Six Flying Dragons - Ep. 41~42 The historical background to help understand Ep. 41~42 ■ The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (조선왕조실록 朝鮮王朝實錄)
Jung Do-Jeon : I heard His Majesty wanted to read Sacho (the draft of the annal), and you were beaten like that because you tried to stop him. Right?
Historiographer : I’m sorry, sir.
Jung Do-Jeon : You will be promoted to the third rank minister.
Historiographer : Pardon?
Jung Do-Jeon : All of you need to resign unless you are as determined as him. Even though you should wear a diaper (to hold your urine), it’s your responsibility to record everything the King says and does. The only thing Kings fear is the history. The Sacho (draft) you’re risking your life and limb to work on will serve as examples for our descendants. Keep that in mind.
As you know, what I’ve written in my SFD historical background posts is mostly based on this Annals of the Joseon Dynasty (조선왕조실록 朝鮮王朝實錄) written by those professional historiographers.
They seated themselves in a corner of the court and recorded everything Kings did and said on a daily basis. Sacho (사초 史草) refers to their first draft of the annal. Even Kings were not allowed to read Sacho, and it was compiled after a king died. The Annals of the Joseon Dynasty comprise 1,893 volumes covering from 1392 to 1910.
Of course, many Kings hated those historiographers. “The only thing Kings fear is the history” is exactly what Prince Yeonsan (연산군 燕山君, reign 1494~1506) said. He is notorious as a deposed tyrant who tried to read Sacho and eliminated it.
King Taejong (Yi Bang-Won) was also famous for disliking historiographers. One day, he fell from a horse and immediately told those around him not to let a recorder know about his fall. A recorder wrote both King Taejong’s fall and his words not to record it. In another instance, King Taejong was recorded to complain about a historiographer who eavesdropped on him behind a screen and followed him to a hunt behind a disguise. The poor historiographer was fired. (LOL)
King Taejo (Yi Seong-Gye) was not an exception. In 1393, King Taejo learned from Jo Joon that he was recorded as a murderer to order the execution of King U and King Chang in the Sacho for Goryeosa (고려사 高麗史 History of Goryeo). King Taejo got shocked and immediately excused “It was King Gongyang who ordered to execute them as quickly as possible despite of my objection. I had no intention to kill them, but the ministers and people pushed me to execute them.” From then on, King Taejo became neurotic about Sacho and ordered to add that “U and Chang was Shin Don’s descendents, not King Gongmin’s” etc.
It is historically true that King Taejo (Yi Seong-Gye) attempted to read Sacho piles recorded since his coronation. In June 1398, he asked ministers about why the King is not allowed to read the Sacho files. The ministers answered “Because it makes historiographers reluctant to write truth if Kings try to read Sacho. Your Majesty, as the founder of this new dynasty, you should set a good example for the future kings. If you do such a thing, your descendents will use it as justification like "The previous kings did it, too. Why not let me read it?” Then, who can record history as it is?“ In the end, King Taejo had to give up.
Sometimes I read Non-Koreans’ complaint about why majority of Korean Sageuk dramas are set in Joseon period. (They say they favor Silla or Goryeo to Joseon) It’s because Joseon left tremendous amount of historical records, unlike other previous dynasties. Joseon was the nation of Confucian scholars, indeed.
Six Flying Dragons - Ep. 41~42
The historical background to help understand Ep. 41~42
■ The Massacre of Wang Clan (April, 1394)
In April 1394, King Gongyang of Goryeo and his 2 sons were executed by hanging. SFD showed us only the execution of King Gongyang, but around the same time, not only Goryeo’s royal family but also their collateral blood relatives with a surname of Wang were all killed or buried at the sea of Samcheok, Ganghwa island, Geoje island.
Why the Joseon government should kill them all? Well, I guess that this unprecedented genocide was caused by the collective fear of those who were walking on thin ice.
At first, King Taejo showed a conciliatory gesture to Wang clan. Even though the entire Wang clan was exiled in Ganghwa island and Geoje island, the king released them before long and planned to open the government posts to them sooner or later.
However, the tragedy started with a trivial matter. In January 1394, a minister by the name of Park Wi was arrested because he made his colleagues visit a blind fortune-teller and ask him "Which one has better luck? Yi Seong-Gye or King Gongyang?” and “Who has the best luck among Wang clan?”
Time was when fortune-telling and superstition had strong influence on politics. Park Wi’s move was interpreted as a revolt against Joseon Dynasty as well as the restoration of Goryeo Dynasty.
This trivial incident immediately brought an extremely abnormal tension to the court. All the members of Wang clan got exiled to islands immediately, but the court officers continued to petition to the king that the entire Wang clan should be eliminated. The king didn’t permit it at all, but the officers went as far as to carry out strikes and boycotted state affairs. Such a horrible situation had been repeated 12 times for about 4 months. Finally, the king submitted to a ballot of the Dodang. “I can’t possibly kill them. Let’s decide by majority vote on this issue” Therefore, on April 4, 1394, they passed a resolution in favor of this unprecedented genocide.
