Upon finding out what had happened, the officials in the court greatly admired the benevolent administration carried out by Run Lue (History of the District of Chenliu). In my observation, because truth and falsehood about tribute monuments were mixed, abuses already began to take place from the period of the Wei and Jin dynasties. Therefore, it was strictly prohibited that the people recklessly erect tribute monuments. As I recall, King Chŏngjo, reinforcing the prohibition, decreed that all the tribute stones erected for the last thirty years be destroyed and removed. This prohibition, however, has been relaxed these days, and the people are remiss in observing it. Since they begin to collect money for travel expenses and a tribute monument as soon as the magistrate departs, how lamentable this is! If the new magistrate happens to hear a rumor that a tribute monument is being erected for a departing magistrate, he should admonish the people, citing the royal decree left by the former king [Chŏngjo]. Then they will not dare to proceed to erect it even though they may cherish the memory of the magistrate to whom they want to pay their tributes. Bai Xiangshan in his poem titled “On the Bluestone Monument” [“Qingshi shi”] said, “I would not envy the bluestone monument standing on the roadside of the government building, for I can see that the tributes carved on it are all lies and exaggerations.” This indicates that it has been a long time since tribute monuments began to be distrusted. Since the magistrates of our time at the time of their departure secretly hand over hundreds of taels to the local yangban association and cunning clerks in order to induce them to erect tribute monu-

in order to win their hearts, and his strategy worked. However, he died before he realized his goal, and the people of his district deeply mourned his death. 116. An official of the Jin dynasty. 117. An official of the Jin dynasty. His courtesy name was Yangyuan, and his posthumous title Kang. He served as magistrate of Lingyi, director of the Imperial Secretariat, and minister of education.

Departure

1015

ments, a practice called “monument loan” [pich’ae], this is no different from erecting their own tribute monuments with their own hands. Since a Tribute Monument Made of Wood [Mokbi] Erected in Honor of the Magistrate Can Be Either Praise or Flattery, It Must Be Immediately Removed and Prohibited So That the Magistrate May Not Bring Shame on Himself. Petty Tales by Hanam stated: “If the magistrate’s way of handling a matter is a little too strict, numerous complaints arise at once; if the magistrate happens to be lenient in giving his orders, wooden monuments are erected in gratitude, one after another. Thus it is said that these things are what make the people impoverished. The so-called wooden monuments that are intended to pay tribute to the magistrate are one of the things that the magistrate must prohibit from being made. Even if he can make all the residents pleased, there must be at least one of them who is resentful. Hence the wooden monument that is clean today can be defi led tomorrow. Since what is neither made nor unmade is like Zhao Shi in antiquity not playing the lute, one had better destroy the monument as soon as it is made. He will have no regrets only when he strictly admonishes the people of various subdistricts not to make it.” The following happened when Minister Yi Sanghwang became secret royal inspector of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province. He arrived at Koesan County early in the morning. It was still dark when he neared the district. At a place on his way, which was 5 li from the town, he saw a farmer working in the distance. The farmer, as he observed, took some pieces of wood out of his sleeves and planted them on the road after dipping them in the mud of the water parsley field. He did this five times, spacing them several dozen steps apart. The inspector asked him, “What are they?” The farmer replied, “They are tribute signs. Do you not see? They are tribute signs called sŏnjŏngbi.” The inspector asked once again, “Why, then, do you dip them in the mud?” The farmer replied, “Well, it is because of the royal inspector who is around all over the place. The clerk gave me ten of them and told me to plant them on both sides of the road after dividing them. I was afraid that the royal inspector would be blind enough to take them for real ones, so I had them tainted with mud.” When the royal inspector finally reported this, the court first ordered an investigation of the tribute signs tainted with mud and dismissed the concerned magistrate. 118. Th is refers to the lute played by Zhao Shi, which is found in the second chapter, titled “On the Uniformity of All Th ings” (“Qiwulun”), in Zhuangzi (Zhuangzi I, trans. Wang Rongpei, 27). Also see Legge, The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Taoism, 186. 119. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chuok, and his pen names Tong’ŏ and Hyŏnp’o. He served as censor general, governor of Hwanghae Province, governor of P’yŏngan Province, chief magistrate of Hansŏng, minister of punishments, minister of war, and chief state councilor.

1016

book XII

It Is a Good Custom to Cherish Even the Trees Planted by the Former Magistrate, as the Gantang Tree [under Which the Chief of Zhou Rested] Tells Us. When Xin Zhongfu planted willows along the roadsides when he governed Pengzhou, the residents called them “rectifier’s willows” [buqueliu]. When the disturbance of Li Shun broke out, the people said, “Be careful not to hurt the trees.” When Li Xi of the Tang dynasty became magistrate of Yucheng, there were three willow trees in the yamen, which provided him with a resting place. Later the people did not cut them down, comparing them with the gantang tree in Classic of Poetry. When Qiu Zhun was in charge of Badong District of Guizhou, his administration was marked by benevolence. Because he personally planted a pair of bigcone pines in the yard of the yamen, the people still call them “Lord Lai’s bigcone pines,” comparing them with the gantang tree in Classic of Poetry. Nam Chil, who served as the district magistrate of Ch’irwŏn, was well liked by the residents. The people over there still call the tree planted by Nam “Master Nam’s tree” [Namjŏngja]. If the People in Naming Their Sons Adopt the Surname of the Magistrate Whom They Love and Respect, One Can Measure the Depth of Their Affection for Their Magistrate. Jiang Zu served as prefect of Annan. The residents so much adored his virtue that they named their sons Jiang.

120. Gan Tang (or gantang) is a tree that appears in the section “The Odes of the Shao and the South” (“Shaonan”) in Classic of Poetry. The poem reads: “[Th is] umbrageous sweet pear-tree; / Clip it not, hew it not down. / Under it the chief of Zhou lodged” (James Legge’s translation, #16; The Chinese Classics [University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center]). 121. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhihan. He served as vice grand councilor and ju nior guardian of the heir apparent. 122. Buque is the title of an office, rectifier of omissions, that existed during the Tang dynasty. The rectifier was responsible for checking drafts of imperial proclamations and other documents flowing from the throne (Hucker, A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 391). 123. Unknown. 124. Lord Lai here seems to indicate Qiu Jun (1420–1495), the famous scholar-official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongxin. Then “Lai” here is perhaps his posthumous title. 125. A military official of the Koryŏ dynasty. In 1381, the seventh year of King U, he became chief patrolling inspector (tosunmunsa) and repulsed Japa nese marauders who invaded Yŏngju and Yŏnghae in North Kyŏngsang Province. Later he served as royal secretary (miljiksa). 126. Unknown.

Departure

1017

When Meng Zong was prefect of Yuzhang, the residents were so grateful for his benevolent administration that they named their sons Meng. When Yang Cheng of the Tang dynasty governed Daozhou, he governed the people as if they were his family. He also rendered a ser vice in suppressing a disturbance by itinerant actors by submitting a memorial. The residents in their gratitude named their sons Yang. When Han Tuizhi [Han Yu] became magistrate of Yangshan, many residents adopted his surname as a courtesy name for their sons. In my observation, the people of Zhangsha made their names with the character zong (they admired Zong Qing), the people of Xinxi with the character gu (they admired Gu Biao), and the people of Shunchang with the character yu (they admired Yu Wei), and there are more instances like these. If the Residents Welcome Their Former Magistrate Even Though Many Years Have Passed Since He Served in Their District, Offering Food and Drink That They Prepared, although They May Be Crude, It Is an Honor Even for His Servants. Guo Ji of the Han dynasty governed Jingzhou in the early years of his career. When he visited the district many years later, the children came out to greet him, riding bamboo horses. Geng Chun of the Later Han dynasty administered with benevolence when he served as the magistrate of Dong Commandery. When he later passed through the county, thousands of residents followed his vehicle, saying, “Once again we wish to have you as our magistrate.” When Wei Jingjun served as magistrate of the district of Fei, his administration was marked by benevolence. Many years later he was appointed administrator of Zhaozhou and passed through the district of Fei, which was on his way to his new post. Greatly surprised and pleased, the residents and clerks vied with each other to offer him food and drink, so he had no choice but to spend a few days with them. Then he found among the crowd a few children who were aged around ten. Wei asked them, “If I figure out the time when I 127. An official of the state of Wu during the Th ree Kingdoms period. His courtesy name was Gongwu. He also served as minister of works. He was famous for being a fi lial son. 128. Unknown. 129. An official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Zhongkuan. In the early years of Yuanyou (1086–1093), he served as district magistrate of Shunchang. 130. Th is probably indicates that children play “bamboo horse” or ride a hobbyhorse, an imitation horse head on a stick that they pretend to ride. 131. An official of the Tang dynasty. He also served as district magistrate of Gui and as prefect of Zhaozhou and Fangzhou.

1018

book XII

departed to the north, young children like you were not even born then and, therefore, owe nothing to me; nevertheless, you are anxious to entertain me with such affection. Why is that?” They all replied, “We were often told lately that all the public buildings, academies, the yamen office, dykes, and bridges in our town were legacies left by you. Naturally, we thought that you had already passed away. Since we are now able to see you in person, we fi nd that our pleasure and respect for you are nearly doubled compared with those we had in ordinary days.” Liao Qin became assistant magistrate of Henei and gained a reputation for integrity and ability. Later he was implicated in some incident and exiled to the border for many years. Because he was old and sick, he was finally released and happened to pass through Henei on his way home. The residents of Henei vied with each other to offer him mutton and wine, as well as silk as a gift for him. The silk that they brought piled up in a few hours and amounted to several hundred bolts. Liao Qin declined to take it, but the residents were insistent that he accept it. One evening Liao Qin secretly ran away. When Yu Chŏngwŏn was the magistrate of T’ongch’ŏn, his administration was benevolent. Two years or so after his departure he was appointed examination overseer [kamsi] and arrived in Hoeyang. Fift y residents of T’ongch’ŏn traveled a few hundred li to pay their respects to him, and some of them shed tears (Collected Works of Taesan). If All Sorts of People Do Not Cease Giving Praise to Their Former Magistrate, One Can Learn How Good His Administration Was. When Deng You governed Wu Commandery, he did not take a stipend; he ate the rice that he had brought from his home, drinking only the water of the district in which he served. When he departed, the residents tried to make him stay longer, without success. So they sang, “Governor Deng would not come even if he is pulled in, and Governor Xie would not leave even if he is pushed out.” When Li Xian of the Tang dynasty served as metropolitan governor, he was distinguished for his reputation and accomplishments. Resenting that Li Xian

132. An official of the Ming dynasty. 133. The examination here indicates the state examination selecting classics licentiates and literary licentiates. 134. Called Taesanjip, it is a collection of literary works by Kim Maesun (1776–1840), an official of the late Chosŏn dynasty, who served as second minister of rites. 135. An official of the Jin dynasty. 136. He also served as prefect of Lingling and as minister of war.

Departure

1019

was not willing to follow his order, Yang Guozhong relegated him to the position of prefect of Changsha. At the time it was hard to find rice in the capital, so the people sang, “We have no choice but to follow Li Xian if we want to have rice and millet with little trouble.” When Ha Yunwŏn of the Koryŏ dynasty governed Wŏnju, his administration was benevolent. When he was recalled to the court when his term expired, a monk in Mt. Ch’iak named Ungam composed a poem: “A child at play near its mother is ignorant of her love and grace. If the mother departs and the child cries out for her, is it not because of cold and hunger?” The Magistrate Who Fails to Gain a Great Reputation during His Term Is Often Missed by the Residents after His Departure. This Happens Because He Secretly Did a Good Job in His Administration without Advertising It. Although He Wu of the Han dynasty served as magistrate many times, he did not gain a great reputation during his term. However, after his departure, the people always missed him. When Xie An of the Jin dynasty served as prefect of Wuhui, he failed to make a name for himself. Once he left, the people began to miss him. If a Large Group of People Follows the Man of Benevolence to the Place of His Post and Continues to Follow Him Even after His Replacement, That Is a Telling Sign of His Virtue. Th is is found in the Five Dynasties History. When Yue Xuan of the state of Wu governed Yongjia, the good influence of his administration made the people love him. When he was transferred to Gusu, some of the residents of Wen District followed him, leading their families. Thus the families who followed the departing magistrate were called “households following the magistrate” [suishihu]. 137. An official of the Tang dynasty who achieved high rank because of his relation to Yang Guifei, the consort of Emperor Xuanzong. He served as overseer of all departments, de facto prime minister in his time. Cunning and corrupt, he contributed to the Anshi Rebellion (755–763) and was eventually executed with the members of his clan, including Yang Guifei. 138. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kongmin. In 1361, the tenth year of King Kongmin, when Red Turbans invaded Korea and captured Kaesŏng, the capital city of Koryŏ, he contributed to repulsing the invaders. Later he served as magistrate of Wŏnju and Sangju. 139. An official during the reign of Emperor Cheng (33–7 B.C.) of the Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Jungong. He also served as grand minister of works. 140. An official of the state of Wu during the Five Dynasties period.

1020

book XII

Matters like Finding the Truth about Mistakes and Praises or Distinguishing between Good and Evil Should Depend on the Words of the Superior Man before They Are Finally Settled. Yuan Jie composed “Inscription on the Office Wall of the Prefect of Daozhou”: “During the time of peace all human beings residing within the perimeter of 1,000 li depend on the prefect for their life and death or joys and sorrows; during the time of war and disturbance the protection of all the people within the perimeter of 1,000 li and the elimination of disasters also depend on the prefect himself. If the prefect is wanting in ability and talent in civil and military matters, lacks integrity and gravity in dealing with his subordinates, or is neither intelligent nor benevolent nor impartial, all living persons in his domain will have to suffer harmful consequences. Alas! When I arrived here, I found the villages and towns all empty and the people scattered in all directions. When I was told the reason, I was suddenly choked with tears. Since some of the former prefects, who were avaricious, corrupt, foolish, and weak-minded and therefore incapable of distinguishing good from evil, did nothing but repeat the routine of eating and wearing clothes until the lives of all the people in their domain were thrown into danger in the last few years, but they were constantly pushed and harassed by the officials, none except the wicked and strong were able to survive. When I asked the elderly people, those of the prefects both before and after who looked after the poor and weak, properly observing the law, were only two persons, Xu Ludao and Li Yi. Although I asked around, I could only confi rm that the prefects who did a good job clearly fell short of the good administration brought by the two prefects Xu and Li. At the same time the evil things done in their administration were beyond any description. Therefore, I compose this inscription and present it to the current prefect so that he can be well admonished.” Lu Wen composed a postscript in response to this inscription as follows: “Since Yuan Cishan in his ‘Inscription on the Office Wall of the Prefect of Daozhou’ commended goodness without showing prejudice and pointed out evil without slandering and thereby gave warning by revealing directly what was in his heart, his inscription is now hanging on the office wall, inspiring all those who aspire to become good officials. If those who are avaricious and presumptu141. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Cishan, and his pen names Yiganzi, Langshi, and Manlang. He served as military commissioner ( jinglueshi). He is known to have been a precursor of Han Yu, who led the Classical Prose movement. His works are contained in Collected Works of Yuan Jie (Cishanji). 142. Unknown. 143. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Heshu or Huaguang. He also served as reminder of the left (zuoshii) and as the prefect of Hengzhou.

Departure

1021

ous enough to take living people as their playthings read the inscription, will they not be ashamed of themselves in their hearts? From childhood I read the lives of upright officials and admired their noble characters, so I came to believe that nothing is better than making a good name as a scholar-official that will last through generations. Although I have pretended to discharge my duty well since I became prefect of this district, I still find myself far from my goal.”

This page intentionally left blank

Gl os sa ry

abyŏng ∫ඹ magistrate’s security guards aegye ᤷ䮌 special director of the Great Hall of the Royal Palace (also called taejŏn pyŏlgam); sometimes the runners of the special director aep’il Ⰽ㠴 types of clothing worn by convicts as a substitute for the punishment of castration agwa ၬ⛁ pediatrics ajŏn ⾞๑ local civil functionaries; yamen clerks Ajŏngjip 㞖ி㞗 Collected Works of Ajŏng, by Yi Tŏngmu akgong ᵱᕝ musicians alsŏngsi ㅔ⪯ム royal visitation examinations amhaeng ŏsa ᬧ⾔ᚒྍ secret royal inspector amnyu ᬧ⏻ keeping the grain that is to be distributed to the people for a personal purpose amun ⾞㛓 various central government offices anch’albusa ᣠᐳ๧౐ vice surveillance commissioner anch’alsa / (Ch.) anchashi ᣠᐳ౐ surveillance commissioner angma ⛒㤷 rice planter anjipsa Ꮽ㞗౐ commissioner of famine relief anmusa ᣠ᧑౐ pacification commissioner annyŏmsa ᣠᗦ౐ surveillance commissioner apsŭl ቱ⭰ a form of torture carried out by pressing the bent knee with a heavy board badingqian ᢾ㔝㗾 nail-extraction impost 1023

1024

Glossary

baifalun ⓊἪㄵ discourses on myriad laws bao ಕ security group baojia ಕ⏝ community self-defense system; system of mutual aid and surveillance baoren ಕெ support persons or taxpayers baoshi ಕẮ palace protector Baowenge ᑆᩝ㛮 Hall for Treasuring Culture baowu ಕం local militia squad Baoyue ሊ⣑ Instruction Manual for the Construction of Small Fortresses, by Yin Geng baozheng ⷟ᙹ reducing taxes baozhengshi ᕱᨳ౐ provincial administration commissioner Baozhengsi ᕱᨳྒྷ Provincial Administration Commission bayiwu จ౏⯑ a ceremonial dance performed at the palace or in the royal sanctuary beianku ങᏭᗔ contingency fund Beishi ໪ྍ History of the Northern Dynasties Beisi ໪ྒྷ Northern Office Bencao gangmu ᮇⲙ⥐┘ Compendium of Materia Medica, by Li Shizhen; Great Compendium of Herbs bianxiuguan ⥽ಞᏻ junior compiler biejia ื㥑 mounted escort; administrative aide; department vice magistrate; assistant department magistrate bingma dujian ඹ㤷㒌┐ military director in chief bingma jianya ඹ㤷┐ᢪ supervisor of militia binke ㈩ᐂ mentor bixi ⶰ⭰ knee pads worn by the officiants at a sacrifice boshi ༡ኃ erudite boxian ◒㝀 violating the deadline bu 㒂 regions bucaoshi ⡑₀౐ recorder buque ⿭㜐 rectifier of omissions buqueliu ⿭㜐ᰏ rectifier’s willow busi 㒂ྒྷ division commander; brigade commander buzhengshi ᕱᨳ౐ provincial administration commissioner Buzhengsi ᕱᨳྒྷ Provincial Administration Commission “Caifan” 㔏⹉ “Gathering the White Southernwood” in Classic of Poetry “Caiping” 㔏⸷ “Gathering the Large Duckwood” in Classic of Poetry cangdu ಲ╡ granary supervisor canjun ཥ㌯ adjutant; administrator canren ಲெ granary keeper

Glossary

1025

canzheng ཥᨳ assistant grand councilor; administration vice commissioner; vice minister canzhi zhengshi ཥ▩ᨳ஥ vice grand councilor; participant in determining governmental matters; assistant administrator caoren ⲙெ planting manager Caosi ₀ྒྷ Fiscal Commission chabigok ⮤ങ✈ grain for famine relief administered by local magistrates chaegung ᱳᐋ coffins and tombs of royalty chaegyŏl ⅇ⤎ lands declared disaster areas ch’aekbang ෇ᡛ

secretary’s room; bookkeeper

ch’aekgaek ෇ᐂ

privately hired secretary

ch’aekŭng ➿᠍

devising ideas and strategies

ch’aesamyul ᤿⶙ᚂ

law against illegal gathering of ginseng

chaesang ᐍ┞ grand councilor ch’aesu ബᖃ

provincial military commanders who owe favors to higher officials

Chagyunam manp ’il ⣰⟁⳵₌➱ Essays of Chagyunam, by Chŏng Yagyong ch’ain ᕣெ manager or representative dispatched from the government; commissioner chajangjŏn ㈠⿮㗾 travel expenses ch’aji ḗ▩ letting slaves take punishment for their masters, or the slaves in this situation chakbu షኰ grouping small-size lands as a unit for convenience in collecting taxes chakgong ష㈁ a tax system similar to that in Taedongbŏp (Uniform Land Tax Law) ch’albang ᐳゴ chief of a post station ch’amallye ཥㅔ⚨ bribing one’s superior with entertainment and money ch’ambong ཥዅ

tomb guardian

Chamgokjip ₦ㆺ㞗 Collected Works of Chamgok, by Kim Yuk ch’amgwan ❨ᏻ ch’amji ཥ▩

officials who greet Chinese envoys at a post station

fourth minister

chamo chŏngsik Ꮔẍᏽᘟ formula for the principal and the accrued interest ch’amp’an ཥึ second minister chamsangyul ₦ၛᚂ law against committing illegal transactions Chamsil tohoech ŏ⾄ᐄ㒌᭫⹞ Sericultural Experiment Station ch’amsoebok ᩶⾮᭱

funeral garment for the children of the dead

ch’amŭi ཥ㆗ third minister; assistant administration commissioner; assistant transmission commissioner; consultant chang ୓ a measure of length, equal to 10 ch’ŏk; also called kil in Korean chang / changhyŏng ᮣ / ᮣฬ changch’am 㛏㛄

long shovel

heavy stick for punishment; beating with a heavy stick

1026

Glossary

ch’angch’on ಲᮟ granary villages changdang ᮣᧈ stabbing a suspect with sticks in order to extract a confession changguan 㛏ᏻ senior official; chief changgwan ᑒᏻ guard officer; constable changgwanch’ŏng ᑒᏻᘅ office of guard officers changgwŏn ᮣḊ power to execute physical punishments ch’angjakjimi ಲష஄⡷ granary ser vice charge ch’angno ಲዦ granary runner; granary slave Changnyewŏn ᤰ㞌㝌 Bureau of Slave Administration changnyŏng ᤰ௦ third inspector changqiu ᤰᄾ jailer changsaengjŏn 㛏⏍Ẃ depository of coffin woods for royal families and ministers changse ሔ㦦 market taxes changshi 㛏ྍ administrator; aide changshi ሔᖅ garden master changŭi ᤰ㆗ master of ceremonies; student leader of the county school changwirye ᮣ័⚨ a party held to comfort a senior clerk who has been punished by beating with a stick Changyongyŏng ኆຩ⇧ Robust and Brave Division (of the army) chapjing 㞧ᚢ miscellaneous collections Chasan p’ildam ⋘ᒜ➱ㄧ Essays of Chŏng Yakchŏn chebŏn 㝎␊ exemption from shift of rotating duty “Chebŏp” ⚅Ἢ “Law of Sacrifices” ch’ech’alsa 㧋ᐳ౐ supreme commander chehak ᥞᏟ deputy director of the Office of Special Counselors (Hongmun’gwan) or the Office of Royal Decrees (Yemun’gwan) chehu ㅎ౲ various marquises chejŏn ᲋⏛ ladder-shaped field ch’emaso 㐩㤷ᡜ a place where one changes horses cheminch’ang ⃵Ằಲ people-saving granary chemingok ⃵Ằ✈ grain for famine relief cheng ୤ aide; assistant magistrate chengxiang ୤┞ counselor in chief; grand councilor Cheŏnsa ላሑྒྷ Embankment Construction Agency cheqi dajiangjun ㌬㥵ኬᑒ㌯ chariot and horse general in chief Cherye kojŏng ⚅⚨⩻ᏽ An Examination of Ancestral Rites, by Chŏng Yagyong Chewip’o ⃵༱㗜 Bureau for Crisis and Recovery cheyŏkch’on 㝎ᙲᮟ tax-exempt villages

Glossary

1027

unit of length measure; 331⁄3 centimeters

chi (Kor. chŏk) ᑵ

chi ᣞ unit of length measure, used in land measurement Chibifu ㉝ባ㈷ The Red Cliffs, by Su Shi Chibong yusŏl Ⱒᓘ㶴㦁

Topical Discourses of Chibong, by Yi Sugwang

chibŭi ᇮ⩇ second inspector (of the Office of Inspector General) chich’ik ᨥວ entertaining Chinese imperial envoys (ch’iksa) “Chich’ik chŏngnye posŏl” ᨥວᏽౚ⿭㦁 “A Proposal for Establishing Standard Rules Concerning the Entertainment of the Chinese Imperial Embassy” ch’idogon ἖┋Რ

clubs used during the interrogation of thieves

ch’igŏ᳔⅚ lighting torches for a royal trip chigonggŏ▩㈁᧸ examination administrator ch’igyemi / ch’igyesit’angami / sit’anga 㞙㭴⡷ / 㞙㭴ᰐ⅛൞⡷ / ᰐ⅛൞ rice for the magistrate’s supply

tax paid in

ch’igye saengnangmi 㞙㭴Ⰵⴘ⡷ sampling rice and the rice fallen out on the ground, which were additionally levied in conjunction with ch’igyesit’ankami Ch’ihyŏngyŏl ἖⦡⤎

Instructions on Governing the Districts

chiin ▩༰ pages; boy servants; seal keepers chikch’ŏp ⫃∥

letter of appointment

ch’ikgi ວዃ notice of the visit of the Chinese imperial embassy ch’ikgo ວᗔ Chinese envoys entertainment fund chikjang ├㛏 foreman; chief chikjŏn ├⏛ oblong field chili ᘩງ reducing labor-service requirements ch’iljŏng ୏᝗

seven emotions (from the Book of Rites)

chilŭp ㈹㑒 a district with a poor record of producing successful candidates for the civil ser vice examination ch’imgip’yo ◌ᇱ⾪ basic household survey (for famine relief); standard military record chimyŏllye ▩㟻⚨ courtesy fee for introduction chinbŏp 㝍Ἢ disposition of troops for battle chindae ㈨㈒ making loans to the people for famine relief; disaster relief loans ching ᠤ punish; punishment chingam ㈨┐ supervisor of famine relief chingp’o ᚢᕱ collection of military taxes (which was extremely exploitative) chin’gwan 㙗⟮

regional command garrison (of the central garrison system of 1457)

chinhŭi ㈨㤏 gratuitous contributions of grain for famine relief Chinhyulch’ŏng ㈨᜔ᘅ

Bureau of Famine Relief

Chinhyul samok ㈨᜔஥┘

“Regulations on Famine Relief”

chinja ㈨㈠ supplies for famine relief

1028

Glossary

chinjo ㈨⣉ selling grain at a reduced price for the purpose of famine relief chinjŏn 㝖⏛ abandoned fields chinli ㈨ྠ clerks in charge of relief efforts Chinmu kongsin ᣲṂຉ⮟ Chinmu [Display of Martial Bravery] merit subject, awarded to those who rendered distinguished ser vices in suppressing the rebellion of Yi Kwal (1624) chinno ㈨ዦ slaves employed for famine relief efforts chinsa 㐅ኃ presented scholar; literary licentiate chinsang 㐅୕ royal tribute; tribute in local products to the king and royal family chinsang ch’ŏmgami / chinsanggami 㐅୕῟൞⡷ / 㐅୕൞⡷ rice levy to pay for the cost of tribute to the king and royal family chinye ㈨䮌 slaves working in the granary during famine relief chipgang ᇮ⥐ guardian of morality; supervisor Chiphyŏnjŏn 㞗㈴Ẃ Hall of Worthies chipjŏk ᇮ㠅 groom who holds the bridle of a horse chip’yŏng ᣚᖲ fourth inspector chisa ▩஥ director of the National Confucian Academy; third minister without portfolio; second deputy director of the Royal House Administration; deputy director of the Office of the Royal Lectures; second magistrate of the State Tribunal chisa ᆀᖅ geomancer Chishulou ວ᭡ᵺ Law Code Office ch’isŏng 㞙ᇖ protruding bastions ch’o ဨ company (military orga nization) choal ᭽ㅔ courtesies paid by clerks and functionaries to their magistrate choboga ᭽ሒ൞ payment for official gazettes chŏbwigwan ᥃័ᏻ officials for entertaining Japa nese envoys chŏch’ae 㑨ബ debts owed to liaison agents choch’ang ₀ಲ maritime transport granaries chŏch’imi / chŏch’igami / chŏmi ආ⨠⡷ / ආ⨠൞⡷ / ආ⡷ rice reserved for the finances or expenditures of a local government ch’och’ŏn ᢊⷸ magistrate’s recommendation of talented men to the governor choech’e ⨝㐩 replacement of magistracy because of wrongdoings or crimes choet’ong ⨝㏳ indirect collaboration in a criminal act chŏga 㑨ᐓ house of a liaison agent for the subdistrict chŏga 㑨ᐓ liaison agent for a subdistrict or township chogon 㔦㪇 an exploitative practice committed by subfunctionaries like gatekeepers who sent old people to villagers to beg for donations of money chogun ₀㌯ grain-transport army or soldiers ch’ogwan ဨᏻ company commander

Glossary

1029

chŏgwŏn 㑨Ḋ power to collect various fees ch’ohŏn ㍂㌲

a vehicle used by high officials

ch’ojang ิሔ the first part of the civil ser vice examination chojol ₀༛ grain-transport soldiers chŏjol 㑨༛ liaison agent for a subdistrict or township chŏjol kŭnsujo 㑨༛ໂུ⛊ ch’ŏk (Ch. chi)ᑵ

ser vice fee for liaison agents

unit of length; a foot or about 14.1 inches in English measure

chokbae ᪐ᤴ exclusion based on clan (with regard to the distribution of relief grain) chŏkdae ᩓ⮱ gate-guard platform on a bastion chŏkgo ⡘㢫 decrease in bribe money in relation to household registration chŏkgyo ㅯஹ making acquaintance with an exiled official chokjing ᪐ᚢ taxes levied on relatives of a person who failed to pay his taxes, or levying such taxes ch’ŏkjŏk ᑵ⡘ standard record regarding the number of households and men for military ser vice, or making such a record chŏlchesa ⟿โ౐ commissioners of ordering and orga nizing chŏlch’ung changgun ᢙ⾢ᑒ㌯ general in charge of breaking the advance of the enemy, or defending general chŏldosa ⟿ᗐ౐ provincial military (army or navy) commander; military commissioner chŏljŏn 㚡⟲ iron arrows chŏlli ⏛ྠ clerk in charge of land administration chŏllye ๑ౚ customary payment to local officials on the day of grain distribution chŏlmok ⟿┘ ordinances chŏmch’on ᗉᮟ

artisans’ villages

chomi ₀⡷ grain to be shipped ch’ŏmji ഹ▩ fi ft h minister without portfolio ch’ŏmjŏng ഹ୍ enlistment of people for military ser vice tax ch’ŏmjŏng ഹḿ

fourth secretary (of the Royal House Administration)

ch’ŏmsa / ch’ŏmjŏljesa ഹ౐ / ഹ⟿โ౐ garrison commander ch’ŏmsŏ miljiksa ⡏᭡ᐠ├஥ notary of the Bureau of Military Affairs chŏn / qian 㗾

mace; one-tenth of a tael (yang or liang)

Chŏnbŏpsa ඼Ἢྒྷ Ministry of Justice chŏnbu డኰ small tenants ch’ŏnch’ong ༐ᦪ regiment commander chŏng ḿ director; supervisor; head chŏngam ⏛┐ lands superintendent ch’ongam ᮟ┐

subdistrict supervisors of famine relief

chŏngbae ᗖᤴ banquet held in the garden

1030

Glossary

ch’ŏngbaengni ῜Ⓣྠ pure officials; unblemished officials Chŏngbang ᨳᡛ Personnel Authority (established by Ch’oe U during the Koryŏ dynasty) Ch’ŏngbi songnok ῜⬹⧨㗬

Supplementary Volume to the Literary Essays of Yi Tŏngmu

Chongbusi ᏺ⡑ᑈ Records of Royal Family Office chŏngbyŏng ḿඹ duty soldiers; regular soldiers of commoner status chongch’e ⤂㐩 replacement of magistracy because of death chŏngdang ᨳᇸ administration hall chŏngdang munhak ᨳᇸᩝᏟ

official of the Directorate of Chancellors

chŏngdŏk ḿᚣ rectification of the people’s virtue Chongdŏkp’yŏn ⛸ᚣ⥽ Lives, by Kim Yuk ch’onggwan ᦪ⟮

New Edition of Judicial Precedents and Examples for Saving

area commander in chief

chŏnggwan ḿᏻ principal official Ch’ŏnggye haenggŏmsŏl ῜‿⾔᷑㦁

Record of the Autopsy Performed at Ch’ŏnggye

chongjang ⤂ሔ the last part of the civil ser vice examination ch’ŏngjing ᘅᚢ collecting embezzled money from all the personnel of a department that is involved in an incident of embezzlement or crime chŏngjŏn ஬⏛ well fields chŏngjŏnbŏp / chŏngjŏn kuilbŏp ஬⏛Ἢ / ஬⏛ஐୌἪ with-nine-tribute system Ch’ŏngmyŏng ῜᪺

well-field system; well-field-

Clear and Bright Festival

Chŏngnokch’ŏng ḿ㗬ᘅ Hall of Righteous Records (in the National Confucian Academy) ch’ongnonggun ⇭⡪㌯

a group of lantern holders

ch’ŏngnye / ch’ŏngnyejŏn ᘅ⚨ / ᘅ⚨㗾 gift money offered to a granary clerk at the time of his appointment, or to the military office at the time of enlistment ch’ŏngnyong 㟮㱗

blue dragon; mountain range on the left

chŏngŏn ḿゕ fourth censor Ch’ŏngp’a kŭkdam 㟮ᆗ๸ㄧ

Dramatic Essays of Ch’ŏngp’a, by Yi Yuk

chongsagwan ᚐ஥ᏻ retainer; aide to a high civil or military official chongsan ᏺᒜ mountains with the tombs of a clan chŏngsi mangwa ᗖムⴑ⛁ ch’ŏngsong ⫆ガ

new recruit examination for soldiers held at the palace

hearings for trial

chŏngt’oe ೳ㏝ extension of deadline (for tax payment) chŏngwan 㖡ᏻ officials in charge of personnel administration chŏngwan kakga പ㜕⬦൞ expenses for receiving and delivering official documents chŏngyŏl ⏛⤎ lands for taxation or on the tax record

Glossary

1031

Ch’ongyungch’ŏng ᦪᠹᘅ Anti-Manchu Division; Command of the Northern Approaches chŏnham ๑㖩 man who previously served in the government chŏnim പ௴ baggage carry ing chŏnjae ධⅇ complete disasters “Chŏnje ko” ⏛โ⩻ “Treatise on the Land System” in Design for Good Government, by Chŏng Yagyong Chŏnjesangjŏngso ⏛โリᏽᡜ Bureau of Land and Tax Administration Chŏnjo 㖡᭢ Ministry of Personnel Chŏnjung siŏsa Ẃ୯౜ᚒྍ palace censor chonmusa Ꮛ᧑౐ relief commissioner Chŏnsaengsŏ඼∽⨣ Office of Cattle and Livestock chŏnse ⏛㦦 land tax chŏnsegisŏn kamniyangmi ⏛㦦㥵⯢┐ྠ㕱⡷ rice paid to the district supervisor of land taxes who travels on the grain-transport ship chŏnsi Ẃム palace examination chŏnsu ඼Ꮼ observing rules and customs ch’ŏnt’aek ᕖ⃕ waterways and reservoirs Chŏnŭiwŏn ඼㓶㝌 Office of Medication ch’ŏnyŏk ㈶ᙲ ser vice for men of low status chŏpbansa ᥃ఔ౐ escort commissioner ch’ŏpyŏk ␤ᙲ dual taxation chŏri 㑨ྠ liaison agent for a subdistrict or township chosam ㏸⶙ processed ginseng chosŏn ₀⯢ grain-transport ships choŭnjŏnyul ㏸㖗㗾ᚂ criminal law against privately minting silver coins choye Ⓦ䮌 runners; stable slaves choyech’ŏng Ⓦ䮌ᓇ office of stable slaves choyogok ຐ᚛✈ grain designated for the relief of labor ser vices choyŏng ⃓⧯ caps for the display of disgrace, worn as a substitute for the punishment of chopping off the noses of those who wear them chuanheng ᕖ⾦ guardian of the waterways chuankuai ⏴⃛ reservoir channels chubu ୹⡑ recorder; assistant magistrate Chuci ᳾㎣ The Songs of the South; Poetry of Chu chudaozei 㝎┋㈣ eliminating bandits chuhaenggun ㉦⾔㌯ couriers chujŏkjang ዇⦴≢ magistrate’s self-evaluation submitted to the government

1032

Glossary

ch’ujong 㦌ᚐ

body servant; also called ch’ujong pangja

chukbi ⢓፣ female slaves in charge of making porridge during famine relief ch’ulch’e 㯬㐩 officials

replacement of magistracy because of an accusation made by other

Ch’umirwŏn ᶂᐠ㝌

Royal Secretariat; Palace Secretariat; Bureau of Military Affairs

Ch’umirwŏn chijusa ᶂᐠ㝌▩዇஥

advisor of the Royal Secretariat

Ch’umirwŏn pusa ᶂᐠ㝌๧౐ vice commissioner (of the Bureau of Military Affairs) Ch’unch’ugwan ᫋⚽㤃

Bureau of State Records

Chŭngbo munhŏn pigo ቏⿭ᩝ⋑ങ⩻ on Korea Chungch’u ௯⚽

Expanded Reference Compilation of Documents

Mid-Autumn Festival; Moon Festival

Chungch’ubu ୯ᶂᗋ

Office of Ministers without Portfolio

chungdaebu ୯ኬኰ ordinary great officer chunggi 㔔エ records for handover or takeover chŭnggo ቏఑ manipulation of grain tax for profiteering chunggon 㔔Რ heavy clubs chunggon ୯Რ medium-size clubs chunggun ୯㌯ provincial governor’s military aide; aide to a divisional commander chŭnggwangsi ቏ᗽム augmented examination Ch’unghunbu ᚽໍᗋ

Office of Merit Subjects

chunghwang ୯㯛 covering the middle of the road with yellow soil chunghyŏng ୯ฬ corporal punishments of medium degree chungsa ୯஥ medium criminal cases in terms of seriousness and complication chungsa ୯ኃ ordinary ser viceman Chungsŏmunhasŏng ୯᭡㛓ୖ┤ Chancellery for State Affairs Chungsŏsŏng ୯᭡┤ Secretariat chungyŏk 㔔ᙲ heavy duty chuno ᗴዦ kitchen slave Chunqiu ᫋⚽ Spring and Autumn Annals Chunqiu fanlu ᫋⚽⦶㟚 Rich Dew of Spring and Autumn Annals, by Dong Zhongshu Chunqiuwei ᫋⚽⦃ Prophetic Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals Chunqiu zhengyi ᫋⚽ḿ⩇

Commentary on the Chronicle of Zuo, by Kong Yingda

Chunqiu zuozhuan / ᫋⚽ᕞപ Spring and Autumn Annals and the Tradition (Commentary) of Zuo Qiuming; Commentary of Zuo; Chronicle of Zuo Chuogenglu ㍞⪌㗬 Essays Written during the Break in Plowing the Land, by Tao Zongyi churi ᗴྠ clerk in charge of the kitchen; also called kamsang churi ࿔∴ leg-screw torture

Glossary

1033

ch’uronch’ae ᥆ㄵബ debts that clerks owed to the government but transferred to the people chut’ang 㒿… entertaining girls or women chuxianguan ิ⋑ᏻ the officiant who offers the first wine cup at a sacrifice Chuyŏk (Ch. Zhouyi) ࿔᪾ Book of Changes chwabusŭngji ᕞ๧ᢆ᪠ fourth royal secretary Chwabyŏlch’o ᕞืᢊ Left Elite Patrol chwach’amch’an ᕞཥ㉑ sixth state councilor chwach’ansŏng ᕞ㉑ᠺ fourth state councilor chwaigwi ᕞ⩚⾠ guard of the left Chwamyŏng kongsin ఫ࿤ຉ⮟ T’aejong merit subjects chwasu ᗑ㤫 head seat; chief of the local yangban or gentry association; also called hyangim chwaŭijŏng ᕞ㆗ᨳ second state councilor; state councilor of the left chwayun ᕞᑴ second magistrate (of Hansŏngbu or Seoul Magistracy) cishi ๆྍ prefect; regional inspector; regional chief Ciyouyuan ិᖺ㝌 Asylum for Orphans congshi ᚐ஥ retainer Congzhenglu ⛸ᨳ㗬 Documents and Memoirs, by Xue Wenqing dadai ኬᖍ a large hanging belt worn by officiants at a sacrifice dafu ኬኰ grand master; great officer daitianfa ௥⏛Ἢ replacement-field method daizhi ᙽโ edict attendant dajiangjun ኬᑒ㌯ general in chief dali / daliqing ኬ⌦ / ኬ⌦༽ chamberlain for law enforcement dalicheng ኬ⌦୤ aide to the chamberlain for law enforcement dali pingshi ኬ⌦ビ஥ case reviewer for law enforcement dali shaoqing ኬ⌦ᑛ༽ vice chamberlain for law enforcement Dalisi ኬ⌦ᑈ Court of Judicial Review dalisiqing ኬ⌦ᑈ༽ chief minister of the Court of Judicial Review Da Minglü ኬ᪺ᚂ The Great Ming Code daming zhujiao ኬྞຐᨻ distinguished instructor dangzheng 㯴ḿ ward head daoren ✃ெ paddy supervisor daoyushi 㐠ᚒྍ circuit censor Da Qinglü ኬ῜ᚂ The Great Qing Code Da Qing lüli ኬ῜ᚂౚ Great Qing Code with Sub-statutes dasikong ኬྒྷ✭ grand minister of works

