[caocao74]

Just a little piece on King sejong the Great of Joseon. Additions would be very welcome.


KING SEJONG THE GREAT (世宗大王) OF JOSEON


King Sejong the Great (世宗大王) (6th May 1397 to 18th May 1450) was born I-Do, and was the fourth King of the Joseon Dynasty from 1418 to 1450, after his father abdicated in his favour. I-Do was the third son of Yi Bangwon (King Taejong, 太宗), before being made Crown Prince Chungnyeong (忠寧) at the age of ten, and married to a daughter of Sim On of Cheongsong (she is commonly known as Sim-ssi (沈氏), and later Princess-Consort Soheon (昭憲).

Before King Taejong abdicated, Sejong had been chosen as the successor rather than his elder brother whose lifestyle was disliked by their father. Unlike his ill-behaved brother, Sejong was deeply imbued with a sense of faith in Confucian principles, principles which had been emphasized since the foundation of the Joseon Dynasty in 1392. He believed that good-government depended upon a ruler having deep knowledge of a broad range of subjects, virtuous behaviour and the recognition of others’ talents.
King Sejong was a fair administrator, and his reforms were implemented with the aim to improve the life of common people, with projects initiated to offer relief in times of drought and flood, such as local offices to provide shelter and food. He also reintroduced the loans system (first established during the earlier Goryeo Dynasty) based upon the surplus of grain maintained in government granaries which was distributed then paid back in kind with only nominal interest.

A skilled linguist, he is famed for his introduction of Hangul (한글) in 1443, a native Korean alphabet, but also invented a rain gauge, striking water-clocks and a sundial, and ordered improvements in the movable metal type (invented in 1234). However Hangul will always remain Sejong’s greatest achievement. Previously, the scholars had had to use the Chinese script, which was fine when reading classical texts, but was deemed inappropriate for expressing the pronunciation of vernacular Korean. It also allowed an alphabet to be deployed which was much simpler for the wider population of non-scholars to read and write, something which was opposed by many traditional scholars who saw the new writing system as a threat to conventional understanding, but Sejong persevered and undoubtedly his efforts lead to the still very high levels of literacy amongst the Korean population.

Sejong, as mentioned previously, was also a noted follower of Neo-Confucianism and his interests extended into education and scholarship (with grants offered to young scholars), humanitarian projects, and legal reforms that included the establishment of a system of judgment based upon three trials before any final judgment was reached, while abolishing barbaric punishments such as flogging. Renowned as a scholar, in 1420, Sejong created the Jibhyeonyeon (Hall of Worthies, 集賢殿) at the royal palace. There, were documented and collated the records and books gathered from scholars from across the country.
Sejong was also a writer/compiler himself, composing/commissioning Yongbi Eocheon Ga (Songs of Flying Dragons, 1445), Seokbo Sangjeol (Episodes from the Life of Buddha, July 1447), Worin Cheongang Jigok (Songs of the Moon Shining on a Thousand Rivers, July 1447), and the Dongguk Jeongun (Dictionary of Proper Sino-Korean Pronunciation, September 1447), plus a number of agricultural manuals to widen the reach of education.

At the age of 52, King Sejong died and was interred at the Yeong Mausoleum, and succeeded by his first son, Munjong, leaving behind him a tremendous legacy that did much to influence the shape of Korean history, culture and society.

[Gubook Janggoon]

Another very nice piece Caocao74!

From what I understand, he was one of the only 2 Bhuddist kings of Joseon, the rest rejecting the faith.

Another interesting side note is that a street in Korea is named for him, Jong Ro.

Also, do you know until what time period Idu was used to write?

[hansioux]

Gubuk Janggoon, on Jan 10 2005, 04:11 PM, said:

Another very nice piece Caocao74!

From what I understand, he was one of the only 2 Bhuddist kings of Joseon, the rest rejecting the faith.

Another interesting side note is that a street in Korea is named for him, Jong Ro.

Also, do you know until what time period Idu was used to write?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Idu? Is that the Indian writing used in India at the time Buddhist documents were compiled?

[Gubook Janggoon]

It's Korean writing before Hangul. They took a Chinese Character and attached a sound or a syllable to it. Much like Japanese writing today. Not the Kanji, the Katakana?

[Kulong]

Gubuk Janggoon, on Jan 10 2005, 09:39 PM, said:

It's Korean writing before Hangul.  They took a Chinese Character and attached a sound or a syllable to it.  Much like Japanese writing today.  Not the Kanji, the Katakana?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Hiragana. Katakana is used for foreign-imported words.

What does Idu look like? How is it different from Hangul?

[Gubook Janggoon]

My knowledge on it is limited but...this is what I have taken in so far...

You take a chinese Character, any one....attach a sound or a syllable to it...like Bo...have a bunch of them...you have Idu.

[hansioux]

hansioux, on Jan 10 2005, 06:36 PM, said:

Idu? Is that the Indian writing used in India at the time Buddhist documents were compiled?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Oh, ok ok, Idu. Got ya.

You know, the Vietnamese did the same thing. So did Xi-Xia and Khitan.

