Taejo of Joseon

Taejo of Joseon (4 November 1335 – 27 June 1408), born Yi Seong-gye (), was the founder and first ruler of the Joseon dynasty of Korea. After ascending to the throne, he changed his name to Yi Dan (), and reigned from 1392 to 1398. He was the main figure in the overthrowing of the Goryeo dynasty. Taejo abdicated in 1398 during a strife between his sons and died in 1408.

When Taejo became king, he emphasized continuity over change. No new institutions and no massive purges occurred during his reign. The dynasty that he established was mostly dominated by the same ruling families and officials that had served the previous regime. He re-established amicable relations with Japan and improved relations with Ming China.

Biography

Early life

Taejo's father was Yi Ja-chun, an official of Korean ethnicity serving the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. Taejo's mother, Lady Choe, was of Chinese origin from a prominent family originally from Deungju ( Anbyeon County) in present-day North Korea. Her father was a Korean chiliarch under the Yuan dynasty who commanded a '' mingghan''. She later moved to Hamgyeong, in Goryeo.

Historical context for rise

By the late 14th century, the 400-year-old Goryeo dynasty established by Wang Geon in 918 was tottering, its foundations collapsing from years of war and ''de facto'' occupation by the disintegrating Mongol Empire. The legitimacy of Korea itself was also becoming an increasingly disputed issue within the court, as the ruling house failed not only to govern the kingdom effectively, but was also affected by generations of forced intermarriage with members of the Yuan imperial family and by rivalry amongst various branches of the royal family, with King U's mother being a known commoner, thus leading to rumors disputing his descent from King Gongmin.

Within the kingdom, influential aristocrats, generals, and ministers struggled for royal favor and vied for domination of the court, resulting in deep divisions among various factions. With the ever-increasing number of raids against Goryeo conducted by Japanese pirates ('' waegu'') and the Red Turbans, those who came to dominate the royal court were the reformed-minded Sinjin aristocracy and the opposing Gweonmun aristocracy, as well as generals who could actually fight off the foreign threats—namely a talented general named Yi Seong-gye and his rival Choe Yeong. With the rise of the Ming dynasty under a former monk, Zhu Yuanzhang (the Hongwu Emperor), Yuan forces became more vulnerable. By the 1350s, Goryeo regained its full independence from the Yuan dynasty, although Yuan remnants effectively occupied northeastern territories with large garrisons of troops.

Military career

Yi Seong-gye started his career as a warrior in 1360 and would eventually rise up the ranks of the Goryeo army. In October 1361, he killed Park Ui, who rebelled against the government. In the same year, when the Red Turbans had invaded and captured Gaegyeong, he helped the recapture of the capital with 3,000 men. In 1362, when General Naghachu invaded Goryeo, Yi Seong-gye was appointed as a commander and defeated him.

General Yi had gained power and respect during the late 1370s and early 1380s by pushing Mongol remnants off the peninsula and also by repelling well-organized Japanese pirates in a series of successful engagements. He was also credited with routing the Red Turbans when they made their move into the Korean Peninsula as part of their rebellion against the Yuan dynasty. Following in the wake of the rise of the Ming dynasty under Zhu Yuanzhang, the royal court in Goryeo split into two competing factions: the group led by General Yi (supporting the Ming dynasty) and the camp led by his rival General Choe (supporting the Yuan dynasty).

When a Ming messenger came to Goryeo in 1388 (the 14th year of King U) to demand the return of a significant portion of Goryeo's northern territory, General Choe seized the opportunity and played upon the prevailing anti-Ming atmosphere to argue for the invasion of the Liaodong Peninsula (Goryeo claimed to be the successor of the ancient kingdom of Goguryeo; as such, restoring Manchuria as part of Korean territory was a tenet of its foreign policy throughout its history).

A staunchly opposed Yi Seong-gye was chosen to lead the invasion; however, at Wihwa Island on the Amrok River, he made a momentous decision, commonly called "Turning back the army from Wihwa Island", that would alter the course of Korean history. Knowing of the support he enjoyed both from high-ranking government officials, the general populace, and the great deterrent of Ming Empire under the Hongwu Emperor, he decided to revolt and swept back to the capital, Gaegyeong, to secure control of the government.

Yi Seong-gye remains the last Korean leader with a military background up until the 20th century.

Revolution

General Yi swept his army from the Amrok River straight into the capital, defeated forces loyal to the king (led by General Choe, whom he proceeded to eliminate), and forcibly dethroned King U in a ''de facto'' coup d'état, but did not ascend to the throne right away. Instead, he placed on the throne King U's eight-years-old son, King Chang, and following a failed restoration of the former monarch, had both of them put to death. Yi Seong-gye, now the undisputed power behind the throne, soon forcibly had a royal named Wang Yo crowned as the new ruler ( King Gongyang; 공양왕, 恭讓王). After indirectly enforcing his grasp on the royal court through the puppet king, he then proceeded to ally himself with Sinjin aristocrats, such as Jeong Do-jeon and Jo Jun.

One of the most widely repeated episodes that occurred during this period was in 1392, when Taejo's fifth son, Yi Bang-won (later King Taejong), threw a party for the renowned scholar, poet and statesman Jeong Mong-ju, who refused to be won over by Yi Seong-gye despite their numerous correspondences in the form of archaic poems, and continued to be a faithful supporter of the old dynasty, and a leading figure in the opposition to General Yi's claim to the throne. Jeong Mong-ju was revered throughout Goryeo, even by Yi Bang-won himself, but he was seen to be an obstacle and as such, in the eyes of supporters of the new dynasty, had to be removed. After the party, on his way home, he was murdered by five men on the Seonjuk Bridge (선죽교, 善竹橋) in Gaegyeong. This bridge has now become a national monument of North Korea, and a brown spot on one of the stones is said to be a bloodstain of his which turns red when it rains.