1034

Glossary

dasikou ኬྒྷᐡ minister of justice dasile ኬྒྷᵱ musician in chief dasima ኬྒྷ㤷 minister of war; commander in chief dasinong ኬྒྷ㎨ chamberlain for the national treasury; minister of revenue dasitu ኬྒྷᚈ grand minister of education daxueshi ኬᏟኃ grand academician Daxue yannibu ኬᏟ⾕⩇⿭ Supplement to the Explications of Great Learning, by Qiu Jun Daxue yanyi ኬᏟ⾕⩇ “Daya” ኬ㞖

Extended Meaning of the Great Learning, by Zhen Dexiu

“Greater Odes of the Kingdom”; “Greater Elegentiae”

Dengtan bijiu Ⓡቨᚪ✪

Must-Read Book for Warfare, by Wang Minghe

dianle ඼ᵱ manager of music dianshi ඼ྍ district jailer; clerk dianzhi Ẃ├ palace eunuchs diaoren ㄢெ arbitrator dichuan 㐩പ refusing accommodation to travelers Diguan ᆀᏻ Ministry of Education dishi ᆀ♟ earth deities Dongguan ෢ᏻ Winter Ministry; Ministry of Works; Winter Office “Dongguan kaogongji” ෢ᏻ⩻ᕝエ Work” in Rites of Zhou

“Winter Ministry with the Overseer of Public

dubao 㒌ಕ superior security group dudu 㒌╡ commander in chief Duduan ⋂᩿ Solitary Decisions, by Wang Su dudu tongzhi 㒌╡ྜྷ▩

vice commissioner in chief

duguan shangshu 㒌ᏻ㤆᭡

secretary in charge of criminal administration

dujian 㒌┐ director in chief Duli tongkao ㆣ⚨㏳⩻ by Xu Ganxue

Comprehensive Examinations on the Rites of Funeral,

duohun ኣ᫒ holding many wedding ceremonies without adhering too closely to what propriety normally requires Duoleibei ቙ῂ◻ Monument of Tears Dushulu ㆣ᭡㗬 Essays on Reading, by Xue Wenqing duwei 㒌ᑔ commandant; commander in chief duyou ╡㒉 local inspector duyushi 㒌ᚒ౐ censor in chief; also called zongxian Du zhihuishi si 㒌ᣞᥱ౐ྒྷ

Regional Military Commission

Duzhi panguan ᗐᨥึᏻ assistant administrator of the Revenue Section

Glossary duzhishi ᗐᨥ౐ revenue commissioner ejin 㢘㐅 students qualified to take the provincial examination erqianshi ஦༐▴ officials of 2,000-bushel rank Ershisandai shi ஦༎୔௥ྍ Twenty-three Official Dynastic Histories Erya ∖㞖 The Literary Expositor, by Guo Pu Fafan Ἢ⠂ Laws and Regulations, by Liu Yi Fajing Ἢ⤺ Canon of Laws, by Li Kui fang 㜭 bank to prevent outside water from infi ltrating Fangyan ᪁ゕ Dialect Dictionary, by Yang Xiong fanle ⶵᵱ putting away musical instruments Fayan Ἢゕ Words to Live By, by Yang Xiong fayunfushi Ⓢ㐘๧౐ vice transport commissioner; vice supply commissioner fayun panguan Ⓢ㐘ึᏻ assistant transport commissioner fayunshi Ⓢ㐘౐ transport commissioner (Tang dynasty); supply commissioner (Song dynasty) fen ฦ monetary unit; 1/100 yuan fenchan ฦ⣉ selling grain for the purpose of providing relief feng 㢴 folk song (in Classic of Poetry) fensong ㅍㄑ memorization and recitation fenxi ฦ㤏 distributing grain freely for the purpose of providing relief fu ㈷ rhymed prose; rhapsody fu ᗋ superior prefecture fucheng ᗋ୤ prefect fufen さ⓽ turning a jar upside down; grievance caused by unjust imprisonment fuguo dajiangjun ㍔ᅢኬᑒ㌯ great bulwark general of the state galli ዩྠ corrupt officials ganqi ᖱᡁ dance wielding a shield and an ax geishi huangmen ⤝஥㯛㛓 palace attendant geng ⩐ soup made of vegetables “Getan” ⴩ご “Vines of Arrowroot Extended Far” in Classic of Poetry gong ᣐ manacle Gongbu ᕝ㒂 Ministry of Works gongren ᭔ெ official in charge of mines gongsa / gongshi ㈁ኃ nominee for office gongyuan පဤ public agent gou ‹ aqueduct gu ᱱ handcuffs gu ῲ waterway

1035

1036

Glossary

guan ㈇ currency of the Tang dynasty; 100 taels (yang or liang); a measure of weight guanglu dafu ක⚍ኬኰ

grand master for splendid happiness

guangluqing ක⚍༽ chief minister of the imperial entertainments guangluxun ක⚍ໍ chamberlain for attendants (of the Court of Imperial Entertainments); an unofficial reference to the chief minister of the imperial entertainments guanhu ᏻ䍊 households in the ser vice of the local government “Guanju” 㜕㞞

“Fair, Fair, Cry the Ospreys” in Classic of Poetry

guannongshi ໒㎨౐ agricultural development commissioner Guanzi ⟮Ꮔ [Writings of] Master Guan, by Guan Zhong gui ㌮ measure of length that originally referred to the space between two wheels of a vehicle; 1 gui is approximately 8 ch’ŏk or feet; it is equivalent to a ren ௠, another unit of measurement Guishan ji 㱠ᒜ㞗

Collected Works of Guishan, by Yang Shi

“Guofeng” ᅢ㢴 “Airs of the States” in Classic of Poetry Guoshe ᅢ♣ grain god of the state or an altar for the grain god of the state Guoyu ᅢㄊ Discourses of the States, by Zuo Qiuming guozi ᅢᏄ scions of the state guozi zhijiang ᅢᏄ├ㅦ lecturer of the scions of the state Guwen Shangshu ཿᩝ㤆᭡

Old Text Shangshu

hadaebu ୖኬኰ junior great officer haengch’a kongbang ⾔ḗᕝᡛ clerk in charge of works in relation to the magistrate’s trip; also called kwalli haengch’ang ⾔ፕ

prostitutes

haesŏᴘ᭡ regular script Haeyurok ᾇ㐗㗬 The Record of Sea Voyage, by Sin Yuhan hahanyŏn ୖୖᖳ year graded as lower-lower hahyŏng ୖฬ minimum corporal punishments; low-degree corporal punishments hajŏngsa ㈙ḿ౐ New Year’s embassy to China hajungnyŏn ୖ୯ᖳ year graded as lower-middle Hakbongjip 㭧ᓘ㞗 Collected Works of Hakbong, by Kim Sŏngil hakchŏng Ꮯḿ first proctor (of the National Confucian Academy); instructor, second class hakgungch’on Ꮯᐋᮟ

villages with a county school

haksa Ꮯኃ academician hallim haksa (Ch. hanlin xueshi) ⩮ᯐᏟኃ hallim academician hallyang 㛡Ⰳ unemployed sons of civil and military officials Hanam swaehwa ᐨᕑ⍚ヨ Petty Tales by Hanam, by Chŏng Yagyong hangnok Ꮯ㗬 second proctor (of the National Confucian Academy); provost; instructor, third class

Glossary

1037

Hanlin shidu xueshi ⩮ᯐ౜ㆣᏟኃ Hanlin academician reader-in-waiting hansanin 㛡ᩋெ low-ranking elites and high-ranking commoners Hanshu ₆᭡ Book of Han, by Ban Gu; History of the Former Han Hansŏngbu ₆ᇖᗋ Seoul Magistracy Hansŏngbu chwayun ₆ᇖᗋᕞᑴ second magistrate of Seoul Magistracy Hansŏng p’anyun ₆ᇖึᑴ chief magistrate of Seoul Magistracy; metropolitan governor of Seoul hasa ୖኃ junior ser viceman hasamdo ୖ୔㐠 three provinces below Seoul: Ch’ungch’ŏng, Chŏlla, and Kyŏngsang provinces hasangnyŏn ୖ୕ᖳ year graded as lower-upper Hasan naengdam 㟐ᒜ⍚ㄧ Cool Stories of Hasan, by Chŏng Yagyong hech’an ࿰⣉ selling grain hehuanzhang ྙḽᮣ beating with double pleasure hemenzhihou 㛯㛓♶ು audience usher henglu ⾦㮭 forest manager; warden “Hetuluoshu” ἑᅪὔ᭡ “Diagram of the Yellow River and Signs on the Back of the Turtle” ho 䍊 a unit of three or four families in grain loan distribution hŏaek ⹤㢘 fraudulent tax figures hobae 䍊ᤴ exclusion based on household (with regard to the distribution of relief grain) hoengch’im ᶴ౴ indiscriminate violation hogang ㇞㆕ proud and powerful people (in local districts) hogwe ≏㤚 food to raise the morale of soldiers hogye 䍊ዉ household-based association hohaeng taejang ㆜⾔ኬᑒ protector general hojang 䍊㛏 household chief; main clerk of a district magistrate hŏjip ⹤ᇮ seizing blind spots Hojo chakjimi 䍊᭢ష⣤⡷ processing fee for the Board of Taxation Hojŏkch’ŏng 䍊⡘ᘅ Household Registration Office hokjae 㓖ⅇ severe disasters honch’ŏp 㛿ᕻ a special license or pass; also called mulgoch’ŏp Hongbao 㬠ໜ A Large Bundle, by Tu Long hongch’ŏp Ὕᕻ red-colored warrant (issued by a local magistrate) Hongjae chŏnsŏ ᘧ㰳ධ᭡ Complete Works of Hongjae, by King Chŏngjo Hongmun’gwan ᘧᩝ㤃 Office of Special Counselors; Institute for the Advancement of Literature hongwŏn 㛿Ḋ power to guard the gate

1038

Glossary

Hongwu ὝṂ reign title of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder of the Ming dynasty Hongwu lizhi ὝṂ⚨โ

Hongwu Ritual Regulation

hŏnjang ៿㛏 censor in chief in a local community hŏnnap ⋑⣙ third censor hop a measure of weight for grain; one-tenth of a sŭng hop’o 䍊ᕱ

household cloth tax

Hop’obŏp 䍊ᕱἪ hop’oron 䍊ᕱㄵ

Law on the Household Cloth Tax the idea of levying the cloth tax on households instead of individuals

horyŏm 䍊ᩙ household tax; tax collection per household horyŏng ⹨௦ giving commands hŏryu ⹤⏻ falsified record of grain reserve hosijŏn ᘴ▦⏛ a bow-shaped field hosu 䍊㤫 head owner designated by the government for the sake of collecting taxes; household head Houhanshu ᚃ₆᭡ History of the Later Han Dynasty, by Fan Ye; History of the Later Han housheng ཉ⏍ securing abundant means of sustenance hu ᩪ a measurement of grain that is the equivalent of 10 tu (Ch. dou) hu ሉ road sign; signpost Huangdi suwen 㯛ᖀ⣪ၡ Yellow Emperor’s Plain Questions “Huanghuangzhe hua” ⓒⓒ⩽ⰴ “Brilliant Are the Flowers” in Classic of Poetry huanguli ᖹ㦭⚨ rite of changing bones (practiced in a prison after an inmate is released from the cangue) Huangzheng congshu Ⲡᨳཽ᭡

Collectanea of Relief Administration, by Lin Xiyuan

huantu 㑇ᾍ curved roads huanxing ⥾ฬ reducing penalties; granting generosity to criminal offenders Huanzepian ᐆ⃕⠅ Lake of Official Life, by Zheng Xuan hubi langjiang ⹙㈚㑳ᑒ leader of court gentlemen brave like tigers Hubu 䍊㒂 Ministry of Revenue Hubulang 䍊㒂㑼 director of the Ministry of Revenue hŭimi 㤏⡷ relief grain distributed free of charge huiyi ᭫ណ ideographs Hullyŏn togam / Hunch’ŏng ィ㘗㒌┐ / ィᘅ Military Training Command (established during the Imjin War) Hullyŏnwŏn ィ⦆㝌 Military Training Agency (established in the early Chosŏn dynasty) Hŭmhŭm sinsŏ ḧḧ᩺᭡ Toward a New Jurisprudence, by Chŏng Yagyong “Hŭmyul chŏnch’ik” ḧ᜔඼์

“Regulations for Judicious Inquiry and Trial”

hundo ィᑙ instructor of a local Confucian school

Glossary

1039

hŭnghak ⮾Ꮯ promotion of learning hunjang ィ㛏 teacher of the private academy in a village; sometimes a senior student in the county school hwanch’e ᥦ㐩 replacement of magistracy because of transfer from one district to another hwangch’ŏp 㯛ᕻ permit to trade ginseng hwangch’ŏpse 㯛ᕻ㦦 tax on the permit to trade ginseng hwanggu chŏmjŏng / hwanggu ch’ungjŏng 㯛ཾ⡏୍ / 㯛ཾඖ୍ enlisting children on the military roster; fledgling legerdemain hwangijŏn 㑇㉫⏛ abandoned land that is recultivated hwangjangmok 㯛⭘ᮄ pines of the highest quality for making coffins and tombs for royalty hwangok / hwanmi / hwansangmi / hwanja / hwansang 㑇✈ / 㑇⡷ / 㑇୕⡷ / 㑇Ꮔ / 㑇 ୕ grain loan hwanjŏn ⎌⏛ a looplike field hwarang ⰴ㑼 male prostitutes; men of female shamans; clowns Hwasa ⰴྍ History of Flowers, by Im Che hwasokjŏn ℾ⢎㗾 fund for firewood and rice hwaŭi ␋⾨ types of clothing and caps with drawings to be worn by minor offenders hwayŏk ␋᪾ fortune-telling by drawing a portrait hyangbae 㒙ᤴ exclusion based on subdistrict (with regard to the distribution of relief grain) hyangch’ŏng 㒙ᘅ local yangban association hyangdang 㒙㯴 subdistrict (hyang) and village (tang), or local communities in general hyanggang 㒙⥐ person in charge of draft ing soldiers hyanggong 㒙㈁ tribute of local districts; provincial nominees hyanggyo 㒙ᰧ county school; local provincial school hyanghoe 㒙᭫ district or subdistrict convocation hyangim / hyanggap 㒙௴ / 㒙⏝ chief of the local yangban association hyangni 㒙ྠ local functionaries hyangnye 㤣⚨ local wine-drinking rite Hyangnye happ’yŏn 㒙⚨ྙ⥽ Integrated Edition of the Local Rites and Ceremonies hyangsarye 㒙ᑏ⚨ local archery rite; ceremony of archery hyangsi 㒙ム provincial examination hyangsoch’ŏng 㒙ᡜᘅ local yangban association; also called hyangch’ŏng or hyangso hyangsŭng 㒙୤ aides of the magistrate (including the chief of the local yangban association) hyang’ŭmnye / hyang’ŭmjurye 㒙㣛⚨ / 㒙㣛㒿⚨ local wine-drinking rite; drinking festivity in districts

1040

Glossary

hyangyak 㒙⣑ community compact; community-compact association HyeminsŏᝬẰ⨣ Office of Benefiting the People hyoch’in Ꮟの

fi lial piety

hyŏllyang-kwa ㈴Ⰳ⛁ special recommendation examination (urged by Cho Kwangjo in 1518) hyŏmch’e ᎒㐩 replacement of magistracy intended to avoid a superior who has a suspicious relationship with the former generations of the concerned official hyŏnan ᠩ╉ vertical slots made to see the enemy below a bastion hyŏngbang ฬᡛ criminal justice section (in a local district) Hyŏngjo ฬ᭢ Board of Punishments hyŏngni ฬྠ clerk in charge of punishments; law-enforcement clerk hyŏngsin ฬ゜ grilling a suspect while beating him hyŏnju ⋖㒿 clean water that is a substitute for sacrificial wine hyŏpgi / hyŏpgon ኾ㉫ / ኾᲠ

leg-screw torture

ibae 㔓ᤴ exclusion based on village (with regard to the distribution of relief grain) iban ❟᱄ exercising proprietary rights over public property ibang ❟ᡛ personnel section ich’ae ᕥ㈈ ich’ŏng ྠᘅ

remission of public loans hall of clerks

iga ༌㣱 concealment of starving people igŏ⛛ཡ moving out Igwi ⩚⾠ Wing Guards igye 㔓ዉ village-based association Ihak t’ongnok ⌦Ꮯ㏳㗬 General Records of Neo-Confucian Philosophers from the Song and Yuan to the Ming Period, by Yi Hwang ii ⛛㔓 moving or transferring to another village iim 㔓௴ head of a village ijing 㔓ᚢ coercing residents to pay the tax that was embezzled by yamen clerks Ijo ྠ᭢ Board of Personnel ijŏng 㔓ḿ head of a village ijŏng ⛛ᏽ upgrading the status of military ser vice duty to make an individual pay more taxes ikp’o ༌㏥ ikp’yo ༌Ṡ

concealment of starving households to cover up one’s irregularities concealment of death by starvation

iksa ༌Ṓ concealment of the death toll iksal ༌ṽ concealment of death from mistreatment ilgyŏng ᪝⪌ the land that can be plowed by an ox in a day Ilsa yusa 㐋ኃ㐿஥ Records of Hermits, by Chang Chiyŏn

Glossary

1041

Imgwan chŏng’yo ⮣ᏻᨳこ Essentials for Local Magistrates, by An Chŏngbok imhyŏng ᯐ⾦ forest inspector imu ⛛㈘ trading for personal gain ingbong ௓ᤕ the practice of collecting taxes in accordance with the precedents ingmyŏngsŏ⮣ྞ᭡ books anonymously written with a seditious purpose ingsu ௓ᄾ taken into custody; detained ingumi ெཾ⡷ head tax Ingyerok ᅄ⧜㗬 Incidents and Their Causes, by Chŏng Chaeryun injing 㝼ᚢ levying tax on the neighbors (of a man who ran away) injŏngjŏn ெ᝗㗾 comfort money injŏngmi ெ᝗⡷ processing fee for clerks paid in rice Injo panjŏng ொ♵ཬḿ Injo Restoration (1623) ino ྠዦ clerks and slaves inodae ྠዦ㝪 clerks and slaves unit ipbon ❟ᮇ making up for deficiency; reparation; making money through loans to the people Ipch’u ❟⚽ Onset of Autumn Ipch’un ❟᫋ Onset of Spring Ipdong ❟෢ Onset of Winter Ipha ❟ኚ Onset of Summer ipji ❟᪠ official attestation; official certificates irae ⛛ౖ moving in iryul ୌᚂ death penalty or a penalty equivalent to capital punishment iyong husaeng ฺ⏕ཉ⏍ profitable usage and popu lar benefit jia ᯤ cangue jiajie ೣೇ borrowing jiancha yushi ┐ᐳᚒྍ investigating censor jianghu ໳䍊 artisan households jianjun ┐㌯ army supervisor Jianshou zidaolu ┐Ꮼ⮤┋ᚂ statute concerning supervisors or custodians who steal money or grain from granaries or treasuries jianyi / jianyi dafu / jiandafu ㅃ㆗ / ㅃ㆗ኬኰ / ㅃኬኰ grand master of remonstrance jianyunshi ┐㐘౐ supervisor of transportation jiaoban (Kor. kyop’an) ㍉ᯀ instructions on the standard implements of punishment jiaoguan ᨻᏻ educational official; school instructor jiaomin ᨻẰ educating the people jiaoren ᨻெ commandant of the royal stud jiaoshou ᨻ᤭ instructor

1042

Glossary

jiasi ຊᄿ adding four jiatou ⏝㢄 tithing chief jie ௒ gentleman invited as a guest to the local wine-drinking rite jiebei ⣎᝭◻ a memorial stone for the wicked jiedushi ⟿ᗐ౐ military commissioner Jieminji ᠼẰ㞗 Collection of Admonitions for the People, by Zhang Yong Jihe Yuanben ᖼరཋᮇ Elements [of Geometry], translated into Chinese by Matteo Ricci jijiu ⚅㒿 libationer; chancellor of the National Academy Jingchuan wubian ⲚᕖṂ⥽ Jingchuan’s Treatise on Military Matters, by Tang Shunzhi jinglueshi ⤺␆౐ military commissioner jingtu ⤺ᾍ straight roads jingzhaoyun ா඗ඒ metropolitan governor Jinshu ᫪᭡ Book of Jin, compiled by Fang Xuanling; History of the Jin Jinsilu ㎾ᛦ㗬 Reflections on Things at Hand, by Lu Zuqian and Zhu Xi jintui 㐅㏝ advancing and withdrawing in the game of pitch-pot jinzouguan 㐅዇ᏻ capital liaison representative Jiuhuang bencao ᨾⲠᮇⲙ Edible Plants and Trees for Famine Relief, by Zhu Su jiuqing ஐ༽ nine ministers; nine chamberlains jiuti ஐ㧋 nine types of style or writing (which are tested in the civil ser vice examination) jiwen エᩝ chronicle Jixia Ꮢኚ June of the lunar calendar Jixiandian / Jixiandian shuyuan 㞗㈴Ẃ / 㞗㈴Ẃ᭡㝌 Academy of Scholarly Worthies Jixiao sinshu ⣎ᨸ᩺᭡ New Book on Effective Military Tactics, by Qi Jiguang jizhuanghu ᐞⲹ䍊 households attached to the ser vice of lords of manors jun ൂ assistant (to the master of ceremonies of the county school) jun 㑾 commandery jun ㌯ military prefecture junguo 㑾ᅢ commanderies and princedoms; territorial administrations junren ᆍெ revenue official juntian zhidu ᆍ⏛โᗐ equal-field system juren ᧸ெ recommendees; nominees for appointments in the civil ser vice Juyangyuan ᑽ㣬㝌 House for Nourishing the People kabun ຊฦ releasing the grain that is set aside for emergencies kach’ogwan ೣဨᏻ temporary company commanders kachwach’aek ᐓᆓ෇ record book of household seats kaeguk kongsin 㛜ᅢຉ⮟ dynastic foundation merit subjects kaekho ᐂ䍊 landless households

Glossary

1043

kagŭmmi ຊ⤝⡷ additional surtax paid in rice Kagwŏn 㛮㝌 a general designation for the Palace Library (Kyujanggak) or the Royal Secretariat (Sŭngjŏngwŏn) kaicao taijian 㛜₀ኯ┐

director of water transportation

kajip ຊᇮ additional grain taxes collected by the magistrate for lending and profiteering kakdae ぽ⮱ corner towers kamch’al ┐ᐳ bailiff (of the Office of the Inspector General) kamch’al sisa ┐ᐳ౜ྍ

attendant censor

kamch’angsa ┐ಲ౐ commissioner in charge of supervising the state granaries of the Northeast Circuit (Tongbungno) kamgo ┐⩻ examiner kamgwan ┐ᏻ supervisory official; supervising officer (of famine relief) kamjin ŏsa ┐㈨ᚒ౐ royal inspector for supervising relief efforts kammok ┐∶ supervisor of animal husbandry kamni ⏝ฺ dual interest kamsa ┐ྒྷ governor; regional inspector kamsang ┐჌ clerk in charge of the kitchen; also called churi kamsi ┐ム examination overseer kamsŏn ΅⭻ cutting down on food and side dishes during a famine kamun ᐓ㛓 families of good lineage k’an a space between two objects “Kanggao” ᗛㄐ

“The Announcement to Prince Kang” in Classic of History

kanghyangsa 㜾㤮౐ a royal representative in charge of offering sacrifices in Buddhist temples or other places kangmu ch’asawŏn ྘ຸᕣ౐ဤ officials temporarily recruited for various commissions from the king kangno ┐ᘶ crossbow kangp’ae Ờ∡

a kind of gambling

kanjŭng ᖱㅿ witness kanryŏn ᖱ㏻ persons who are implicated in a crime kansaengmi ┫Ⰵ⡷ extra rice collected for the potential loss of grain stored in the granary; extra rice collected for sampling kansang ┫┞ telling the fortune of an individual by observing his ancestral grave sites Kapcha sahwa ⏝Ꮔኃ⚕

Literati Purge of 1504

karok ຊ㗬 entering an additional detail on the record Karye chagŭi ᐓ⚨㒻ൢ kasŏn taebu Ⴢၻኬኰ

Marriage Ritual Procedure, by Chŏng Yagyong official of excellent goodness

Kesheng ᐂ┤ Guest Bureau

1044

Glossary

Kesi ᐂྒྷ Visitors Bureau ki ᪕ banner or platoon, of three or five squads kich’ong / kijang ᪕ᦪ / ᪕㛏 banner-unit leader; platoon leader kich’u 㥵ⰼ shooting from horseback kiin kongmul යெ㈁∸ tribute middlemen dealing in charcoal and torches kijungga / kijunggi / kijungsoga ㉫㔔ᯣ / ㉫㔔ჹ / ㉫㔔ᑚᯣ pulley (designed by Chŏng Yagyong during the construction of Suwŏn Fortress) kimin toyusa 㣒Ằ㒌᭯ྒྷ director in charge of famine relief kip’aegwan ᪕∡ᏻ officer of banner and tally kisagwan エ஥ᏻ copyist (Bureau of State Records) kisang エ୕ registration of a man as a slave kisil エᐄ record keeper; private secretary ko ᗔ depository; treasury kogbu ✈⡑ grain register kogŭpjo ⩻⤝⛊ voluntary after-tax contributions kogyŏl ᣕỬ torture interrogation Kojŏgŭi ⩻⦴㆗ Commentary on Ancient Precedents, by Chŏng Yagyong kŏjop ᑽ᥃ intensive training of students for kwaye competitions kok ᩪ measurement of grain; 10 mal koksŏng ᭜ᇖ L-shaped walls kŏlsa ஑ኃ monks who grow hair komabŏp 㞘㤷Ἢ law on hiring horses kŏmdok ᷑╡ superintendent (for tax collection) kŏnga ஜ൞ expenditures for entertaining guests kongbong ౩ዅ providing tribute and allowances to the magistrate kongch’o ౩ᣅ deposition kongdang පᇸ public hall kongdohoe ප㒌᭫ preliminary civil ser vice examination given by an aide (tosa) to the governor or magistrates of superior districts such as Kaesŏng and Kanghwa konghyŏng පඕ chief clerk; head clerk kongi kakgami ප⛛⬦൞⡷ rice tax for expenses for delivering official documents kongin ㈁ெ tribute middlemen or merchants kongin yŏkgami ㈁ெᙲ൞⡷ fee paid to tribute men in the granaries in Seoul Kongjo ᕝ᭢ Board of Works “Kongjŏn” ᕝ඼ “Laws on Public Works” Kongjo p’ansŏᕝ᭢ึ᭡ minister of works kongmyŏngch’ŏp ✭ྞᕻ letter of appointment with no name kongno ✭⩹ aging without promotion

Glossary

1045

kongno ᕝዦ slave artisan kongp’o ㈁ᕱ military cloth tax based on household registration kongsa ප஥ public matters related to tribute kongsach’ŏn ප⚶㈶

public or private slaves of base status

Kongsa kyŏnmunnok ප⚶ず⪲㗬

Public and Private Records, by Chŏng Chaeryun

kongsam ㈁⶙ tribute ginseng kongwŏn පဤ public agent konjang Რᮣ beating with a heavy stick; heavy stick for torture kono ᗔዦ storehouse slaves or runners kŏrŏn ஑ゕ begging for words from guests Koryŏsa 㧏㮿ྍ History of Koryŏ kŏryunsŏn ㌬㍧⯢ boats moving on wheels kosin ࿈㌗ letter of appointment koŭm 㡚 complaint; statement of confirmation issued by government authorities; reconsideration before making a final decision on criminal cases kugojŏn ྀ⫝̸⏛ right-triangle field kugwan swaemajŏn ⯀ᏻใ㤷㗾 magistrate

rice tax for the travel expenses of the departing

kuhwan ⯀㑇 grain loans whose payment is postponed by a royal decree; old debts Kuhwang pyŏkgokbang ᨾⲠ㎚✈᪁ Grains, by King Sejong

Ways of Solving Starvation through Alternative

kujŏn ཾ㗾 head tax kujŏnbŏp / kujŏnnon ཾ㗾Ἢ /ཾ㗾ㄵ military tax be paid with cash) Kukcho oryeŭi ᅢ᭽஫⚨ൢ Kukcho pogam ᅢ᭽ᑆ㚯

head-tax law or policy (which requires that the

Five Rites of State Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns

kulli ㌯ྠ military clerk; army recruiter; also called sech’osaek 㦤ᢊⰅ kulmae ᤸᇔ disinterring bones or a skeleton from an inauspicious place kulroe ❅ᷪ/ ❅ൽ

itinerant puppeteers

kumajo 㦕㤷⛊ imposts on driving tribute horses (to Seoul) kŭmbulang ⚏ᗋ㑼 lieutenant of the State Tribunal Kŭmgun ⚏㌯ Forbidden Soldiers kŭmnan changgyo ⚏டᑒᰧ temporary law-enforcement officers who control traffic during the visit of Chinese envoys or high personages kŭmsan ⚏ᒜ forbidden mountains Kŭmsong chŏlmok ⚏ᮿ⟿┘ Prohibition against Logging Pines kŭmwibo ⚏⾠ಕ support soldier for Forbidden Guard soldiers Kŭmwigun ⚏⾠㌯ Forbidden Guard soldiers

1046

Glossary

Kŭmwiyŏng ⚏⾠⇧ Forbidden Guard Division; Capital Garrison kŭmyang ⚏㣬 conservation of forests kŭn (Ch. jin) ᩱ

unit of weight; catty

kun 㑾 county; commandery kun ㌯ division; corps kunan ㌯᱄ district reports submitted to the provincial army command and garrisons kunbojŏn ㌯ಕ⏛ funds or lands in a village for the purpose of paying the village’s tax quota; also called yŏkgŭnjŏn kundoan ㌯㒌᱄ military documents dispatched from the central government kung ᐋ castration; one of the five punishments kungbangch’on ᐋᡛᮟ

village with lands or estates granted to princes and princesses

kungbangjŏn ᐋᡛ⏛ land or estates granted to princes and princesses kunggyo ᐋஹ making connections with royal families Kungisi ㌯ჹᑈ Weapons Bureau kungjangt’o ᐋⲹᅰ

lands belonging to the palace or royal families

kungjŏnch’on ᐋ⏛ᮟ village with land or estates granted to princes and princesses kungwan ㌯ᏻ military officer; gate-guard officer kungwanch’ŏng ㌯ᏻᘅ

hall of military officers

kungyo ㌯ᰧ law-enforcement officials; military cadre members kunhyangbo ㌯㣫ಕ support soldier for guards in charge of military provisions kunim ㌯௴ military officer kunja ྦᏄ man of virtue; superior man Kunjagam ㌯㈠┐ Quartermaster Bureau kunjagok ㌯㈠✈ grain traditionally used for famine relief kunjangmi ㌯ష⡷ grain administered by the military, originally for the purpose of famine relief kuno / kujong ᗬዦ / ᗬᚐ kunp’o ㌯ᕱ

stable slaves

military cloth tax

kunp’ogye㌯ᕱዉ

voluntary mutual-assistance association for the military cloth tax

kunsaengnang ㌯Ⰵ㑼 officials of the Board of War who are in charge of collecting the military cloth tax kŭpch’an ⣥‐

the ninth office in the Silla kingdom; head-rank nine

kŭpch’ang ཀྵ၌ attending slave kup’iga ≰⓮൞ kwach’e ⎡㐩

courtesy fee for low-ranking officials replacement of magistracy because of official expiration of a term

kwagŏ⛁᧸ civil examination or civil ser vice recruitment examination kwalli 㤃ྠ clerk in charge of works in relation to a magistrate’s trip; also called haengch’a kongbang

Glossary

1047

kwan ㈇ a measure of weight or currency (10 taels or yang) kwanbansa 㤃ఔ౐ officials who entertain Chinese envoys in Seoul kwanbi ᏻ፣ official female slaves kwanbu ᏻᗋ departments of the government kwanch’alsa ぼᐳ౐ governor; surveillance commissioner; also called kamsa kwanch’ŏp 㜕ᕻ tallies for famine relief Kwandong 㜕᮶ Kangwŏn Province kwandunjŏn ᏻᒚ⏛ local government land kwangak 㤃㛮 academies and institutes Kwangnŭng chinbŏp ක㝘㝍Ἢ disposition of troops devised by Kwangnŭng (King Sejo) kwan’go ᏻᗔ public treasury kwanhyangsa ⟮㣫౐ commissioner of military provisions kwanhyŏk ㈇㠁 target kwanjang ᏻ໳ artisans employed by the government kwanju 㤃୹ master of the house in charge of exiles kwanju ᏻᗴ yamen kitchen kwanmu ᏻ㈘ grain privately purchased for famine relief kwanmyŏng ෗ྞ a name given upon marriage kwanno ᏻዦ government slaves kwannoch’ŏng ᏻዦᘅ office of government slaves kwanp’o ᏻᗈ kitchen office of the local government kwansa ᏻ஥ matter relating to the local government kwansang ぼ㇗ meteorologist Kwansanggam ぼ㇗┐ Directorate of Astronomy Kwansŏ 㜕け P’yŏngan Province and the northern part of Hwanghae Province kwansu ᏻ㞺 the magistrate’s stipend and official expenses kwasilga ᯕᐹ൞ expenditure for fruits kwaye ㄚ⸜ tests given to the students in the county school kwich’ŏk ㈏ᡁ royal family or the king’s in-law family kwigŭn ㈏㎾ nobles or officials close to the royal power Kwihusŏṏཉ⨣ Funeral Regulatory Bureau kwŏn ໒ exhortation kwŏnbun ໒ฦ exhorting donations during a famine kwŏngwan Ḋ⟮ recruiter kwŏn’gye ไዉ documents privately drafted; contract; bond Kwŏnmuch’ŏng ໒Ṃᘅ Military Promotion Agency kwŏnmun Ḋ㛓 men of power and influence kye ዉ voluntary mutual-assistance associations

1048

Glossary

kyebang ዉᡛ a village or an association formed to protect members against military taxes kyebangch’on ዉᡛᮟ a village whose residents sign up with an official for low-rate ser vice in order to reduce the collective tax burden kyego ዉ㢫 difficulty in raising funds through kye associations kyeho ዉ䍊 household-based associations kyep’an ゛∟ table of reckoning; document of accounts kyobi ᰧ፣ female slave hired by a school kyoim ᰧ௴ headmaster of a county school kyoja ᶣᏄ palanquin kyojegok ஹ㝷✈ grain for famine relief administered by local governments kyŏkch’uk ᧤㏪ the act of physically disabling a promising candidate so that he may fail to show up at the military examination kyŏl ⤎ a constant measure of crop yield produced by an area that varied from 2.2 to 9.0 acres depending on the fertility of the land kyŏlchŏn ⤎㗾 cash surtax on land kyŏlch’ong ⤎⦳ the total lands on the tax records kyŏlgon ỬᲠ heavy stick for punishment; beating with a heavy stick kyŏlhu ingjipyul Ửᚃ௓ᇮᚂ penal law for those who refuse to accept the court’s decision after a trial kyŏlmi ⤎⡷ rice tax per kyŏl of land kyŏlp’oron ⤎ᕱㄵ the policy of collecting military taxes in cloth Kyŏlsong yuch’wi Ửガ㶴⪱ Guidance for Civil Suits kyŏlsŭp Ửᣘ instruments for archers such as thimbles and shoulder pads kyomin ᨻẰ educating the people kyŏmt’op’osa ඾ゞᤍ౐ commissioner of suppression and apprehension concurrently in charge of a district magistracy kyŏmyŏngjang ඾⇧ᑒ garrison commander concurrently in charge of a district magistracy kyŏng (Ch. qing) 㡥 100 mu; 16.27 acres kyŏngch’agwan ᩏᕣᏻ special crop assessors Kyŏngch’ip 㦣⼹ End of Hibernation Kyŏngguk taejŏn ⤺ᅢኬ඼ National Code; Great Code of 1469 kyŏngjae ㍕ⅇ less severe disasters kyŏngjŏmi ா㑨⡷ rice tax for a district’s agent in Seoul Kyŏngjŏnsa ⤺⏛ྒྷ Land Management Office kyŏngjuin / kyŏngjŏri ா୹ெ / ா㑨ྠ a district’s capital agent Kyŏngmongsi ᧤ⵒモ Poems for Children kyŏngnyŏk ⤺Ṏ adjutant (of the Office of Inspector General)

Glossary

1049

kyŏngsa ாྒྷ Seoul metropolitan government and the Board of Punishments; the term can indicate some other government organizations in Seoul Kyŏngse yup’yo ⤺ୠ㐿⾪ Design for Good Government, by Chŏng Yagyong kyŏngsigwan ாムᏻ metropolitan examiner from Seoul kyŏngyŏk ㍕ᙲ light duty Kyŏngyŏn ⤺⟑ Classics Colloquium; Office of the Royal Lectures kyŏngyŏngwan ⤺⟑ᏻ participant in the Classics Colloquium; official of the Office of the Royal Lectures kyono ᰧዦ slave employed by a county school kyŏnyŏch’on ⫢㍷ᮟ

villages designated to carry the sedan chairs of officials

kyori ᰧ⌦ fi ft h counselor of the Office of Special Counselors kyosaeng ᰧ⏍ students in provincial schools Kyujang chŏnun ዆❮ධ㡡

Comprehensive Prosody Authorized by the Palace Library

Kyujanggak ዆❮㛮 Palace Library (of the Chosŏn dynasty) kyujŏn ᅽ⏛ field in a corner Kyulsa ᶪྍ History of Tangerine kyumun 㛳㛓 female quarters kyunjŏnsa ᆍ⏛౐ commissioner of land reassessment Kyunyŏkbŏp ᆍᙲἪ Equalized Tax Law; Equal-Service Law of 1750 Kyunyŏkch’ŏng ᆍᙲᘅ

Bureau of the Equalized Tax

Kyunyŏk sasil ᆍᙲ஥ᐹ

Real Facts about Equal Labor Ser vices, by Hong Kyehŭi

langguan 㑳ᏻ court gentleman; director; vice minister langzhong 㑳୯ gentleman of the interior; director “Lantian xuancheng tingbi ji” ⠯⏛⦡୤ᘅባエ “Inscriptions on the Office Wall of Assistant Magistrate of Lantian District,” by Han Yu leji ᵱ⡘ records of musicians lezheng ᵱḿ music master lian ⠯ vessel designed to hold rice Lianbing shiji ⦆ඹᐹエ

Records of Military Training, by Qi Jiguang

lianfang shizhe ᗦ㜭౐⩽ royal inspector liang 㬯 weight measure; 1 tael Libu ⚨㒂 Ministry of Rites Libu yuanwailang ྠ㒂ဤአ㑼 vice director in the Ministry of Personnel licheng ⚨୤ a member of the local gentry association who is in charge of rites lie า

rows of hollow patches in a paddy field

liehou า౲ marquis lienshi ᗦ౐ investigation commissioner Lienuzhuan าዥപ Stories of Exemplary Women, by Liu Xiang

1050

Glossary

Liexianzhuan า௜പ Biographies of Immortals, by Liu Xiang ligui ཙ㨛 abandoned spirits Liji ⚨エ Book of Rites; Classic of Rites ling ௦ director; magistrate lingchang ௦㛏 district magistrate Lingnan tanfang chuzhishi ᕃ༞᥀ゴ⹞⨠౐ investigating supervisory commissioner of Lingnan linsheng ᘀ⏍ students provided with food and accommodation by the royal academy Lishu ⚨᭡ Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial litian ງ⏛ field supervisor litian ke ງ⏛⛁ civil ser vice examination based on agriculture litou ᭅ㢄 ration certificate with a distribution calendar liucao ඵ᭢ six sections liuliumian ඵ᪒ෑ a cap with six sets of stringed beads in the front liushou ⏻Ꮼ regent Liushousi ⏻Ꮼྒྷ Regency liushu ඵ᭡ six categories of Chinese script; six types of formative principles in Chinese characters liuti ඵ㧋 six types of literary style or writing (which are tested on the civil ser vice examination) liuyi liuyi ඵ⸜ඵൢ six arts and six rites Lixianpu 㶻⦡ㆍ Records of Villages and Districts, by Fu Yan liyong ฺ⏕ supplying the conveniences of life lobok ㊨༣ baggage carry ing Longtuge 㱗ᅪ㛮 Dragon Diagram Hall louche ⪚㌬ sowing cart (used in ancient China) loudou ⪚ᩧ a sort of sowing machine (used in ancient China) louli ⪚≈ plow lu ㊨ circuit Lumen yinshu 㮭㛓㞇᭡ Secret Book of Deer Gate Mountain, by Pi Rixiu “Luming” 㮭㫾 “The Sounds of Deer Calling One Another” in Classic of Poetry “Luming zhishi” 㮭㫾஄௉ “Decade of Luming” in Classic of Poetry Luozhijing ⨮⧂⤺ Book for Arresting and Punishing Criminals, compiled by Lai Junchen lushi 㛷ᖅ supervisor of villages lushi canjun 㗬஥ཥ㌯ administrative supervisor Lüshi Chunqiu ࿁Ắ᫋⚽ The Annals of Lü Buwei lusuqian ᤄ㨀㗾 tax for touching beards “Lüxing” ࿁ฬ “Marquis Lü on Punishments”