Sejong, being a devote buddhist actually knows the hindu writting used to record Buddhist documents.

The Vietnamese version of Idu is called Chu Nom (looks like "字字"喃)

same example of Chunom script:

[Yun]

What was the basis for attaching additional radicals to the characters? Was it the meaning of the word, or its sound? Khitan and Xixia characters were well-known to be very complicated because of the additional radicals, and I guess Chu Nom was the same.

Chu Nom is actually very interesting - it's a pity the Vietnamese have romanised their writing and no longer use it.

[hansioux]

Yun, on Jan 11 2005, 12:03 AM, said:

What was the basis for attaching additional radicals to the characters? Was it the meaning of the word, or its sound? Khitan and Xixia characters were well-known to be very complicated because of the additional radicals, and I guess Chu Nom was the same.

Chu Nom is actually very interesting - it's a pity the Vietnamese have romanised their writing and no longer use it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I have seen Xixia writing, and it is complecated as heck! And I thought Han characters is bad....

[caocao74]

Gubuk Janggoon, on Jan 11 2005, 09:11 AM, said:

Another very nice piece Caocao74!
Another interesting side note is that a street in Korea is named for him, Jong Ro.
Also, do you know until what time period Idu was used to write?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks.

Regarding streets, I think you mean Sejongno, which runs from Gwanghwamun south towards Namdaemun. I thought Jongno was named after the Bell at Jongnak (if the Seoul subway map in my head is right ). Also in Seoul, Euljiro is named after Eulji Moon Deok, while Chungmuro is taken from the posthumous name for Admiral Yi.

[Gubook Janggoon]

caocao74, on Jan 11 2005, 03:45 PM, said:

Thanks.

Regarding streets, I think you mean Sejongno, which runs from Gwanghwamun south towards Namdaemun.  I thought Jongno was named after the Bell at Jongnak (if the Seoul subway map in my head is right  ).  Also in Seoul, Euljiro is named after Eulji Moon Deok, while Chungmuro is taken from the posthumous name for Admiral Yi.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ahh that's right...I havn't really lived in South Korea...I guess assuming really does make an A** out of you and me.

[caocao74]

Gubuk Janggoon, on Jan 12 2005, 10:47 AM, said:

Ahh that's right...I havn't really lived in South Korea...I guess assuming really does make an A** out of you and me.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I just remember because I worked about 2 minutes from Sejongno for three years.

[Rong Qin Wang]

Zunjing de China History Forum members,

Here is my essay on King Sejong that took first place in a writing contest, of which I donated the prize money to CHF because I know very well that I was able to take first place only because so many knowledge members in CHF did not take part in the competition!

Please remember that my essay was very short as the length requirement was only from 1,000-1,500 words long.

I am sure many intelligent members will be very disappointed after reading my essay since I know it was not that well-written. In fact, I think a few members will think “I cannot believe this mediocre essay got first place.”

Anyway, here is my essay; I would really appreciate any questions, comments, and even criticisms as those things would help build me into a better person.

Xie Xie,


Le Khac Minh Giao

21 years old

(209) 551-8769

2704 Alysheba Ave.
Modesto, CA 95355
USA


My thoughts on the character of King Sejong the Great


King Sejong the Great; a virtually impeccable ruler from a relatively small nation

Unfortunately, since we live in an era with great democracy, we tend to believe the

monarchial system was a horrible type of government. Hence, a lot of the accomplishments of

many rulers were greatly underestimated. Of course, the monarchial system itself was not perfect;

however, many rulers had worked with what they had gotten and took great care of the people.

When mentioning outstanding rulers of Asian countries, King Sejong (1397-1450) of the Joseon

Dynasty (1392-1910) definitely shined out as one of the greatest monarchs.

How can a ruler govern effectively for the welfare of the people? One can argue that a

rather unintelligent monarch can still be a good leader if he can get the necessary assistance from

righteous ministers as a monarch does not have to do everything by himself. Thus, it will be

extremely crucial to have competent ministers rendering their utmost loyalty to the ruler. However,

I don’t agree with this view since it was so simplistic. Based on the sole fact that a monarch had

absolute power, I believe the character and qualities of the ruler himself were the one key factor

to how good or bad his reign would be. Therefore, even exemplary officials cannot compensate

for having an incompetent monarch.

Thus, when praising at all the wonderful achievements of King Sejong, one must first

analyze in greater details the character of this magnificent king.

King Sejong was born on May 15, 1397 as the third son of King Taejong and Queen

Wonkyong. Despite being very intelligent, benevolent, and greatly favored by his father during his

youth, there were not really high hopes for King Sejong to succeed his father since he was only

the third son. According to the law of primogeniture, he was only the third in line to succeed the

throne. He himself probably did not expect to become king someday either. Despite being named

as Crown Prince, Grand Prince Yangnyong (King Sejong’s eldest brother) did not cherish his

position at all. Unlike King Sejong, Grand Prince Yangnyong not only thoroughly neglected his

studies, but also proved to be an unworthy successor. Eventually, there would be a huge debate

over who should replace Grand Prince Yangnyong as the Crown Prince. Again, according to the

law of primogeniture, Grand Prince Yangnyong’s eldest son should succeed his father to the

position of Crown Prince. However, King Taejong and some righteous ministers insisted on

crowning the most benevolent prince as the heir. Grand Prince Yangnyong had always viewed

himself as an incompetent prince; hence, he had every intention of passing the seat to his third

younger brother. Grand Prince Chungnyong (the title of King Sejong before ascending to the

throne) was finally inaugurated as the new Crown Prince in June of 1418. Two months later, King

Taejong abdicated in favor of Grand Prince Chungnyong, who would then become King Sejong,

the fourth monarch of the Joseon Dynasty.