We don’t know how many innocent people with a surname of Wang were killed at that time. Some survivors changed their surname into Ok (玉) or Jeon (全)or Jeon (田) by adding a dot or lines to their original surname Wang (王). Others followed their mother’s surname. This witch-hunt against Wang clan lasted for about 20 years.
It was King Taejong (Yi Bang-Won) that stopped the massacre. In 1413, one low-class boy whose father happened to be a member of Wang clan was caught. The boy didn’t know who his father was. The court insisted to kill him immediately, but King Taejong refused it flatly.
“There is no precedent in the history to get rid of the entire descendents of the previous dynasty. It was heart-wrenching to have killed even children. I’m sorry because I couldn’t stop the terrible blunder at that time. It was not my father’s intention at all. I’ll protect them all from now on. If our Yi family has virtues, even if there exist hundreds of people with a surname of Wang, we don’t have to worry about them. If we lose the virtues, there will be others who arise with heaven’s will beside Wang.”
With these words, the genocide finally came to an end in 1413.
Six Flying Dragons - Ep. 41~42
The historical background to help understand Ep. 41~42
■ The diplomatic relationships between Joseon and Ming China (1394)
Jo Joon : We received a message from Ming China. They recently arrested the Japanese pirates that had invaded Ming. And they confessed that they are spies sent by the Joseon government. Ming requested that one of our princes should come and explain it.
Min Je : They want a hostage! Spies!? It’s a false accusation!
Ha Ryun : Moreover, the notorious Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang has been acting even more brutal recently. I heard he slaughtered 20,000 subjects.
Jo Joon : It’s a deadly situation. How could we send our princes to such a dangerous place?
Nam Eun : But if we don’t, we’ll get into a bigger trouble.
Everything they said is historically true. From 1393 to 1394, the two countries’ diplomatic ties kept on worsening. Hongwu Emperor (홍무제 洪武帝) of Ming China, also known as Zhu Yuanzhang, was wary of Joseon’s alliance with Jurchens and maintained his tough stance against Joseon. Many Joseon envoys had been killed or exiled. He also ordered to stop Joseon people from passing through the Liaodong castle. In August 1393, a Joseon envoy was beaten half to death because the Ming Emperor nitpicked at his kneeling posture. He saved his life but should return from Liaodong to Gaegyung on foot because they didn’t give him a horse. As a result, more and more hardliners like Jung Do-Jeon gained power inside the Joseon court.
In July 1393, Japanese pirates were captured in coastal areas of Ming China. In 1394, Hongwu Emperor insisted that they were spies sent by Joseon government, and demanded to send the eldest or second eldest prince of Josoen to Ming China in order to explain this situation. In other words, he was saying “Send your prince as a hostage!”
Six Flying Dragons - Ep. 41~42
The historical background to help understand Ep. 41~42
■ Yi Bang-Won was sent to Ming China (June, 1394)
King Taejo was afflicted. It was like sending one of his sons into a deadly situation. His eldest son Bang-Woo was already dead. His second son Bang-Gwa was a military officer without any diplomatic ability. The 12-year-old Crown Prince Bang-Seok couldn’t carry out such a grave mission. It was pretty obvious that his 5th son Bang-Won was the only option for the king. Other sons were not as erudite and capable as Bang-Won.
The following is from the Annals of the Joseon dynasty. (June 1, 1394)
King Taejo told Prince Jeongan (Yi Bang-Won).
“If Ming Emperor asks something, there is no one who can answer it except for you.”
Prince Jeongan answered.
“How can I decline such a grave mission? I would gladly go to Ming for our kingdom.”
King Taejo said to his son with teary eyes.
“You are a man of delicate frame and pale complexion. I’m worried if you can safely come back from the arduous journey.”
Courtiers lamented that Prince Jeongan would be in danger. Nam Jae (남재 南在) told the king.
“How can I sleep in peace if Prince Jeongan goes to Ming?”
And he volunteered to follow the prince.
Nam Jae (남재 南在, 1351~1419) was Nam Eun’s elder brother. Unlike his brother who was loyal to Jung Do-Jeon till the end, Nam Jae belonged to Team Bang-Won in the history. He didn’t appear in SFD though.
Ha Ryun didn’t go to Ming China. Instead, Jo Ban (조반 趙胖, 1341~1401) accompanied the prince as a translator. Jo Ban is the nobleman whose lands were taken by Hong In-Bang’s servant in SFD ep. 15~16.