Glossary Mabyŏlch’o 㤷ืᢊ maep’yo ᇔᵾ

1051

Elite Horse (a cavalry unit created by Ch’oe U)

burial sign

Maessi sangsŏp’yŏng ᱭẮ㤆᭡ビ Chŏng Yagyong magamch’ae ☳ືബ

An Evaluation of Mei Ze’s Classic of History, by

closing fee

majo 㤷ᘣ a kind of gambling (in the old days) mal colloquial for tu, one-tenth of a sŏm (coll. for sŏk) manggwe ᭻㤚 grain distributed to the people before the first full moon of the year manggwŏllye ᭻㜐⚨ ritual ceremony to pay respects to the royal court where the king is Mangi yoram ⴑᶭこぺ Sanggyu in 1808

Manual for All State Affairs, compiled by Sŏ Yongbo and Sim

Mangjong Ⱊ⛸ Grain in Ear mangwa ⴑ⛁ practice of recruiting unqualified military officials through the military examination manho ⴑ䍊 lesser garrison commander maqi jiangjun 㤷㥵ᑒ㌯

chariot and horse general

Menxia shilang 㛓ୖ౜㑼

vice director of the Chancellery

Miam ilgi ┩ᕑ᪝エ Diary of Miam, by Yu Hŭich’un mianxinli ඞ᩺⚨ rite of acceptance (practiced in a prison) Mige ⛆㛮 Palace Library mijŏn ┩⏛ an eyebrow-shaped field Miljiksa ᐠ├ྒྷ Royal Secretariat miljiksa ᐠ├౐ royal secretary min ⥷ a string (of coin money) Minboŭi Ằሊ㆗ Treatise on the People’s Self-Defense and Fortification Strategies, by Chŏng Yagyong; Manual on Self-Defense Fortification mingfu ࿤፦ spouse of an officially appointed magistrate or a high-ranking official minggu ᪺ᱱ a cangue on which the name and crimes of a prisoner are written mingguan ࿤ᏻ an officially appointed magistrate Mingjing ᪺⤺ classics examination for civil ser vice mingo Ằᗔ public depository or miscellaneous taxes for the public depository; local tax storehouse; taxes for the local state storehouse mingojŏn Ằᗔ㗾 public depository tax Mingshi ᪺ྍ History of the Ming Dynasty; History of Ming mingyŏl Ằ⤎ land subject to taxation minsa Ằ஥ civil matters, especially abuses and irregularities related to the people misu ᮅᨪ uncollected

1052

Glossary

modafu ቉ኬኰ grand master of cemeteries mogok ⪎✈ extra rice for the potential loss in collecting the grain loaned to the people; wastage charge Mogŭnjip ∶㞇㞗 Collected Works of Mogŭn, by Yi Saek moksa ∶౐ magistrate (who serves in the city or on an island) monggŏn ᖫᕮ hoods for minor offenders, which were designed for punitive purposes mongmul ch’ain ᮄ∸ᕣெ

commissioner in charge of wooden products

morok ා㗬 forgery of personal information mu ⏿ a measurement of land area, about one-sixth of an acre or 259.46ੌ muaek ↋㢘 nonexistence of a fi xed quota for recruiting military officials mugyo Ṃᰧ law-enforcement officer mugyŏk ᕢど shamans; sorcerers and sorceresses mugyŏng Ṃ⤺ military classics muhak ṂᏟ military student archers muk / mukhyŏng ቕ / ቕฬ

tattooing the forehead as punishment

mulgo / mulgoch’ae ∸ᨶ / ∸ᨶബ death gratuity mulgŭmch’ŏp ໗⚏ᕻ

a special license or pass; also called honch’ŏp

mulli 㛓ྠ subfunctionaries in charge of guests and visitors mun ᩝ a unit of currency munansa ၡᏭ౐ emissary dispatched to inquire about the health of Chinese envoys munha p’yŏngjangsa 㛓ୖᖲ❮஥ grand councilor of the Secretariat munhasijung 㛓ୖ౜୯ director of the Chancellery munhasilang 㛓ୖ౜㑼 vice director of the Chancellery Munhasŏng 㛓ୖ┤ Chancellery Munhŏnbigo ᩝ⋑ങ⩻ Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea; Administrative Encyclopedia of Korea munjol 㛓༛ gate guards; runners munŭp ᩝ㑒 a district famed for producing successful candidates for the civil ser vice examination munye 㛓㞍 runners; gate guards; also called saryŏng munyŏp’o ᕢዥᕱ cloth taxes levied on female shamans muren ∶ெ breeder of sacrificial animals Muwŏn Ṃ㝌 Military Affairs Agency Muwŏnnok ↋ᐝ㗬 literally, Record of Removing Grievances; a book of medical jurisprudence used during the Chosŏn period Myŏngjong sillok ᪺ᏺᐹ㗬

Veritable Records of Myŏngjong

Myŏngryundang ᪺೒ᇸ Hall of Illuminating Moral Principles (in the county school or the National Confucian Academy)

Glossary

1053

myŏni 㟻⛛ moving or transferring to another subdistrict myŏnjŏn / myŏnp’ojŏn ⥝ᗵ / ⥝ᕱᗵ a licensed store selling silk and linen; one of the six licensed stores (yugŭijŏn) in Seoul myŏnjuga ⥝⣱൞ expenditure for silk myŏnjuin / myŏnim / 㟻୹ெ / 㟻௴ liaison agent for the subdistrict or township myŏnsillye ඞ᩺⚨ rite of acceptance (practiced in a prison) nabyŏk ⿼☈ making the head of an offender bare by taking off his cap, which is designed to generate a sense of shame nach’e ᣙ㐩 replacement of magistracy because of wrongdoings (committed before or during a magistracy) naech’e 㐨㐩 replacement of magistracy because of transfer to a position in the central government in Seoul naech’e ౖ㐩 replacement of magistracy that takes place when an official in the central government is relegated to a local magistracy naejae 㐨ⅇ partially declared disaster (areas) naeryong ౖ㱗 descending dragon; an extended branch from a main mountain naesa 㐨⯂ secretary naesin 㐨⮟ eunuchs Naesusa 㐨㞺ྒྷ Palace Supply Bureau Naeŭiwŏn 㐨㓶㝌 Palace Physicians’ Court nagase ⨮ᐓ㦦 an exploitative practice committed by subfunctionaries like gatekeepers who sent old people to villagers to beg for donations of money najudo chiwhisa ⨮ᕗ㐠ᣞᥱ౐ commander in chief of Chŏlla Province nakhyŏng ⅱฬ torturing with a red-hot iron nakjŏngmi / nangmi ⴘᗖ⡷ / ⴘ⡷ literally, the rice fallen on the ground in the process of measuring it; extra charge of rice for the potential loss of grain stored in the granary namhyŏng ⃻ฬ excessive or abusive punishment Namin ༞ெ Southerners or the Southerners faction Nange jijiu ༞㛮⚅㒿 libationer of Southern Pavilion nanggwan 㑳ᏻ court gentleman; unofficial reference to the director in a ministry; vice minister; duty officers in ministries nangjang 㑳ᑒ commandant; leader of court gentleman nanjang 㔴ᮣ reckless beating nangjung 㑳୯ director Nanshi ༞ྍ History of the Southern Dynasties nanzheng dajiangjun ༞ᙹኬᑒ㌯ general in chief for southern expeditions nasam ⨮ཥ ginseng produced in the region of Kyŏngju neishi 㐨ྍ chamberlain for the capital; royal secretary; administrator; director of the Secretariat

1054

Glossary

niefu ⮦๧ vice surveillance commissioner nodae ᘶ⮱ arrow-launching platforms noje ⩹㝎 people who are exempted from military ser vice tax because of old age nojŏm ⇼ᗉ foundry; forge; smithy Nongam munjip ⫇ᕑᩝ㞗 Collected Works of Nongam, by Yi Hyŏnbo nonggu ㎨ㅳ folk ballads or songs designed to promote agriculture nongshi ㎨ᖅ agriculture master nongzheng ㎨ᨳ agriculture director Nongzheng quanshu ㎨ᨳධ᭡ Complete Book of Agricultural Adminstration, by Xu Guangqi; Complete Treatise on Agriculture nongzheng zhonglangjiang ㎨ᨳ୯㑼ᑒ leader of court gentlemen in agricultural administration Noron ⩹ㄵ Old Doctrine faction nugŏ⪚㌬ planter nuhu ዥ䍊 widow-headed households nujo ⁻ᵬ water tanks (established on fortress walls) nuoli ඍ⚨ ritual performed to drive away evil spirits o ం the five; squad Obu ஫㒂 Five Wards (in the capital) obun pyŏlli ஫ฦ㑌ฺ 50 percent annual interest odo ஫┋ five thefts odŭk ஫ᚋ five gains ogakjŏn ஫ぽ⏛ a pentagonal field ŏgongmi ᚒ౩⡷ tribute rice to the king Ogunmun / Oyŏngmun / Ogunyŏng ஫㌯㛓 / ஫⇧㛓 / ஫㌯⇧ Five Army Garrisons; Five Military Divisions ohyŏng ஫ฬ five forms of corporal punishment oik ஫༌ five concealments ojak ௱ష coroner ŏkbae ᢒ㒼 forcing the people to borrow grain for the sake of making a profit Okdang ⋚ᇸ Office of Special Counselors okgwŏn ⊱Ḋ power to imprison people okgyoja ᒁᶣᏄ a palanquin used by high officials and their families omadae ஫㤷㝪 five-horse formation ongsŏng ⏆ᇖ jar walls Orijŏng ஫㔓ி a pavilion located five li away from the yamen that was designed to welcome or see off guests Oryeŭi ஫⚨ൢ The Ceremonies of Five Rites

Glossary Oryun haengsildo ஫೒⾔ᐹᅪ Yi Pyŏngmo ŏsa ᚒྍ censor

1055

The Five Human Relationships Illustrated, compiled by

osil ஫኶ five losses Owi ஫⾠ Five Commands Oyŏng ஫⇧ Five Divisional Headquarters of the General Army (Kyŏnggi Province Division); also called Five Army Garrisons (Ogunyŏng or Ogunmun); five camps or formations ŏyŏngbo ᚒ⇧ಕ support soldier for Royal Division soldiers Ŏyŏngch’ŏng ᚒ⇧ᘅ Royal Guards Command; Royal Division Ŏyŏnggun ᚒ⇧㌯ Royal Division soldiers p’ach’ong ᢍᦪ

battalion commander

paech’ik kyosaeng 㝑ວᨻ⏍ Confucian students carry ing an imperial message p’aech’ŏp ∡ᕻ

tallies for the military cloth tax

Paegun sosŏl Ⓣ㞴ᑚ㦁

Notes on Poems and Other Trifles, by Yi Kyubo

p’aejŏm ざ༥

seizing land through trickery and blackmail

p’aejŏn ∡Ẃ

palatial shrine in the local yamen

Paekga sobo Ⓤᐓᑚㆍ

Abridged Genealogies of a Hundred Families

paekgol chingp’o Ⓣ㦭ᚢᕱ skeleton tax or military cloth tax on the dead paekho Ⓣ⹙ white tiger; mountain range on the right paekhwal ⓉὩ petitions presented by the people paekjing Ⓣᚢ coercive tax collection Paengnyŏngu Ⓤ⪻ྀ A Hundred Chinese Poems for Elementary Students, by Kim Inhu; also called Paengnyŏn ch’ohae p’aja ◒Ꮚ

fortune-telling by analyzing the Chinese characters of an individual’s name

p’ajinyŏn ◒㈨ᐑ banquet to mark the closing of relief activities pakch’e 㥅㐩 replacement of magistracy because of impeachment by taegan, the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Censor General p’alch’on ඳᑇ eight degrees in kinship relation palgoje Ⓢ࿈⚅ presacrifice ceremony designed to report to the spirit on the ceremony to be held p’aljin ඳ㝍

eight array formations

P’almabi ඳ㤷◻ Eight Horses Monument panch’on Ἶᮟ a village in the neighborhood of pangung, which is the National Confucian Academy panchwayul ཬᆓᚂ reciprocal penalty for the crime of which a person is falsely accused pangbŏnjŏn 㜭␊㗾 tax for excusing duty soldiers from ser vice (in the western province) panggo 㜭㢫 decrease of the clerks’ income from their ser vice fee

1056

Glossary

panggyŏl 㜭⤎ yamen clerks’ borrowing of money from the people for their personal purposes pangho pyŏlgam 㜭㆜ื┐ military officer in charge of a local district pangja / pangno ᡛᏄ / ᡛዦ room slaves; male government slaves (who clean rooms and toilets) pangjŏn ᪁⏛ quadrate fields pangjuin ᆎ୹ெ subdistrict agent; also called myŏnjuin pangnap 㜭⣙ indirect payment; private transaction between local landowners and yamen clerks for their mutual interests pang’ŏsa 㜭ᚒ౐ defense commander p’angwan ึᏻ administrative assistant; assistant to the provincial governor; assistant district magistrate; administrator of grain transport Pan’gye surok ☾‿㞁㗬 The Jottings of Pan’gye, by Yu Hyŏngwŏn p’angyŏlsa ึỬ஥ chief of the Bureau of Slave Administration p’anjunch’ubusa ึ୯ᶂᗋ஥ second minister without portfolio pansagwan 㡲㉟ᏻ officials who proclaim a royal amnesty p’ansŏึ᭡ minister p’anŭigŭmbusa ึ⩇⚏ᗋ஥ chief magistrate of the State Tribunal p’anyun ึᑴ chief magistrate (of Hansŏngbu or Seoul Magistracy) pei 㒼 accepting sacrifices along with other deities pi / pihyŏng ๔ / ๔ฬ cutting off the heel as punishment pibyŏllang ങ㑌㑼 director of the Border Defense Council Pibyŏnsa ങ㑌ྒྷ Border Defense Council or Border Defense Command p’ich’e 㑂㐩 replacement of magistracy intended to avoid a superior who is a kinsman pich’ong / pich’ongbŏp Ẓ⦳ / Ẓ⦳Ἢ provincial quota system Piguk deungnok ങᑻㅖ㗬 Records of Border Defense Council pija ፣Ꮔ female government slaves pijang ⿳ᑒ attendant officer p’il ༆ bolt; a measure of cloth p’ilsŏn ᙄၻ second tutor (of the Crown Prince Tutorial Office) pin ㈩ guest; chief guest pingaek ㈩ᐂ inviting or serving guests; honored guests pingduling ᖲ㒌௦ acting chief clerk pingjŏngga ể୍൞ remuneration for ice makers pingzhangshi ᖲ❮஥ manager of affairs; chancellor pinju ㈩୹ chief guest P’irwŏn chapki ➱ⱄ㞧エ An Author’s Trivia, by Sŏ Kŏjŏng pisŏgam ⛆᭡┐ director of the Palace Library

Glossary po (Ch. bu) ṁ

1057

double pace; land area measure or distance measure; 8 chi or 2 yards

po ᑆ public funds established (for a certain purpose) po ὎ reservoir po ಕ support person; security group p’obo / p’osubo ◑ಕ / ◑ᡥಕ serve musketeers

support person for artillery; support person assigned to

p’och’on ὾ᮟ seacoast villages P’odoch’ŏng ᤍ┋ᘅ

Agency for the Arrest of Thieves

pogo ಕ㎗ the period of responsibility for crimes pogŏಕ᧸ recommendation of talented men by the local residents to the magistrate pogo yangin ಕ㎗㣬ெ

taking care of a victim

pogwŏljŏn さ᭮⏛ a field in the shape of an overturned moon p’ogwŏn ᤍḊ

power to arrest

Pohan chip ⿭㛡㞗 Collection to Relieve Idleness, by Ch’oe Cha p’ohŭm ㏥Ḗ using public property (mostly grain paid for taxes) for a personal purpose or the private loans made in that context pohwangok ሒ㑇✈ grain loan for famine relief poin ಕெ support persons or taxpayers pojang ಕ㛏 security-group head p’ojinga ᕱ㝖൞ expenditures for banquet equipment pokbun ༣ቜ geomancy; fengshui pokgŏmgwan さ᷑ᏻ official who performs the second autopsy pokjŏng ༣ᏽ compulsory allocation of products to the district that is carried out by the governor’s office pŏllye ⨡⚨ ritual of forcing someone who made a mistake to obtain wine for others Pomungak ᑆᩝ㛮 Pomun Pavilion ponch’e ᮇ㧋

clerical writing style, which is often illegible

pongch’e ᑌ㐩 replacement of magistracy because of the closing of the granary and dismissal carried out by a royal inspector ponggi muhak ዅ᪕ṂᏟ high personages

banner-holding military guards escorting the carriage of

ponggong ዅප serving in public office pongjok ዅ㊂ support personnel (for duty soldiers) pongsa ዅ஥ clerk; a low-ranking official working at the Military Training Agency (Hyllyŏnwŏn), the Weapons Bureau (Kungisi), or other government agencies pongsan ᑌᒜ government-reserved forests pŏnjil ཬష making a false report on the status of releasing and collecting grain p’ono ᗈዦ kitchen slave

1058

Glossary

pŏnp’o ␊ᕱ military cloth tax based on military registration pŏnsanggun ␊୕㌯ rotating ser vice troops po’o ಕం local militia squad p’ook ◑ᒁ batteries equipped with cannon p’oru ⯉ᵺ sentry tower poshi ༡ኃ erudite posok ṁ⢎ ambulatory grain p’osu ◑ᡥ artillery soldiers p’osubo ◑ᡥಕ support person for artillery soldiers poyŏkjŏn ⿭ᙲ㗾 monetary fund for labor ser vice pu ㇿ one-hundredth of a kyŏl pu 㒂 regiment of the Military Training Agency pu ᗋ special capital; prefecture pu ㈷ tax; rent pubun 㒂ฦ making formations pugami ᾃ൞⡷ surtax paid in rice puhwan ௛㑇 fabricating documents without lending grain pujehak ๧ᥞᏟ first counselor (of the Office of Special Counselors) pujŏng ๧ḿ vice director pujongmi ୘㊂⡷ surtax paid in rice for a shortage Pukhak ŭi ໪Ꮯ㆗ Discourse on Northern Learning, by Pak Chega p’um’gwan ဗᏻ local officials in special government ser vice, such as head of the local yangban association (chwasu) or special director (pyŏlgam) p’un the lowest unit of the old currency; 1/100 yang (liang) punbae ฦᤴ principle of distribution and exclusion (with regard to distributing relief grain) pundo changgun ฦ㐠ᑒ㌯ provincial military commander p’ungch’ae 㢴ബ a designation for gifts presented by officials to their superior on the occasion of the latter’s promotion p’unghŏn 㢴៿ village representative; guardian of the customs and laws punsŏk ฦ▴ dividing a bag of rice to make it look double its amount by mixing the rice with chaff pup’yoch’ae ௛ᵾബ ser vice charge for changing the military record of a dead support person puryŏm ㈷ᩙ levy and collection of taxes pusam 㜻⶙ ill-shaped ginseng puwŏngun ᗋ㝌ྦ great lord puwŏnsu ๧ඔᖃ vice supreme field commander

Glossary

1059

puyun ᗋᑴ special capital magistrate; metropolitan magistrate p’yaejang 㛚⸕ closing of Heaven and Earth (during the winter) p’yaesagun ᗼᄿ㑾 four abolished counties Pyŏkp’a ൠὬ Party of Principle; Principle subfaction pyŏlchwa ืᆓ adjunct official of rank 5 upper class pyŏldae / pyŏldaegun ื㝪 / ื㝪㌯ special cavalry pyŏlgam ื┐ special director; assistant to the chief of a local yangban association (hyangch’ŏng) pyŏlhwan ื㑇 request or begging for the grain in the granary for a personal purpose pyŏljang ืᑒ special commander; special officers pyŏlli ืྠ special clerk pyŏlsi ืム special examination pyŏlsumi ืᨪ⡷ special rice surtax p’yŏmch’e ㈐㐩 replacement of magistracy because of poor job performance p’yŏnbok 㠬ᡪ whips and sticks to be employed in the magistrates’ courts and schools p’yŏngbŏn ᖲཬ reinvestigation or reduction of penalty for suspicious criminal charges pyŏngch’e ⑋㐩 replacement of magistracy because of sickness Pyŏnghak chinam ඹᏟᣞ༞ Instruction in Military Science; A Military Tactic Book for Training Soldiers Pyŏngja horan ୣᏄ⬄ட Manchu invasion of 1636 p’yŏngjangsa ᖲ❮஥ manager of affairs; de facto chancellor pyŏngma chŏldosa / pyŏngsa ඹ㤷⟿ᗐ౐ / ඹ౐ provincial army commander; provincial military commander pyŏngma ch’ŏmjŏlchesa / ch’ŏmsa ඹ㤷ഹ⟿โ౐ / ഹ౐ garrison commander p’yŏngsa ビ஥ case reviewer (who served as an aide to a provincial military commander) pyŏngyŏng ඹ⇧ provincial military commander’s headquarters p’yŏnjŏn ∞⟲ short small arrows p’yŏnsugwan ⥽ಞᏻ junior compiler (of the True Records Institute; of the Academy of Scholarly Worthies) p’yosŏnjŏn ⁳⯢㗾 tax for dealing with shipwrecks qian Ⴏ lack qian 㗾 mace; one-tenth of a tael; a mass measurement; equivalent to 5 grams qiandu / qianduyushi ഹ㒌 / ഹ㒌ᚒ౐ assistant censor in chief qiangxiangling ㆕㡧௦ magistrate with integrity who would not bend his head qianshi ഹ஥ assistant commissioner of the Regional Military Commission Qianziwen ༐Ꮚᩝ Thousand Character Essay, by Zhou Xingsi “Qi congbian xingfan zhuang” ஑ᚐ౼⮾㈅≢ “Request for Permission to Sell Grain at One’s Convenience,” by Zhu Xi

1060

Glossary

qiduwei 㥵㒌ᑔ commandant of cavalry “Qi jinedi zhuang” ஑⚏㐜⣇≢ “Appeal with Regard to the Prohibition of the Purchase of Rice,” by Zhu Xi qing ༽ minister qing (Kor. kyŏng) 㡥 a measurement of land; 100 mu Qinglü jizhu ῜ᚂ㍬ダ Collected Commentaries on the Codes of Qing China Qingmiao fa 㟮ⱉἪ Green Sprouts Act Qiqi tushuo ዃჹᅪ㦁 Diagrams and Explanations of Wonderful Machines, by Johann Terrenz Schreck and Wang Zheng qishao ᪕ဨ platoon leader Qiuguan ⚽ᏻ Autumn Ministry with the Overseer of Penal Affairs; Ministry of Justice qu ῲ reservoir; waterways “Quaner” ༶⪝ “Though I Gather the Cocklebur” in Classic of Poetry “Quannong pang” ໒㎨ᴮ “Notice on the Promotion of Agriculture,” by Zhu Xi “Quannong wen” ໒㎨ᩝ “Essay on Encouraging Agriculture,” by Zhu Xi Quannong yi ໒㎨㆗ Treatise on Promoting Agriculture, by Zhu Xi “Quechao” 㭄ᕚ “The Magpie’s Nest” in Classic of Poetry quji ཡᖼ suspending inspection and patrol of the gateways and markets quyiqian ῲ௿㗾 “that-man” tax ren ௠ a measurement of height or length; 8 chi in Zhou; approximately 2 yards sa ྒྷ battalion; bureaus of the Six Ministries sa ኃ civil servants; ser vicemen; scholars; retainers sabigok ⚶ങ✈ grain for famine relief administered by local magistrates Saboksi ྒྷൃᑈ Royal Stable Court sabudˇungjˇon ᄿ୘➴⏛ a field whose four sides are unequal in length sach’ang ♣ಲ granary (in a local district) sach’e ㎣㐩 replacement of magistracy because of resignation submitted to protest a superior’s disrespect or insult sach’on ᑈᮟ villages located at the entrance of Buddhist temples sadae kyorin஥ኬஹ㝼 policy of serving a stronger state and maintaining a friendly relationship with neighboring countries sadan ⤤ᅫ fortune-telling by reading the face of a female customer sadan ᄿ❻ four beginnings (of feeling) in the Mencius saekdae a device to check grain; sticking tube saekjang Ⰵᤰ master of ceremonies at a local wine-drinking rite saengjin ⏍㐅 persons who passed the civil ser vice examination in classics and literature, respectively; classics licenciate (saengwŏn) and presented scholar (chinsa) saengnangmi / nakjŏngmi Ⰵⴘ⡷ /ⴘᗖ⡷ rice fallen out on the ground

Glossary

1061

saengni Ⰵྠ clerks in the local district office who are in charge of grain saengwŏn ⏍ဤ classics licentiate saeng yuksin ⏍ඵ⮟ six loyal subjects sagan ྒྷㅃ second censor sahyŏngjŏn ⺤ᙟ⏛ a snake-shaped field sain ኃெ scholars; unemployed scholars Sajae ch’ŏgŏn ᛦ㰳᦯ゕ Selected Sayings of Sajae, by Kim Chŏngguk sajikdan ♣⛿ቨ altar for the guardian deity of the state sajingok ⚶㈨✈ grain for famine relief administered by local magistrates sajok ኃ᪐ scholars who have held public office or their descendants sajŏn Ᲊ⏛ spindle-shaped field sajŏngch’ae ᰕᏽബ ser vice charge for the investigations of a dead support person and his replacement saksŏn konggami ᭶⭻ᕝ൞⡷

tribute tax paid in rice

saksŏnmi ᭶⭻⡷ rice provided to royal palaces sal ṽ death penalty salch’ŏng ṽ㟮

eating barley that is unripe (during a famine)

samae gungiyul ⚶㈵㌯ჹᚂ

penalty for those who secretly sell military weapons

Sambŏpsa ୔Ἢྒྷ Board of Punishments, Office of Inspector General, and Hansŏngbu (Seoul Magistracy) Sambyŏlch’o ୔ืᢊ Three Elite Patrols samdan ୔ቨ three altars: Sajikdan, Yŏdan, and Sŏnghwangdan samgan ୔ዩ three imposters Samgang haengsildo ୔⥐⾔ᐹᅪ Samguk sagi ୔ᅢྍエ

The Three Bonds Illustrated

History of the Three Kingdoms

Samguk saryak ୔ᅢྍ␆ Tonguk saryak

Condensed History of the Three Kingdoms; also called

Samgunmun ୔㌯㛓 Three Army Offices: Military Training Agency, Forbidden Guard Division, and Royal Division samgyŏng ୔ா three capital cities (Seoul, Kaesŏng, and P’yŏngyang) samhon ch’ilbaek ୔㨞୏㨠 three spirits and seven ghosts samhwat’o ୔࿰ᅰ mixture of lime, sand, and earth samhyŏn ୔⤃ three stringed instruments: kayagŭm, Tang pipa, and kŏmungo samjaedae ୔ᡧ㝪 three-element formation consisting of Heaven, Earth, and man samjok ୔᪐ whole family (clan); paternal family, maternal family, and in-law family samjŏllin ୔ว㝼 the three closest neighbors of a suspect (who live in front of, behind, and by the side of the suspect)

1062

Glossary

samnam ୔༞ three southern provinces: Ch’ungch’ŏng, Chŏlla, and Kyŏngsang provinces Samsa ୔ྒྷ a general designation for the Office of Inspector General, the Office of Censor General, and the Office of Special Counselors; State Finance Commission (Koryŏ dynasty) samsumi ୔ᡥ⡷ rice tax for the military Samŭisa ୔㓶ྒྷ a general term for the medical offices in the palace: the Palace Physicians’ Court (Naeŭiwŏn), the Office of Medication (Chŏnŭiwŏn), and the Office of Benefiting the People (Hyeminsŏ) sande sanxing ୔ᚣ୔⾔ three virtues and three acts Sanfu ୔ᗋ Three Departments (the Secretariat, the Department of State Affairs, and the Chancellery) Sanfu ୔㍔ Three Metropolitan Areas; three guardians sangch’e ႕㐩

replacement of magistracy because of parents’ death

sangdae ┞௥ repaying loans with substitute grain sangdaebu ୕ኬኰ senior great officer Sanggang 㟎㜾 Frost Descent Sanggu poch’an ႕ර⿭⧡

Supplementary Compilation on Funerary Equipment

sangho ୕䍊 upper households sanghyŏng ୕ฬ high-degree corporal punishments; severe corporal punishments sangjingok ᖏ㈨✈ grain for famine relief administered by the Ministry of Taxation sangjŏngnye リᏽౚ standard exchange rate sanglin liushi ᱋ᯐඵ஥ six points of self-examination made in the forest of mulberry trees Sangnye sajŏn ႕⚨ᄿ⟚ Four Commentaries on Funeral Rites, by Chŏng Yagyong sang’odo ୕஫㐠 five provinces above Seoul: Hamgyŏng, P’yŏngan, Hwanghae, Kangwŏn, and Kyŏnggi provinces Sangŏ pangŏn ᒜᑽᨲゕ Words of a Mountain-Dweller Sangp’yŏngch’ang ᖏᖲಲ Ever-Normal Granary Sangp’yŏngch’ŏng ᖏᖲᘅ

Ever-Normal Bureau, for price stabilization

sangsa ୕ኃ senior ser viceman; senior civil servant Sangsanbu chŏngdang kaegŏn ilyŏk ㇗ᒜᗋᨳᇸᨭᘋ᪝ᭅ Daily Record of Koksan Prefecture Regarding the Renovation of Its Main Office, by Chŏng Yagyong sangsangnyŏn ୕୕ᖳ year graded as upper-upper Sangsannok ㇗ᒜ㗬 Record of Koksan, by Chŏng Yagyong Sangsŏwŏn 㤆⍖㝌 Seals Office Sangŭi chŏryo ႕ൢ⟿こ

Essentials of Mourning Ceremony, by Chŏng Yagyong

sanlao ୔⩹ elder; district elder sanli ᩋฺ providing grain seed and provisions on loan

Glossary

1063

Sanli yishu ୔⚨⩇␨ Annotations on the Three Rites sanmyŏng ⟤࿤ fortune-telling by the hour and date of birth sanqi changshi ᩋ㥵ᖏ౜ cavalier attendant-in-ordinary sansangok ⵓᒜ✈ grain for famine relief administered by local governments “Sansa pimyŏng” ᒜᑈ◻㖥 “An Epitaph in a Mountain Temple,” by Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn sansishi ୔ྒྷ౐ state finance commissioner Sant’aeksa ᒜ⃕ྒྷ Bureau of Mountains and Marshes Sanwei ୔⾠ Three Capital Guards Sanxianfa / Samhanbŏp ୔㝀Ἢ law of three deadlines in legal proceedings sanyul ⟤ᚂ accountants of the Office of Mathematics or law officials in general Sanyulch’ŏng ⟤ᚂᘅ Office of Mathematics, which is a branch of the Board of Taxation Saongwŏn ྒྷ㤡㝌 Royal Cuisine Office sap’aeji ㈯∡ᆀ lands granted to royal families and merit subjects sap’yo ᄿᵾ description of direction sarok ྒྷ㗬 record keeper; local administrator saryŏng ౐௦ runner, servant sasŏྒྷ᭡ fourth tutor (belonging to the Crown Prince Tutorial Office; 6a) sasu ♣ᶖ sacred tree at the altar of the earth deity Sayŏgwŏn ྒྷ㆖㝌 Court of Interpreters sa yuksin Ṓඵ⮟ six martyred ministers sech’o 㦤ᢊ semiannual summary evaluation report on the performance of local officials, submitted by the Board of Personnel and the Board of War sech’osaek 㦤ᢊⰅ army recruiter sefu Ⴃኰ bailiff; husbander; functionary segok 㦦✈ grain tax segwa 㦤⛁ preliminary civil ser vice examination segwe 㦤㤚 grain distributed to the people before New Year’s Eve Seja ikwisa ୠᏄ⩚⾠ྒྷ Standby Guard for Heir Apparent Seja sigangwŏn ୠᏄ౜ㅦ㝌 Crown Prince Tutorial Office semi 㦦⡷ land tax set’ae 㦦ኯ tax paid in beans shaai 㶳ဖ simplifying the performance of mourning rites shanfu ⭻ኰ food steward (of the Ministry of State) Shangjunshu ၛྦ᭡ Book of Lord Shang shangshu 㤆᭡ chief steward for writing; imperial secretary; minister Shangshu 㤆᭡ Classic of History; Book of Documents; also called Shujing Shangshu dazhuan 㤆᭡ኬപ The Great Tradition of Classic of History, by Fu Sheng shangshulang 㤆᭡㑼 secretarial court gentleman

1064

Glossary

shangshuling 㤆᭡௦ director of the Imperial Secretariat Shangshusheng 㤆᭡┤/ 㤆᭡㒌┤ Shangshu youpushe 㤆᭡ྎൃᑏ Shangshu zuocheng 㤆᭡ᕞ୤

Department of State Affairs; Imperial Secretariat

junior vice director of the Imperial Secretariat assistant director of the left of the Imperial Secretariat

Shangshu zuopushe 㤆᭡ᕞൃᑏ

senior vice director of the Imperial Secretariat

shangzhuguo ୕ᰍᅢ supreme pillar of state Shanhaijing ᒜᾇ⤺ Classic of the Mountains and Seas shaobao ኯᏄᑛಕ

junior guardian of the heir apparent

shaobao / taizi shaobao ᑛಕ / ኯᏄᑛಕ

junior guardian of the heir apparent

shaochuan ᑛപ junior mentor shaoqing ᑛ༽ vice minister Shaowei tongian ᑛ᚜㏳㚯 Selected Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government, by Jiang Zhi; also called Tongjian jieyao Shecangyi ♣ಲ㆗ Discourse on the Granary, by Zhao Nanxing Sheji ♣⛿ land and grain (deities) shejin ⯂⚏ relaxing the prohibitions on mountains and ponds so that people can find food shejitan ♣⛿ቨ altar of land and grain shenceshi ♼➿౐ commander of the Army of Inspired Strategy sheng (Kor. sŭng or toe) ༓

a measure of weight used for grain; 1 peck

sheng ∽ animals used for sacrifice sheng ┤ department shengjiang ஌㜾 the courtesy of ascending and descending in the game of pitch-pot shengli ┳⚨ reducing the scale of celebrations and entertainments for guests Shengluocha ⏍⨮ๅ a living demon who eats men alive shi ▴ a Chinese unit of grain volume; 1 picul shi モ poetry shi ஥ ser vices rendered in building irrigation channels and reclaiming land Shiba silue ༎จྍ␆ Zengshi silue

Brief History of Ancient China, by Zeng Xianzhi; also called

shichang ᖅ㛏 master responsible for instructing the people; mentor Shidaijia wenchao ༎ኬᐓᩝ㕊

Anthology of Ten Great Writers

shidu ౜ㆣ reader-in-waiting (an attendant skilled in reciting classics) Shiermen lun ༎஦㛓ㄵ

Discourses on the Twelve Schools of Thought

shigongshi 㦤㈁ኃ tribute students Shiji ྍエ Records of the Grand Historian, by Sima Qian Shijing モ⤺ Classic of Poetry; Book of Odes; Book of Songs

Glossary

1065

shilang ౜㑼 attendant gentleman; vice director; vice minister Shisanjing zhushu ༎୔⤺Ἰ␨ Commentaries on Thirteen Classics, edited by Ruan Yuan; The Thirteen Classics, Annotated with Commentary shishi ኃᖅ chief judge shishi ᖅẮ palace master shiyushi ౜ᚒྍ attendant censor shizhong ౜୯ palace attendant; princely attendant; director of the Chancellery shou Ꮼ magistrate; prefect shoupei ⤸ా an apronlike garment with hanging decorations Shuihu zhuan Ềപ Water Margin, by Shi Naian Shuike dashi 㦦ㄚኬ౐ commissioner in chief of the Commercial Tax Office Shuikesi 㦦ㄚྒྷ Commercial Tax Office Shuili tujing Ềฺᅪ⤺ Illustrated Record of Irrigation and Flood Control shuiyu Ề⹧ superintendent of waters shumishi ᶂᐠ౐ palace secretary; military affairs commissioner Shumiyuan ᶂᐠ㝌 Palace Secretariat; Bureau of Military Affairs shumi zhixueshi ᶂᐠ├Ꮯኃ auxiliary academician of the Bureau of Military Affairs Shuowen / Shuowen jiezi 㦁ᩝ / 㦁ᩝゆᏊ Analytical Dictionary of Characters, by Xu Shen; Explaining Single-Component Graphs and Analyzing Compound Characters Shuoyuan 㦁ⱄ Gardens of Persuasions, by Liu Xiang sicheng ྒྷᇖ director of the Bureau of Operations sifa ྒྷἪ law-enforcement official sigijŏn ᫤㉫⏛ active and taxable lands siguan ྒྷ㜕 supervisor of customs duties sihu ྒྷ䍊 revenue manager Sikgyŏnch’ŏng ᜝⫢ᘅ Shoulder-Resting Bureau sikong ྒྷ✭ minister of works; Capital Construction Office; Central Prison sildae ኶㈒ loss of grain loans sile ྒྷᵱ music director silgwanjik ኶ᏻ⫃ loss of a job in the government silhŭi ኶㤏 loss of relief grain sili ྒྷ⌦ administrator for public order; Court of Judicial Review sili canjun ྒྷ⌦ཥ㌯ administrator for public order silinsim ኶ெᚨ loss of public support siliumian ᄿ᪒ෑ a cap with four sets of stringed beads in the front siljuk ኶⢓ loss of porridge silushi ྒྷ㗬஥ record keeper; administrator for records sima ྒྷ㤷 adjutant; minister of war; defender in chief; vice prefect; vice magistrate

1066

Glossary

simin ྒྷẰ population registrar “Simu” ᄿ∳ “Four Steeds” in Classic of Poetry simyak ᐼ⸡ inspector of medicine sindok ឭ⋂ watchfulness over oneself while alone singijŏn ᩺㉫⏛ reclaimed land singnyŏn ᘟᖳ triennial year singnyŏn chŭnggwangsi ᘟᖳ቏ᗽム triennial augmented examination singnyŏnsi ᘟᖳム triennial examination singwan swaemajŏn ᩺ᏻใ㤷㗾 tax for travel expenses for a newly appointed magistrate sinjang ♼ᑒ exorcism sinjang ゜ᮣ interrogating stick Sinjŭng tongguk yŏjisŭngnam ᩺቏᮶ᅢ㍷ᆀົぺ Revised Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea sinmimnye ᩺ථ⚨ courtesy fee for new admission sino ౜ዦ attending slave; servant sinong ྒྷ㎨ manager of agriculture sinongqing ྒྷ㎨༽ chief minister of the Court of the National Granaries sinsa ♼ᖅ wizard Sinŭigun ♼⩇㌯ Army of Transcendent Righteousness Sinyu pakhae ㎖㒸㏍ᐐ the Persecution of 1801; also called Sinyu saok Sip’a ᫤Ὤ Party of Expediency; Southern Expediency subfaction sishi ྒྷᕰ director of markets sishi canjun ྒྷኃཥ㌯ administrator of requisitioned labor sit’anga / ch’igyesit’angami ᰐ⅛൞ / 㞙㭴ᰐ⅛൞⡷ tax paid in rice for the magistrate’s supply; also called ch’igyemi or sit’anga. situ ྒྷᚈ minister of education sixun ྒྷໍ director of merit awards siye ྒྷᴏ director of studies siyu ྒྷ⊱ warden; head of a prison sizheng ྒྷḿ head of a government agency Sŏban け⌔ the Western File, that is, military officials sŏbuk pyŏngmasa け໪ඹ㤷౐ military commander of the northwest region soch’e ␨㐩 replacement of magistracy because of a request for resignation submitted to the king soch’e ྇㐩 replacement of magistracy by order of the king sŏdang ᭡ᇸ private elementary schools; also called sŏjae sog’o ᮨం military units under the command of a local magistrate; the Che-chiang system of military orga nization, or their units

Glossary

1067

sog’ogun ᮨం㌯ soldiers of sog’o units or army; often used to mean slave soldiers, since slaves were allowed into such units sogwa ᑚ⛁ licentiate examination sŏgyo ⬆ᨻ instruction for the people in a village sŏgyŏng ⨣⤺ confirmation hearings (conducted by the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Censor General) Sohak ᑚᏟ Elementary Learning; elementary studies; elementary school Sohan ᑚᐨ Lesser Cold sŏhun ⬆ィ admonitions to the people in a village sŏjanggwan ᭡≢ᏻ secretary of a diplomatic delegation sŏk ▴ a measure of grain; normally, 10 mal are 1 sŏk Sŏkdam ilgi ▴₲᪝エ Diary of Sŏkdam, by Yi I; also called Diary of Royal Lectures (Kyŏngyŏn ilgi) sokjŏn ⧨⏛ lands cultivated after a year of rest Soktaejŏn ⧨ኬ඼ Supplement to the National Code; Chosŏn dynasty law code of 1746 Sokyukjŏn ⧨ඵ඼ Supplement to Six Codes of Laws Sŏlch’o sandam 㞯ᶒᒜㄧ Mountain Talks of Sŏlch’o sŏmyŏng ⟊࿤ fortune-telling by using divining sticks sŏnbanmi ᐃ㣜⡷ rice granted to officials for their meals Song 㡬 “Odes of the Temple and Altar”; “Eulogia” in Classic of Poetry sŏng ᠺ 10 square li of land Sŏnggyun’gwan ᠺᆍ㤃 National Confucian Academy Sŏngho sasŏl ryusŏn ᫅‘㢩㦁㢦㐽 Selections of Master Sŏngho’s Learned Talks, by An Chŏngbok Sŏnghwajuryak ᇖ⳱⡗␆ Strategies for Constructing Fortresses, by Chŏng Yagyong sŏnghwangdan ᇖ㝬ቨ altar for the guardian deity of the village sŏngjang ᇖᑒ garrison commander Songjŏng chŏlmok ᮿᨳ⟿┘ Essentials of the Administration of Pine Forests Songjŏnyul ᮿ⏛ᚂ a criminal law designed to punish the illegal logging of protected forests that are officially designated songkŭm ᮿ⚏ prohibition against logging pine trees Sŏngonggam ⧃ᕝ┐ Directorate of Construction Songshi Ꮿྍ History of the Song Sŏngsŏl ᇖ㦁 Essays on Fortresses, by Chŏng Yagyong sŏngŭi ᛮណ sincerity Songwa chapsŏl ᮿ❈㞧㦁 Miscellaneous Talks of Songwa, by Yi Ki sŏngyŏl ⩆⤎ extra lands (which can be exempt from taxation) Sŏnhwadang ᐃ໩ᇸ Hall of Edification