As one can see, had King Sejong not been so studious and benevolent, then his father

would not have greatly favored him, and his eldest brother would not have been so willing to

renounce his rights for the throne in favor of his younger brother. Being the younger son of a

Joseon King, it would have been hard to imagine King Sejong not going through bloody battles to

obtain the throne. His peaceful ascension to the throne alone proved how virtuous and talented he

was, and gave a great insight of how wonderful of a king he would later turn out to be.

Since King Sejong’s father held the post of Supreme King, King Sejong spent the first four

years of his reign in training for the new job since his father still had all the power. The most

devastating thing that came shortly after King Sejong’s coronation would be the massacre of the

Sim clan, which were the family of King Sejong’s beloved wife, Queen Soheun. The Sim clan were

believed to have been framed with the charge of treason by a rival minister, Park Eun. However,

King Taejong gave out orders to execute all members of the Sim family who were convicted. King

Sejong sensed the Sim family members were innocent; however, he could not intervene with his

father’s decision due to filial piety.

Knowing that his father was not really doing the right thing, King Sejong did not dare to

voice his own opinion not because he could not differential between right or wrong, but because

filial piety had prohibited him from doing so. King Sejong sincerely showed his filial piety when his

parents were ill as he would personally take care of them day and night without paying any

attention to his own health. There was never even a single complaint about King Sejong not being

very filial.

When King Sejong started ruling on his own, he set his mind solely on the welfare of the

people. As a king, King Sejong felt it was his responsibility to give the commoners the best

lifestyle possible and help them to achieve to the best of their abilities. However, he was not only

concerned for his commoners, but for the people of other civilizations as well. Such thinking was

truly remarkable since this was an era when people were clearly only classified as civilized or

barbaric.

One of King Sejong’s greatest achievements was the creation of Hangul, a new native

Korean alphabet. The purpose of producing a new Korean alphabet was to educate the non-

scholar class. Prior to King Sejong’s reign, Hanja (Chinese characters) was the current written

language. Hanja was highly unpopular since it only made the highest class of the society literate.

The creation of Hangul made it possible for all levels of people to be able to read and write. King

Sejong only realized the basic necessities of the commoners because he actually placed himself

in the shoes of the common people. Being at the highest position of the entire society, it was

undoubtedly amazing how King Sejong was willing to sink himself into a lower level to understand

what the commoners’ really desired for.

King Sejong collaborated greatly with his ministers to work for the best interest of the

people. The King treated officials with the utmost respect. He knew how to use talented people in

the right positions. Most importantly, not only was he not jealous of ministers who were more

capable than him, but was also willing to learn from them. It was very rare for a king to feel that he

still needed to learn from others. He never felt threatened by officials since he believed nobody

would even have the thought of overthrowing him as he had always done what was best for the

people.

To his wife and children, King Sejong was a loving husband and a devoted father. He tried

very hard and succeeded in protecting his wife when her position was in danger due to the

massacre of her family members. When his two sons and daughter passed away at a young age,

King Sejong was saddened by their deaths that he literally held on to their bodies for so long that

funeral preparations had to be greatly delayed. He would immediately go into mourning and fasted

for three days with his beloved wife. When his beloved Queen passed away, he became devoted

to Buddhism to ease all the pain and suffering. Since he was so generous to the commoners, one

could only imagine how great he was to his own family members.

Based on all the qualities mentioned above, it would not even be an exaggeration to say

King Sejong was an immaculate character with a magnanimous heart to all different types of

people around him. There were so many different rulers throughout Korean history; however, King

Sejong was the only king to be posthumously honored with the appellation of “the Great” since he

led his country into a golden age even more glorious than any other contemporary countries. How

can the Koreans not be blessed with all the sacrifices and accomplishments of King Sejong?

Despite being dead for several centuries, the spirit of King Sejong will always live on to serve as a

paragon for successive rulers, while his legacies will always survive to provide a reminder for the

people of how prosperous a country can be with an unselfish ruler!

[snowybeagle]

I only got time to skim through essay, but my impression is that it's quite well-balanced and thoughtful.

Well done, RQW, perhaps spending time in CHF did help, not so much the facts you presented, but in developing some skills in providing better rounded essays and balancing different perspective, distinguishing between anachronistic attitudes and looking from POV of people of the era.

But it's just my own wistfullness that CHF helped, it might not be so important, but one thing sure, you did put in commendable effort yourself.

[galvatron prime]

I can say you write a great essay ,you too are great knowledge in Korea history as well ,i dunno King Sejong create Hangul until know ,thanks .