There is no portrait of Yi Bang-Won left in the world because it was burnt in the midst of Korean War (1950~1953). So, we can only imagine how Yi Bang-Won looks like from his father’s description here. “You are a man of delicate frame and pale complexion. I’m worried if you can safely come back from the arduous journey.” So, Bang-Won was likely to be a pale and thin bookworm. (At least in his warrior father’s eyes. LOL)
Six Flying Dragons - Ep. 41~42
The historical background to help understand Ep. 41~42
■ Yi Bang-Won’s meeting with Zhu Di
It is historically true that Prince Jeongan (Yi Bang-Won) met Prince of Yan (Zhu Di) during his journey to Ming China in 1394. At that time, Bang-Won was 29, and Zhu Di was 34.
The two princes who lost their throne due to their little brother/nephew seemed to feel sympathy for each other. According to the annals of the Joseon Dynasty, Zhu Di invited Bang-Won to his banquet, and they shared pleasant conversation without guards around them. The Ming prince treated Bang-Won in a civil way with kind words along with all kinds of delicacies. We don’t know what they were talking about during the banquet, but their fateful meeting led to the upcoming friendly relations between the two countries for about 270 years.
Oh, Moo-Hyul the Gladiator is a fiction. The triangular bromance between the future Ming Emperor, the future Joseon king, and the future best swordsman of Joseon is a fiction, too. (LOL)
After meeting Zhu Di, Bang-Won went to Nanjing, the capital city of Ming China and was granted an audience with the Emperor several times. What they were talking about was not recorded at all. But it is obvious that Bang-Won gained the emperor’s trust and solved the diplomatic troubles. He was warmly received by the Emperor, and the courtiers of Ming China called him “the Crown Prince of Joseon” and respected him.
Due to this diplomatic success, the Liaodong castle’s gate was wide-open to Joseon people 3 months before Bang-Won came back to Joseon. Since Bang-Won returned to Joseon in glory, he had rapidly grown in stature in the political world, which led to the fall of Jung Do-Jeon in the end.
Zhu Di (주체 朱棣), also known as Youngle Emperor (영락제 永樂帝, reign 1402~1424), was the 4th son of the founder of the Ming Dynasty, Hongwu Emperor (홍무제 洪武帝). In SFD timeline, Zhu Di first appeared as 34-year-oldPrince of Yan (연왕 燕王) who was defending the Northen border against Mongol, Joseon, and Jurchens. Later, he became the 3rd Emperor after defeating his nephew Jianwen Emperor and usurping the throne during the civil war. (* Jingnan Campaign, 1399~1402)
I don’t know whether Zhu Di could speak Korean or not, but he was known as a genius to memorize the whole book he read just once, so it might be quite easy for him to learn various languages if he made up his mind.
It was historically true that his father (Hongwu Emperor) had Goryeo concubines. Actually, there existed a rumor that Zhu Di’s mother was a Goryeo woman, even though he is officially recorded as the son of Empress Ma. However, it might be a slanderous rumor invented by his enemies to put him down during the civil war.
Goryeo women were so famous for their beauty that it was a symbol of wealth and power to possess a Goryeo concubine during late Yuan and early Ming period. Empress Ki of Yuan Empire was one of the Goryeo concubines. Ming Emperor Zhu Di also had 8 concubines from Joseon. There were a lot of eunuchs and palace maids who came from Goryeo to work for the Yuan & Ming imperial family. Therefore, it is not weird for Zhu Di to have a nanny from Goryeo.
Anyways, Zhu Di was known to love Joseon food and Joseon women. He fell for a beautiful Joseon concubine (Lady Gwon) who played well on the flute. He loved her so much that he killed about 3,000 people concerned after he found out she has been poisoned. What a romantic tyrant. (sigh)
Six Flying Dragons - Ep. 41~42
The historical background to help understand Ep. 41~42
■ Ep 41~42 Brief Timeline (Lunar Calendar)
1394
In April, King Gongyang of Goryeo and his 2 sons were executed.
Around the same time, not only Goryeo’s royal family but also their collateral blood relatives with a surname of Wang were all killed or buried at the sea of Samcheok, Ganghwa island, and Geoje island. (*The massacre of Wang clan)
May 30, Jung Do-Jeon wrote a book titled Joseon Gyeonguk-jeon and offered it to the King. It was the first constitutional law of Joseon.
In June, Yi Bang-Won volunteered to go to Ming China as an envoy (a.k.a. hostage) to solve the deteriorated diplomatic relationships between Joseon and Ming China.
In July, Crown Prince Yi Bang-Seok married Shim Hyo-Saeng’s daughter. Shim Hyo-Saeng was Jung Do-Jeon’s close colleague.
October 28, the capital city was moved from Gaegyung to Hanyang(Today’s Seoul, the current capital city of South Korea).
In November, Yi Bang-Won returned from Ming China.
Yi Bang-Won’s first son, Yi Je / Prince Yangnyeng, was born by Lady Min.
Yoo Ah In just won Best Actor at Max Movie Awards tonight, but he wasn't able to come due to SFD filming. So, he sent acceptance speech video from SFD filming set~
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Post time 26-2-2016 08:46 AM