1068

Glossary

Sŏnhyech’ŏng ᐃᝬᘅ Office for Dispensing Benevolence sŏnmu kungwan 㐽Ṃ㌯ᏻ specially selected military officers sŏnmul ⭻∸ tribute paid in gratitude Sŏnwŏn poryak ⎔″ㆍ␆ Jade Spring of Royal Genealogy sŏri ⬆ྠ petty clerks; subofficial functionaries Soron ᑛㄵ Young Doctrine faction sosa ᑚ஥ trivial criminal cases in terms of seriousness and complication sousu duwei ᦇ⢎㒌ᑔ food-provision official sŏwŏnch’on ᭡㝌ᮟ villages with private academies sŏwŏnch’ŏng ᭡ဤᘅ office of yamen clerks sŏwŏn kogŭpjo ᭡ဤ⩻⤝⛊ tax for the ser vice of clerk’s office or inspectors of disaster ssanggyoga 㞤㎄൞ expenditure for a carriage drawn by two horses such’oru Ꮼⲙᵺ lookouts to watch over the crop sugi ᡥエ handwritten agreement sugi ಞᕤ self-cultivation sugun Ề㌯ maritime soldiers; marines sugun chŏldosa Ề㌯⟿ᗐ౐ provincial navy commander sugŭp ỀỦ female government slaves sugwi ᐙ⾠ palace gaurds sugyo 㤫ᰧ chief of local law enforcement Sugyo chimnok ུᨻ㍬㗬 Royal Decrees and Regulations of 1698 sui dafu 㐑ኬኰ district head suike 㦤⛁ preliminary civil ser vice examination for the students of districts and prefectures suinianzhang 㞁ᖳᮣ beating in accordance with age suiren 㐑ெ supervisor of exterior districts suishi 㐑ᖅ district preceptor sukch’ang (Ch. suchang) ᐙፕ sleeping with prostitutes sulgaek ⾙ᐂ fortune-teller sunbun ᕙฦ distributing only a portion of the grain after dividing the total sunch’alsa ᕙᐳ౐ concurrent mobile inspector sunch’e 㡨㐩 normal replacement of magistracy; smooth replacement sŭng ༓ a measure of weight used for grain; 1 toe sŭngch’e 㝉㐩 replacement of magistracy because of promotion sŭngji ᢆ᪠ royal secretary Sŭngjŏngwŏn ᢆᨳ㝌 Royal Secretariat sŭngjungja ᢆ㔔Ꮔ the eldest grandchild, who is obligated to carry out ancestor worship Sŭngp’yŏnggun chi ᪴ᖲ㑾ᚷ Monograph of Sŭngp’yŏng County

Glossary

1069

sunje ᪢㢗 literary tests given to the students of the National Confucian Academy or the provincial school every ten days sunmusa ᕙ᧑౐ pacification commissioner suno 㤫ዦ head slave sunyŏng ᕙ⇧ mobile border commander’s headquarters Suŏch’ŏng Ꮼ⚢ᘅ Defense Command at Namhan Fort; Command of the Southern Approaches suoguishen ⣬㨛♼ restoring the worship of spirits who have been neglected suŏsa Ꮼ⚢౐ defense commander (of the Defense Command at Namhan Fort) sŭpjo ⩞᧧ annual military training suri 㤫ྠ chief yamen clerk susa Ề౐ provincial navy commander Susŏngji ឃᇖヽ Story of Castle of Sorrow, by Im Che sutojisin Ꮼᅰ஄⮟ subjects whose duty is to defend the lands of which they are in charge; local magistrates in general suyŏng Ề⇧ provincial navy commander’s headquarters swaema ใ㤷 horses for traveling officials swaemabi ใ㤷㈕ expenses for the horses of traveling officials tae 㝪 eleven-man squads of the sog’o system; or platoon t’ae / t’aehyŏng ➕ / ➕ฬ beating with a light stick taebu (Ch. dafu) ኬኰ

great officer; grand master

taebyŏk ኬ㎚ capital punishment Taedongbŏp ኬྜྷἪ Uniform Land Tax Law taedonggisŏn kamniyangmi ኬྜྷ㥵⯢┐ྠ⣂⡷ the rice paid to the supervising officer traveling on a ship transporting the uniform land tax paid in rice taedongmi ኬྜྷ⡷ uniform land tax paid in rice; taedong rice tax that replaced tribute in kind taedon pyŏlli ኬ㡳㑌ฺ

10 percent interest paid per month

taegaejang ኬᵞ≢ ࠈannual reports on the status of lands Taegan ⮱ㅃ Office of Inspector General and Office of Censor General taegojŏn ኬ㰐⏛ a field in the shape of a large drum taegon ኬᲠ large clubs (used for torture) t’aehyŏng ➕ฬ

beating with a light stick; light stick for torture

taeje ᙽโ scholar of Pomun Pavilion, an academic institute established in the palace during the Koryŏ dynasty taejehak ኬᥞᏟ director (Office of Royal Decrees; Office of Special Counselors) Taejŏn chŭngju ኬ඼቏ダ Expanded Commentaries on the Comprehensive National Code Taejŏn chŭngnye ኬ඼቏ౚ

Revised Comprehensive National Code

1070

Glossary

Taejŏn hoet’ong ኬ඼᭫㏳ Comprehensive Update of the Chosŏn Dynasty’s Administrative Code taejŏn pyŏlgam ኬẂื┐ special director of the Great Hall of the Royal Palace; also called aegye Taejŏn songnŏk ኬ඼⧨㗬 Supplementary Law Code of 1493 Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn ኬ඼㏳⥽ Comprehensive National Code taejŏng / taejang 㝪ḿ / 㝪㛏 platoon leader taekwa ኬ⛁ erudite examination; advanced civil ser vice examination taenaema ኬዄ㯖 the tenth office rank in the Silla kingdom; head-rank ten taep’a ௥᧓ sowing alternative crops taesa ኬ஥ most serious or complicated criminal cases taesagan ኬྒྷㅃ censor general taesahŏn ኬྒྷ៿ inspector general Taesanjip ኬᒜ㞗 Collected Works of Taesan, by Yi Sangch’ŏng taesasŏng ኬྒྷᠺ headmaster of the National Confucian Academy taesin ኬ⮟ high officials taesin ⮱⮟ inspectors of the Office of Inspector General Taesŏኬᬤ Great Heat Taesŏngjŏn ኬᠺẂ Hall of Great Accomplishment taibao ኯಕ grand guardian taichang ኯᖏ chamberlain for ceremonials taichang shaoqing ኯᖏᑛ༽ vice minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices taichangqing ኯᖏ༽ chamberlain for ceremonials; chief minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices Taichangsi ኯᖏᑈ Court of Imperial Sacrifices taifu ኯഊ grand mentor Taiji tushou ኯᴗᅪ㦁 “Explanations of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate,” by Zhou Dunyi taijian ኯ┐ chief eunuch of the palace; director tailao ኯ∴ food and drink served to the emperor taipu ኯൃ chamberlain for the imperial stud; royal coachman Taipusi ኯൃྒྷ Office of the Imperial Coachman taishang boshi ኯᖏ༡ኃ supreme erudite Taishe ኯ♣ Great She or an altar for Great Grain God She taishi ኯྍ grand scribe taishou ኯᏬ prefect; governor; grand protector taiwei ኯᑔ commander in chief; defender in chief Taixuan ኯ⋖ Great Mystery, by Yang Xiong

Glossary

1071

Taixue ኯᏟ National University Taixue poshi ኯᏟ༡ኃ erudite of the National University taixueshi ኯᏟኃ grand academician; grand secretary (Hall of Literary Profundity) taizai ኯᐍ great administrator; great steward taizhong dafu ኯ୯ኬኰ

superior grand master of the palace

taizi ኯᏄ heir apparent taizi taibao ኯᏄኬಕ

grand guardian of the heir apparent

taizi taishi ኯᏄኯᖅ

grand preceptor of the heir apparent

taizi zhanshi ኯᏄヮ஥

supervisor of the household of the heir apparent

tallyŏn sŏngok 㘣㘗ᠺ⊱ torturing a man to exact a false confession and putting him in prison on the basis of that false confession tamgun ᧬㌯ hearse-carrying soldiers tangch’amga ᇸཥ൞

money that the magistrate owed to the clerks for their ser vices

tanghagwan ᇸୖᏻ officials below the third rank tangmuyi …ỻ㑒 a district in which exploitation is allowed T’angp’yŏngch’aek ⷑᖲ➿ Policy of Impartiality tangsanggwan ᇸ୕ᏻ “officials of the upper end of the hall,” high-ranking officials of first, second, and part of the third rank Tangyu ၄⹧ Emperors Yao and Shun, the founders of ancient Chinese civilization t’anjŏng ࿌ೳ

swallowing the benefit granted to the people in a year of poor harvest

tanmyŏnjich’in ⾾ඞ஄の distant relatives

relatives who are exempt from wearing funeral garments;

Tanosa ❻༔౐ Tano envoys Tasan ilch’o Ⲍᒜ᪝㕊

Daily Records of Tasan, by Chŏng Yagyong

Tasan p’ildam Ⲍᒜ➱ㄧ Essays of Tasan, by Chŏng Yagyong asannok Ⲍᒜ㗬 Records of Tasan, by Chŏng Yagyong t’asŏngmi / t’asŏmmi / ᡬ▴⡷ extra rice resulting from measuring rice; rice to make up for the shortage in processing rice Tiandige ኮᖀ㛮 Hall of the Heavenly Emperor Tianguan ኮᏻ Ministry of State tianshen ኮ♼ heavenly gods Tianzhangge ኮ❮㛮 Hall of Heavenly Manifestations tianzheng ⏛ᨳ director of agriculture Tianzi ኮᏄ Son of Heaven Tiaolisi ᱼาྒྷ Finance Planning Commission tidian Chengdulu xingyu ᥞ㯮ᠺ㒌㊨ฬ⊱ superintendent of Chengdulu for penal administration tidian xingyu ᥞ㯮ฬ⊱ judicial commissioner; superintendent of penal affairs

1072

Glossary

tienesheng ኮ㬵⪾ a celestial goose horn; a bugle used in the military for signaling tiesuo 㚡⣬ iron fetter Tijusi ᥞ᧸ྒྷ Supervisorate tingwei ᘈᑔ imperial guard; chamberlain for law enforcement tingyuan ᘈᥓ headquarters clerk tingzhang ி㛏 neighborhood head; chief of a commune tixue ᥞᏟ superintendent of training to 㒌 capital; area command; troop to / tohyŏng ᚈ / ᚈฬ penal servitude toanch’ae 㒌᱄ബ money paid when a military record is officially changed Tobang 㒌ᡛ Residence Reinforcement (established by Kyŏng Taesŭng during the Koryŏ dynasty); a private security guard (for Kyŏng Taesŭng) tobi ┋ങ stealing by making a false report on the preparation of famine relief toch’awŏn 㒌ᕣဤ head of the officials temporarily recruited for various commissions from the king, including greeting Chinese envoys toch’on ᓞᮟ island villages under the jurisdiction of military garrisons todae ┋㈒ stealing through manipulating relief loans todang 㒌ᇸ Supreme Council of State; also called Top’yŏng’ŭisasa toe (Ch. sheng) ༓ a measure of weight used for grain togam 㒌┐ director in chief togu ┋ཾ stealing through manipulating the number of starving households togungwan / togunsa / togun ŏsa ╡㐘ᏻ / ╡㐘౐ / ╡㐘ᚒྍ transport-control censor togwŏn ┋໒ stealing through soliciting contributions t’oho ᅰ㇞ powerful local family tohŭi ┋㤏 stealing through manipulating relief grain tohyŏng ᚈฬ penal servitude tojang ᑙᤰ steward tojŏng 㒌ḿ first secretary of the Royal House Administration T’ojŏng p’igyŏl ᅰி⛆グ Secrets of T’ojŏng, by Yi Chiham Toksŏnggi ⚴ᇖエ Record of Tok Fortress, by Yi Chŏnggwi Tollyŏngbu ᩌᐺᗋ Royal House Administration Tollyŏngbu tojŏng ᩌᐺᗋ㒌ḿ first secretary of the Royal House Administration tong chungsŏmunha pyŏngjangsa ྜྷ୯᭡㛓ୖᖲ❮஥ jointly manager of affairs with the Secretariat-Chancellery; also called manager of affairs; chancellor Tongban ᮶⌔ the Eastern File, that is, civil officials Tongbungmyŏn anmusa ᮶໪㟻ᣠ᧑౐ pacification commissioner of the Northeast Tongbungno ᮶໪㊨ Northeast Circuit

Glossary

1073

tongbusŭngji ྜྷ๧ᢆ᪠ sixth royal secretary tongchisa / tongji kyŏngyŏn ྜྷ▩஥ / ྜྷ▩⤺⟑ second deputy director (of the Office of the Royal Lectures) Tongch’unjip ྜྷ᫋㞗

Collected Works of Tongch’un, by Song Chungil

Tongdian ㏳඼ Comprehensive Institutions, by Tu You t’ongdŏngnang ㏳ᚣ㑼

gentleman for virtuous ser vice

Tongguk munhŏn pigo / Munhŏnbigo ᮶ᅢᩝ⋑ങ⩻ / ᩝ⋑ങ⩻ of Documents on Korea Tongguk t’onggam ᮶ᅢ㏳㚯

Reference Compilation

Comprehensive Mirror of the Eastern Kingdom

Tongguk yŏji sŭngnam ᮶ᅢ㍷ᆀົぺ Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea tonghou ㏳౲ grandee of the twentieth order t’ongin ㏳ᘤ boy servants; pages; runners Tongin sihwa ᮶ெモヨ Critical Essays on Korean Poets, by Sŏ Kŏjŏng t’onginch’ŏng ㏳ᘤᘅ t’ongjesa ⤣โ౐

office of runners

regional naval commander

tongji ྜྷ▩ fourth minister without portfolio tongji miljiksasa ྜྷ▩ᐠ├ྒྷ౐ vice director of the Royal Secretariat tongji tollyŏngbusa ྜྷ▩ᩌᐺᗋ஥ Administration

third deputy director of the Royal House

Tongmengxun ❲ⵒィ Precepts for the Children, by Lushi Tongmong / Tongmon sŏnsŭp ❲ⵒ / ❲ⵒ඙⩞ Tongmun sŏn ᮶ᩝ㐽

Primer for Children, by Pak Semu

Anthology of Korean Literature, by Sŏ Kŏjŏng

Tongmyŏngwang p’yŏn ᮶᪺⋜⠅ The Lay of King Tongmyŏng, by Yi Kyubo T’ongnyewŏn / T’ongnyech’ŏng ㏳⚨㝌 / ㏳⚨ᘅ Comprehensive Rites Agency tongnyŏng ິ㕝 an exploitative practice committed by subfunctionaries like gatekeepers who sent old people to villagers to beg for donations of money tongpan ㏳ึ controller general; assistant prefect; superprefectural magistrate tongpingzhangshi ྜྷᖲ❮஥ jointly manager of affairs with the SecretariatChancellery Tongsa kangmok ᮶ྍ⥐┘

Annotated Account of Korean History, by An Chŏngbok

tongsheng ❲⏍ the students younger in age Tongsŏ hwalinwŏn ᮶けὩெ㝌

East and West sanatoriums

Tongsŏ taebiwŏn ᮶けኬᝊ㝌 East and West Great Mercy sanatoriums T’ongyŏng ⤣⇧

Naval Command of Chŏlla and Kyŏngsang provinces

Tongzhengsi / Tongzhengshi si ㏳ᨳྒྷ / ㏳ᨳ౐ྒྷ

Office of Transmission

Tongzhi ㏳ᚷ General Treatises, by Zheng Qiao tongzhi ྜྷ▩ vice magistrate; associate administrator tonogo ㏠⩹ᨶ soldiers who ran away, are too old to serve, or are dead

1074

Glossary

t’op’o kungwan ゞᤍ㌯ᏻ military officers in charge of arresting thieves t’op’osa ゞᤍ౐ commissioner for suppression and apprehension T’op’oyŏng ゞᤍ⇧ Suppression and Apprehension Bureau Top’yŏng’ŭisasa 㒌ビ㆗౐ྒྷ Supreme Council of State; also called Todang tori / tosŏwŏn 㒌ྠ / 㒌᭡ဤ clerk of a security group toroe ᅪ㉀ attempt to cause the imprisonment of an individual through a false accusation tosa 㒌஥ inspector; assistant to a provincial governor; often functioned as magistrate of the provincial capital tosagong 㒌ἃᕝ captain of a grain ship tosi 㒌ム provincial military examination t’osu ྡ♽ removing bones or thorns from the bowels and stomach through vomiting tosumunsa 㒌ᕙၡ౐ chief patrolling inspector tosunch’alsa 㒌ᕙᐳ౐ supreme mobile inspector tosŭngji 㒌ᢆ᪠ chief royal secretary touhouli ᢖ኎⚨ the rite of pitch-pot; game of pitch-pot towŏnsu 㒌ඔᖃ supreme field commander toyusa 㒌᭯ྒྷ headmaster of a county school tu ᩧ one-tenth of a sŏm (coll. for sŏk) t’uch’e ᢖ㐩 replacement of magistracy because of an argument with one’s superior, which ends with throwing away one’s official seal and returning home tuiguan ᥆ᏻ judge; administrative assistant tujing ᅪ⤺ gazetteers; illustrated record tujŏn pyŏljang ᒚ⏛ืᑒ supervising officer of military colonies t’ujŏng 㨍㣓 multilayered colorful rice cake tŭkbang ᚋㅣ gain on slander tŭkjae ᚋ㈀ gain on property tŭkji ᚋ⣤ gain on paper tŭkjoeŏch’ŏn ᚋ⨝᪂ኮ gain of a sin against Heaven tŭksang ᚋ㈱ gain on awards tungam ᒚ┐ supervisors of military colonies tungŏᒚ㌬ ground presser tunjŏn ᒚ⏛ military colonies tunjŏnch’on ᒚ⏛ᮟ villages with military colonies Tunjŏnŭi ᒚ⏛㆗ Treatise on Military Colony, by Chŏng Yagyong turak ᩧⴘ a unit of area for measuring agrarian land; 1 turak is equivalent to 5 acres Uamjip ᑦᗙ㞗 Collected Works of Uam, by Song Siyŏl uboksa ྎൃᑏ right vice director

Glossary

1075

ubusŭngji ྎ๧ᢆ᪠ fi ft h royal secretary Ubyŏlch’o ྎืᢊ Right Elite Patrol ubyŏngsa ྎඹ౐ provincial military commander of the right uch’amch’an ྎཥ㉑

seventh state councilor

uch’ansŏng ྎ㉑ᠺ fi ft h state councilor ugakjŏn ∭ぽ⏛ a cow-horn–shaped field uhu ⹧౲ aides of provincial army and navy commanders ŭi / ŭihyŏng ຀ / ຀ฬ

cutting off the nose as punishment

ŭibyŏng ⩇ඹ righteous armies ŭich’ang ⩇ಲ

righteous granary

Ŭigŭmbu ⩇⚏ᗋ State Tribunal; Office for the Deliberation of Forbidden Affairs Ŭijŏngbu ㆗ᨳᗋ Supreme Council of State; State Council ŭmdŏk 㝔ᚣ secret charity ŭmgwan ⶩᏻ public officials appointed without taking state examinations; privileged officials ŭmjik ⶩ⫃ ŭm privilege or post; the right of sons of high officials to office without examination ŭmnae 㑒㐨 district capital ŭnggyo ᠍ᨻ fourth royal counselor Un’gok chŏngyo 㞴ㆺᨳこ

Main Points in Administration by Un’gok, by Yi Kwangjwa

Ŭngyanggun 㮒ᥥ㌯ Soaring Hawk Army ŭngyŏl 㞇⤎ land unaccounted for; hidden land up’a ඁፚ

itinerant nun; wandering entertainers

ŭpjang 㑒໳ artisans in the district yamen uyun ྎᑴ third magistrate of Seoul Magistracy waegwan ೔㤃 Japa nese guest house or trading post wahwan ⮡㑇 making a false report on collecting or releasing grain loan only for the sake of paperwork wahwanmi ⮡㑇⡷ wahwan grain loan waju ❈୹ dealer in stolen goods wei ᑔ commandant; district defender; commandery defender Weishu 㨧᭡ Book of Wei, by Wei Shou; Book of Wei weisi ᑔྒྷ commandant of the capital patrol wen ᩝ a currency denomination used in China; equivalent to 1/1,000 yuan Wenxian tongkao ᩝ⋑㏳⩻ Comprehensive Study of Institutional History, by Ma Duanlin Wenyuange ᩝῙ㛮 Hall of Literary Profundity wijae ൊⅇ fraudulent designation of disaster areas

1076

Glossary

wimit’ae న⡷ኯ alternative tribute tax paid in rice and beans wit’ae నኯ alternative tax paid in beans wiyusa / wiyuŏsa ័ㅅ౐ / ័ㅅᚒ౐

consolation and reassurance commissioner

wohu ⮡⹙ a recumbent tiger wŏlgwa ᭮ㄚ monthly literary tests for students wŏlgwami ᭮ㄚ⡷ rice tax for producing military supplies wŏnangdae 㬏㬕㝪 mandarin duck formation wŏnch’on 㜪ᮟ

villages with inns

wŏnjŏn ᅨ⏛ a circular field wŏnjŏng ᅧ୍ gardener wŏnjŏng ཋ᝗ statement made by a defendant wŏnjŏpsa 㐪᥃౐ escort commissioner wŏnnapjŏn 㢢⣙㗾 voluntary contributions wŏnno ᅧዦ garden slaves; slaves in charge of the garden Wŏnsaeng mongyurok ඔ⏍ከ㐗㗬

Record of Scholar Won’s Dream, by Im Che

wu ం unit of five; squad; a local mutual-responsibility group of five neighboring households Wubei zhi Ṃങᚷ

Treatise on Military Preparations; Treatise on Armament Technology

Wubian ↋⥽ Book on Martial Arts Wudaishi ஫௥ྍ History of the Five Dynasties wuliumian ↋᪒ෑ a cap without stringed beads Wushu / Wuzhi 㰟᭡ / 㰟ᚷ

Book of Wu

Wuyuanlu ↋ᐝ㗬 Forensic Monograph for Removing Grievances, by Wang Yu xiang ┞ minister; grand councilor; administrator; district magistrate (of a district granted as a fief) xiangdafu 㒙ኬኰ district grand master xianggong 㒙㈁ prefectural nominee; provincial nominee xiangxing ㇗ᙟ pictographs xianshi ៿౐ surveillance commissioner; judicial commissioner xianxu shiyihu ⦡⬆㣏㑒䍊

districts granted to clerks

Xiaojing Ꮟ⤺ Classic of Filial Piety xiaolian ke Ꮟᗦ⛁ “Xiaonan” ྇༞

civil ser vice examination based on filial piety and integrity

“The Odes of Shao and the South” in Classic of Poetry

xiaosikou ᑚྒྷᐡ vice minister of justice xiaoti Ꮟᜮ fi lial and fraternal duties Xiaoxue ᑚᏟ Elementary Learning “Xiaoya” ᑚ㞖

“Minor Odes of the Kingdom” in Classic of Poetry; “Minor Elegentiae”

xiaoyou Ꮟཪ fi lial piety and brotherly love

Glossary

1077

xicao け᭢ a section in charge of military affairs in the local government xiesheng ㅂ⪾ phonetic complexes Xinfa ᩺Ἢ New Policies (by Wang Anshi) xing |Ƿ| a vessel designed to hold soup Xingbu ฬ㒂 Bureau of Punishments xingming xue ฬྞᏟ study of legalism Xingtai ⾔⮱ Branch Department of State Affairs “Xingzhou jiangyun ji” ⮾ᕗỜ㐘エ “Record of Travels through Xingzhou” Xinshu ᩺᭡ New Introductions, by Liu Xiang xiuci ಞ㎣ using proper language in the game of pitch-pot xiuzhuan ಞ᧕ senior compiler (of the Hanlin Academy) Xiyuanlu ὑᐝ㗬 Book of Forensic Medicine Xu wenxian tongkao ⧨ᩝ⋑㏳⩻ Supplementary Comprehensive Study of Institutional History, by Wang Qi xuanfusa ᐃ᧑౐ pacification commissioner xuegong Ꮯᐋ royal academy xueguan Ꮯᏻ educational official xueshi Ꮯኃ graduate; scholar; academician; chancellor xuezheng Ꮯḿ instructors xunan yushi ᕙᣠᚒ౐ touring censorial inspector; regional inspector xundao ᕙ㐠 general surveillance circuit; surveillance commissioner xunfu ᕙ᧑ grand coordinator; governor xunfushi ᕙ᧑౐ pacification commissioner xunjian ᕙ᷑ military inspector xunyan yushi ᕙ㮬ᚒ౐ salt-control censor Xuyan ⥮ゕ Key Words, by Hu Dachu Yain udam 㔕ெ㎵ㄧ Ignorant Talk of a Country Man yajie ∫⟿ banners raised for honored guests at the post station yak 㱣 a measure of weight for grain; one-tenth of a hop yakchŏng ⣑ḿ head of the community compact Yakch’ŏnjip ⸡ἠ㞗 Collected Works of Yakch’ŏn, by Nam Kuman yakjang ⣑㛏 head of the community compact (unofficial reference) yang න a measure of weight; 1 tael or 1 ounce yangho 㣬䍊 extorting taxes yangjŏn 㣬⏛ supporting land system yangmin 㣬Ằ nurturing the people yangmin ⰃẰ people of good status; commoners yangsan 㣬ᒜ perimeter of a grave for planting trees

1078

Glossary

yangsŏn 㣀ᡢ combine; a farm machine to remove chaff yangsong 㣬ᮿ raising pine trees yangyŏk Ⰳᙲ military ser vice tax for men of good status yantie panguan 㮬㚡ึᏻ assistant commissioner for the salt and iron monopoly yantieshi 㮬㚡౐ salt-monopoly commissioner Yanyŏk silch’ong Ⰳᙲᐹ⦳ True Record of Military Ser vice Tax for Men of Good Status Yanyunshi 㮬㐘౐ salt distribution commissioner Yanyunsi 㮬㐘ྒྷ Salt Distribution Commission yaren ∫ெ helper; broker yaxianguan ழ⋑ᏻ the officiant who offers the second wine cup at a sacrifice Yebu ⚨㒂 Rites Division Yejo ⚨᭢ Board of Rites; Ministry of Rites “Yejŏn” ⚨඼ “Laws on Rituals” Yemun’gwan ⸜ᩝ㤃 Office of Royal Decrees yeri ⚨ྠ yamen clerk in charge of rites, courtesy, decorum, and the like yi 㙙 a measure of weight; 1 yi is equivalent to 24 liang Yili ൢ⚨ Etiquette and Ceremonials yin ᑴ metropolitan governor; magistrate yinqing guanglu dafu 㖗㟮ක⚍ኬኰ grand master of imperial entertainments with silver seal and blue ribbon yirang ᥤㆰ declining with courtesy in the game of pitch-pot Yitongzhi ୌ⤣ᚷ National Gazetteers of Great Ming Empire Yixiang zhi / Yixiang kaocheng ൢ㇗ᚷ / ൢ㇗⩻ᠺ Complete Studies on Astronomical Instruments Yiyuji ␪⊱㞗 Collection of Complicated Criminal Cases, by He Ning yŏdan ཙቨ altar for the deity named Yŏ who protected people from epidemics yogojŏn ⭔㰐⏛ drum-shaped field yŏgyŏl 㣶⤎ leftover land yohap ᚛ྙ manipulating the grain of the public depository yoho 㤠䍊 affluent households (eligible for providing famine relief) Yŏjiji ㍷ᆀᚷ Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea yŏkch’on 㦤ᮟ post-station villages yŏkga ᙲ൞ ser vice fee yŏkgami ᙲ൞⡷ ser vice fee paid in rice yŏkgŭnjŏn ᙲ᰷⏛ funds or lands in a village for the purpose of paying the village’s tax quota; also called kunbojŏn yŏkho 㦤䍊 post-station household yŏkjol 㦤༛ post-station runners

Glossary

1079

Yŏlcho t’onggi า᭽㏳⣎ Comprehensive Record of Successive Reigns, by An Chŏngbok Yŏlsŏng ŏje า⪯ᚒ⿿ Writings of Sage Kings yŏmgaek ᗦᐂ investigatory official yŏmni ᗦྠ upright official yŏmp’ae ᗦ㝆

the place for establishing the memorial tablet of the king

yŏnbŏp ⦆Ἢ training exercise yŏnbun ᖳฦ annual tax rate yŏnchwa ⥹ᆓ collective prosecution yŏng ⇧ governor’s yamen; battalion-sized units of 1,000 men each (early Chosŏn dynasty); regiment under the sog’o system, consisting of five battalions of 2,475 men; command center; regiment; brigade; garrison yong ᗜ ser vices rendered to the people through instruction in agriculture yŏng ⇧ superior security group yŏnga ↦൞ payment for food at an inn yŏngaek ᕃ㜧 military strongholds yŏngch’ae ⇧ബ debts owed to a provincial agent yŏngch’ŏk 㞵ᑵ small amount of leftover grain after the payment of a loan, or a receipt issued by the local government for this type of grain yŏngch’on ᕃᮟ

villages in the mountain passes

yŏngdollyŏng busa 㡷ᩌᐺᗋ஥ director of the Royal House Administration Yŏnggŏn Togam ⇧ᘋ㒌┐

Directorate of Construction

yŏngjang ⇧໳ artisans in the provincial yamen yŏngjang ⇧ᑒ garrison commander; brigade commander yŏngjingok ⇧㈨✈ grain for famine relief administered by the governor yŏngjŏmi ⇧㑨⡷ rice tax for a district’s provincial agent yŏngjŏri / yŏngjuin ⇧㑨ྠ / ⇧୹ெ a district’s provincial agent yŏngjosa ㎼ヒ౐ escort commissioner yŏngjuin chinsanggami ⇧୹ெ㐅୕൞⡷ agent for his ser vices

tribute payment to a district’s provincial

yŏngjungch’ubusa / yŏngsa 㡷୯ᶂᗋ஥ / 㡷஥ first minister without portfolio yŏngmun ⇧㛓 military headquarters yŏngnyŏ㦤ዥ female slaves belonging to post-station villages yŏngwisa ㎼័౐ officials who welcome and entertain Chinese envoys yŏnmyŏng ᘇ࿤ the rite of greeting the governor performed by the magistrate Yŏrha ilgi ⇍ἑ᪝エ

Rehe Diary, by Pak Chiwŏn

yŏsu ᪉ᖃ battalion commander yosŭng ዺ൒ wicked monk you dudu ྎ㒌╡

right commander in chief

1080

Glossary

you jianyi dafu ྎㅃ㆗ኬኰ right grand master of remonstrance youding 㒉ி postal relay station youfu duyushi ྎ๧㒌ᚒ౐ right vice censor in chief youmianhu ඁඞ䍊 actor households youshilang ྎ౜㑼 right vice minister of the Ministry of Punishments youshuzi ྎᗚᏄ junior mentor Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ ⮽⊨ᇸධ᭡ Complete Works of Yŏyudang, by Chŏng Yagyong yu / yuhyŏng Ὦ / Ὦฬ life exile yuanshi ᥓྍ clerk yuanwailang ဤአ㑼 vice director Yuanxi qiqi tushuo luzui 㐪けዃჹᅪ㦁㗬᭩ Collected Diagrams and Explanations of the Wonderful Machines of the Far West, by Johann Terrenz Shreck and Wang Zeng Yubu ⹧㒂 Bureau of Forestry and Crafts yuch’an Ὦ❘ hiding through banishment yuch’e ⏻⁨ delay (in relation to prison administration) yuch’e ⏜㐩 replacement of magistracy because of failure to return to a post after taking leave of absence yuch’imi ⏻⨠⡷ reserve grain yuch’ŏng kungwan ᭯ᘅ㌯ᏻ military officers and guards assigned to government agencies “Yueling” ᭮௦ “Proceedings of Government in Different Months” “Yueshu miya tie” ⣑ᮨ⡷∫ᕻ “On the Tricks of Rice Merchants,” by Zhu Xi “Yueshuwen” ⣑ᮨᩝ “The Statement of Pledge,” by Zhu Xi Yueyu ㉲ㄊ Discourses of the Yue yugŭijŏn ඵ▧ᗵ six licensed stores yugyo ⏜ஹ making alliance with former magistrates yuhak ᖺᏟ Confucian student not in public ser vice yuheng ⹧⾦ specialist in forestry yuhyŏng Ὦฬ banishment; life exile yuhyŏnggŏ / yuhyŏnsogŏ / 㐗⾦㌬ / 㐗⾦ᑚ㌬ a vehicle designed by Chŏng Yagyong in order to transport stones and timber for the construction of Suwŏn Fortress yuhyŏp 㐗ಗ hoodlums yukbang ඵᡛ the six major magistrate’s bureaus Yukchin ඵ㙗 Six Garrison Forts, built by General Kim Chongsŏ ca. 1450 yukdok ☭★ breaker yukgakjŏn ඵぽ⏛ a hexagonal field yukgwa ඵ⛁ six departments yukhwa ඵⰴ six flower formations

Glossary Yukjŏn ඵ඼ Six Codes Yukjŏn tamnok ඵ඼⮁㗬

1081

Sincere Records of Six Codes

Yuksin chŏn ඵ⮟പ Lives of Six Ministers, by Nam Hyoon Yumeng ㅅⵒ Awakening the People from Ignorance, by Feng Yuan yumenli ㋊㛓⚨ rite of passing the gate Yumin ㅅẰ Instructions for the People, by Qi Lun yunyŏ㐗ዥ loose women; prostitutes yup’o 㐗ᕱ cloth tax on men of leisure yup’o ൰㏥ delinquency in payment of grain loans made by members of yangban families yup’oron Ὦᕱㄵ the idea that all men of leisure (hanyu), especially members of yangban families and Confucian scholars (yusaeng), should pay the military cloth tax yuren ⹧ெ forester; forest manager yusa ᭯ྒྷ a vague reference to the officials in charge of activities in a par ticu lar context; authorities yusam ἔ⾬ person in charge of waterproof clothes or protective clothes against cold Yusan p’ilhwa / Yusan p’ildam 㒸ᒜ➱ヨ / 㒸ᒜ➱ㄧ Essays of Yusan, by Chŏng Yagyong yushi ⁲ᖅ master of fishermen yushi zhongcheng ᚒྍ୯୤

palace aide to the censor in chief; vice censor in chief

yushidafu ᚒྍኬኰ censor in chief yusu ⏻Ꮼ special mayor yuŭmjaje ᭯ⶩᏄᘭ descendants of officials with the protection privilege zangkuai 㥐൩ broker zangwu ⴷᕢ funeral shaman; geomancer zengsheng ቏⏍ nonregular students Zengshi silue ᭧Ắྍ␆ Tongjian jieyao

Brief History of Ancient China by Zeng Xianzhi; also called

zeyu ⃕⹧ supervisor of marshes zha 㛦 floodgate zhang ୓ unit of length measure; 31⁄3 meters zhangchuguan ᤰ⏾ᏻ keeper of sacrificial animals zhangke ᤰᐂ steward (in the Ministry of Justice) “Zhangshan bangsheng zhengji” ᙪၻᴮ⪯ᨳエ of Administrators to Public Notice”

“Record for Bringing the Goodness

Zhanguoce ᡒᅢ➿ Stratagems of the Warring States, by Liu Xiang zhenchan ㈨⣉ selling grain at a reduced price for the purpose of famine relief zheng ḿ head of a village zhengde ḿᚣ rectification of (the people’s) virture

1082

Glossary

Zhengjing ᨳ⤺ Discourses on Administration, by Zhen Dexiu zhenglu ḿ㗬 educational director zhengnan dajiangjun ᙹ༞ኬᑒ㌯ general in chief conquering the south zhengyan ḿゕ exhorter zhenxi ㈨㤏 distribution of food or grain free of charge zhi ▩ a prefi x to official titles that indicates administrator of a prefecture or district or some administrative positions zhi ἖ ser vices rendered in legislating laws and administering the people zhi ᱉ shackle zhifu ▩ᗋ prefect (of a superior prefecture) zhijiang ├ㅦ lecturer zhijinwu ᇮ㔘྿ chamberlain for the imperial insignia zhilu ▩㗬 judicial intendant zhimianli ▩㟻⚨ rite of introduction (practiced in a prison) zhingzhaoyin ா඗ᑴ metropolitan governor zhirong ⮬⏕ making a good appearance in the game of pitch-pot zhishi ▩஥ administrative clerk; magistrate zhixian ▩⦡ district magistrate Zhixuanpu ἖⦡ㆍ Secrets of Governing Districts zhixueshi ├Ꮯኃ auxiliary academician zhiyue ├᭮ auxiliary zhizhi fayun panguan โ⨠Ⓢ㐘ึᏻ supervising transport commissioner zhizhishi ├ᣞ౐ investigating censor; straight pointer Zhizhisi / Zhizhisansi tiaolisi โ⨠ྒྷ / โ⨠୔ྒྷᱼౚྒྷ Finance Planning Commission zhizhou ▩ᕗ prefect; subprefectural magistrate zhongbin ᚐ㈩ guests of lower class; ordinary guests zhongdafu ୯ኬኰ ordinary grand master; grand master of the palace zhongdan ୯႙ an inner robe worn by officiants at a sacrifice Zhongdong (Kor. Chungdong) ௯෢ midwinter zhonglangjiang ୯㑼ᑒ leader of court gentlemen; commandant zhonglingjun ୯㡷㌯ capital commandant zhongren ෙெ grave maker zhongshi ୯౐ imperial commissioner Zhongshu Guo Tuotuo chuan ⛸ᶖ㒄ᵓ㥗പ Biography of the Gardener Guo Tuotuo, by Liu Zongyuan zhongshu sheren ୯᭡⯂ெ drafter or Secretariat drafter Zhongshu wenxiasheng ୯᭡㛓ୖ┤

Secretariat-Chancellery

Glossary

1083

zhongshujian ୯᭡┐ Secretariat supervisor zhongshulang / zhongshushilang ୯᭡㑼 / ୯᭡౜㑼 attendant gentleman; vice director in the Secretariat; vice minister zhongshuling ୯᭡௦ Secretariat director Zhongshusheng ୯᭡┤ Secretariat zhongwei ୯ᑔ chamberlain for the imperial insignia; commandant-in-ordinary of the nobles; commandant-in-ordinary zhongxianguan ⤂⋑ᏻ the officiant who offers the last wine cup zhongyong ୯ᗜ moderation; golden mean zhou ᕗ prefecture or subprefecture zhouchang ᕗ㛏 township head (a township consisted of 2,500 families) Zhouli ࿔⚨ Rites of Zhou; Classic of Zhou “Zhounan” ࿔༞

“The Odes of Zhou and the South” in Classic of Poetry

zhouxuan ࿔᪍ making good arrangements Zhouyi ࿔᪾ Book of Changes; The Changes of Zhou Zhuanyunsi ㎀㐘ྒྷ Transport Commission zhuanyunshi ㎀㐘౐ transport commissioner zhuanzhu ㎀Ἰ logical aggregates zhubu ୹⡑ recorder; assistant magistrate zhuixu ㏛⬆ law agent zhuqian dujiang changshi 㚪㗾㒌ᑒ㛏ྍ superintendent of coinage zhushi ୹஥ administrative aide; director; secretary Zhuzi jiali ᮊᏄᐓ⚨

The Family Rituals of Zhu Xi

Zijingbian ⮤㆑⥽ Records for Self-Admonitions, by Zhao Shanliao zinan Ꮔ⏠ viscounts Zizhengdian ㈠ᨳẂ Hall of Aid in Governance Zizhi tongjian ㈠἖㏳㚯 Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government, by Sima Guang zongbing ⦳ඹ regional commander zongli yanfa ⦳⌦㮬Ἢ superintendent of salt distribution zongzhi ⦳โ regulator general zuobuzhengsi ᕞᕱᨳྒྷ left provincial administration commission zuocheng ᕞ୤ vice minister; assistant director of the left zuofengyi ᕞ㤹⩚ regional commissioner; guardian of the left zuoneishi ᕞ㐨ྍ left chamberlain for the capital; left administrator; left director of the Secretariat zuopuye ᕞൃᑏ vice director of the Department of State Affairs Zuoshi chunqiu / Zuozhuan ᕞẮ᫋⚽ / ᕞപ Commentary of Zuo; Chronicle of Zuo; Zuo’s Tradition of Spring and Autumn Annals

1084

Glossary

zuoshii ᕞᣘ㐿 reminder of the left zuozhengyan ᕞḿゕ left exhorter zushi ᪐ᖅ precinct mentor (a precinct is a unit of one hundred families in a local self-government orga nization of the populace) “Zuzang shumu tu” ᪐ⴷ᫓✍ᅪ “Diagram of Shu and Mu in Family Burial”

Bi bl io gr a ph y

An Chŏngbok. Tongsa kangmok. [Annotated Account of Korean History]. 10 vols. Seoul: Minjok munhwa ch’ujinhoe, 1977. Chan Wing-tsit. Reflections on Things at Hand. Comp. Chu Hsi and Lü Tsu-ch’ien. New York: Columbia University Press, 1967. Chŏng Yagyong. Chŭngbo Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ [The Complete Works of Chŏng Yagyong, Supplemented and Revised]. 6 vols. Seoul: Kyŏngin munhwasa, 1970. ———. Mongmin simsŏ [Admonitions on Governing the People]. In Chŏng Tasan chŏnsŏ [The Complete Works of Chŏng Tasan], vol. 3. Seoul: Munhŏn p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 1961. ———. Mongmin simsŏ [Admonitions on Governing the People]. 6 vols. Seoul: Ch’angjak kwa pip’yŏng, 1978. ———. Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ [The Complete Works of Chŏng Yagyong]. Comp. Kim Sŏngjin, ed. Chŏng Inbo and An Chaebong. 76 vols. Seoul: Sinchosŏnsa, 1934–1938. Chosŏn wangjo sillok [The Veritable Records of the Kings of the Chosŏn Dynasty]. 48 vols. Seoul: Kuksa p’yŏnch’an wiwŏnhoe, 1970–1972. Chunqiu Zuozhuan Zhengyi [Commentary on the Chronicle of Zuo, by Kong Yingda]. In Shisanjing zhushu [Commentaries and Sub-commentaries for Thirteen Classics], ed. Ruan Yuan. Taipei: Yiwen yinshuguan, 1816. De Bary, Wm. Theodore, and JaHyun Kim Haboush, eds. The Rise of Neo-Confucianism in Korea. New York: Columbia University Press, 1985. Huang Liu-Hung. A Complete Book Concerning Happiness and Benevolence: A Manual for Local Magistrates in Seventeenth-Century China. Trans. Djang Chu. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984. Hucker, Charles O. A Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China. Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1985.

1085

1086

Bibliography

Jiang Yonglin, trans. The Great Ming Code / Da Ming lü. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2005. Koryŏsa [History of the Koryŏ Dynasty]. 3 vols. Seoul: Yŏnhŭi taehakkyo ch’ulp’anbus, 1955. Kyŏngguk taejŏn [National Code]. Trans. Pŏpjech’ŏ [Ministry of Government Legislation]. Seoul: Hanguk pŏpje yŏnguwŏn [Korea Legislation Research Institute], 1993. Lee Ki-baik. A New History of Korea. Trans. Edward W. Wagner. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1984. Legge, James, trans. The Chinese Classics. 5 vols. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1960. ———, trans. The Chinese Classics. University of Virginia Library Electronic Text Center. ———, trans. Confucius: Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean. New York: Dover Publications, 1971. ———, trans. Li Chi: Book of Rites. Part 1. New Hyde Park, N.Y.: University Books, 1967. ———, trans. Li Ki [Book of Rites]. In Sacred Books of the East, ed. Max Müller, vols. 37– 38. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1885. ———, trans. The Sacred Books of China: The Texts of Taoism. Part 1. New York: Dover Publications, 1962. ———, trans. Shu King [Classic of History], Shih King [Classic of Poetry], and Hsiao King [Classic of Filial Piety]. In Sacred Books of the East, ed. Max Müller, vol. 3. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1879 (reproduced copy in Seoul). ———, trans. The Works of Mencius. New York: Dover Publications, 1970. ———, trans. Yi King [Book of Changes]. In Sacred Books of the East, ed. Max Müller, vol. 16. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1882 (reproduced copy in Seoul). Mote, Frederick W., and Denis Twitchett, eds. The Cambridge History of China. Vol. 8, Part 2, The Ming Dynasty. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Palais, James B. Confucian Statecraft and Korean Institutions: Yu Hyŏngwŏn and the Late Chosŏn Dynasty. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1996. Park Sŏngmu, trans. Tasan sanmun sŏn [Selection of Assorted Writings by Chŏng Yagyong]. Seoul: Ch’angjak kwa p’ip’yŏngsa, 1985. Setton, Mark. Chŏng Yagyong: Korea’s Challenge to Orthodox Neo-Confucianism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1997. Shisanjing zhushu [Commentaries and Sub-commentaries for Thirteen Classics]. Ed. Ruan Yuan. Taipei: Yiwen yinshuguan, 1816. Sok taejŏn [Supplement to the National Code]. Seoul: Seoul National University Kyukanggak, 1998. Taejŏn t’ongp’yŏn [Comprehensive National Code]. 2 vols. Seoul: Seoul National University Kyujanggak, 1998. Twitchett, Denis. The Writing of Official History under T’ang. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1992. Wagner, Edward Willet. The Literati Purges: Political Conflict in Early Yi Korea. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1974. Wang Rongpei, trans. Library of Classics: Zhuangzi I. Hunan: Hunan People’s Publishing House, 1999.

Bibliography

1087

Wilkinson, Endymion. Chinese History: A Manual. Revised and enlarged ed. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2000. Yi Hongjik, ed. Kugsadaesajŏn [Great Dictionary of National History]. 2 vols. Seoul: Chimungak, 1963. Yi Ik. Sŏngho sasŏl [Insignificant Jottings of Yi Ik]. Trans. Ch’oe Sŏkgi. Seoul: Hangilsa, 1999. Yi Ŭrho. Tasan kyŏnghak sasang yŏn’gu [A Study of Chŏng Yagyong’s Scholarship on the Confucian Classics]. Seoul: Ŭryu munhwasa, 1981. ———. Yi Ŭrho Chŏnsŏ [Complete Works of Lee Ŭlho]. 3 vols. Seoul: Yemunsŏwŏn, 2000. Yu Sŏngnyong. The Book of Corrections: Reflections on the National Crisis during the Japanese Invasion of Korea, 1592–1598 [Chingbirok]. Trans. Choi Byonghyon. Berkeley: Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California, 2002.

This page intentionally left blank

I n de x

abalone, 364, 926 abandoned homes, 939–940 abandoned lands: divided among creditors, 413; false v. true, 274–275; land administration and, 266, 269–271, 274–276; lawsuits and, 270; as priority, 274–275; reclamation of, 276, 414; taxes on, 266, 269–271, 274–276 Abridged Genealogies of a Hundred Families (Paekga sobo), 586 Academician’s Reservoir (Xueshiyan), 990 accidental homicide, 729 actors, shows presented by, 791–792 administration hall (chŏngdang), 1008 administrative assistant to provincial governor (p’angwan), 161–162 Administrative Encyclopedia of Korea (Munhŏnbigo), 272–273, 524 administrator of law (sifacanjun), 678 Admonitions on Governing the People (Mongmin simsŏ), 345 “Admonitions on the Conduct of the One in Mourning” (“Xiaoyu jusangwen”) (Zhu Xi), 507–508 Admonitions to My Children (Guotinglu) (Fan Gongcheng), 16 adultery, 233–234, 788–789 advances, training of, 596–599 affluent households, solicitation of contributions from, 919–923

age: beating in accordance with, 757; military exemption due to, 569–570; promotion and, 611, 613; raising and reducing of, 355; in social hierarchy and order, 534 agricultural development commissioner (guannongshi), 413 agriculture: Chinese, 409; clear responsibilities in promoting, 425–427; equipment for, 419–421, 888–890; evaluation of administrative responsibilities in, 427–432; farming progress and, 432–433; gardening as, 415–417; importance of, 408; livestock in, 415–417, 421–425; magistrate’s duty to promote, 410–413; manufacturing of goods promoting, 888–890; mulberries and, 418–419; reports on, 171; in saving goods during enemy attack, 653–654; sericulture as, 415–419; sophistication of, 409; taxes and, 408–433; tree farming, 428–429; vegetables in, 427–429; Viet namese, 411; weaving as, 415–417 aides, governor’s (pijang), 487–488 aides of magistrate (hyangsŭng), 235, 531 alcohol production, 961–962 altars: broken down, 442–444; three, 436–440 alternative crops, sowing (taep’a), 954, 957 ammunition, 608 amnesty, for assistance against thieves, 805–806

1089

1090

index

amnyu (keeping grain for personal purpose), 317–318 Analytical Dictionary of Characters (Shuowen) (Xu Shen), 759 ancestral rites, 139–140, 181 anger: judicious enforcement of punishments and, 742–744, 751; setting body in order and, 56–59 animal husbandry: evaluation of, 428–430; metaphor, 1 An Kyŏngsim, 636 An Lushan, 643–644 “Announcement to Prince Kang” (“Kanggao”), 505, 505n220 anonymous letters and notices, 621–624 An Sunam (An Chŏngbok), 37, 134, 421, 691 An Yu, 820 “Appeal with Regard to the Prohibition of the Purchase of Rice” (“Qi jinedi zhuang”) (Zhu Xi), 907 appointment: assuming office and, 5–15; letters of, 585–587, 903–904; of magistrates, 1; prevention of irregularities and, 10–12; reckless spending and, 8–10; of regional representatives, 1; travel expenses and, 12–15. See also reappointment archers (muhak), 595 archery, as priority, 610–615 archery rite (hyangsarye), 529–530 Armor-Th rowing Deep (T’ugapyŏn), 988 armory, 606–607 arrows, 611, 617 arrow shafts, 607–609 arson, 961 artillery soldiers (p’osu), 578 artisans, gathering of, 885–887 artisan villages, 376 ashtrays, 485 assuming office: appointment and, 5–15; Essays of Tasan on, 12, 43; Hu Dachu and, 47; inauguration and, 33–39; National Code on, 21, 25; official duties and, 39–50; Supplement to the National Code on, 12, 20; taking leave of king and, 20–27; traveling to post and, 15–20, 28–33; Zheng Xuan on, 15; Zhu Xi and, 41, 48 Asylum for Orphans (Ciyouyuan), 934 Augmented Survey of the Geography of Korea, 642 auspicious day, for inauguration, 33–34 austerity, 28–30

authorization paper, forged, 680 autopsies, 729–732, 739 Awakening the People from Ignorance (Yumeng) (Feng Yuan), 500 baggage: of clean-hearted scholar, 987–988; for departure, 985–990; neat and clean, 985–986; reckless throwing away of, 988–989; road construction, maintenance and, 883–884; shameful, 989–990; transportation of, 404 baggage carry ing (chŏnim), 883–884 Bai Juyi, 718 Baimao Harbor, 399 Bai Xiangshan, 92, 92n157, 1014 bandits: domestic disturbances from, 627–629; elimination of, 796–802, 812–813, 893; of Fierce Dragon Army, 639–640; three reasons for, 796–799; Yao, 632 banner signals, training to follow, 593–599 banquets: for closing of relief camp, 971–973; for elderly, 190–191; in garden, 484; for honored guests, 468–471 Baocheng Post Station, 858 Bao Yu, 772 Bao Zheng, 46, 46n105, 57, 83, 93, 129, 131, 221, 664, 753 baozheng (reducing taxes), 893–894 barren lands, 268–269 basic household survey (ch’imgip’yo), 919 bastions, protruding (ch’isŏng), 873 battle camps, building (chinbŏp), 597 battle formations: essence of, 598; secret signals in, 599; training of, 596–599 battlements, reinforcement of, 873–874 Ba Zhi, 144 beard-touching tax (lusuqian), 405 beating in accordance with age (suinianzhang), 757 beating with double pleasure (hehuanzhang), 757 bedrooms, for interpreters, 486 begging: for words of wisdom, 191; by yamen clerks, 222–223, 323 Bei Heng, 145 benefits: bestowing, self-discipline and, 145–151; disarray from war and, 149–150; extravagance in serving men in power and, 150–151; extreme frugality and, 145; for friends, 146–147; for men in exile, 148–149; silence about, 103–105; stipend used in, 147–148

index benevolence, 134, 192, 342–343; compassion for prisoners and, 758; Confucius and, 215; of women, 721–722; with yamen clerks, 215–216 Bianshui River, 879–880 Biography of the Gardener Guo Tuotuo (Zhongshu Guo Tuotuo chuan) (Liu Zihou), 427 birthday party, 72 birthdays, magistrates’, 103 Bi Zhongjing, 108 blackmail (toroe), 733–734 blue caps (bitoujin), 753 Board of Punishments, 396, 763, 793, 795 Board of Taxation, 305, 365, 432, 842–844 Board of War, 614 Board of Works, 845 body. See setting body in order Book for Arresting and Punishing Criminals (Luozhijing) (Lai Juchen), 761 Book of Changes (Yijing), 4, 56, 530, 709, 760, 768, 906 Book of Forensic Medicine (Xiyuanlu), 725 Book of Han (Hanshu), 759 Book of Rites (Liji), 98–99, 117, 189, 470, 851, 855, 989. See also “Proceedings of Government in the Different Months” Book of Tang (Tangshu), 25 Book of the Later Han (Houhanshu), 759 Book of Wei (Weishu), 417 Book on Martial Arts (Wubian) (Tang Shunzhi), 875 books: budgets for publishing, 366; carriage for, 19–20; of codified laws, 724–726; Four, 2; importance of, 3–4; for integrity, 36; of official reports, 173; in schools, 515–516, 523–525; setting body in order and, 77–78; in shipwrecked foreign vessels, 186 Border Defense Council (Pibyŏnsa), 297, 301, 370–371, 602, 865, 910–911, 936 boxian (violating the deadline), 407 Bo Yi, 249, 249n65 Bo Yu, 516 breakwater at seacoast (haeŏn), 852–853 breeding: horse, 793; oxen, 423–425 bribery: with chŏkgo, 377; enlistment and, 577, 598; for fraudulent designation of disaster areas, 280–281; integrity and, 88–89; law of, 827; of post-station runners, 488; ruling of household and, 119–121; of superior, with entertainment and money, 798; taxes and, 280–281, 297, 357, 577; walking down in the

1091

royal court, 9–10, 9n2; yangban association and, 238 bridges: construction of, 879–881; Guangjiqiao, 880–881; Lisheqiao, 880; Mansegyo, 881; Shangqingqiao, 880 brotherly love (mu), 190, 911 brothers: lawsuits against, 503–507; in ruling of household, 109–110 brown seaweed, 946–947 buckwheat seeds, 954 Buddhas, occult and, 821–822 Buddhist sacrifices, 437 Buddhist temples: parties in, 75–76; property left to, 673–674 Bureau for Crisis and Recovery (Chewip’o), 935 Bureau of Equalized Tax (Kyunyŏkch’ŏng), 559, 562, 605 Bureau of Famine Relief, 903, 915, 953 Bureau of Land and Tax Administration (Chŏnjesangjŏngso), 262 Bureau of Mountains and Marshes (Santaeksa), 844–845 burial signs (maep’yo), 693 cadastral map (yulintu), 271–274 cadastral survey, 264–265 Cai Jing, 74–75, 74n83 Cai Junshan, 1006 Cai Xiang (Junmo), 75 canals, 854–855 candidates, physically disabling (kyŏch’uk), 611–613 Cang Ci, 753, 782 cangue ( jia), 760–761 cannibalism, 966 Cao Cao, 278, 623 Cao Keming, 90 Cao Zan, 123 capital agent, 10–12, 296–297 capital liaison office, 235 caps, 51–52, 753 card with official seal (chup’ae), 389 card without official seal (paekp’ae), 389 cargo vessels, 387–389 carpenters, 864–865 carriage: for books, 19–20; excessively luxurious, 534–538; for women traveling, 111–112 cash, order to raise, 333 cattails, 855–857 cauldrons, cooking, 946

1092

index

cavalry, 578, 595, 597–599 cemeteries: geomancy and, 266–267, 275, 686–687, 689; grand master of, 685; public, 685–686. See also grave sites Cen Xi, 777 ceremonial music (naak), 792 ceremonies. See rites and ceremonies The Ceremonies of the Five Rites (Oreyeŭi), 439–440, 529 ceremony of looking after orphans, 528–529 ceremony of nursing the aged, 525 chabigok (grain for famine relief), 900 Cha Dao, 91 chaebok (recovery of property), 340–341 Ch’ae Chegong (Ch’ae Pŏnong), 61, 240, 980–981 Ch’ae Chŏng, 998 Ch’ae P’aengyun, 458 ch’aerŭk (manipulating debts), 324 Chahasanin. See Mountain Man under the Purple Sky chakbu (grouping small lands as unit for tax collection), 288–290, 292–294 ch’amallye (bribing superior with entertainment and money), 798 Chang Gun, 552 Chang Hyŏngwang, 191 Chang Sam, 388 Changsan Fortress, 869–870 Chang Yu, 456, 474 character, greatness of, 618–619 charity, 990 cheating, on examinations, 556 checkpoints, 394 Cheju Island, tribute of, 402–403 ch’emaso (place for changing horses), 491 Chen Biao, 805 Chen Cheng, 723 Chen Fan, 507, 996 Chen Gang, 878 Chen Gao, 64 Cheng Baizi (Hao), 54, 188, 198, 515, 594, 904–905 Cheng Hao, 161, 475, 679, 801 Cheng Lin, 210 Cheng Mingdao, 174, 174n43, 495, 666 Cheng Yanbin, 69 Cheng Zi, 157, 157n10 Cheng Zigao, 266 Chengzu, Emperor, 994, 1004 Chen Hanqing, 505

Chen Jianzhai, 83–84 Chen Jin, 713–714 Chen Jing, 413 Chen Liangqi, 959 Chen Lie, 75 Chen Lin, 695 Chen Meigong, 765 Chen Ping, 436 Chen Shu, 439 Chen Shugu, 808 Chen Shunyu, 155 Chen Tai, 131 Chen Xiang, 131, 496–497, 853–854 Chen Xilang, 552 Chen Xiliang, 209, 449–450, 879–880 Chen Yaozuo, 878, 912–913 Chen Youxue, 417, 783, 888 Chen Zhengzhong, 955 Chen Zhongju, 245–246 Chen Zhongzi, 249, 249n66 Chen Zun, 195 chess, 78–79 chich’ik (entertainment of Chinese imperial envoys): Hwanghae Province rules for, 482–492; importance of, 477–482 chief escort officials, 488 chief judge (shishi), 894 chief yamen clerk, 226, 249–250, 339 ch’ikgi (notice of visit of Chinese imperial embassy), 477, 479 ch’ikgo (entertainment fund), 489 childlessness, 198, 771–772 children: abandoned, 194–198, 953; of concubines, 698–699; elderly without, 198; embezzlement by, 704; in family, 109, 772–773; illegitimate, 699; inheritance property of, 697–698, 697n92; intelligent, 549–551; in lawsuits, 665–672; outstanding, in county schools, 550–551; petty crimes by, 814; of prisoners, 771–772; in relief camps, 953; in ruling of household, 109, 118–119, 123–124; as secret inspectors, 248–249; of slaves, registration of, 701; sons, 118–119; step-, 670; torture of, 757–758. See also orphans chili (reducing labor-service requirements), 893–894 China: agriculture in, 409; examination system in, 243–244; food in, 424; funeral shamans of, 691; imperial embassy of, 477, 479, 482–492; imperial envoys of, 477–482;

index interrogating stick of, 745; justice system of, 713; prostitutes in, 787–788; refugees in, 939–940; solicitation of contributions in, 912–915, 919; unauthorized cattle slaughtering in, 423; vagrants and tramps in, 948 chingp’o (collection of military taxes), 611, 613–614 chipsin (old grain substituted for new), 319–320 Cho Ch’angwŏn, 343 Cho Chongdo, 650 Cho Chun, 25 Ch’oe Akjae, 762 Ch’oe Cha, 720 Ch’oe Chae, 652, 978 Ch’oe Ch’ibong, 219 Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn, 261, 261n4, 548 Ch’oe Ch’ŏkgyŏng, 997–998 Ch’oe Ch’unmyŏng, 646 Ch’oe Ho, 628 Ch’oe I, 646, 985 Ch’oe Ip, 553 Ch’oe Kyŏnghoe, 649 Ch’oe Sisŏl, 816, 852 Ch’oe Sŏgyŏng, 717–718 Ch’oe Sŏk, 986 Ch’oe Suksaeng, 215–216 choet’ong (indirect collaboration in criminal act), 340 Ch’oe Tongnip, 665 Ch’oe Unhae, 641 Ch’oe Wŏnu, 986 Ch’oe Yuhae, 383–384 Ch’oe Yundŏk, 824, 885 Cho Haksin, 571 Cho Hyŏnmyŏng, 370n141 Cho Hyorip, 646 chŏkgo (bribe money), 377 Ch’oksŏk Fortress, 871 Cho Kŭksŏn, 105, 154, 157–158, 176, 518, 754 Cho Kyewŏn, 594 Cho Munmyŏng, 918 Chŏng Chaeryun, 674 Chŏng Chaewŏn, 980–981 Chŏng Chihwa, 167, 616 Chŏng Chong, 641–642 Chong Gao, 992 Chŏng Hongsun, 110 Chŏng Ildu, 192 ch’ŏngjing (collective responsibility for embezzlement), 340

1093

Chŏngjo, King, 200, 315, 368, 482, 500, 529, 547, 739, 762, 835–836, 843, 850, 875, 889, 1014 Chŏng Ku (Chŏng Hangang), 71, 651–652 Chŏng Kyŏngsun, 784 Chŏng Manhwa, 144 Chŏng Mansŏk, 369, 390, 830 Chŏng Minsi, 881 Chŏng Myŏngsu, 481, 481n176 Chŏng Ok, 138 Chŏng Ŏnhwang, 392, 451, 625, 784 Chŏng Pal, 647–648 Chŏng Poksi, 701, 779 Chŏng Pung, 151 Chŏng Sangsun, 73 Chŏng Si, 650–651 Chŏng Sŭbin, 823 Chŏng Sulin, 353–354 Chŏng T’aekgyŏng, 285 Chŏng T’ak, 448 Chŏng Togil, 240 Chŏng Ŭngdu, 138 Chŏng Ungyŏng, 216–217 Chŏn Hŭng, 754 Chŏn Noksaeng, 106 Chŏn Sŏngan, 863 Cho Ŏ, 115 Choryŏng Pass, 878–879 Cho Sehwan, 482, 511 Cho Sin, 640 Cho Sŏgyun, 162 Chou Lan, 416, 501–502 Cho Ungyu, 621 Cho Unhŭl, 70–71 Chou Xuanda, 123 Cho Wi, 861–862 choyogok (grain for relief of labor ser vices), 406–407, 406n182 Cho Yŏnggyŏng, 204 Cho Yundŏk, 143 Chronicle of Zuo, 911 Chu Chinjŏng, 816 chŭnggo (manipulation of grain tax for profiteering), 315 Ch’ungsuk, King, 106, 998 Chu Sinjae, 446, 446n65 citrons, 836–837 civil matters (minsa), 739–742 civil ser vice examinations: fi rmly established system for, 554–556; kwagŏ, 243; military examination and, 615; necessity of, 541–542; people continuously passing, 551–554;

1094

index

civil ser vice examinations (continued) recommending virtuous men and, 243–244; slaves taking, 700; state, 89, 182 clan status, 531–533 Classic of Filial Poetry (Xiaojing), 501 Classic of History, 360, 360n128 Classic of Poetry, 29, 52–53, 57–58, 72, 198, 202, 361–362, 655–656, 776–777, 831, 872, 1016 clay, 866 clay statues, 443 clerks: anonymous letters by, 621–622; in charge of draft ing statement regarding departure of previous magistrate, 225; in charge of grain, 946; in charge of personnel, 346–347; crimes committed by, 30, 163, 171, 220; famine relief and, 967; letters of complaint read by, 660; military unit of, 595; mountain echoes of, 626; personal secretary v., 124–125; property amassed by, 817–818; treatment of, 23–24; wives of, 117. See also yamen clerks clerks and slaves unit (inodae), 595 cloth: excessive taxes on, 393–396; household cloth tax and, 407–408, 557; linen, 240; military cloth tax and, 557–565, 572–577, 583–585, 613–614; in trial hearings I, 678–683. See also silk clothing: dresses, 113–114; excessively luxurious, 534–538; frugality and, 135–139; funeral, 700; mourning, 508, 513; for offenses, 751, 753; for prisoners, 767; sacrificial robes, 442–444; sericulture as foundation of, 418–419; in setting body in order, 51–52; shoes, 395; stolen, 681– 682; thieves’, red ink marking, 806–808; wives and, 113–114, 121–122; of yamen clerks, 226 clubs, punishments enforced with, 745–747 Code of Rites, 689 codified laws, books of, 724–726 coercive tax collection (paekjing), 566 coffi n, carry ing of, 400, 1010 cold, in prison, 765–768 Cold Food Festival (Hanshijie), 809 Collectanea of Relief Administration (Huangzheng congshu) (Lin Xiyuan), 930–931 Collected Commentaries on the Codes of Qing China (Qinglü jizhu), 738–739 Collected Works of Taesan (Taesanjip) (Kim Maesun), 1018n134

Collected Works of T’oegye (T’oegyejip) (Yi Hwang), 870 Collection of Admonitions for the People (Jieminji) (Zhang Yong), 3, 657, 726 commands, giving (horyŏng), 597 Commentary on Ancient Precedents (Kojŏgŭi), 257–258 Commentary on Idiomatic Phrases (Lianwen shiyi), 540 Commentary on the Chronicles of Zuo (Chunqiu zhengyi), 435, 437 commodities, in waterway and reservoir management, 855–857 community compacts: education of the people and, 494–499; lawsuits discouraged by, 497–498 company commander, 601 Complete Book of Agricultural Administration (Xu Guangqi), 422–423 The Complete Book of Yi Ch’ungmugong, 603, 603n65 Complete Studies on Astronomical Instruments (Yixiang zhi), 889 Comprehensive Examination on the Rites of Funeral (Duli tongkao) (Xu Ganxue), 687–688 Comprehensive National Code: on administration of justice, 694, 746; on administration of military affairs, 608, 610; on famine relief, 968, 972; preferred use of, 703; on public ser vice, 156; on public works administration, 833–834; on taxes, 274, 276, 308, 333, 400 Comprehensive Prosody Authorized by the Royal Library (Kyujang chŏnun), 547 A Comprehensive Update of the Chosŏn Dynasty’s Administrative Code, 699 compulsory allocation of products (pokjŏng), 363 concubines: children of, 698–699; slaves, 700; wives and, 122–123 condolences, rice for, 1009–1010 confessions, false, 711, 732–733 confirmation hearings, 20–21 Confucianists: auditing of public depository records and, 384–385; founding texts of, 2n4; music in, 516; pretend students of, 356–357 Confucius: benevolence and, 215; clay statues not recognized by, 443; corvée ser vices criticized by, 360; on cruel governments, 407; fi lial piety and, 512; generosity and,

index 59–60; on greed, 797; on lawsuits, 655–656; legalism and, 724–725; on mourning, 508; parents of, 685; shrines to, 38–39, 440–444, 822; on trust, 256; virtue and, 82 construction work: for embankments, 397–399; emergency, 870–871; famine relief and, 955–956. See also road construction and maintenance Cool Stories of Hasan (Hasan naengdam), 797 copper mines, 842–844 copperware, 887–888 corner towers (kakdae), 874 corner towers with artillery (p’ook), 873–874 coroner, 182–183 corporal punishments: execution of, 742–747; for females, 756–757; types of, 739–742 corvée ser vices: cargo vessels and, 387–389; Confucius criticizing, 360; Equalized Tax Law and, 387; excessive taxes and, 393–396; exemption from, 201–202, 304–305, 333, 398; fairness in, 360–362; fishing taxes and, 389–390; grain for relief of, 406–407, 406n182; head-tax law and, 407–408; household registration as foundation of, 343–345; hwangjangmok and, 832; imposition of, 396–404; investigation of unaccounted-for lands and households for, 375–376; irregularities in, investigations to disclose, 376–377; justice in levying I, 360–385; justice in levying II, 385–408; kye association villages and, 371–375; landbased v. household-based taxes and, 377–378; law on household cloth tax and, 407–408; laws with abuses and, 385–386; liaison storehouses and, 392–393; monetary fund for labor ser vice and, 406–407, 406n182; money paying for, 368, 368n138; practices produced by wrongful precedents and, 404–405; public depository and, 362–371, 382–385; in remote regions, 381–382; rules and regulations for, 371; salt taxes and, 390–392; slaves and, 375; spurious taxes and, 379–381; taxes paid in money v. rice and, 378–379; types of labor, 396–397 cotton gin, 889–890 cotton harvest, 584 county schools: Confucian shrines at, 38–39; examinations in, 541–542, 546, 554–556; headmaster selected for, 525–528; income of, 545; instructors at, 519; origin of, 516;

1095

outstanding children in, 550–551; selection by, 543; steward of, 523 courtesy pay, 592, 601 cows, 422–423, 792–795 crenellated parapets (biye), 873 crimes: clerks committing, 30, 163, 171, 220; during famine relief, 969–970; indirect collaboration in, 340; inscribed on stone, 220; periods of responsibility for, 737–739; petty, by children, 814; servants committing, 30; of thieves, pardoning of, 799–801; unforgivable, 721–722. See also homicide crop assessors (kyŏngch’agwan), 826 crossbows, 617–618 cross-examination, 660 Cui, Lady, 122n239, 123–124, 502 Cui Boqian, 752 Cui Jingzhen, 753 Cui Kai, 643 Cui Pu, 471 Cui Renshi, 714–715 Cui Shi, 420–421 Cui Ting, 982 Cui Yan, 37 Cui Yuan, 847 Cui Zhuan, 769 customs: better, cultivation of, 515; for caring for elderly, 192; domestic disturbances influenced by, 625–627; excessive taxes on, 393–396; good, promotion and implementation of, 507–510; local, 14–15, 102, 625–627; regional, law of taxation II and, 305–308; wrongful, 99–101 Dai Feng, 454 Daily Record of Koksan Prefecture Regarding the Renovation of Its Main Office (Sangsanbu chŏngdang kaegŏn ilyŏk), 863–864 Daily Records of Tasan (Tasan ilch’o), 925 dams: building of, 853–854; in canals, fortified, 854–855; repairing of, 188 Danda Mieming, 127, 127n247 Dang Fazong, 639 Dao, King, 778 Daoist sacrifices, 448, 448n74 deadline, violating, 407 death: of magistrate, 1005–1010; of parents, 999–1000; from plague, 951–953; poetry and, 649–650; from starvation, 950–951, 966. See also families of dead

1096

index

debt: canceling, 337, 342; manipulating, 324; remission of, 703; in trial hearings II, 702–705 degree (dushu), 685 deities: disturbances raised by, 818–821; dragon, 456; earth and grain, 38; guardian, 38, 435, 438–439; Jiqi, 435; Julong, 435; mountain, 457–458; Rushou, 435; Sheji, 435 delay (yuch’e), 768–769 Deng Wan, 718 Deng You, 1018 departure: baggage for, 985–990; death of magistrate and, 1005–1010; districts vying for magistrate and, 993–994; Essays of Tasan on, 981, 984–985; minor offenses and, 1001–1005; missing and honoring late magistrate and, 1010–1021; people’s request for longer stay and, 990–1000; praise following, 1018–1019; of previous magistrate, 225; reappointment and, 995–1001; replacement and, 975–1011; reporting for, 20–21; Rites of Zhou on, 1001; Supplement to the National Code on, 1009–1010; transfer and, 975–1011; visits many years following, 1017–1018; Zheng Xuan on, 977, 990 depositions, 734–735 descending dragon (naeryong), 689 Design for Good Government, 427, 430n247, 829 detours, 30–31 “Diagram of the Plowing Machines” (“Daigeng tushuo”), 420–421 Diagrams and Explanations of Wonderful Machines (Qiqi tushuo), 889 Diary of Miam (Miam ilgi), 235, 235n33 dignity, 7, 14, 29; in commanding subordinates, 228; gravity and, 62–65; setting body in order and, 60–62; of yamen clerks, 126–128 Di Jinghui, 1012 Ding Gongzhu, 510 Ding Ji, 518, 781 director in charge of famine relief (kimin toyusa), 946 director of branch department of state affairs, 253–254 director of markets (sishi), 894 director of water transportation (kaicao taijian), 855 Di Renjie, 448–449, 714, 1012 disasters: drought, 283–284, 453–454; fraudulent designation of, 280–281; land administration and, 280; law of taxation I

and, 280–282, 284–288; prevention of, 210–211; records of, 284–286; severity of, 286. See also natural disasters, victims of discharging arms and attacking (yŏnbŏp), 597 Discourse on Collecting the Taxes in Arrears (Lunjiqian zhuang) (Su Shi), 406 Discourse on Northern Learning (Pukhak ŭi) (Pak Chega), 423 Discourse on the Granary (Shecangyi) (Zhao Nanxing), 311–312 Discourses of the Yue (Yueyu), 201–202 Discourses on Administration (Zhengjin) (Zhen Dexiu), 4 discrimination, in famine relief, 936–938 district convocation (hyanghoe), 385 district grand master (xiangdafu), 492–493 district maps, 48–49 district office, supplies provided for, 380–381 Di Su, 444, 675 ditches, digging, 398 Di Wulun, 111, 990–991 Doctrine of the Mean, 655–656 domestic disturbances: in administration of military affairs, 618–629; advance preparation for, 618–619; anonymous letters and notices in, 621–624; appropriate action for, 624–625; customs influencing, 625–627; from robbers and wandering bandits, 627–629; rumors and, 619–620; slaying of public officials, 625–627; trust and, 629 Dong Commandery, 910 Dong Shiyi, 95, 136 Dong Xuan, 777 Dong Yi, 443 Dong Yue, 191 Dong Zhao, 130 Dong Zhongshu, 152, 152n1 double-cropping, 411 double interest rate (kamni), 702, 702n105 dragon deity, 456 Dramatic Essay of Ch’ŏngp’a (Ch’ŏngp’a kŭkdam) (Yi Yuk), 824n362 drapery, warrant for, 101–102 dresses, 113–114 drinking, avoiding, 65–72 drought, 283–284, 453–454 drums, 359 drum signals, training to follow, 596–599 dry foods, 470 dual taxation (ch’ŏpyŏk), 568 Duan Jian, 517

index Du Cheng, 801 due dates, notebook of, 48 Du Hong, 620 Du Huan, 754 Du Huangshang, 111 duohun (holding wedding ceremonies without adhering to closely to what propriety requires), 893 Du Shiyan, 450 dustcovers, on ceilings, 486, 491 duty soldiers (hosu), 558–559 Du Yan, 104, 412, 664, 753, 993 Du Yu, 854–855, 879, 911, 1014 Du Zhenzhi, 1012 dykes, 211, 849–850 earth and grain deities, shrine of, 38 earthen fortification, 872–873 East and West Sanatorium of Great Mercy (Tongsŏ taebiwŏn), 935 Easterners faction, 696n90 eclipses, 459–460 edification of the people: National Memorial Day and, 154; public ser vice and, 152–155; resignation and, 154–155; responsibilities in, 152–153; royal admonition or amnesty explanation as, 154; royal commendations, reprimands and, 155; royal edict explanation as, 153 education of the people ( jiaomin): better customs cultivated in, 515; community compacts and, 494–499; fi lial piety publicized in, 510–511; government related to, 492–494; integrity publicized in, 510–511; lawsuits against brothers and, 503–507; longstanding abuses discouraged in, 511–514; punishment and, 501–503; in remote border areas, 507–510; rites, ceremonies and, 492–515; sages’ exemplary conduct influencing, 500–501 Eight Horses Monument (P’almabi), 986 eight sacrifices (bala), 439, 439n39 elderly, caring for: banquet for elderly and, 190–191; begging for words of wisdom and, 191; without children, 198; cursing of elders and, 789; custom established for, 192; fi lial piety and, 189–190; food distributed to, 192–193; love of people and, 189–193; magistrate exemplifying, 192; punishment taken for sons and, 772–773; torture and, 757–758

1097

Elementary Learning, 517–518 elementary schools, private, 550 elementary studies, 517–518 Elite Patrol (Pyŏlch’o), 640 Embankment Construction Agency (Cheŏnsa), 397–398, 397n166, 400, 849 embankments, construction of, 397–399 embezzlement: by children, 704; collective responsibility, 340; of grain loans, 339–343; by prison guards, 767; of taxes, 175–177; by yamen clerks, fi nes for, 339–342 employment of people for local government: arguing and, 238; chief of local gentry, 236; chief of yangban association, 238–239; flattery and, 238; left assistant, 236–237; military officials, 239; in personnel administration, 234–241; principle of, 234–235; qualified people for, 237–238; right assistant, 236–237 enemy attack, defending against: advice for, 636–638; loyalty and encouragement to soldiers in, 642–651; in military affairs administration, 629–654; offering local products to king and, 651–652; pursuing enemy in, 638–642; responsibilities in, 630–636; saving goods in, 653–654 enjoyment, setting body in order and, 73–76 enlistment: administration of, 557–593; bribery and, 577, 598; courtesy pay for, 592; documents and records, 577–583; evasion of, 581–583, 585–587; extortion and, 573–577; hiring of replacements for, 571–573; in military affairs administration, 557–593; military cloth tax and, 557–562, 583–585; notice for, 561; pretexts for taxation and, 562–571; rotating ser vice troops and, 587–593; unfair, 576 entertainers, female, 67–68, 67n53, 75, 233, 787–789 entertainment: banquets for honored guests, 468–471; of Chinese imperial envoys, 477–492; eunuchs and, 475–477; expenses of, 487, 489; food served at, 461–463, 469–471; frugality and, 139–140, 142–143; fund for, 489; of governor, 463–468; reduced scale of, 893–894; rites and ceremonies of, 460–492; rules of propriety for, 460–461; of superiors, 471–473, 798; visiting officials, 473–474; wine and, 461–462, 465–466 entourage, 17–19, 76–77 epidemics, 206–208

1098

index

equal-field system ( juntian zhidu), 416, 416n210 Equalized Tax Law, 13, 387, 390, 559–560 equal treatment (kyun), 328 equipment: agricultural, 419–421, 888–890; irrigation, 889; weaving, 419–421, 888–890 erosion, 275 escort commissioner, 185, 487 “Essay on Encouraging Agriculture” (“Quannong wen”) (Zhu Xi), 794 Essays of Chagyunam (Chagyunam manp’il), 26 Essays of Chasan (Chasan p’ildam) (Chŏng Yagchŏn), 828 Essays of Tasan (Tasan p’ildam): on administration of justice, 659, 773, 824; on assuming office, 12, 43; on departure, 981, 984–985; on famine relief, 943–944, 960, 964–965; on personnel administration, 251–252; on public works administration, 875, 884, 887; on rites and ceremonies, 466, 539; on self-discipline, 67, 76; on taxes, 424–425 Essays of Yusan (Yusan p’ildam), 421, 554 Essays of Yusan (Yusan p’ilhwa), 767 Essays on Reading (Dushulu) (Xue Wenqing), 127 Essays Written during the Break in Plowing the Land (Chuogenglu), 699–700 Essentials for Local Magistrates (Imgwanjŏng’yo) (An Sunam), 37, 691 Essentials for Trial Hearings (Ch’ŏngsong yosik) (Yi Wŏnik), 707 Essentials of Magistracy (Chŏng’yo), 54, 54n16, 236, 955–956 Essentials of the Administration of Pine Forests (Songjŏng chŏlmok), 836 “Establishing Relief Houses in Three Districts” (“Sanxian zichang tie”) (Zhu Xi), 933 estuaries, grain traded at, 908–909 eunuchs: entertainment and, 475–477; lawless conduct of, 779–781 evaluation. See personnel evaluation Ever-Normal Bureau (Sangp’yŏngch’ŏng), 608 Ever-Normal Granary, 854, 905, 910, 912 evil: good distinguished from, 1020–1021; inability to hate, 721–722 examinations: cheating on, 556; Chinese system of, 243–244; confi rmation hearings as, 21; in county schools, 541–542, 546, 554–556; grading of, 544; intelligent youth and, 549–551; military, 611–612, 615–616;

new-recruit, 612; oral, 21; palace, 615; rites and ceremonies in, 541–556; rules of versification in, 546–549; selection for, 542–546; special, 615; stages of, 543, 543n328; triennial, 554; triennial augmented, 612, 615; written, 21. See also civil ser vice examinations excessive punishment (namhyŏng), 740 exhumation, 693, 739 exile, men in: benefits for, 148–149; compassion for, 773–776 exorcisms, 62 exorcist music, 791–792 Expanded Commentaries on the Comprehensive National Code (Taejŏn chŭngju), 739 expense records, 102–103 extortion: enlistment and, 573–577; in prison, 761–764; tax, 290–292, 303, 307, 318–319, 573–577 extra lands (sŏngyŏl), 300–301 extreme actions, 95–96 false accusations: in eliminating threats, 814–816; in judgment and imprisonment, 733–734 false confessions, 711, 732–733 false reports, 183, 313, 317 families of dead: commiseration and support for, 201–205; decent burial for, 202; exempt from corvée ser vices, 201–202; famine relief and, 203; of government workers, 205; of officials who served in strange lands, 204; witnessing tragic situations and, 203–204 families of good lineage (kamun), 698 family: brothers, 109–110, 503–507; children, 109, 772–773; law designating heir of, 698–699; lawsuits involving, 503–507, 665–672; personal favors and, 128–130, 132–133; poor, 132–133, 146–147; property, distribution of, 669; punishment taken for other members, 772–773; six close relatives, 107; three clans, 774. See also families of dead; parents; wives Family Precepts of Osŏng (Osŏng kagye), 118 famine relief: additional measures for, 954–964; alcohol production and, 961–962; arson and, 961; Bureau of, 903, 915, 953; centers established for, 933–936; clerks and, 967; Comprehensive National Code on, 968, 972; conclusion of, 964–974; construction work and, 955–956; crimes committed in,

index 969–970; director in charge of, 946; discrimination in, 936–938; Essays of Tasan on, 943–944, 960, 964–965; exhaustion following, 973–974; extent of, 927–945; families of dead and, 203; food and, 896–897; goods bestowed in, 903–904; grain for, 897–903, 908–909, 932–933, 947–948, 965–971; houses suffering from starvation in, 941–945; Hu Dachu and, 907; literati and, 945; National Code on, 900, 968; orphans and, 197–198; plants and herbs for, 956–958; precedents used as model for, 940–941; preparation of relief supplies, 893–911; refugees and, 939–940; relief camps set up for, 946–953; repairs and, 955–956; rewards for, 915–919, 971–973; Rites of Zhou and, 893, 895, 906, 944–945, 958; royal inspector supervising, 905; slash-andburn fields and, 308–309; solicitation of contributions for, 911–927; Supplement to the National Code on, 907, 968, 972; tallies for, 575; thieves and, 958–961; timing of, 927–932; violations committed during, 964–968; Zhang Yong and, 897, 899; Zhu Xi and, 907–909, 914, 918, 933, 939–941, 954, 956, 959 Fan Chengda, 382–383 Fan Chunren, 781, 801–802, 910, 973 Fang Bao, 92 Fang Guan, 128 Fang Jingbo, 502, 800 Fang Jun, 91 Fang Keqin, 137, 148, 871–872 Fan Gongcheng, 16 Fan Guang, 770–771 Fang Yangqian, 146 Fang Zi, 439 Fan Ke, 418 fanle (putting away musical instruments), 893–894 Fan Li, 340 Fan Pang, 759 Fan Rukui, 721 Fan Wenzheng, 53, 111, 133, 203 Fan Zhongxuan, 60 Fan Zhongyan, 852, 955 farewell party, 981–984 farming. See agriculture father, 108 Fei Qin, 515 Feishui River, 870

1099

female entertainers, 67–68, 67n53, 75, 233, 787–789 female shamans, 393–396 female slaves, 233–234, 788 Feng Daogen, 639 Feng Huan, 241 Feng Youlong, 84 Feng Yuan, 500 Feng Zan, 637–638 ferries: availability of, 881–882; excessive taxes on, 393–396; Kaech’aejin, 881–882; Mengjin, 879 fetishism, 822–823 feudal lords, 5–6 fields: in equal-field system, 416, 416n210; in land administration, 271–274; paddy, 283–284; shapes of, 262–263; slash-andburn, 308–309; in well-field-with-ninetribute system, 308, 308n67 Fierce Dragon Army (Longmenjun), 639–640 fi lial piety: caring for elderly and, 189–190; Confucius and, 512; longstanding abuses of, 511–514; publicized, 510–511 Finance Planning Commission (Tiaolisi), 414 fish, 855–857 fishing taxes, 389–390 Five Army Garrisons (Ogunmun, Oyŏngmun, Ogunyŏng), 558, 889 five cardinal principles of morality, upholding, 642–651 five ceremonies, 460, 460n122 Five Classics, 2 five concealments, 966 Five Division (Ogunmun), 224, 224n25 Five Dynasties History, 1019 five gains, 967 five-horse formation (omadae), 598 five-household watch system, 357–360 The Five Human Relationships Illustrated (Oryun haengsildo), 497, 500 five losses, 967 five neighboring households (wu), 494–499, 785 five punishments (ohyŏng), 744 Five Rites of State (Kukcho oryeŭi), 461, 490, 891 five thefts, 956 flattery, 238 flogging: on buttock, 756–757; reckless, 754–756; yamen clerks and, 227 flood prevention: from dam building, 853–854; importance of, 854–855; in waterway and reservoir management, 211, 853–855

1100

index

food: at banquet for elderly, 190–191; Chinese, 424; cooked meat, 470; cutting down on, 897; distributed to elderly, 192–193; dry, 470; for entertainment of guests, 461–463, 469–471; famine relief and, 896–897; frugality and, 135–139; at garden banquets, 484; for governor, rule for serving to, 466–468; for inauguration, 34–35; for interpreters, 485–486; luxurious, in ruling of household, 115; for men in exile, 773–776; in preparation of relief supplies, 896–897; for prisoners, 765–768; for relief camps, 946–947; rice vessels for, 469–471; ritual, 139–140; soup, 470; tables of, 461–462, 465–466; during travel, 28; tribute, 480; wet, 470 food-provision official (sousu duwei), 420 food steward (shanfu), 894 Forbidden Soldiers (Kŭmgun), 780 forcible tax collection (kŏmdok), 303 foreign envoys, escorting of, 185. See also imperial envoys, of China foreign shipwrecks, 185–188 forests. See mountain forest cultivation and management forgery: of authorization paper, 680; of genealogy and letters of appointment, 585–587; in lawsuits, 672–673; of official seals, 795–796; of personal records, 570, 585–587; in trial hearings II, 707–709 formations. See battle formations formula for principal and accrued interest (chamo chŏngsik), 702 fortresses: Changsan, 869–870; Ch’oksŏk, 871; earthen, 872–873; Heliancheng, 872; mountain, 333–335; Nŭnghan, 871; Shitou, 872; small, 873–874; Suwŏn, 875; terrain of, 838–839 fortress repair: earthen fortification, 872–873; emergency construction, 870–871; importance of, 868–870; moats in, 868–870; in public works administration, 868–876; requisition orders for, 188; of small fortresses, 873–874; timing of, 871–872; for tourism, 875–876 fostering orphans (chayu): establishment of, 193–194; government supplying provisions for, 197–198; for love of people, 193–198; orphans as heirs or slaves and, 196–197; parents’ poverty and, 194–195; poor harvests and, 195–196

foundries (nojŏm), 842–843 Four Books, 2 four classes of people (samin), 945 four kinds of poor people (sagung), 198 fraud: in household registration, 355–356; investigation of, in law of taxation I, 294–295 fraudulent designation of disaster areas (wijae), 280–281 friends: benefits bestowed on, 146–147; monks, 61; personal favors and, 128–130, 132–133 Frost Descent (Sanggang), 942–943 frugality: clothing and, 135–139; entertainment and, 139–140, 142–143; extreme, 145; food and, 135–139; goods provided by servants and, 143–144; importance of, 15, 134; integrity and, 83–86; rule as foundation of, 135; sacrificial rites and, 139–140; self-discipline and, 134–145; supplies used by inner quarters and, 141–142; waste of materials and, 145 fruit farming, 428 Fu Bi, 897, 905 fufen (grievance caused by unjust imprisonment), 761, 761n212 Fu Han, 66 funeral: garments, 700; preparation for, 404; thieves using biers and, 808–810 Funeral Regulatory Bureau (Kwihusŏ), 833 funeral shaman (changmu), 691 Fu Qi, 733, 771 Fu Qing, 724 Fu Rong, 813 Fu Sengyou, 66 Fu Sheng, 494 Fu Yan, 3, 681 Fu Yaoyu, 167 Fu Zhao, 32 Gai Juyuan, 85 gambling, 340, 703–704, 790–791 games, 790 gantang tree, 1016 Gao Dingzi, 673 Gao Dounan, 1003 Gao Fu, 823 Gao Jiong, 656 Gao Jixuan, 807 Gao Qianzhi, 810–811 Gao Yao, 724 Gao You, 808, 813–814

index garden banquets, 484 gardening, 415–417 Gardens of Persuasion (Shuoyuan) (Liu Xiang), 202 gatekeepers: evaluation of, 256; subordination of, 229–231; taxes collected by, 231 gateways, suspending searches at, 893–894 gazebo, 862–863 genealogy, forged, 585–587 General Records of the District (Ŭpch’onggi), 23 generosity: integrity and, 105–106; setting body in order and, 59–60 generous treatment of sick (kwanjil): epidemics and, 206–208; exemption from compulsory labor, 205; hunchbacks and invalids, 205–206; love of people and, 205–208; natural calamities and, 207; soldiers exhausted by cold and hunger, 206 Geng Chun, 8, 1017 Geng Gong, 617 Geng Ju, 414 gentry: chief of, 236; exclusive irrigation by, 851–852; fairness and, 694; problems reported by, 40–42; status of, 532–533, 539 geomancers, 690–692 geomancy, 266–267, 275, 686–687, 689 Ge Rong, 643 ghosts: haunting by, 31–32; seven, 728, 728n162; types of, 436–437 gift money (ch’ŏngnye), 339 gifts, integrity and, 89–91 ginseng tax, 840–842 giving commands (horyŏng), 597 goats, 425, 448 gold mines, 842–844 Gong Chengxing, 1002–1003 Gonggongshi, 434 Gongli (ghosts of feudal princes), 436 Gong Sui, 415, 571, 665, 799–800 Gong Sunhong, 722 Gongsun Jingmao, 411 Gongsun Qiao (Zichan), 247, 247n59, 437–438, 639, 879 Gongsun Shu, 985, 985n28 Gongyi Xiu, 82–83 goods: bestowed in famine relief, 903–904; price of, 97–99, 490; saved during enemy attack, 653–654; servants providing, 143–144; stolen, dealers in, 799. See also manufacturing goods Goujian, King, 199

1101

Gou Tai, 666 government: cruel, 407; education of people related to, 492–494; expenditures, solicitation of contributions reducing, 923–924; orphans supplied provisions from, 197–198; property, stolen, 718. See also local government, matters relating to government-reserved forests (pongsan), 826–829, 831–832 governor: aides of, 487–488; chief escort officials providing for, 488; distribution of grain and, 331–332; entertainment of, 463–468; evaluation of, 257–260; grainlending abuses and, 312; greeting of, 159–160; harmful orders of, 163–164; inspection tour of, 463–465; investigation by, through agents, 251–253; kye association villages inspected by, 373–374; provincial, administrative assistant to, 161–162; public depository and, 362–366; punishment ordered by, 163; responsibilities of, 152–153; rule for serving food to, 466–468; security officers of, 465; special favors from, 160–161; staff of, 298 grain: clerks in charge of, 946; deities, 38; distribution of, 329–333; emergency, releasing of, 313; for famine relief, 897–903, 908–909, 932–933, 947–948, 965–971; kept for personal purposes, 317–318; New Year’s holiday, dispensations on, 337; in preparation of relief supplies, 897–900, 906–908; quality of, 327; for relief of labor ser vices, 406–407, 406n182; reserve, taxes paid in, 464; sacrificial, prepared early, 447–448; sold at reduced price, 932–933; storage, 328; substitute, 319–320, 333; successful gathering of, 326–328; theft of, 331; trading of, at riverside or estuaries, 908–909; transportation, 183–185, 303–304, 901–903; winnowing of, 947–948 grain administration I: grain-lending abuses and, 310–324; reports on grain loans and, 325–326; state-sponsored grain loans and, 309–312; taxes and, 309–326 grain administration II: allocation of grain loans to households and, 338–339; embezzlement of grain loans and, 339–343; grain distribution and, 329–333; for granaries outside district capital, 328–329; New Year’s dispensations and, 337; order to raise cash and, 333; people near mountain

1102

index

grain administration II (continued) fortress and, 333–335; pyŏlhwan and, 335–337; reduced quantity of grain loans and, 337–338; substitute grain and, 333; successful gathering of grain and, 326–328; taxes and, 326–343 Grain in Ear, 942–943, 971 grain-lending system (chojŏk), 309–311 grain loans: abuses of, 310–324; allocation of, 338–339; embezzlement of, 339–343; natural disaster victims and, 208; providing grain seed and provisions, 893–894; reduced quantity of, 337–338; reports on, 325–326; state-sponsored, 309–312; with suspended payment, 321; turned grain loan into tax, 321–322 granary: Discourse on the Granary and, 311–312; Ever-Normal, 905, 910, 912; military provisions stored in, 334; Narip’o, 907; opening of, 301–303, 909–911; outside district capital, 328–329; people prohibited from, 302–303; P’ohang, 907; Righteous, 899; salt, 391; slaves, 231–234; standardized weights and measures in, 891–892; villages, protection of, 376; yamen clerks in, 231–234 granary keeper (canren), 893 grand councilor of the Secretariat (munha p’yŏngjangsa), 633 grand master of cemeteries (modafu), 685 grand minister of education, 492 gratitude: in hardship, 775; solicitation of contributions and, 973; in taking leave of king, 22–23 grave sites: exhumation of, 693, 739; number of paces for, 688–689; protection privilege for, 689; state law concerning, 688–694; trial hearings over, 684–697 gravity, setting body in order and, 62–65 Great Learning, 655–656, 669 The Great Ming Code: on administration of justice, 693, 725, 734, 737–738, 757, 762, 764, 767, 790–791, 818; on administration of military affairs, 621; on personnel administration, 233; on public ser vice, 156; on public works administration, 859–862, 891–892; on rites and ceremonies, 535 greatness of character, 618–619 The Great Qing Legal Code (Da Qing Luli), 540, 790–791 Great Spirit Li, 436

The Great Tradition of Classic of History (Shangshu dachuan), 494 greed: Confucius on, 797; integrity and, 83–86; manufacturing goods and, 885–888; severity and, 96 greeting governor (yŏnmyŏng), 159–160 groundless rumors, 619–620 Gu An, 877 Guancheng Post Station, 858 guanfa (household registration law), 343–345, 348 Guangjiqiao Bridge, 880–881 Guangwu, Emperor, 163 Guan Lu, 453 Guan Qiuchang, 771–772 Guan Yiwu, 461 guardian deities, 38, 435, 438–439 guardian of waterways (chuanheng), 844 Gu Biao, 1017 guest houses, painting and repairs of, 490–491 guests: honored, banquets for, 468–471; official, 142–143; residents as, 126–128; in ruling of household, 110–111. See also entertainment Gu Gongyan, 685 Gu Huangzhong, 101 Gui Rong, 877–878 Guliang, 896 gunpowder, 607–609 Guo Chong, 666 Guo Chun, 638 Guo Fen, 851–852 Guo Ji, 996, 1017 Guo Mo, 910 Guo Pu, 686, 686n74 Guo Song, 639 Guo Tuotuo, 427, 427n245 Guo Yan, 855 Guo Ziyi, 473, 617 Gutian. See Lin Yongzhong Gu Xianzhi, 675 Hai Rui, 16, 471–472, 1007 half-damage magistrates (pansil t’aesu), 681 Ham Uch’i, 506 Han, King, 873 Han Bao, 802–803 Han Boyu, 501 Han Chi, 53, 56, 58, 69, 168, 239, 988 Han Huang, 237 Han Iksang, 982–983 Han Jiang, 475

index Han Kang, 383 Han Kŭkil, 626 Han Kwangjŏn, 233 Han Myŏnghoe, 905 Han Qi (Weigong), 55, 63–64, 168–169, 626–627, 772, 806, 905, 913 Han River, 833 Han Shao, 909 Han Weigong. See Han Qi Han Wen, 519 Han Yanshou, 47, 168, 216, 494–495, 503–504, 785, 1005 Han Yi, 112, 666–667, 716–717 Han Yu, 953, 1004, 1011, 1017 Han Zhen, 723–724 Han Zongzhe, 678 Hao Zhao, 630 harshness, 95–96 harvests: cotton, 584; good, 379; investigation of, 282; poor, 195–196, 308–309, 320, 333, 379, 584 hats, 537 haunted offices, 31–32 Ha Yunwŏn, 1019 headmaster, selection of, 525–528 head taxes, 354, 407–408 heavy clubs (chunggon), 746–747 heavy ser vice for people of good status (yangyŏk), 578–581 heavy stick (chang), 744–745 heavy stick (kyŏlgon), 744 Hebo (river god), 819 Hedan, 653–654 hefa (household registration law), 343–344, 348 Hefang Shi, 876 heirs: inheritance property and, 697–698, 697n92; law designating, 698–699; orphans as, 196–197 Helian Bobo, 872 Heliancheng Fortress, 872 helper (yaren), 909 hemp shoes, 393–396 Henei Commandery, 909 Heng Yue, 114 herbs, for famine relief, 956–958 herders, 583, 583n42 hermits, 797–798, 797n294 He Wenyuan, 505 He Wu, 1019 He Xu, 136 He Yiyu, 471

1103

high-ranking commoners (hansanin), 440 History of the District of Chenliu, 1014 History of Koryŏ, 25, 524 History of Ming, 1004 History of Tangerine (Kyulsa), 836–837 History of the Northern Dynasties, 509, 759, 800, 891, 984 History of the Southern Dynasties (Nanshi), 30, 681, 718, 724, 733, 753, 771 Hŏ Chil, 715–716 Hŏ Chin, 652 Hŏ Cho, 156, 508 Hŏ Chŏk, 180, 207, 481 Hoean Chŏng, 646 Hŏ Ho, 652 Hŏ Hu, 781 holidays, prisoners spending at home, 770–771 Hŏ Mansŏk, 848 homicide: abandonment of children as, 194; accidental, 729; cases, villages ruined from, 727–732; concealed, 731; official reports on, 170–171; requisition orders for ser vice and, 182–183; slaughtering of oxen as, 794–795 honey, 363–364 Hong Ch’ŏhu, 654 Hong Ch’ŏjŏng, 444 Hong Ch’ŏryang, 899 Hong Hao, 929–930 Hong Hon, 695 Hong Hŭisin, 626 Hong Iil, 149–150 Hong Kasin, 628 Hong Kyŏngnae’s rebellion, 538, 538n317, 619, 625, 650–651, 843 Hong Mujŏk, 654 Hong Myŏngha, 335 Hong Ŏk, 285 Hong Pyŏngdŏk, 816 Hong Shi, 672 Hong Yunsŏng, 451 honor, preservation of, 567 honored guests, banquets for, 468–471 horses: breeding of, 793; changing, 491; fund for, 386; herders of, 583, 583n42; law on hiring, 385–386; in lawsuits, 678; military, 595; money collected for hiring or raising, 367; pairs of, 111–112; post, 373; slaughtering for private purposes, 792–795; for traveling, 12–13, 385–386; tribute, 402–403 Hou Ba, 991

1104

index

Hou Ji, 264, 264n13, 845 Hou Jing, 642–643 House for Nourishing the People (Juyangyuan), 934 household, ruling of: bribes and, 119–121; brothers in, 109–110; children in, 109, 118–119, 123–124; concubines and, 122–123; dresses and, 113–114; father in, 108; guests in, 110–111; house with the law in, 123–124; importance of, 107–108; inner quarters and, 121–122; luxurious food and, 115; mother in, 108, 123–124; self-discipline and, 107–124; wife in, 109, 123–124; woman’s quarters and, 116–119; women traveling and, 111–113 household-based association (hogye), 371–372 household-based associations (kyeho), 372 household-based taxes (horyŏm), 377–378 household cloth tax (hop’o), 407–408, 557 household register (chŏngdan), 354–355, 357–360 household registration: administration of, in disarray, 345–347; collection of imposts and, 354–355; as foundation of corvée ser vices, 343–345; fraud in, 355–356; investigation of sites and, 347–350; irregularities in, 352; laws, 343–345, 348; records of, 347–350; regulations, public proclamation of, 356–357; taxes and, 343–360; total number of households proclaimed from, 350–352 Household Registration Office (Hojŏkch’ŏng), 351–352, 354, 357 household seats, 347–350 households following the magistrate (suishihu), 1019 household survey (ch’imgip’yo), 919 household watch systems, 357–360 House of Phoenix Tree (Pyŏgohŏn), 860 Hŏ Yŏp, 498–499 Hua Hai, 699 Huainanzi, 452, 452n100 Hua Nanjin, 217 Huang Ba, 237–238, 246, 415, 571, 665–666, 995–996 Huang Bao, 89 Huang Chao, 631, 961 Huang Congshi, 521 Huangfu Long, 420 Huang Gan, 74 Huang Tinglan, 128 Hua Ziyu, 982 Hu Changru, 681–683 Hu Cheng, 912–913

Hu Dachu, 97, 103, 117, 129-130; on administration of justice, 658–659, 710, 744, 752, 764, 766, 769; assuming office and, 47; famine relief and, 907; Key Words by, 4; personnel administration and, 226, 251; on rites and ceremonies, 526–527, 532; self-discipline and, 52; taxes and, 409–410 hunchbacks, 205–206 hunger, in prison, 765–768 hunting instruction, 594 Huo Guang, 1002 Hu Shouan, 115 Hu Tinggui, 503 Hu Wei, 104–105 Hu Wending, 228 Huyang, Princess, 777 Hu Yuan, 520 Hu Zhi, 104–105 Hwang Chin, 209, 649 Hwang Chingi, 172 Hwang Ch’ŏsin, 628 Hwang Chullyang, 342, 522 Hwanghae Province: rules for entertainment of Chinese imperial envoys, 482–492; sable fur produced in, 840–842; taxation customs of, 306–308 hwangjangmok pinewood, 401, 831–832 Hwang U, 451 Hyojong, King, 262, 268, 767, 779, 970 Hyŏnjong, King, 651–652, 849, 936, 957 Hyujŏng (Master Sŏsan), 395, 395n165 ice storage, 403–404, 403n175 Ignorant Talk of a Country Man (Yain udam), 111 Ihak t’ongnok (General Records of Neo-Confucian Philosophers from the Song and Yuan to the Ming Period), 683, 683n57 illegitimate children, 699 illness: of cows, 422–423; injury caused by beating, 764–765; of magistrate, 1008; plague, 951–953; in prison, 764–765. See also generous treatment of sick Im Che, 380 Imhae, Prince, 778 Imjin War, 224, 607, 878 immoral behavior, setting body in order and, 65–72 imperial embassy, of China, 477, 479, 482–492 imperial envoys, of China, 477–492 imposts, collection of, 354–355

index imprisonment. See judgment and imprisonment Im Tam, 160–161 Im Yunsŏk, 816, 969 inauguration: assuming office and, 33–39; auspicious day for, 33–34; food for, 34–35; meditation and, 36–37; paying respects at shrines and, 38–39; sleeping in neighboring district before, 32–33; weather for, 33–34; yamen giving courtesies in, 34–36 indictment, draft ing, 752 indigenous products, special, 92–95 influenza epidemic, 208 inheritance property, 697–698, 697n92 Injo, King, 154 injury caused by beating, 764–765 inner quarters: in ruling of household, 121–122; supplies used by, 141–142 inns, 883–884 “Inscriptions on the Office Wall of Assistant Magistrate of Lantian District” (“Lantian xuancheng tingbi ji”) (Han Yu), 1004 “Inscription on the Office Wall of the Prefect of Daozhou” (Yuan Jie), 1020 insects, harmful, 212 Instruction in Military Science (Pyŏnghak chinam), 596–598, 616 Instructions for the People (Yumin) (Qi Lun), 500 Instructions on Governing the Districts (Ch’ihyŏngyŏl), 32, 36, 42–44, 48, 54 Integrated Edition of the Local Rites and Ceremonies (Hyangnye happ’yŏn), 529 integrity, 14, 77–78; books for, 36; bribery and, 88–89; carelessness and, 96–97; complaints about, 87–88; expense records and, 102–103; extreme actions and, 95–96; frugality and, 83–86; generosity and, 105–106; gift s and, 89–91; grades of, 81–82; as great honor, 106–107; greed and, 83–86; high esteem from, 91–92; importance of, 80–82; magistrate’s birthday and, 103; paying market price and, 97–99; publicized, 510–511; self-discipline and, 80–107; silence about benefits, predecessor’s mistakes and, 103–105; special indigenous products and, 92–95; taking household and, 109; warrant for silk, drapery and, 101–102; wisdom and, 82–83; wrongful customs and, 99–101

1105

interest, on private loans, 702–703, 702n105 interpreters, 485–486 interrogating stick (sinjang), 744–745, 756–757 interrogation: reports, 735; by superior officer, 162–163; of thieves, 745–746 invalids, 205–206 investigatory official (yŏmgaek), 252 ipbon (making money through loans), 314–315, 317 iron expenses, 867 iron mines, 842–844 irrigation: equipment, 889; exclusive, 851–852; reservoirs created for, 845–848 Isŏpjŏng Pavilion, 862 Jade Spring of Royal Genealogy (Sŏnwŏn poryak), 585 Japa nese guest houses or trading posts (waegwan), 840 Japa nese invasion, 641–642, 648–650, 652, 838, 878–879 jar walls (ongsŏng), 873 Jia Biao, 194 Jiajing, Emperor, 635 Ji An, 79–80, 909 Jiang Bin, 180 Jiang Deming, 475 Jiang Deyuan, 475 Jiang Jie, 724 Jiang Qian, 154–155 Jiang Yan, 473 Jiang Yao, 65, 180, 476–477 Jiang You, 800 Jiang Zu, 1016–1017 Jian Yi, 997 Jiao Qianzhi, 519–520 Jiao Tong, 501 Jiaqing, Emperor, 619 Ji Ben, 720 Ji Kangzi, 797 Jing, Duke, 453 Jingchuan’s Treatise on Military Matters (Jingchuan wubian), 618 Jing Guojun, 699 Jingyou, Emperor, 906 Jinyang, 334, 334n96 Jin Ying, 475 Jiqi (deity), 435 Ji Sunsu, 461 Ji Wuzi, 698–699 Ji Xin, 439

1106

index

Juan Buyi, 716 judges, traveling, 99–100 judgment and imprisonment: in administration of justice, 709–739; books of codified laws and, 724–726; cases, judged as if inspired by divine spirit, 663–665; cautious sentencing in, 709–711; clear decisions without delay and, 718–720; concerning human life, 726–727; depositions and, 734–735; exhumation of corpses for autopsy and, 739; false accusations and, 733–734; indefi nite imprisonment, 718; legal deadlines for, 735–737; literal reading of law in, 722–724; mistaken decisions in, 720–721; periods of responsibility for crimes and, 737–739; quiet release from, 711–714; of ringleader, 714–716; second review in, 716–718; for stealing government property, 718; torture in, 732–733; for unforgivable crimes, 721–722; unjust, 711–714, 761, 761n212; villages ruined from, 727–732 judicious enforcement of punishments: administration of justice and, 739–758; anger and, 742–744, 751; categories of punishments in, 739–742; clubs used in, 745–747; leniency in, 752–754; maximum strokes of, 744–746; rebuking runners and, 742–744; reckless flogging, 754–756; torture of elderly and children prohibited in, 757–758; undesirability of, 747–752; vicious punishments and, 758 Julong (deity), 435 Junmo. See Cai Xiang justice, administration of: in China, 713; compassion for prisoners in, 758–776; Comprehensive National Code on, 694, 746; eliminating threats and harm, 796–824; Essays of Tasan on, 659, 773, 824; The Great Ming Code on, 693, 725, 734, 737–738, 757, 762, 764, 767, 790–791, 818; Hu Dachu on, 658–659, 710, 744, 752, 764, 766, 769; judgment and imprisonment, 709–739; judicious enforcement of punishments, 739–758; National Code on, 669, 688, 691, 693–694, 697, 699, 702–703; prohibition of tyrannical abuses, 776–796; propriety and, 164–165; Rites of Zhou on, 759; Supplement to the National Code on, 689–692, 694, 700–704, 725, 742, 746–747, 762, 765, 788, 792, 794; trial hearings I on, 655–684; trial hearings II on, 684–709; Zheng Xuan on,

657–658, 661–662, 684–687, 709–711, 751, 759; Zhu Xi and, 694–695, 721–722, 794 kabun (releasing grain that should be preserved for emergencies), 313 Kaech’aejin Ferry, 881–882 kajip (additional grain taxes collected for lending and profiteering), 315 Kalŭi Gŏsa, 797–798, 797n294 kamsŏn (cutting down on foods and side dishes), 897 Kang Ch’wi, 654 Kang Myŏnggil, 690 kangp’ae (game), 790 Kang Pak, 458 Kang Sugon, 149 Kangwŏn region, 306–308 Kang Yanmin, 996 Kang Yuhu, 480–481, 503, 511, 841–842 Key Words (Xuyan) (Hu Dachu), 4 kijungga (pulley), 832, 875 Ki Kŏn, 138, 509, 856 kiln, 866–867 Kim Allo, 557 Kim Am, 212, 616 Kim Ch’i, 452 Kim Chil, 862–863 Kim Chingyu, 938 Kim Chisŏk, 100 Kim Chongjik, 553, 553n362, 862–863 Kim Ch’ŏnil, 649 Kim Ch’ungyŏng, 860 Kim Hich’ae, 211–212 Kim Hijip, 200 Kim Hongjin, 380 Kim Hŭi, 1011 Kim Hwangwŏn, 816 Kim Hwŏn, 634 Kim Hyŏnsŏng, 78 Kim Hyosŏng, 779 Kim Hyowŏn, 451 Kim I, 653–654 Kim Ikgyŏng, 46 Kim Iksun, 651 Kim Inmun, 869–870, 869n88 Kim Ku, 272 Kim Kyehŭi, 1011 Kim Kyŏngsŏk, 635 Kim Kyŏngson, 633–634, 640–641 Kim Paekgyŏm, 861 Kim P’iljin, 502, 905

index Kim Pyŏngwang, 21 Kim Samok, 696–697 Kim Sanghŏn, 120, 120n234 Kim Sangmuk, 695–696 Kim Seryŏm, 500–501 Kim Simin, 648 Kim Sŏgu, 881 Kim Sŏkju, 916 Kim Sŏngil (Hakbong), 159, 871 Kim Su, 149 Kim Suhang, 150, 195 Kim Sunum, 642 Kim Suryŏng, 863 Kim Tŏgwŏn, 788–789 Kim Tonggŏm, 325 Kim Ŭnbu, 651–652 Kim Wŏnjŏng, 646 Kim Yŏnggu, 149 Kim Yŏnggyŏn, 970 Kim Yŏnsu, 450–451 Kim Yu, 250–251 Kim Yuk, 268 Kim Yusŏn, 860 kings: impartiality of, 904–905; local products offered to, 651–652; magistrates as, 5; people’s request for longer stay granted by, 992–993; sage, 825–826, 843. See also taking leave of king Ko Chonghu, 649 Kogukch’ŏn, King, 309 komago (horse fund), 386 Kong Daofu, 822 Kong Fen, 115, 985 kŏngga (entertainment expenses), 487 Kong Huan, 198 Kong Ji, 95, 988–989 Kong Kui, 447 Kongmin, King, 652 kongno (aging without promotion), 611, 613 Kong Wenju, 814 Kong Xun, 814–815 Kong Yingda, 435 Kou Xun, 992, 996 Kuang Heng, 1002–1003 Kuang Zhong, 217–219 Kudi Shiwen, 96 Kudŭng yŏnbun system, 269, 269n19 kuhwan (grain loans with suspended payment), 321 Ku Hyoyŏn, 652 Kuk Kyŏngin, 629

1107

Kŭmsŏngdang, 820, 820n350 Kŭm Yu, 213–214 kunjagok (grain for famine relief), 900 kunjangmi (grain fund for famine relief), 900 kwagŏ (civil ser vice examination), 243 Kwak Chaeu, 650 Kwak Chun, 650 Kwak Ch’ungnyong, 641 Kwak Ŭn, 1007 kwaye (exams given in county school), 541–542, 546, 554–556 Kwŏn Ch’angŏn, 914 Kwŏn Chŏk, 511 Kwŏn Ch’ullan, 71 Kwŏn Chun, 625 Kwŏn Hwa, 822 Kwŏn Il, 117 Kwŏn Mok, 342 Kwŏn Ŏm, 78, 690 Kwŏn Su, 839 Kwŏn Supyŏng, 525 Kwŏn Taejae, 162 Kwŏn Tan, 101 Kwŏn Wŏn, 216–217 kye association villages (kyebang): abolished, 374–375, 581–583; corvée ser vices and, 371–375; funds raised through, 377; governor’s inspection and, 373–374; increase in, 98; types of, 371–372 kyego (raising funds through kye associations), 377 kyŏl system, 261–264, 268–269 Kyŏnggi Province: barren lands in, 268–269; number of officials in, 381; taxation customs of, 306–308 Kyŏng Sebong, 101 kyŏnyŏch’on (villages designated to carry sedan chairs), 404 labor-service requirements, reduced (chili), 893–894 Lai Juchen, 761 Lake of Official Life (Huanzepian) (Zheng Hanfeng), 4 land: barren, 268–269; extra, 300–301; grouped into unit, 288–290, 292–294; lawsuits over, 672–675; leftover, 300; measuring system, 261–264; military owning, 276–278, 304–305, 375–376; royal families owning, 276–278, 304–305, 375–376, 786; schools owning, 375–376; seizing of, 786–787; taxes,

1108

index

land (continued) 175–177, 360–361, 465; unaccounted-for, investigation of, 375–376. See also abandoned lands land administration: abandoned lands and, 266, 269–271, 274–276; cadastral survey in, 264–265; decreased revenue from, 276–278; difficulty of, 261–262; disasters and, 280; just and fair law for, 267–268; measuring system for, 261–264; numbers established for, 268–269; quadrate fields in, 271–274; rules, understanding of, 265–267; taxes and, 261–278 land-based taxes (kyŏllyŏm), 377–378 land-equalization system. See equal-field system land farming, 427–428 lands of iron (ch’ŏlgyŏl), 300–301 land taxes, 175–177, 360–361, 465 Lang Jian, 669–670 lanterns, silk-covered, 486 A Large Bundle (Hongbao) (Tu Long), 931 large clubs (taegon), 746 lashing, 742 late beans, 954 launching pad, for crossbow, 617–618 law, observing: caution in, 156–157; against illegal logging, 837; literal reading in, 722–724; local ordinances, 158; precedents in, 157–158; pressure in, 157; public ser vice and, 156–158; against selling military weapons, 827 law-enforcement officials, 229–230 law of bribery, 827 law of collective prosecution (yŏnchwa), 774 law of “Eight Offenses,” 506, 506n226 law of nine taxes, 360 Law of Sacrifices, 434–436 law of taxation I: chakbu and, 288–290, 292–294; disasters and, 280–282, 284–288; insignificant amounts collected with, 278–280; inspections and, 282–284; investigation of fraudulent figures and, 294–295; reports and, 284–286; taxes determined from, 278–295; tax extortion by yamen clerks and, 290–292 law of taxation II: exploited tenants and, 304–305; extra lands and, 300–301; forcible collection of, 303; loading and shipping of grain and, 303–304; provincial quota system and, 308–309, 308n68; regional

customs and, 305–308; tablet of taxation and collection in, 295–300; taxes determined from, 295–309; tax paid in rice and, 301–303 Law of Th ree Deadlines in Legal Proceedings (Samhanbŏp), 736–737 law on hiring horses (komabŏp), 385–386 Laws and Regulations (Fafan) (Liu Yi), 3 Laws on Penal Affairs, 689 Laws on Rituals, 689 lawsuits: abandoned lands and, 270; against brothers, 503–507; children in, 665–672; community compact discouraging, 497–498; Confucius on, 655–656; damage caused by, 692; descriptions of, 42–44; exaggerated incidents made into, 661; family involved in, 503–507, 665–672; forgery in, 672–673; horses in, 678; over land, 672–675; sample rulings, 42. See also justice, administration of; trial hearings I; trial hearings II learning: elementary studies in, 517–518; headmaster selection and, 525–528; by intelligent youth, 549–551; literature in, 244–245, 517–518; nurturing and, 1; promotion of, in rites and ceremonies, 515–530; repairing and managing of schools and, 523–525; self-cultivation and, 1–2; from teacher, 519–522 left assistant, 236–237 leftover lands (yŏgyŏl), 300 legal deadlines, for imprisonment cases, 735–737 legalism, study of (xingming xue), 724–725 leg-screw torture (churi), 756, 756n196, 758 leisure, setting body in order and, 54–56 leniency, in judicious enforcement of punishments, 752–754 letters, anonymous, 621–624 letters of appointment, 585–587, 903–904 letters of appointment with no names (kongmyŏngch’ŏp), 903–904 letters of complaint, 659–660 liaison storehouses (didian shui): corvée ser vices and, 392–393; excessive taxes on, 393–396 Lian Fan, 210, 636–637 Liang Fang, 781 Liang Zang, 723 Liang Zhang, 781 Liao Qin, 1018

index Li Bai, 91, 547 Li Bangbai, 93 Li Baozhen, 8 Li Bing, 847 Li Can, 771 Li Cheng, 719 Li Chong, 803 Li Cong, 796 Li Fan, 442 Li Feng, 753 “Life of Chen Sheng,” 539, 539n319 “Life of Fan Pang,” 759 “Life of Sima Qian,” 759 “Life of Song Youdao,” 759 “The Life of Wei Qing,” 539, 539n321 Li Gao, 382, 910 light corporal punishments (hahyŏng), 739–742 light ser vice for people of low status (ch’ŏnyŏk), 578–581 light stick (t’aehyŏng), 745 Li Hao, 783 Li Heng, 681 Li Hui, 681 Li Ji, 73, 475, 782–783 Li Jie, 668 Li Jin, 676 Li Jing, 617 Li Ju, 639 Li Junshi, 992–993 Li Kuangyuan, 724 Li Kui, 845, 897 Li Kun, 199–200 Li Li, 164, 727 Li Mian, 988 Lin E, 442–443 linen (palnaep’o), 240 Ling Hutao, 27, 79 Lin Ji, 717 Lin Jun, 821–822 Lin Xiyuan, 930–931 Lin Yongzhong (Gutian), 520 Li Ping, 644 Li Qian, 95 Li Qiangong, 989 Li Ruogu, 112, 668 Li Rusong, 336 Lishanshi (Yandi Shennong), 434 Li Shen, 666–667 Lisheqiao Bridge, 880 Li Shi, 891

1109

Li Shun, 676 Li Suzhi, 869 Li Tangzi, 521 literary competition (paegiljang), 541–542, 545 literary styles: six types of, 544; vulgarity of, 546–549 literati, 127, 534, 539; burial of, 685; in exile, 775; famine and, 945 literature, learning of, 244–245, 517–518 Liu, Lady, 122n236 Liu Bang, 310, 408 Liu Bi, 115 Liu Boji, 999–1000 Liu Chang, 412, 639 Liu Chong, 981–982 Liu Chongzhi, 504 Liu Di, 1000 Liu Gang, 994–995 Liu Gong, 783 Liu Gongchuo, 217, 870 Liu Gongquan, 63 Liu Gongren, 136–137 Liu Guinian, 450 Liu Hao, 817 Liu Hong, 206 Liu Huaiwei, 136 Liu Jianhu, 800 Liu Ju, 663 Liu Kuan, 62, 752 Liu Kuang, 656 Liu Kun, 209 Liu Lin, 981–982 Liu Nanhuan, 472 Liu Qi, 617 Liu Qichu, 780 Liu Qing, 805–806 Liu Rong, 770–771 Liu Tianhe, 472–473, 617 Liu Xiang, 202 Liu Xiangong, 699 Liu Xuanming, 66 Liu Yan, 391 Liu Yi, 3, 195–196 Liu Yin, 146 Liu Yong, 999 Liu Yu, 410 Liu Yuancheng, 135, 254 Liu Yuxi, 858, 877 Liu Zan, 115 Liu Zhongying, 37, 77, 780 Liu Zhu, 757

1110

index

Liu Zihou, 94, 427, 449, 705, 877 livestock: in agriculture, 415–417, 421–425; sacrificial, 447–448. See also animal husbandry Li Wenjing, 174 Li Xi, 1016 Li Xian, 1018–1019 Li Xiang, 524, 1004 Li Xingui, 400–401 Li Xingyan, 780 Li Yi, 1020 Li Yin, 970 Li Yingyan, 715 Li Yu, 780 Li Yuan, 79 Li Yunze, 405, 412 Li Zhaoyin, 778 Li Zhengtong, 880 Li Zhongfang, 932 Li Zhou, 60 loading capacity, 387 loans: making money through, 314–315, 317; public, remission of, 962–964; relief, 967–968. See also grain loans; private loans local archery rite (hyangsarye), 529–530 local customs, 14–15, 102, 625–627 local government, matters relating to (kwansa), 739–742. See also employment of people for local government local inspector (duyou), 978 local militia squads (po’o), 594 local officials, greetings by, 159 local ordinances, 158 local wine-drinking rite, 528 logging: in military stronghold areas, 837–839; of pine trees, 826–831; for yamen office repair, 865–866 Long Guda, 638 looms, 888–890 lotuses, 855–857 love of people: caring for elderly, 189–193; commiseration and support for families of dead, 201–205; fostering orphans, 193–198; generous treatment of sick and, 205–208; National Code on, 200, 207; saving the poor, 198–201; Supplement to the National Code on, 197; victims of natural disasters and, 208–212; Zheng Xuan and, 203; Zhu Xi and, 198 L-shaped walls (koksŏng), 873 Luan Bu, 1012, 1012n108

luanru (neighboring states provide assistance in time of crisis), 906 Lu Bang, 167 Lü Benzhong, 55, 58, 61 Lu Bo, 248 Lu Changyuan, 985 Lu Chong, 194, 194n12 Lu Gong, 515 Lü Gongzhu, 52, 52n4, 519 Lu Gu, 79 Lu Guimeng, 987 Lu Huan, 220, 254 Lü Huiqing, 29 Lu Jiuyuan, 662 lunar eclipses, 459–460 Luoda, Lady, 123 Luo Jinglun, 83 Luo Weide, 146 Lu Shiba, 812–813 Lü Tao, 506–507 Lü Weifu, 508 Lu Wen, 1020–1021 Lu Wuguan, 438–439 Lu Xiangshan, 57, 57n24 Lu Xiangxian, 80 Lu Youkai, 854 Lü Yuan, 680 Lü Yuanying, 809–810 Lu Zheng, 169 Lu Zhi, 173, 173n40, 378 Lu Zongdao, 855 Lü Zuqian, 64, 64n45, 897 Ma Duanlin, 524 magistrates: access to, for trial hearings, 658–661; accomplishments of, 2; agriculture promoted by, 410–413; aides of, 235, 531; appointment of, 1; birthdays of, 103; caring for elderly exemplified by, 192; duties neglected by, 380–381; evaluation of, 3, 3n5, 256, 258–259; half-damage, 681; illness of, 1008; indulgences of, 2; as kings, 5; military units under command of, 11, 11n17, 582, 593, 595, 597–599, 605; parents of, 61, 72, 108; salary of, 8–10; as scholars, 19–20; self-regulation of conduct by, 656–657; seven important duties of, 362; tenure of, 6, 256, 615–616; term of, 615–616; welcoming of, 10–12; yamen clerks and, 213–214, 220–222. See also assuming office; departure; famine relief; justice, adminis-

index tration of; love of people; military affairs, administration of; personnel administration; public ser vice; public works administration; rites and ceremonies; selfdiscipline; taxes Ma Gongmin, 505 Main Points in Administration by Un’gok (Un’gok chŏngyo), 46 majo (game), 790 making formations (pubun), 597 manacles, 759 manager of agriculture (sinong), 904 mandarin duck formation (wŏnangdae), 598 manggwŏllye (ritual ceremony to pay respects to the royal court where the king is), 861 manners: administrative assistant to provincial governor and, 161–162; communication of experiences and, 168; governor’s harmful orders and, 163–164; governor’s special favors and, 160–161; for greeting governor, 159–160; predecessors and, 166–167; proprieties and, 158–159, 164–165; public ser vice and, 158–168; punishment for crimes and, 163; relationships with counterparts and, 165–166; successor and, 166; superior officer’s interrogation and, 162–163 manpower, for yamen office repair, 863–868 Mansegyo Bridge, 881 man-to-man instruction, 600–602 manufacturing goods: agriculture promoted through, 888–890; authorization needed for, 888; farm equipment, 888–890; greed and, 885–888; looms, 888–890; promotion of, 885–887; in public works administration, 885–892; quality of, 887–888; standardized weights and measures in, 891–892; vessels, 887–888 maocai state civil ser vice examinations, 89 Mao Wenlong, 361, 361n130, 636 Mao Yuanyi, 593–594, 597, 875 maps: cadastral, 271–274; district, 48–49; of household seats, 347–350 maritime soldiers (sugun), 595, 602–605 market price, 97–99 markets: director of, 894; excessive taxes on, 393–396; standardized weights and measures in, 891–892; suspending searches at, 893–894 marriage, people past age of, 199–201 marshes, 844

1111

martial arts: abuses influencing, 611–615; crossbows in, 617–618; magistrate’s term and, 615–616; as priority, 610–615; recommending of, 610–618 materials, waste of, 145 Ma Yongqing, 135 Ma Zun, 131 measures, standardized, 891–892 measuring system, land, 261–264 meat: cooked, 470; dried pheasant, 480 medicine, for envoys, 491–492 meditation, 36–37 medium cases (chungsa), 736 medium clubs (chunggon), 746 Mei Hengxiang, 705 Mei Ze, 360 Mei Zhi, 66 memorial ser vices, 117 memorial stone, 1013–1015 memorial tablet, 437, 437n23, 439–440, 861 Mencius, 57, 72, 72n67, 371, 494, 879, 899–900 Meng Chang, 94, 991 Meng Changjun, 241, 699 Mengjin Ferry, 879 Meng Kang, 467 Meng Zhuangzi, 699 Meng Zong, 1017 merchants: liaison storehouses and, 392–393; local dealers v., 584; pine trees traded by, 833; rice, 908–909 merit rating, 257–259 middle class, social hierarchy and order transgressions of, 533–534 middlemen, 394 military: age exemption and, 569–570; camp, 592, 600–602; clerks and slaves unit, 595; colonies, 786; documents, 577–578; duty, evasion of, 355–356; horses, 595; land belonging to, 276–278, 304–305, 375–376; mountain fortresses of, 333–335; provisions, storage of, 334; readiness of, 606–607; strongholds, logging and, 837–839; titles, 558; units under magistrate’s command, 11, 11n17, 582, 593, 595, 597–599, 605 military affairs, administration of: Comprehensive National Code on, 608, 610; defending against enemy attack in, 629–654; domestic disturbances in, 618–629; enlistment in, 557–593; The Great Ming Code on, 621; National Code on, 566, 607–608, 621; recommending martial arts and, 610–618;

1112

index

military affairs, (continued) Rites of Zhou on, 572; Supplement to the National Code on, 582–583, 608; training soldiers in, 593–605; weapons repair in, 606–610; Zhu Xi on, 604 military cloth tax (kunp’o), 557–565, 573–577, 583–585, 613–614 military examinations (mugwa), 611–612, 615–616 military officials: employed for local government, 239; out of rotation, 579; property amassed by, 817–818; recruiting of, 611–612, 614–615; specially selected, 605; subordination of, 228–230 Military Promotion Agency (Kwŏnmuch’ŏng), 616 military rice tax (pomi), 568, 573–577 military taxes: cloth, 557–565, 572–577, 583–585, 613–614; exploitative, 611, 613–614; rice, 568, 573–577; in trial hearings II, 705–707 Military Training Agency, 779–780 military weapons (pyŏnggi): ammunition, 608; arrows, 611, 617; arrow shafts, 607–609; gunpowder, 607–609; military readiness and, 606–607; muskets, 608–609; repairing of, 606–610; stolen, 610; strict orders to maintain, 609–610 militia squads, 414, 495, 594 millet, 954 Min Am, 604–605 Min Chillyang, 481 Min Chinhu, 953 Min Chinwŏn, 667 Min Chŏngjung, 916 mines, in mountain forest cultivation and management, 842–844 minister of education (situ), 1, 241, 493 Ministry of Education (Diguan), 492 Ministry of Justice, 894 “Ministry of Public Works” (“Kaogongji”), 876 Min Sŏnghwi, 794, 821 Min Yŏgŏm, 629, 871, 885 Min Yujung, 343, 915, 920 Miscellaneous Talks of Songwa (Songwa chapsŏl) (Yi Ki), 88 missing and honoring late magistrate: adoption of surname as, 1016–1017; departure and, 1010–1021; memorial stone for, 1013–1015; shrine for, 1010–1013; trees and, 1016; wooden tribute monument for, 1015 Mi Xin, 86

Mi Zijian, 235 moats, 868–870 moderate corporal punishments (chunghyŏng), 739–742 modesty, proprieties and, 158–159 Mok Sŏhŭm, 553 Mok Taehŭm, 142 monetary fund for labor ser vice (poyŏkjŏn), 406–407, 406n182 Mongol army, 632–634, 646, 653–654 “Monk Pulls Out Pine Trees” (Tŏksanch’obu), 834–835 monks: anonymous letters accusing, 622; friendship with, 61; parties and, 75–76; shoes of, 395; solicitation of contributions from, 927 Monograph of Sŭngp’yŏng County (Sŭngp’yŏnggun chi), 986 Monthly Proceedings of Xia (Xialing), 879 monthly reports, nonessential items in, 172 monument loan (pich’ae), 1015 mother, 108, 123–124, 647 mountain(s): cultivating side of, 839–840; deity, 457–458; echoes, 626; fortress, people near, 333–335; grades of, 825; privately owned, 829–831; relaxed prohibitions on, 893, 897 mountain forest cultivation and management: corvée ser vices carry ing hwangjangmok and, 832; cultivating side of mountain and, 839–840; ginseng taxes and, 840–842; government-reserved forests, 826–829, 831–832; importance of, 825–826; logging in military stronghold areas and, 837–839; mines in, 842–844; pine trees in, 826–835; precious stone excavation in, 844; on privately owned mountains, 826–831; in public works administration, 825–844; sable fur taxes and, 840–842; trees planted and cultivated in, 833–837 Mountain Man under the Purple Sky (Chahasanin), 659, 712 Mountain Talks of Sŏlch’o (Sŏlch’o sandam), 1013 mourning: “Admonitions on the Conduct of the One in Mourning” on, 507–508; clothing, 508, 513; Confucius on, 508; death of magistrate, 1005–1010; rites, simplified per formance of, 893 mouth tax (kujŏnnon), 559, 563, 565–566 moving in (irae), 289 moving out (igŏ), 289

index mu (tomb figures), 684, 684n60, 686–688 muaek (absence of fi xed quota for recruiting military officials), 612, 614–615 mulberries, 418–419 Munjong, King, 439, 735 Mu Rongnong, 711 Murong Yanchao, 810 music: avoiding, 65–72; ceremonial, 792; in Confucianism, 516; exorcist, 791–792; schools no longer teaching, 515–516 musical instruments, putting away, 893–894 musician in chief (dasile), 492, 894 Musin Rebellion, 696, 696n89 musketeers (sŭngho), 587, 587n50 muskets, 608–609 mutual-assistance system (kye), 98, 564–565 Muyŏl, King, 645, 869 Myŏngjong, King, 956–957 naak (ceremonial music), 792 “nail-extraction impost” (badingqian), 405 Naju, taxes in, 279 Nam Ch’igŭn, 636 Nam Chil, 1016 Nam Iung, 821 Nam Kuman, 223–224, 241, 902 Nam Tuch’ŏm, 984 Nam Ŭn, 641 Narip’o Granary, 907 national border, 173–174 National Code (Kyŏngguk taejŏn): on administration of justice, 669, 688, 691, 693–694, 697, 699, 702–703; on assuming office, 21, 25; on famine relief, 900, 968; on love of people, 200, 207; on military affairs administration, 566, 607–608, 621; preferred use of, 703; on public works administration, 833, 835, 842, 844–845; on rites and ceremonies, 500, 519, 535–538; on self-discipline, 134; on taxes, 419, 432 National Confucian Academy, 88, 247 National Memorial Day, 154 National University (Taixue), 1, 241, 517 Na Tŭkhwang, 88 natural disasters, victims of: comforting of, 211–212; disaster prevention and, 210–211; duty to, 208–209; grain loans and, 208; harmful insects and, 212; love of people and, 208–212; urgency of helping, 209 Naval Command (T’ongyŏng), 947, 963

1113

“Needs further investigation” (sap’um), 659–660 neglected spirits, restoring worship of (suoguishen), 893 neighborhood head (tingchang), 416 neighboring states providing assistance in time of crisis (luanru), 906 New Book on Effective Military Tactics (Qi Jiguang), 596 New Policies (Xin fa), 155, 155n6 new-recruit examination (chŏngsi mangwa), 612 New Year’s holiday, grain dispensations on, 337 Ni Kuan, 176 Ning Cheng, 722, 722n144 No Chun, 30 Nongam. See Yi Hyŏnbo Nong Zhigao, 869 Northerners faction, 696n90 northern regions, customs of, 305–306 No Taeha, 1007–1008 notebook of due dates, 48 notice of visit of Chinese imperial embassy (ch’ikgi), 477, 479 “Notice on the Promotion of Agriculture” (“Quannong pang”) (Zhu Xi), 411–412 notices, anonymous, 621–624 Nŭnghan Fortress, 871 occult, talk of, 821–822 Office of Inspector General, 365 Office of Ministers without Portfolio (Chungch’ubu), 917 officer of banner and tally, 601 official duties: assuming office and, 39–50; beginning of, 39–40; district maps and, 48–49; keeping promises and, 47–48; lawsuit descriptions as, 42–44; neglected, 380–381; notebook of due dates for, 48; official stamps for, 49–50; people reporting problems and, 40–42; pledge to follow procedures in, 44–46; seven important, 362; signature in, 49 official in charge of mines (gongren), 841 official in charge of timber (dalu), 825, 825n2 official price, 97–99 official reports: agricultural, 171; balancing accounts and, 171–172; book of, 173; delayed, 172–173; delegations carry ing, 181; disaster, 284–286; draft ing of, 168; entrusted to yamen clerks, 169–170; false, 183, 313, 317; on grain loans, 325–326; on homicide, 170–171;

1114

index

official reports: agricultural, (continued) interrogation, 735; irregularities in, 170; monthly, nonessential items in, 172; national border and, 173–174; public ser vice and, 168–174; rules and phrases used in, 169; on taxes, 169–170, 284–286; on thieves, 170–171 official seals, fabrication of, 795–796 officials of Board of War (kunsaengnang), 584 official traveling under parasol (ilsan), 797 Ok Ko, 213–214 O Kŏn, 522 Old Doctrine faction (Noron), 695, 695n88 Ŏm Suan, 634 “On Famine Relief” (Zhu Xi), 914 “On the Bluestone Monument” (“Qingshi shi”) (Bai Xiangshan), 1014 “On the Tricks of Rice Merchants” (“Yueshu miya tie”) (Zhu Xi), 908–909 oral examinations, 21 order to raise cash, 333 orphanage, 934 orphans: ceremony of looking after, 528–529; famine and, 197–198; as type of poor people, 198. See also fostering orphans O Toil, 457 outside gods, 435, 435n10 outsiders, prohibited admission of, 134 outstanding office (ungbu), 386 Ouyang Guan, 710 Ouyang Wenzhong, 93 Ouyang Xiu, 725, 753 Ouyang Yin, 777 ownership certificates, 270 oxen: in agriculture, 421–425; breeding, 423–425; dead, taxes on, 405; diseases, 422–423; slaughtering of, 423–425, 793–795 O Yungyŏm, 161, 481, 778 paddy fields, drought and, 283–284 paddy supervisor (daoren), 408–409 Pae Sŏl, 213–214 page (t’ongin), 234 P’agoehyŏn, 31 pailü poems, 554–555 painting, of guest houses, 490–491 pairs of horses (ssangmagyo), 111–112 Pak Chega, 423 Pak Chigye, 527 Pak Chiwŏn, 687, 687n76, 890 Pak Chŏng, 24, 804–805

Pak Chunggan, 113 Pak Ch’ungsaeng, 1008 Pak Haedŭk, 762 Pak Hŭijung, 849 Pak In, 624–625 Pak Kip’ung, 750 Pak Kŏmyŏng, 863 Pak Munbu, 474 Pak Munsu, 559 Pak Myŏngsŏp, 850–851 Pak Seryang, 76, 502–503 Pak Sin, 70–71 Pak Sŏ, 633 Pak Sŭp, 849–850 Pak Taeha, 848 Pak Tongsŏn, 628 Pak Tumun, 816 Pak Ŭn, 745–746 Pak Wŏndo, 480, 607 Pak Yujŏ, 246–247 Palace Estates (Kungbang), 180 palace examination, 615 Palace Supply Bureau (Naesusa), 180 palanquins, 883–884 Pan Anin, 868 panbaek (tax extortion), 318–319 Pang Gong, 127, 127n248 panggyŏl (yamen clerks borrowing money from the people for personal use), 290, 326 pangnap (tribute contracting), 290, 292–293, 305 Pang Song, 377 Pan’gye. See Yu Hyŏngwŏn Pan Xianweng, 450 parents: of Confucius, 685; death of, 999–1000; family members taking punishment and, 772–773; father, 108; of magistrates, 61, 72, 108; mother, 108, 123–124, 647; poverty of, 194–195; in six close relatives, 107 paulownias, 836 pavilion: imperial message enshrined in, 484; in yamen office repair, 862–863 Pei Du, 62, 664 Pei Gong, 431, 725 Pei Xia, 83, 136 Pei Yaoqing, 52–53 Pei Ziyun, 676 penalties, reducing (huanxing), 893–894 Peng Shao, 709 periods of responsibility for crimes (pogo), 737–739

index permit to trade ginseng (hwangch’ŏp), 840 personal favors: family and, 128–130, 132–133; friends and, 128–130, 132–133; from governor, 160–161; personal secretary and, 124–125; prohibited admission of outsiders and, 134; rejection of, self-discipline and, 124–134; relatives and, 128–130, 132–133; residents as guests and, 126–128 personal property, excessively luxurious, 534–538 personal records, forgery of (morok), 570, 585–587 personal secretary (ch’aekgaek), 17, 124–125 personal servants, 17–18 personnel, clerk in charge of (ibang), 346–347 personnel administration: of attendant officer, 240–241; employment of people for local government, 234–241; Essays of Tasan on, 251–252; evaluation in, 254–260; The Great Ming Code on, 233; Hu Dachu and, 226, 251; recommending virtuous men and, 241–246; subordinating petty functionaries and underlings in, 228–234; supervision in, 246–254; Supplement to the National Code on, 242; taking control of yamen clerks in, 213–228; Zhu Xi and, 215 personnel evaluation: of administrative responsibilities in agriculture, 427–432; of gatekeepers, 256; of governors, 257–260; of magistrates, 3, 3n5, 256, 258–259; merit rating in, 257–259; in personnel administration, 254–260; rewards in, 255–256; self-, 258–259; of yamen clerks, 254–255 petitions: accumulation of, 44–46; for inability to respond to summons, 588; presentation of, 44–45; for reappointment, 1000–1001 petty functionaries: governor’s investigations and, 251–253; subordinating of, in personnel administration, 228–234 Petty Tales by Hanam (Hanam shwaehwa), 17, 88, 252, 792, 886–887, 926, 944–945, 1015 pheasant feathers, 610 pheasant meat, dried (kapgŏnch’i), 480 physicians, 127 P’ilbu, 645 pine trees: fallen, 831–832; in governmentreserved forests, 826–829, 831–832; hwangjangmok, 401, 831–832; logging of, 826–831; merchants trading, 833; in “Monk Pulls Out Pine Trees,” 834–835; in mountain forest cultivation and management, 826–835;

1115

planting and cultivation of, 833–835; on privately owned mountains, 829–831 Pingliu, 1 Pi Rixiu, 713 pitch-pot rite (tuhouli), 529–530 plague, 951–953 planting manager (caoren), 408 plants, for famine relief, 956–958 pleasure, avoiding, 65–72 plowing (taegyŏngbŏp), 420 Poems on Chosŏn (Chaoxianfu) (Dong Yue), 191 poetic prose ( fu), 546, 555 poetry (shi): death and, 649–650; legalism and, 724–725; pailü, 554–555; reciting of, 78–79; rhetorical skill of, 546 P’ohang Granary, 907 pohwangok (grain fund for famine relief), 900 Pŏmje. See Sim Taebu ponds, 855–857, 893, 897 pŏnjil (making false report about grain collecting), 313, 317 poor people: encouraging marriage and, 200; family, 132–133, 146–147; four kinds of, 198; people past marriageable age and, 199–201; saving, love of people and, 198–201; tying lonely people together and, 201 post horses, 373 post station(s): Baocheng, 858; distance between, 491; Guancheng, 858; investigation of, 581–583; runners, 488–489; villages, 376 poverty: decent burial and, 202; parents’ poverty and, 194–195. See also poor people praise, following departure, 1018–1019 prayer. See rain, prayer for Precepts for Governing (Zhengzhen), 174 Precepts for Self-Discipline (Lüjizhen), 83 Precepts for the Children (Tongmengxun) (Lü Benzhong), 55, 58, 61 precinct mentor (zushi), 492 Precious Mirror for Succeeding Reigns (Kukcho pogam), 195, 524, 557, 621, 896, 901, 935, 970 precious stones, excavation of, 844 predecessors: manners and, 166–167; mistakes of, 103–105, 166–167 pregnant women, 756–757 presacrifice ceremony (palgoje), 439, 439n40 prison: cold and hunger in, 765–768; escape from, 769–770; extortion in, 761–764; guards, 760–762, 767; as hell, 758; illness in, 764–765; inspections, 770. See also judgment and imprisonment

1116

index

prisoners, compassion for: in administration of justice, 758–776; benevolence in, 758; childlessness and, 771–772; cold and, 765–768; delayed release and, 768–769; extortion and, 761–764; family members taking punishment and, 772–773; holidays spent at home and, 770–771; hunger and, 765–768; illness and, 764–765; men in exile, 773–776; prison escapes and, 769–770; restraints and, 771; sword placed around neck and, 759–761 “Prison Guards” (Rites of Zhou), 760 private academies: elementary schools, 550; investigation of, 581–583; land belonging to, 375–376; royally chartered, 444–446 private loans: collection of, 898; interest on, 702–703, 702n105; slaves as security for, 705 private matters, 741 “Proceedings of Government in the Different Months,” 765–766, 768, 825, 851, 855, 868, 879 Prohibition against Logging Pines (Kŭmsong chŏlmok), 829, 831 promises, keeping of, 47–48 property: clerks amassing, 817–818; family, distribution of, 669; government, 718; inheritance, 697–698, 697n92; left to Buddhist temples, 673–674; military officials amassing, 817–818; personal, excessively luxurious, 534–538; recovery of, 340–341; theft , 718, 926–927; in trial hearings I, 678–683 Prophetic Commentaries on the Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiuwei), 685 “A Proposal for Establishing Standard Rules Concerning the Entertainment of the Chinese Imperial Embassy” (“Chich’ik chŏngnye posŏl”), 482 propriety: examples and precedents concerning, 514; justice and, 164–165; modesty and, 158–159; rules of, for entertainment, 460–461; schools no longer teaching, 515–516; in wedding ceremonies, 893; wives not understanding, 113–114; yellow earth, torches and, 884 prosody of pianliwen, 548 prostitutes (haengch’ang), 787–789 protection privilege, 689 protector general (hohaeng taejang), 487 provincial agents, 296–298

provincial governor, administrative assistant to, 161–162 provincial military examination (tosi), 615 provincial nominees (hyanggong), 241, 244–245, 591 provincial quota system (pich’ong), 308–309, 308n68 public cemetery, 685–686 public depository: abuses related to, 362–363, 382–384, 964; burden of, 845–846; corvée ser vices and, 362–371, 382–385; governors and, 362–366; origin of, 365; records, auditing of, 384–385; role of, 366–367 public funds, 102, 102n188 public loans, remission of, 962–964 public matters (kongsa), 739–742 public offices, as rewards for famine contributions, 915–919 public officials: slaying of, 625–627; tyrannical abuses by, 787–789 public ser vice: collecting taxes, tribute and, 174–180; Comprehensive National Code on, 156; edification of the people and, 152–155; The Great Ming Code on, 156; observing the law and, 156–158; official reports and, 168–174; proper manners and, 158–168; requisition orders for ser vice and, 181–188; Zhu Xi and, 157 public works administration: Comprehensive National Code on, 833–834; Essays of Tasan on, 875, 884, 887; fortress repair in, 868–876; The Great Ming Code on, 859–862, 891–892; manufacturing goods in, 885–892; mountain forest cultivation and management in, 825–844; National Code on, 833, 835, 842, 844–845; Rites of Zhou on, 825, 833, 842, 844, 866, 876; road construction and maintenance in, 876–884; Supplement to the National Code on, 826–827, 833, 837, 839–840, 842, 849; waterway and reservoir management in, 844–857; yamen office repair in, 857–868; Zheng Xuan and, 876; Zhu Xi and, 880 puhwan (fabricating documents without lending grain), 965 pulley (kijungsoga), 875, 875n100 punishment(s): Board of, 396, 763, 793, 795; categories, 739–742; education and, 501–503; excessive, 740; for exploitation in training soldiers, 600–602; for false accusations,

index 733–734; for false records, 314; family members taking, 772–773; five, 744; of geomancers, 692; governor ordering, 163; lashing, 742; manners and, 163; for suing family, 668–672; suspension of, 959; sword placed around neck, 759–761; tattooing on forehead, 764; undesirability of, 747–752; vicious, 758; for violating granary prohibition, 303; for violating orders to maintain military weapons, 609–610; of yamen clerks, 217–220, 226. See also corporal punishments; flogging; judgment and imprisonment; judicious enforcement of punishments Punishments for Eight Offenses (xiangbaxing), 493, 493n192 puppeteers, 791–792 pure officials (ch’ŏngbaengni), 80–81 pu system, 261–264, 268–269 pyŏlhwan (requesting grain for personal purpose), 335–337 Pyŏn Ch’unjŏng, 547 P’yŏngan Province: ginseng produced in, 840–842; precedents of, 483; taxation customs of, 306–308 Pyŏn Ich’ang, 915–916 Qian Hui, 73, 716 Qian Ji, 713 Qian Lou, 922 Qian Qin, 522 Qian Yuanyi, 819–820 Qi Jiguang, 558, 596 Qi Lun, 500 Qin Feizi, 431 Qin Guangheng, 194–195 Qin Peng, 410–411 Qi Shun, 861 Qiu Jun, 36, 895, 913–914, 936 Qiu Zhun, 1016 quadrate fields (pangjŏn), 271–274 quarrying, 866, 875–876 rain, prayer for: newly written, 455–459; performed with sincerity and orderliness, 452–455 rank, gravity of, 530 ration certificate with distribution calendar (litou), 941 Real Facts about Equal Labor Ser vices (Kyunyŏk sasil), 407–408

1117

reappointment: after death of parents, 999–1000; departure and, 995–1001; petition for, 1000–1001 Rebuking Rocks (Chilch’iam), 985 reckless beating (nanjang), 758 reclamation, of abandoned lands, 276, 414 recommendations: draft ing of, 242; old practice of, 244–245. See also virtuous men, recommending of record book of household seats (kachwach’aek), 347–350 “Record for Bringing the Goodness of Administrators to Public Notice” (Zhangshan bangsheng zhengji”), 1003 record keeper (kisil), 125, 125n244 “The Record of Abolishing the Sacrifice at the Shrine of Xiang in Bizhou” (Liu Zihou), 449 “Record of an Excursion to Wŏlhyŏllyŏng Mountain Pass” (“Yu Wŏlhyŏllyŏng ki”), 839 Record of Guangzhou, 452, 452n101 Record of Koksan (Sangsannok), 48, 62, 66, 69, 80, 96, 102, 106, 121, 169, 192, 237, 755, 856 Record of Removing Grievances (Muwŏnnok), 733 Record of Restoring Stalactite in Lianling (Lianling furuxueji), 94 “The Record of Restoring the Temple of the Guardian Spirit in the District of Ningde,” 438 Record of the Autopsy Performed at Ch’ŏnggye (Ch’ŏnggye haenggŏmsŏl), 729–731 Record of Tok Fortress (Toksŏnggi) (Yi Chŏnggwi), 838–839 “Record of Travels through Xingzhou” (“Xingzhou jiangyun ji”) (Liu Zihou), 877 “Record on Pyŏkgolje Reservoir (“Pyŏkgolje ki”), 849 records: of basic information, 348; disaster, 284–288; enlistment, 577–583; expense, 102–103; false, 314, 567, 570, 585–587; household registration, 347–350; personal, forgery of, 570, 585–587; public depository, auditing of, 384–385; in replacement and transfer, 979–981; of slaves, 708–709; of yamen office repair, 868. See also standard records Records for Self-Admonitions, 955 Records of Border Defense Council (Piguk deungnok), 953 Records of Tasan (Tasannok), 178, 419, 829, 836

1118

index

Records of Villages and Districts (Lixianpu) (Fu Yan), 3 recruiting, of military officials, 611–612, 614–615 red document (hongxie), 700 redemption fees, for slaughtering cows and horses for private purposes, 792–795 red gate (hongmun), 441 red ink, thieves’ clothes marked with, 806–808 reduced scale of entertainment for guests (shengli), 893–894 Reference Compilation of Documents on Korea (Tonguk munhŏn pigo), 765, 896, 899, 936 refugees, famine, 939–940 regional command garrison (chin’gwan), 599 regional representatives (mu), 1 “Regulations on Famine Relief” (“Chinhyul samok”), 903 Rehe Diary (Yŏrha ilgi), 687, 890 reinvestigations (p’yŏngbŏn), 716–717 relatives: benefits bestowed on, 146–147; personal favors and, 128–130, 132–133; six close, 107 relaxed prohibitions on mountains and ponds (shejin), 893, 897 relief camps: abandoned children in, 953; closing of, 971–973; deaths from starvation and, 950–951; first steps of, 946–947; food for, 946–947; plague and, 951–953; setting up, for famine relief, 946–953; vagrants and tramps in, 948–950, 952; winnowing of grain for, 947–948 relief centers, establishment of, 933–936 relief loans (chindae), 967–968 relief supplies, preparation of: for famine relief, 893–911; food and, 896–897; funds raised for, 906–908; goods bestowed in, 903–904; grain for, 897–900, 906–908; granary opened without court permission and, 909–911; impartiality of, 904–905; importance of, 897–900; inability to pay taxes and, 352–354; market taxes and, 394; royal inspector supervising, 905; transportation and, 901–903 Ren Fang, 1006, 1011 Ren Yan, 163, 199, 411, 509 Ren Yijian, 521 Renzong, Emperor, 94, 812 repairs: dam, 188; famine relief and, 955–956; of guest houses, 490–491; of schools, 523–525;

temple, 447; weapon, 606–610. See also fortress repair; yamen office repair repayment of loans with substitute grain (sangdae), 333 replacement and transfer: departure and, 975–1011; farewell party and, 981–984; graceful, 978–979; record keeping and, 979–981; rumors during, 984–985; taking leave of king in, 27; types of, 975–976; unavoidable, 975–977 reports. See official reports reprimands, 105–106, 172–173 “Request for Permission to Sell Grain at One’s Convenience” (“Qi congbian xingfan zhuang”) (Zhu Xi), 908 requisition orders for ser vice: ancestral rites and, 181; for dam repair, 188; delegations carry ing official reports and, 181; escorting foreign envoys and, 185; false reports and, 183; for fortress repair, 188; grain transportation and, 183–185; homicide cases and, 182–183; investigation of foreign shipwrecks and, 185–188; obeying of, 181; public ser vice and, 181–188; state civil ser vice examination and, 182 reservoirs, 211, 398. See also waterway and reservoir management resignation, 154–155 respect for letters (wenfeng), 519 reticence, 28–30 revenue official ( junren), 894 rewards: for assistance against thieves, 805–806; for famine relief, 915–919, 971–973; in personnel evaluation, 255–256 rhyming: rules of, 456, 548; of verdicts, 677 rice: for condolences, 1009–1010; merchants, 908–909; taxes paid in, 301–303, 568, 573–579, 608; vessels for, 469–471 right assistant, 236–237 Righteous Granary (Ŭich’ang), 899 righteous labor imposts (yiyi), 382 ringleader, execution of, 714–716 rites and ceremonies: ancestral rites, 139–140, 181; archery rite, 529–530; ceremony of looking after orphans, 528–529; ceremony of nursing the aged, 525; educating the people and, 492–515; entertainment and, 460–492; Essays of Tasan on, 466, 539; in examinations, 541–556; five ceremonies, 460, 460n122; The Great Ming Code on, 535; Hu Dachu on, 526–527, 532; mourning, 893;

index National Code on, 500, 519, 535–538; pitch-pot rite, 529–530; promotion of learning and, 515–530; Rites of Zhou on, 435, 492; sacrifices, 139–140, 434–460; in selection, 541–556; social hierarchy and order maintained by, 530–541; Supplement to the National Code on, 445, 523, 534–535; wine-drinking rite, 528; Zheng Xuan on, 467–468, 473, 528; Zhu Xi on, 443, 446, 456, 466–467, 497, 507–508, 510, 521, 527–528, 551 Rites of Zhou: on administration of justice, 759; on administration of military affairs, 572; on departure, 1001; famine relief and, 893, 895, 906, 944–945, 958; “Prison Guards” of, 760; on public works administration, 825, 833, 842, 844, 866, 876; on rites and ceremonies, 435, 492; “Spring Office” of, 684–685; on taxes, 344, 360, 387, 393–394, 415, 429 ritual food, 139–140 ritual per formance to drive evil spirits away (nuoli), 803 riverside, grain traded at, 908–909 road construction and maintenance: baggage carry ing and, 883–884; bridges, 879–881; ferry availability in, 881–882; importance of, 876–879; inns and, 883–884; in public works administration, 876–884; shelters with road signs in, 881–882; torches, 884; yellow earth in, 884 robbers, 627–629. See also thieves robes, sacrificial, 442–444 Robust and Brave Division (Changyongyŏng), 399–400, 779–780 rocks (shiping), 93 roll call, 598, 601 Rong Pi, 778 Rongzong, Emperor, 996 roof tiles, 866–867 rotating ser vice troops (pŏnsanggun), 559, 587–593 royal admonition or amnesty, explanation of, 154 royal commendations, 155 royal court, 5 royal edicts, 154–155 royal families, land belonging to, 276–278, 304–305, 375–376, 786 royal inspector, famine relief supervised by, 905 royally chartered private academy, 444–446

1119

royal reprimands, 155 Royal Secretariat (Ch’umirwŏn), 7, 9, 917 royal security guards, lawless conduct of, 779–781 rumors: domestic disturbances and, 619–620; during replacement and transfer, 984–985 Run Lue, 1014 runners, post-station, 488–489 runners who enforce punishment (chipjang saryŏng), 742–744 Rushou (deity), 435 sabigok (grain for famine relief), 900 sable fur tax, 840–842 sacrifices: Buddhist, 437; at Confucian shrine, 440–444; Daoist, 448, 448n74; eight, 439, 439n39; for ending solar and lunar eclipses, 459–460; frugality and, 139–140; grain prepared early for, 447–448; Law of, 434–436; livestock for, 447–448; prayer for rain, 452–459; purpose of, 434–440; in rites and ceremonies, 139–140, 434–460; robes used in, 442–444; royally chartered private academy and, 444–446; spring, 449–450; superstition and, 448–452; temple repair and, 447; vessels used in, 442–444 sages: exemplary conduct of, 500–501; kings as, 825–826, 843 sajingok (grain for famine relief), 900 salary, magistrate’s, 8–10 Salita, 633 salt: granary, 391; price of, 946–947; taxes, 390–392 samhwat’o (mixture of lime, sand, and clay), 866 sangjingok (grain for famine relief), 900 Sang Yi, 812 sanli (providing grain seed and provisions on loan), 893–894 scholar-officials (sa), 5, 5n1 scholars: clean-hearted, baggage of, 987–988; disaster records given to, 287–288; on grain-lending abuses, 311; as leaders of the people, 369; learned in literature, 244–245; magistrates as, 19–20; personal visits to, 245–246; strenuous efforts of, 554–556; true, 525 schools: books in, 515–516, 523–525; land belonging to, 375–376; propriety and music no longer taught in, 515–516; repairing and managing of, 523–525. See also county schools; private academies

1120

index

scribe (shi), 227–228 seal script (zhuanwen), 796 second review, of criminal cases, 716–718 Secret Book of Deer Gate Mountain (Lumen yinshu) (Pi Rixiu), 713 secret inspectors, 248–249, 259 security guards (abyŏng), 578, 779–781 sedan chairs: excessively luxurious, 535–536; exemptions for carry ing, 883; villages designated to carry, 404 Sejo, King, 558, 935 sejŏn (turning grain loan into tax), 321–322 Sejong, King, 262, 745, 754, 757–758, 957 Selected Sayings of Sajae (Sajae ch’ŏgŏn), 215 selection: by county schools, 543; for examinations, 542–546; of headmasters, 525–528; intelligent youth and, 549–551; of military officials, 605; rites and ceremonies in, 541–556; rules of versification in, 546–549; of servants, 110–111 self-cultivation, 1–2 self-discipline: bestowing of benefits and, 145–151; Essays of Tasan on, 67, 76; frugality and, 134–145; Hu Dachu and, 52; integrity and, 80–107; National Code on, 134; rejection of personal favors and, 124–134; ruling the household and, 107–124; setting body in order for, 51–80; Supplement to the National Code on, 107; Zheng Xuan on, 56–58, 65, 69, 84–85, 87, 93, 95–96, 104, 133, 144, 147; Zhu Xi and, 54 self-evaluation, 258–259 semoch’ŏm hats, 537 sentencing, cautious, 709–711 Sericultural Experiment Station (Chamsil tohoech’ŏ), 419 sericulture, 415–419 serious cases (taesa), 736 servants: crimes committed by, 30; goods provided by, 143–144; personal, 17–18, 124–125; selection of, 110–111; treatment of, 23–24 ser vice fees (panggo), 377 setting body in order: anger and, 56–59; books and, 77–78; clothing and, 51–52; dignity and, 60–62; enjoyment and, 73–76; generosity and, 59–60; gravity and, 62–65; immoral behavior and, 65–72; keeping place as, 72–73; leaving state affairs to yamen clerks and, 78–79; leisure and, 54–56; reduced quantity of work and, 79–80;

self-discipline and, 51–80; smaller entourage and, 76–77; speaking little and, 56–59 seven ghosts (samhon ch’ilbaek), 728, 728n162 seven important duties (suryŏng ch’ilsa), 362 severe corporal punishments (sanghyŏng), 739–742 shaai (simplified per formance of mourning rites), 893 shamans: elimination of, 818–821; female, 393–396; funeral, 691; rituals of, 62 Shangqingqiao Bridge, 880 Shang Rong, 246 Shang Yang, 828 Shangyuan Holiday, 74 Shang Ze, 885 Shan Tao, 89 Shan Yun, 81–82 Shao Bowen, 751 Shao Kangjie, 167 Shao Xinchen, 410 Shao Yaofu, 752 Shao Ye, 815 Sheji (deity), 435 shejin (relaxing prohibitions on mountains and ponds), 893, 897 shelters with road signs, 881–882 Sheng Chang, 807–808 Sheng Ji, 709–710 shengli (reducing scale of entertainment for guests), 893–894 Shen Gui, 817 Sheng Yong, 664, 999 Shen Pu, 630–631 Shen Qi, 852 Shen Yue, 1006 Shenzong, Emperor, 928 Shi Chengzu, 994–995 Shi Gao, 715 Shi Gongbi, 678 Shi Hongqing, 521 Shi Liangshu, 989–990 Shimin, 783 Shiming, 805 shipbuilding, 187–188, 828–829 Shi Pu, 86 shipwrecks, 184–188 Shi Qi, 845, 847 Shi Qing, 1012 Shi Qizi, 699 Shi She, 727

index Shi Siming, 644 Shi Taizhong, 699 Shitou Fortress, 872 Shi Wenying, 877 Shi Yin, 435 Shi Yunxiu, 521 Shi Zizhong, 399, 520 shoes, of monks, 395 shrimp, dried, 946–947 shrines: Confucian, 38–39, 440–444, 822; of earth and grain deities, 38; for late magistrate, 1010–1013; for living person, 1012–1013; paying respects at, 38–39; private, building of, 445; repair of, 447; of royal edicts, 153 Shuang Ji, 244 Shun, Emperor, 1, 241, 260, 512, 825 Shu state, 58, 58n26 Shu Sunbao, 699 sick, generous treatment of. See generous treatment of sick signature (hwaap), 49 signpost (hu), 881–882 Si Koukeng, 699 silk: lanterns covered with, 486; sericulture and, 415–419; warrant for, 101–102 silkworms, 890 silver mines, 842–844 Sima Guang, 190, 401, 899 Sima Jun, 777 Sima Qian, 759 Sima Wengong, 63, 140, 687 Sima Zhi, 130 Sim Chiwŏn, 160–161 Sim Hwanji, 843 Sim Kiwŏn, 779 Sim Kyu, 403 Sim Taebu (Pŏmje), 41 Sim Yang, 820–821 sincerity (sŏngŭi), 349, 655–656, 655n1 Sin Chongje, 970 Sin Kak, 607 Sin Kyŏngjun, 846 Sin Myŏn, 647 Sin Sukju, 860 Sin Tŏkbin, 200 Sin Ŭngsi, 673 Sin Wan, 272 Sin Yuhan, 649–650 six articles of investigation for prefects, 253–254

1121

six close relatives, 107 Six Codes of Governance (Yukchŏn), 30 Six Districts (Liuxiang), 493–494, 493n194, 564–565 six types of literary style (liuti), 544 slander, of prosperous people, 817–818 slash-and-burn fields, 308–309 slaughtering: in China, 423; of oxen, 423–425, 793–795; for private purposes, 792–795 slaves: abuses committed through, 778–779; civil ser vice examination taken by, 700; concubines, 700; corvée ser vices and, 375; evaluation of, 256; evasion of enlistment by, 582; female, 233–234, 788; freedom of, 700–701; granary, 231–234; hereditary, 700; military training of, 599; military unit of, 595; orphans as, 196–197; as private loan security, 705; records of, 708–709; red document of, 700; registered children of, 701; in social hierarchy and order, 538–541; as subordinates, 231–234; subordination of, 231–234; in trial hearings II, 697–701, 708–709; types of, 231 small clubs (sogon), 746 smelting, prohibition of, 842–844 snapping turtles, 855–857 Sŏ Ch’im, 76 social hierarchy and order: age in, 534; clan status in, 531–533; excessively luxurious personal property and, 534–538; importance of, 530; middle class transgressions of, 533–534; rites and ceremonies maintaining, 530–541; slave law and, 538–541 sogŏ (spinning machine), 890 sog’o units (military units under magistrate’s command), 11, 11n17, 582, 593, 595, 597–599, 605 soju (alcohol), 962 Sŏkdam ilgi (Diary of Sŏkdam) (Yi I), 498, 498n204 Sŏ Kŏjŏng, 26, 860–861 solar eclipses, 459–460 soldiers: artillery, 578; duty, 558–559; exhausted by cold and hunger, 206; Forbidden, 780; loyalty and encouragement to, 642–651; maritime, 595, 602–605; new recruits, 600; rotating ser vice troops, 559, 587–593. See also training soldiers solicitation of contributions (quanfen): from affluent households, 919–923; in China, 912–915, 919; exploitation of, 924–926;

1122

index

solicitation of contributions (quanfen)(continued) for famine relief, 911–927, 947; government expenditures reduced by, 923–924; gratitude and, 973; from monks, 927; origin of, 911; property theft and, 926–927; public offices as rewards for, 915–919 Solitary Decisions (Duduan) (Wang Su), 3 Sŏl Wi, 978–979 Sŏ Myŏnggyun, 273 Sŏng Chik, 267–268 Sŏngho. See Yi Ik Sŏng Hŭian, 151 Song Hŭm, 113 Song Inmyŏng, 559, 899 Song Jiang, 961 Song Jiu, 165–166 Sŏngjong, King, 78, 310, 466, 553 Song Kukch’ŏm, 985–986 Song Munju, 632–633 songs, avoiding, 65–72 Song Sanghyŏn, 647 Song Sangin, 527 Song Shibei, 209 Song Siyŏl (Uam), 224, 224n24, 604 Sŏng Sugyŏng, 649 Song Yŏng, 998 Song Yonyŏn, 861 Song Youdao, 759 Song Ze, 178 Sŏn Hwa, 1000 Sŏnjo, King, 481, 511, 896 Sŏn Kŏi, 603 Son Pyŏn, 671–672 sons, 118–119 Son Sunhyo, 31, 454 Sŏsan, Master. See Hyujŏng soup, 470 Southerners faction, 696, 696n90 southern regions, customs of, 305–306 soybean sauce, 946–947 Sŏ Yewŏn, 649 special cavalry (pyŏldaegun), 578, 595, 597–599 special crop assessors (kyŏngch’agwan), 826 special examination (pyŏlsi), 615 special indigenous products, integrity and, 92–95 specially selected military officers (sŏnmu kungwan), 605 spending, reckless, 8–10

spinning machine for silkworms (sogŏ), 890 spirits: disturbances raised by, 818–821; neglected, restoring worship of, 893; three, 728, 728n162 Spirits of the Eight Bells (P’allyŏngsin), 450, 450n88 Spring and Autumn Annals, 460, 825, 869, 871–872, 906, 911 “Spring Office” (Rites of Zhou), 684–685 spring sacrifice (chunji), 449–450 ssangyuk (game), 790 stamping earth (zhu), 872 stamps, 49–50 standard records (ch’ŏkjŏk): draft ing and, 591; for enlistment, 578–583; making of, 578–581; regulated, 581–583 starvation: deaths from, 950–951, 966; houses suffering from, 941–945, 947–948; ways of solving, 957 state civil ser vice examination, 89, 182 State Council, 370–371 state granaries, 183–184 “The Statement of Pledge” (“Yueshuwen”) (Zhu Xi), 443 state-sponsored grain loans (hwansang), 309–312 stepchildren, 670 steward in Ministry of Justice (zhangke), 894 stipend, 22, 147–148 stomach disease, cow, 422 Stone of Yulin (Yulinshi), 987 Strategies for Constructing Fortresses (Sŏnghwajuryak), 876 straw hats, 537 stream, reservoir created from, 845–848 stronghold, military (yŏngaek), 837–839 students: plants and herbs nurtured by, 956–958; pretend, Confucian, 356–357; state affairs discussed by, 247–248 subordinates: commanding of, 228; gatekeepers, 229–231; irregularities of, taxes and, 174–175; military officers, 228–230; pages, 234; in personnel administration, 228–234; slaves, 231–234 successor, collegiality with, 166 Su Dongpo, 73–74 suicide, of faithful wives, 513 Suiren, 409, 409n189 Sukchong, King, 265, 297, 337, 466–467, 559, 607, 739, 745, 754–755, 769–770, 903, 915, 958, 973

index “Summary of the Rules of Property” (“Quli”), 895 Sun Bin, 616, 616n79 sunbun (distributing only a portion of grain), 329, 331–332 Sun Fu, 473–474 Sun Hao, 999 Sunjo, King, 283 Sun Qiao, 858 Sun Quan, 805 Sun Xin, 89 Sun Yiqian, 766–767 Suo Yuanli, 761 superintendent (kŏmdok), 229 superiors: entertainment of, 471–473, 798; interrogation by, 162–163 supernatural disturbances, 818–821 superstition: elimination of, 796; sacrifices and, 448–452 supervision of personnel: of chief yamen clerk, 248–249; close watching in, 246–247; governor’s investigation through agents and, 251–253; in personnel administration, 246–254; secret surveillance and, 248–249, 251; six articles of investigation for prefects and, 253–254; small mistakes and, 250–251; students discussing state affairs in, 247–248; ulterior motives and, 251 supervisor of customs duties (siguan), 894 supervisor of marshes (zeyu), 844 supervisor of villages (lushi), 415 Supplementary Compilation on Funerary Equipment (Sanggu poch’an), 1010 Supplementary Law Code of 1493 (Taejŏn songnŏk), 789 Supplementary Volume to the Literary Essays of Yi Tŏngmu (Ch’ŏngbi songnok), 886 Supplement to the National Code (Sok taejŏn): on administration of justice, 689–692, 694, 700–704, 725, 742, 746–747, 762, 765, 788, 792, 794; on assuming office, 12, 20; on departure, 1009–1010; on famine relief, 907, 968, 972; on love of people, 197; on military affairs, 582–583, 608; on personnel administration, 242; preferred use of, 703; on public works administration, 826–827, 833, 837, 839–840, 842, 849; on rites and ceremonies, 445, 523, 534–535; on selfdiscipline, 107; on taxes, 274–275, 290, 400 support persons (poin), 558, 560, 583 Supreme Council of State (Todang), 822

1123

supreme mobile inspector (tosunch’alsa), 635 Su Qi, 906–907 Su Qiong, 91, 504, 801 Suqiong, 519 surname, adoption of, 1016–1017 Su Ruwen, 129, 129n253 Su Shi, 194–195, 378, 406, 905 Suwŏn Fortress, 875 Su Wuming, 809 Su Yan, 811 Su Zhang, 160 swaema (horses for traveling officials), 12–13 swallowing benefit granted for poor harvest (t’anjŏng), 320 swamps, 855–857 swords: placed around neck, 759–761; Taia, 826 tables of food and wine, 461–462, 465–466 tablet of taxation and collection (kyep’an): ambiguities removed in, 295–299; booklet made from, 299; in law of taxation II, 295–300; tax burdens not covered in, 299–300 Tae Chipsŏng, 646 T’aejong, King, 850 Taia sword, 826 Taiping, Princess, 808 Taizong, Emperor, 155, 815 Tai Zu, 53 Taizu, Emperor, 1003 taking leave of king: in assuming office, 20–27; gratitude and, 22–23; pledge in, 24–27; reporting for departure, 20–21; stipend and, 22; transfers and, 27; treatment of clerks and servants in, 23–24 tallies for famine relief (kwanch’ŏp), 575 tallies for military cloth tax (p’aech’ŏp), 575 Tang, King, 13, 989 tangerines, 836–837 Tang Jie, 94 Tang Kan, 19 Tang Kui, 661 Tang Shunzhi, 875 Tang Yunxiang, 718 t’anjŏng (swallowing benefit granted for poor harvest), 320 Tao Chengxue, 663 Tao Houzhong, 86 Tao Kan, 78–79, 145, 411, 996 Tao Lu, 632 Tao Nanlin, 215

1124

index

Tao Qian (Yuanming), 978 Tao Zhu, 85n122 Tasan Ch’odang, 365 tattooing, on forehead, 764 tavern taxes (chŏmse), 395 taxes: on abandoned lands, 266, 269–271, 274–276; agriculture and, 408–433; bribery and, 280–281, 297, 357, 577; categories of, 295–296; coercive collection of, 566; Comprehensive National Code on, 274, 276, 308, 333, 400; on dead oxen, 405; dual taxation and, 568; embezzlement of, 175–177; Equalized Tax Law and, 13, 387, 390, 559–560; Essays of Tasan on, 424–425; excessive, 393–396; exemptions for, 276–278, 290–291, 304–305; extended due dates of, 962–964; extortion and, 290–292, 303, 307, 318–319, 573–577; fishing, 389–390; gatekeepers collecting, 231; general principle of, 563; ginseng, 840–842; grain administration I and, 309–326; grain administration II and, 326–343; head, 354, 407–408; household cloth, 407–408, 557; household registration and, 343–360; Hu Dachu and, 409–410; inability to pay, 352–354; irregularities of subordinates and, 174–175; justice in levying corvée ser vices I and, 360–385; justice in levying corvée ser vices II and, 385–408; land, 175–177, 360–361, 465; land administration and, 261–278; land-based v. household-based, 377–378; law of nine, 360; loopholes in, 171–172; manipulation of grain tax for profiteering, 315; miscellaneous, 179; mouth, 559, 563, 565–566; in Naju, 279; National Code on, 419, 432; paid in linen, 240; paid in money, 378–379, 406–407; paid in reserve grain, 464; paid in rice, 301–303, 568, 573–579, 608; payments to Palace Supply Bureau and Palace Estates, 180; pretexts for, enlistment and, 562–571; public ser vice and, 174–180; reducing of, 893–894, 962–964; reports on, 169–170, 284–286; Rites of Zhou on, 344, 360, 387, 393–394, 415, 429; sable fur, 840–842; salt, 390–392; spurious, 379–381; superintendent collecting, 229; Supplement to the National Code on, 274–275, 290, 400; tavern, 395; “that-man,” 405; for touching beards, 405; wrongful, 99–100; in yellow beans, 278–280, 278n40; Zheng Xuan and, 392; Zhu Xi and, 270–271,

393, 411–412, 418. See also law of taxation I; law of taxation II; military taxes teacher, learning from, 519–522 temples, repair of, 447. See also Buddhist temples temporary company commanders (kach’ogwan), 592 tenants, exploited, 304–305 Teng Yuanfa, 933–934 ten-household watch system, 357–360 textiles. See cloth “that-man” tax (quyiqian), 405 thieves: banded together, 802–805; biers used by, 808–810; clothes of, marked with red ink, 806–808; clothing stolen by, 681–682; defi nition of, 87; documents concerning, 170–171; drunk in marketplace, 789; elimination of, 796–810, 958–961; famine relief and, 958–961; five thefts and, 956; innocent people framed as, 814–816; inns hiding, 883–884; interrogation of, 745–746; official traveling under parasol as, 797; pardoning past crimes of, 799–801; of property, 718, 926–927; rewards and amnesty for assistance against, 805–806; three reasons for, 796–799; of weapons, 610 thirty-six statutes, 39, 39n100 threats and harm, elimination of: in administration of justice, 796–824; calamities eliminated along with, 796; false accusations and, 814–816; fetishism, 822–823; intelligence needed in, 810–814; petty crimes by children, 814; schemes used in, 810–813; supernatural disturbances, 818–821; thieves, 796–810; those who lead people astray with talk of occult, 821–822; tigers, 796, 823–824; vengeance on enemies of criminals and, 817–818 three altars (samdan), 436–440 three areas of instruction (xiangsanwu), 493, 493n191 Th ree Army Offices (Samgunmun), 608 three bonds, upholding, 642–651 three capital cities (samgyŏng), 864 three clans, 774 three-element formation (samjaedae), 598 Th ree Elite Patrols (Sambyŏlch’o), 634, 634n137 three imposters (samgan), 704 three law-enforcement agencies (sambŏpsa), 535 Th ree Metropolitan Areas (Sanfu), 564–565 three spirits, 728, 728n162

index throat disease, cow, 423 Tian Duo, 657 Tian Qianqui, 431 Tian Yuanjun, 710 tigers, elimination of, 796, 823–824 timber: levied, 179; official in charge of, 825, 825n2; for shipbuilding, 828–829; transportation of, 401; for yamen office repair, 863–868 Ting Gui, 783 T’oegye. See Yi Hwang T’ojŏng. See Yi Chiham Tŏksanch’obu, 834–835 tombs: of Confucius’s parents, 685; figures for, 684, 684n60, 686–688; mounds of, 685; of powerful families, 581–583 tones, 547 Tong Hui, 238, 416, 1012 torches, in road construction and maintenance, 884 torture: of children, 757–758; of elderly, 757–758; in imprisonment cases, 732–733; leg-screw, 756, 756n196, 758; of prosperous people, 817–818 torturing clubs (konjang), 746 tourism, fortress repair for, 875–876 Toward a New Jurisprudence, 799 township head (zhouchang), 492 tragic situations, witnessing of, 203–204 training soldiers: in crossbow use, 617–618; exploitation in, 600–602; extended to yamen clerks, 596–599; in formations, advancing, and withdrawal, 596–599; importance of, 593–595; maritime, 595, 602–605; in military affairs administration, 593–605; new recruits, 600; slaves, 599; steps of, 593; useless, 595 tramps, 948–950, 952 transfer. See replacement and transfer transportation: of baggage, 404; of grain, 183–185, 303–304, 901–903; preparation of relief supplies and, 901–903; of timber, 401; of tributes, 401; yuhyŏnggŏ for, 832, 846, 866, 876, 876n101 traveler analogy, 6 traveling: austerity, reticence and, 28–30; carriage of books for, 19–20; expenses, 12–15, 99, 591–592; food during, 28; haunted offices and, 31–32; horses for, 12–13, 385–386; judges, 99–100; limited entourage for, 17–19; main road taken during, 30–31; neighboring

1125

districts and, 32–33; to post, 15–20, 28–33; preparations for, 15–20; women, 111–114 Treatise on Military Colony (Tunjŏnŭi), 278 Treatise on Military Preparations (Mao Yuanyi), 875 Treatise on Promoting Agriculture (Zhu Xi), 411–412 “Treatise on the Land System” (“Chŏnje ko”), 427 Treatise on the People’s Self-Defense and Fortification Strategies (Minboŭi), 653 Treatise on the Sacrificial Rituals (Cherye ko), 462 tree farming, 428–429 trial hearings I: access to magistrate and, 658–661; administration of justice and, 655–684; careful conducting of, 657–658; evidence lacking in, 678–683; family relations involved in, 665–668; foundation of, 655–656; judging imprisonment cases as if inspired by divine spirit and, 663–665; lawsuits over land in, 672–675; letters of complaint for, 659–660; property and textile fabrics in, 678–683; rushed charges in, 661–663; self-regulation of conduct and, 656–657 trial hearings II: administration of justice and, 684–709; complaints from neighboring districts in, 704; debt in, 702–705; forged documents in, 707–709; grave sites in, 684–697; military taxes in, 705–707; official documents in, 706–707; slaves in, 697–701, 708–709 tribute horses (kumajo), 402–403 tribute middlemen (kongin), 608 tribute monument dedicated to a benevolent official (sŏnjŏngbi), 1013 “The Tribute of Yü,” 360, 360n128 tribute rice to the king (ŏgongmi), 896 tributes: allocation of, 178–180; of Cheju Island, 402–403; collection of, public ser vice and, 174–180; contracting of, 290, 292–293, 305; food, 480; horses, 402–403; miscellaneous, 179; moderate corporal punishments for public matters relating to, 739–742; reduced size of, 11; transportation of, 401; unreasonable, 179–180; wooden monument for, 1015 triennial augmented examination (singnyŏn chŭnggwangsi), 612, 615 triennial examination (shinianshi), 554 trivial cases (sosa), 736

1126

index

True Record of Military Ser vice Tax for Men of Good Status (Yangyŏk silch’ong), 369–370, 559, 605 true scholars (sajok), 525 trust: in commanding subordinates, 228; Confucius on, 256; domestic disturbances and, 629; importance of, 47 Tu Long, 931–932 tying lonely people together (hapdok), 201 typhoid, cow, 422 tyrannical abuses: administration of justice and, 776–796; cursing of elders, 789; drunken thievery, 789; by eunuchs, 779–781; fabrication of official seals, 795–796; of gambling, 790–791; importance of prohibiting, 776–778; per for mances, 791–792; by powerful, 782–787; by proud, 786–787; by public officials, 787–789; by security guards, 779–781; slaughtering cows and horses for private purposes, 792–795; by slaves, 778–779; by vigilantes, 785–786 U, King, 641 Uam. See Song Siyŏl U Honggyu, 814 U Hun, 977 ulterior motives, 251 unaccounted-for lands and households, investigation of, 375–376 undulant fever, 422 uniform, 51–52 unit of five (wu), 494–499, 785 unqualified military officials, recruiting of (mangwa), 611–612, 614 urgent official notice, 45–46 urine pail, 682 U T’ak, 450 vagrants (yumin): in relief camps, 948–950, 952; settling down of, 974 vegetables, 427–429 vehicle (yuhyŏnggŏ), 832, 846, 866, 876, 876n101 vernal equinox, 432–433 versification, rules of, 546–549 vessels: cargo, 387–389; cooked meat, 470; for dry food, 470; manufacturing of, 887–888; rice vessels, 469–471; sacrificial, 442–444; soup, 470; for wet foods, 470 Viet namese agriculture, 411 vigilantes, tyrannical abuses by, 785–786

village-based association (igye), 371–372 village heads (zheng), 785 villages: designated to carry sedan chairs, 404; tax-exempt, 276–278, 290–291 virtue, Confucius and, 82 virtuous men, recommending of: civil ser vice examinations and, 243–244; code of law for, 242; duty of, 241; old practice of, 244–245; personal visits and, 245–246; in personnel administration, 241–246; scholars learned in literature, 244–245 voluntary after-tax contribution (kogŭpjo), 322–323 voluntary contribution (wŏnnapjŏn), 573 voluntary mutual-assistance association for military cloth tax (kunp’ogye), 563–564, 569, 572 walking down in the royal court (kwŏlnae haengha), 9–10, 9n2 wallpaper, 486 Wando island, 827–829 Wang Anli, 624 Wang Anshi, 401 Wang Daiju, 660–661 Wang Dan, 510, 718–719 Wang Dun, 31 Wang Gong, 676 Wang Hae, 176–177, 993 Wang Han, 670 Wang Huai, 918 Wang Huan, 1006 Wang Huanzhi, 977 Wang Ji, 137, 466, 851 Wang Jia, 771 Wang Ju, 1000 Wang Juzheng, 382 Wang Kejing, 773 Wang Kui, 720–721 Wang Lin, 642–643 Wang Mang, 769 Wang Mi, 89 Wang Minghe, 597 Wang Qi, 524 Wang Qinruo, 332 Wang Sengre, 95 Wang Shu, 18, 137 Wang Sizong, 823 Wang Su, 3 Wang Tang, 1012 Wan Guan, 997

index Wang Wenshu, 723 Wang Wenzheng, 63 Wang Xian, 131 Wang Xiaoje, 930 Wang Xun, 643 Wang Yang, 978 Wang Yangming, 173, 173n41, 357–360 Wang Yaochen, 958 Wang Yingzhen, 476 Wang Yizhou, 879 Wang Yongji, 1007 Wang Yuan, 880–881 Wang Yun, 1003 Wang Zeng, 958 Wang Zhi, 449, 672, 771 Wang Zhiyuan, 934–935 Wang Zhongzheng, 475 Wang Zun, 978, 1002–1003 Wan Liang, 724 war, disarray from, 149–150 ward head (dangzheng), 492 warrant, for silk and drapery, 101–102 watchfulness over oneself when alone (sindok), 655–656, 655n2 watch systems, household, 357–360 watchtowers, reinforcement of, 873–874 water chestnuts, 855–857 water mills, 846 waterway and reservoir management: breakwater at seacoast in, 852–853; commodities in, 855–857; dam building in, 853–854; exclusive irrigation and, 851–852; flood control in, 211, 853–855; in public works administration, 844–857; reservoirs created for irrigation, 845–848; small, unrepaired reservoirs in, 848–851 Ways of Solving Starvation through Alternative Grains (Kuhwang pyŏkgokbang) (King Sejong), 957 weapons. See military weapons weather, for inauguration, 33–34 weaving: in agriculture, 415–417; equipment, 419–421, 888–890 wedding ceremonies, 893 Wei Ao, 176, 381–382 Wei Dan, 853 Wei Deshen, 992 Wei Gao, 811 weights, standardized, 891–892 Weiguo, Duke of. See Han Qi Wei Guoyuan, 623

1127

Wei Jingjun, 1017–1018 Wei Qing, 539 Wei Renshou, 717 Wei Shu, 1014 Wei Xi, 1012 Wei Xiang, 996, 1002 Wei Xiaokuan, 882 Wei Zhongfu, 885 welcoming procession, 11 well-field-with-nine-tribute system (chŏngjŏn kuilbŏp), 308, 308n67 Wen, King, 869 Wen, Marquis, 769, 846 Weng, Lady, 645 Wengong Fen, 699 Wenhou, Marquis, 353, 353n120 Wenlu, Lord, 932 Wen Lugong, 63 Wen Weng, 847 Wen Yanbo, 53 Wen Zhang, 683 Westerners faction, 696, 696n90 wet foods, 470 wheat, 954 White Cloud sect (Baiyun zong), 818, 818n344 widowers, 198, 355 widows, 198 wine: in entertainment, 461–462, 465–466; local wine-drinking rite for, 528; production of, 961–962 wisdom, integrity and, 82–83 wit’ae taxes, 279–280 withdrawals, training of, 596–599 wives: of clerks, 117; clothing and, 113–114, 121–122; concubines and, 122–123; faithful, 510–515; propriety not understood by, 113–114; punishment taken for husband and, 772–773; in ruling of household, 109, 123–124; traveling of, 113–114 Wŏlhyŏllyŏng mountain pass, 839 women: avoiding of, 65–72; benevolence of, 721–722; corporal punishment for, 756–757; entertainers, 67– 68, 67n53, 75, 233, 787–789; pregnant, 756–757; quarters of, 116–119; as shamans, 393–396; as slaves, 233–234, 788; traveling, 111–114; work of, 428–429 Wŏn Ch’unggap, 640 Wŏn Yŏngju, 78 wooden ashtrays, 485 wooden chests, 887

1128

index

wooden tablet (kwŏlp’ae), 484 wooden tribute monument (mokbi), 1015 Words of a Mountain-Dweller (Sangŏ pang’ŏn), 463, 463n139 wounds, infl iction of, 738 writing, six types of, 544 Writings of Sage Kings (Yŏlsŏng ŏje), 843 written examinations, 21 wrongful customs, 99–101 Wu, Emperor, 105, 122n238, 253, 278, 431nn254–255, 847, 891 Wu Cou, 664–665 Wu Lin, 617 Wu Lu, 450 Wu Lü, 717 Wu Maqi, 235 Wu Qi, 616, 616n80 Wu Qing, 672 Wu Yinzhi, 91, 988 Wu You, 771–772 Wu Yu, 778 Wuzong, Emperor, 476 Xao Xide, 137 Xi, Duke, 911 Xia Houxiang, 30–31 Xiang, King, 847 Xiang Min, 993 Xiang Wenjian, 803 Xiang Yu, 310, 408, 431, 725 Xiang Zhong, 999 Xian Xuan, 756 Xianzong, Emperor, 72 Xiao Chengzi, 637 Xiao Jie, 471 Xiaozong, Emperor, 467 Xia Xidao, 442 Xia Yuanji, 64 Xie An, 62, 62n38, 446, 1019 Xie Fei, 80 Xie Kezhuang, 801–802 Xie Miao, 123 Xie Shangcai, 228 Xie Xuan, 981 Xie Yan, 996–997 Xie Zixiang, 19 Xi Menbao, 819, 846–847 Xin Gongyi, 206–207, 719 Xin Qiji, 959 Xin Zhongfu, 1016 Xiong Taijian, 90

Xuan, Emperor, 799–800, 869 Xuan Ni, 137, 987 Xuanyuan, Emperor, 644 Xuanzong, Emperor, 780, 996, 999, 1000 Xu Cheng, 237–238 Xue Bin, 476–477 Xue Changru, 625 Xue Dafang, 86 Xue Jingxuan, 228 Xue Kui, 622, 807 Xue Ping, 72, 853 Xue Shen, 509, 997 Xue Wenqing, 36, 127 Xue Xuan, 475, 680 Xue Yuanshang, 785 Xue Zhou, 847–848 Xu Ganxue, 688 Xu Guangqi, 419, 419n220, 422–423 Xu Jin, 422 Xu Jiusi, 48, 1013 Xu Ludao, 1020 Xu Mengrong, 780 Xun Mian, 1012 Xu Rong, 996 Xu Ruzi, 245–246 Xu Shen, 759 Xu Tingzhong, 114 Xu Ying, 399 Xu Yingkui, 983 Xu Yougong, 753 Xu Yu, 521 Xu Zhongsun, 782 Xu Zi, 18, 95 yamen clerks, 29–31, 88, 98, 175–177; allocation of grain loans to households and, 338–339; begging by, 222–223, 323; benevolence with, 215–216; borrowing money from the people for personal use, 290, 326; chart of career histories of, 227; chief, 226, 249–250, 339; clothing of, 226; courtesies from, 34–36, 226; crimes and names of, inscribed on stone, 220; disaster records and, 287–288; evaluation of, 254–255; excessively luxurious personal property and, 536–538; fi nes for embezzlement by, 339–342; flogging and, 227; grain-lending abuses by, 310–311, 313–324; in granary, 231–234; harassment by, 325–326; high connections of, 224–225; household-based taxes and, 377–378; inauguration and, 34–36;

index inspections by, 283; law used in governing, 214–215; magistrate and, 213–214, 220–222; official reports entrusted to, 169–170; parties of, 226–227; personnel administration and, 213–228; persuasion and encouragement guiding, 216–217; petitions submitted to, 45; pressures from, 224–225; punishment of, 217–220, 226; quarters, 116; scribe behind scheming of, 227–228; small number of, 223–224; soldier training extended to, 596–599; solemn and dignified, 126–128; state affairs left to, 78–79; taking control of, 213–228; tax extortion by, 290–292, 303, 307, 573–577; teasing by, 226–227; trap of, 221–222; ulterior motives of, 251 yamen office repair: clay for, 866; expenditures of, 863–868; flowers and trees in, 868; gazebo in, 862–863; importance of, 857–859; manpower in, 863–868; pavilion in, 862–863; in public works administration, 857–868; reckless, 859–862; record keeping for, 868; supervisor of, 863–864; timber gathered for, 863–868 Yandi Shennong. See Lishanshi Yan Fei, 421–422 Yan Gaoqing, 644 Yang Baizi, 84 yangban association (hyangso): bribery and, 238; chief of, 235–236, 238–239, 329–331; requesting grain for personal purpose, 335–337 Yang Bing, 81 Yang Cheng, 175, 178, 1017 Yang Chengzhai, 92, 989–990 Yang Ci, 238 Yang Dongshan, 123 Yang Guihou, 858 Yang Guishan, 60, 215 Yang Guozhong, 1019 Yang Hu, 1013–1014 Yang Hui, 813 Yang Jin, 476 Yang Jizong, 18, 95, 119–120, 199 Yang Pu, 136–137 Yang Quan, 815 Yang Rixin, 527 Yang Sheng, 783 Yang Shengzhai, 977 Yang Su, 778–779 Yang Tinghe, 990

1129

Yang Wanli, 16, 22 Yang Xu, 90, 109 Yang Yanguang, 501 Yang Yi, 552 Yang Yŏn, 557 Yang Zhen, 83, 89 Yang Zhijian, 509 Yan Jimei, 811 Yan Lugong, 509 Yan Maoqing, 471–472 Yan Shu, 672 Yan Xian, 801 Yan Yannian, 722 Yan Zhenqing, 454, 643–644 Yanzi, 453, 467 Yan Zong, 245 Yao, Emperor, 241, 260, 825 Yao bandits, 632 Yao Shan, 522 Yehyŏng, 788–789 Yejong, King, 970 yellow beans, 278–280, 278n40 yellow earth, 884 Yellow Emperor’s Plain Questions (Huangdi suwen), 667, 667n25 yellow tag (hwangch’ŏm), 574, 574n37, 577 Yelu Shi, 876 Ye Mengde, 196 Ye Zhengze, 880 Ye Zongxing, 90 Yi Annul, 105, 107, 121 Yi Ch’angjŏng, 146–147, 665 Yi Chehyŏn, 106 Yi Chiham (T’ojŏng), 856, 938 Yi Chijung, 633 Yi Chingok, 641–642 Yi Chip, 148 Yi Chŏk, 343, 384, 969 Yi Ch’ŏm, 862 Yi Chŏngak, 994 Yi Chŏngam, 602–603, 607 Yi Chongbong, 762 Yi Chŏnggwi, 480, 838–839, 902 Yi Chongsŏng, 370–371 Yi Chongsŏp, 370 Yi Chun, 106 Yi Chungyŏng, 635 Yi Dun, 341, 922 Yi Haenggŏm, 642 Yi Hanp’ung, 223 Yi Hubaek, 380–381

1130

index

Yi Hŭigŏn, 636 Yi Hŭijŏ, 650 Yi Husan, 956 Yi Huwŏn, 779 Yi Hwang (T’oegye), 8 Yi Hyŏnbo (Nongam), 129, 342 Yi Hyŏngsang, 452 Yi I, 424, 424n241, 468, 498–499, 498n204 Yi Igun, 690 Yi Ijang, 537 Yi Ik (Sŏngho), 190, 190n4, 271, 455, 846 Yi In, 502 Yi Injwa, 619, 810 Yi Insŏp, 696–697 Yi Inyŏp, 937 Yi Kak, 647 Yi Kapp’aeng, 320 Yi Ki, 88, 88n134 Yi Kilbae, 552 Yi Kiyang, 207, 889–890 Yi Kŭm, 822 Yi Kwal, 629 Yi Kwan, 148, 148n305, 969 Yi Kwang, 988 Yi Kwi, 726–727 Yi Kyeson, 553 Yi Kyŏngjik, 480 Yi Kyŏongyŏ, 179, 204, 267 Yi Kyuryŏng, 938, 943 Yi Mok, 107 Yi Monghak, 628 Yi Mongnyang, 674 Yi Mubang, 148, 899 Yi Myŏngha, 511 Yi Myŏngjun, 157, 210 Yi Myŏnsŭng, 223 Yin Duo, 344, 344n111, 353 Ying, King, 712 Yin Geng, 873–874 Ying Ren, 862 Yingzong, Emperor, 999 Yi Noik, 219 Yin Shang, 785 Yin Wenggui, 127, 782 Yi Paekgyŏm, 998 Yi Poksu, 175–176 Yi Pŏm, 667–668 Yi Porim, 383, 677–678 Yi Puming, 504 Yi Sa, 388 Yi Saek, 383, 863

Yi Sagang, 816 Yi Sanggŭp, 607, 844 Yi Sanghwang, 1015 Yi Sangŭi, 552–553 Yi Sejŏng, 215–216 Yi Siae, 647 Yi Sihyŏn, 674, 983–984 Yi Sisu, 482 Yi Sŏgu, 212 Yi Sŏnghang, 721, 1005 Yi Sŏwu, 548 Yi Sugwang, 624–625 Yi Sui, 511 Yi Suil, 161, 629, 885–886 Yi Sukjin, 634 Yi Sulwŏn, 61 Yi Sunsin, 474, 603 Yi Taesŏng, 626 Yi T’aeyŏn, 455, 616, 665, 956 Yi Tanha, 957 Yi Tansang, 457 Yi T’oegye, 858 Yi Tongjik, 594, 910–911 Yi Tŏngmu, 886, 886n125 Yi Tŏngnyong, 916 Yi Tŭkch’un, 573 Yi Tŭkjun, 143 Yi Ŭijŏn, 77, 106 Yi Ŭijun, 586 Yi Wan, 638, 758 Yi Wiguk, 335–336, 636, 1008 Yi Wŏn, 336 Yi Wŏnik, 77, 236, 418–419, 707, 1013 Yi Yakdong, 987 Yi Yŏnghwi, 715–716, 1005 Yi Yŏnnyŏn, 640–641 Yi Yubaek, 993 Yi Yungyŏng, 634–635 Yi Yusu, 186 Yi Zong, 756 Yŏngholu Pavilion, 862–863 yŏngjingok (grain for famine relief), 900 Yŏngjo, King, 159, 172, 273, 559–560, 562, 621, 739, 746, 755, 758, 772–773, 896, 901, 904, 918 Yong Tai, 199 Yongzheng, Emperor, 619 Youyu Shi, 523 Yu, King, 448–449, 845 Yü, King, 264, 264n12, 360, 360n128 Yuan An, 454, 515, 712

index Yuan Bin, 108 Yuan Chongzu, 870 Yuan Gui, 637 Yuan Jie, 1020 Yuan Luqian, 644 Yuan Shu, 418 Yuan Yi, 89 Yuan Zai, 83n115 Yuan Zhen, 803–804 Yu Chibil, 273 Yu Ch’ŏkgi, 273 Yu Ch’ŏl, 991 Yuchŏlli, 350–351 Yu Chonggui, 206, 454 Yu Chŏngwŏn, 138, 277, 335, 422, 991, 1018 Yu Dayou, 597 Yu Dingguo, 127, 712 Yue Xuan, 1019 Yu Hoin, 78 Yu Hŭich’un, 498 Yu Hyŏgyŏn, 207 yuhyŏnggŏ (vehicle), 832, 846, 866, 876, 876n101 Yu Hyŏngwŏn (Pan’gye), 848–849, 848n40 Yu Iljip, 272 Yu Jing, 94, 712–713, 869 Yu Kwanhyŏn, 72, 983 Yu Munho, 650 Yun Chi, 621, 621n94 Yun Chŏn, 506 Yun Hyŏn, 145 Yun Hyŏngnae, 202, 342 Yun Hyŏngwŏn, 779 Yun Kwangan, 990 Yun Kye, 195 Yun Nodong, 391 Yun P’alsong, 146 Yun P’ungnip, 628 Yun Saguk, 581 Yun Sŏkbo, 112–113 Yun Sŏnjwa, 106 Yun Sŭnghae, 784 Yun Woesim, 147 Yun Wŏnhyŏng, 701 Yu Pi, 638 Yu Pongsŏ, 68 Yu Que, 640 yuri (clerk in charge of draft ing statement regarding departure of previous magistrate), 225 Yu Sangun, 68 Yu Sŏk, 246–247

Yu Sŏng, 998 Yu Sŏngnyong, 872 Yu Sumin, 93 Yu Ŭi, 16, 77, 132, 214, 355, 750, 950 Yu Ŭnggyu, 120 Yu Unnyong, 783–784, 804 Yu Wei, 1017 Yu Xu, 617, 712–713, 807 Yu Yancheng, 1003 Yu Yanling, 26 Yu Yunze, 624 Yu Zhenmu, 522 Yu Zhongwen, 675 Yu Zijun, 874 Zai Yu, 508, 508n232 Zang Zhi, 631 Zeng Gong (Zeng Zigu), 47, 859, 869, 912, 991 Zeng Gongliang, 802 Zeng Nanfeng, 929, 929n57 Zeng Quan, 412–413, 422, 1006–1007 Zeng Zi, 512 Zetian Wuhou, 808–809 Zhai Pufu, 855 Zhang Chang, 805–807 Zhang Changnian, 504 Zhang Chong, 405 Zhang Chun, 664, 812–813, 960 Zhang Cishan, 683 Zhang Daofeng, 815 Zhang Gang, 627–628 Zhang Guaiai, 90 Zhang Guaiya, 417 Zhang He, 630 Zhang Hengqu, 191, 271, 897 Zhang Hesi, 761 Zhang Jin, 861 Zhang Jiucheng, 54, 164–165, 752 Zhang Jiuling, 719 Zhang Jun, 382 Zhang Kan, 418, 985 Zhang Lu, 821 Zhang Lun, 206, 852–853, 1013 Zhang Nanxuan, 532 Zhang Ni, 672 Zhang Qi, 715 Zhang Qia, 763–764 Zhang Qixian, 668–669 Zhang Quanyi, 422 Zhang Shougui, 637

1131

1132

index

Zhang Shuo, 713 Zhang Weigong, 22 Zhang Wenzhong, 911, 911n32 Zhang Xichong, 670 Zhang Xu, 416 Zhang Xun, 217, 438, 644 Zhang Yi, 552, 794 Zhang Yifei, 671 Zhang Ying, 65, 627–628 Zhang Yong, 3, 37, 60, 69, 418, 519, 620, 639–640, 656–657, 669, 676–677, 726, 753, 897, 899, 932 Zhang Yunji, 675–676 Zhang Yunsou, 725–726 Zhang Zhenzhou, 128–129 Zhang Zhicai, 989 Zhang Zhuo, 680 Zhang Zonglian, 164 Zhan Meihe, 873 zhao (tomb figure), 684, 684n60, 686 Zhao, King, 726 Zhao Bian, 53, 908, 912–913, 928–929 Zhao Changyan, 854 Zhao Chen, 218 Zhao Chengling, 626–627 Zhao Chou, 631 Zhao De, 519 Zhao Fengbo, 666 Zhao Guanghan, 168, 782, 1002 Zhao Gui, 983 Zhao Guo, 419–420, 715, 888 Zhao He, 678–679 Zhao Jian, 772, 782–783 Zhao Jianzi, 344, 344n111 Zhao Jing, 891 Zhao Nanxing, 311–312 Zhao Qingxian, 68 Zhao Rong, 91 Zhao Shang, 778 Zhao Shangkuan, 623 Zhao Shanliao, 36 Zhao Shenzi, 439 Zhao Wuzi, 460 Zhao Xinchen, 534 Zhao Xuan, 507 Zhao Yan, 131 Zhao Yangfa, 645 Zhao Yu, 662–663 Zhao Zaili, 404–405 Zhen Dexiu, 3–4 Zheng Guang, 176, 381–382

Zheng Guo, 847 Zheng Hanfeng, 4, 128 Zheng Hun, 416 Zheng Lao, 81 Zheng Mao, 510 Zheng Mingshou, 481 Zheng Qiao, 524 Zheng Shanguo, 123–124 Zheng Xian, 783 Zheng Xuan: on administration of justice, 657–658, 661–662, 684–687, 709–711, 751, 759; on assuming office, 15; on departure, 977, 990; love of people and, 203; public works administration and, 876; on rites and ceremonies, 467–468, 473, 528; on self-discipline, 56–58, 65, 69, 84–85, 87, 93, 95–96, 104, 133, 144, 147; taxes and, 392 Zheng Yi, 801 Zheng Yichuan, 29 Zhengyi Commentary, 436 Zheng Zhong, 759 zhenjibu (record of basic information), 348 Zhen Tian, 510 Zhen Wenhou, 882 Zhen Xishan, 55, 136 Zhenze Lake, 853–854 Zhi Du, 130–131, 722, 756, 782 Zhongfu, Prince, 713 Zhong Limu, 638 Zhong Liyi, 216 Zhong Shanfu, 59–60, 869 zhou (piling up bricks layer by layer), 872 Zhou, Duke of, 431, 512 Zhou Dunyi, 719, 719n134 Zhou Gongyue, 461 Zhou Ji, 535, 960 Zhou Lianxi, 720–721 Zhou Xin, 90, 114, 714 Zhou Yizhong, 717 Zhou Yu, 723, 777 zhu (stamping earth), 872 Zhu, Prefect, 677 Zhu Bo, 72–73, 663–664 Zhuge Liang, 630, 710 Zhu Guangji, 399 Zhu Jingze, 95 Zhuo Mao, 222 Zhu Shouchang, 503, 503n216, 859, 859n66 Zhu Xi: administration of justice and, 694–695, 721–722, 794; “Admonitions on the Conduct of the One in Mourning” by, 507–508;

index assuming office and, 41, 48; “Essay on Encouraging Agriculture” by, 794; “Establishing Relief Houses in Three Districts” by, 933; famine relief and, 907–909, 914, 918, 933, 939–941, 954, 956, 959; love of people and, 198; on military affair administration, 604; “Notice on the Promotion of Agriculture” by, 411–412; “On Famine Relief” by, 914; “On the Tricks of Rice Merchants” by, 908–909; personnel administration and, 215; public ser vice and, 157; public works administration and, 880; “Request for Permission to Sell Grain at One’s Convenience” by, 908; on rites and ceremonies, 443, 446, 456, 466–467, 497, 507–508, 510, 521, 527–528, 551; self-

1133

discipline and, 54; “The Statement of Pledge” by, 443; taxes and, 270–271, 393, 411–412, 418; Treatise on Promoting Agriculture by, 411–412 Zhu Yi, 753, 1010–1011 Zi Ban, 862 Zichan. See Gongsun Qiao Zigao, 436, 507 Zihan, 82 Zilu, 436, 436n15, 516, 725 Zong Qing, 1017 Zong Ze, 617 Zuli (ghosts of officers), 436–437 Zuo Xiong, 542 “Zuzang shumu tu” (“Diagram of Shu and Mu in Family Burial”), 687–688

Text

Minion Pro

Display

Minion Pro

Compositor Indexer Printer and binder

Westchester Book Group Robert Swanson Sheridan