Reign

In 1392 (the 4th year of King Gongyang's reign), Yi Seong-gye forced Gongyang to abdicate, exiled him to Wonju (where he and his family were secretly executed), and crowned himself as king, thus ending Goryeo's 475 years of rule. In 1393, he changed his dynasty's name to Joseon.

An early achievement of the new monarch was improved relations with Ming China; this had its origin in General Yi's refusal to attack their neighbour in response to raids from Chinese bandits. Shortly after his accession, the king sent envoys to inform the Ming court at Nanjing that a dynastic change had taken place. Korean envoys were dispatched to Japan, seeking the re-establishment of amicable relations. The mission was successful, and ''Shōgun'' Ashikaga Yoshimitsu was reported to have been favorably impressed by this initial embassy. Envoys from the Ryūkyū Kingdom were received in 1392, 1394 and 1397. Siam sent an envoy in 1393.

In 1394, the capital was established at Hanseong (present-day Seoul).

When the new dynasty was promulgated and officially brought into existence, Taejo brought up the issue of which son would be his successor. Although his fifth son by Queen Sinui, Yi Bang-won, had contributed most to assisting his father's rise to power, he harbored a profound hatred against two of his father's key allies in the court, the Chief State Councillor Jeong Do-jeon and Nam Eun.

Both sides were fully aware of the mutual animosity and constantly felt threatened. When it became clear that Yi Bang-won was the most worthy successor to the throne, Jeong Do-jeon used his influence on the king to convince him that the wisest choice would be in the son that Taejo loved most, not the son that Taejo felt was best for the kingdom.

In 1392, the eighth son of King Taejo (the second son of Queen Sindeok), Yi Bang-seok was appointed as Crown Prince. After the sudden death of the queen, and while King Taejo was still in mourning for his second wife, Jeong Do-jeon conspired to pre-emptively kill Yi Bang-won and his brothers to secure his position in court.

In 1398, upon hearing of this plan, Yi Bang-won immediately revolted and raided the palace, killing Jeong Do-jeon, his followers, and the two sons of the late Queen Sindeok. This incident became known as the "First Strife of Princes". Aghast at the fact that his sons were willing to kill each other for the crown, and psychologically exhausted from the death of his second wife, King Taejo immediately crowned his second son Yi Bang-gwa (posthumously called King Jeongjong), as the new ruler. Thereafter, Taejo retired to the Hamhung Royal Villa and maintained distance with his fifth son for the rest of his life. Allegedly, Yi Bang-won sent emissaries numerous times, and each time Taejo killed them to express his firm decision not to meet his son again. This historical anecdote gave birth to the term "Hamhung Chasa", which means a person who never comes back despite several nudges. But recent studies have found that Taejo in fact did not kill any of those Hamhung emissaries. Those subjects were killed during revolts, which coincidentally occurred in the Hamhung region.

In 1400, King Jeongjong pronounced his brother Yi Bang-won as heir presumptive and voluntarily abdicated. That same year, Yi Bang-won assumed the throne of Joseon at long last as King Taejong.

Ten years after his abdication, King Taejo died on June 27, 1408, in Changdeok Palace. He was buried at ''Geonwonneung'' (건원릉), Dongguneung Cluster, in the city of Guri, Gyeonggi Province, South Korea.

The tomb of his umbilical cord is in Geumsan County, South Chungcheong Province, also in South Korea.

Family

* Father: Yi Ja-chun, King Hwanjo of Joseon (조선 환조 이자춘) (20 January 1315 – 3 June 1360)Firstly, Taejo honored his agnatic forefathers to the 4th degree and their legal wives with the posthumous titles "King" (''Wang''; 왕) & "Consort" (''Bi''; 비) on 16 August 1392 aejo Sillok, vol.1, year 1, entry 2 further confirmed on 20 November 1392 aejo Sillok, vol.2, year 1, entry 1 Taejong upgraded the earlier honors bestowed on his forefathers by bestowing them the temple names "Progenitor" (''Jo''; 조) with the style of "the Great (King)" (''Daewang''; 대왕), and the title of "Queen" (''Wanghu''; 왕후), on 14 May 1411 aejong Sillok, vol.21, year 11, entry 1 Yi Ja-chun and his wife, Lady Choe, were posthumously honored by their son Taejo as "King Hwan" (환왕) & "Consort Ui" (의비) respectively, and by their grandson Taejong with the temple name "Hwanjo the Great" (환조대왕) & posthumous name "Queen Uihye" (의혜왕후) respectively.
** Grandfather: Yi Chun, King Dojo of Joseon (조선 도조 이춘) (? – 24 July 1342)
** Grandmother: Queen Gyeongsun of the Munju Park clan (경순왕후 박씨)
* Mother: Queen Uihye of the Yeongheung Choe clan (의혜왕후 최씨)
** Grandfather: Choe Han-gi (최한기)
** Grandmother: Grand Lady Yi of the Joseon State (조선국대부인 이씨)
Consorts and their respective issue(s):
# Queen Sinui of the Cheongju Han clan (신의왕후 한씨) (4 September 1337 – 21 October 1391)
## Yi Bang-u, Grand Prince Jinan (진안대군 이방우) (1354 – 15 January 1394), first son
## Yi Bang-gwa, Grand Prince Yeongan (영안대군 이방과) (26 July 1357 – 24 October 1419), second son
## Yi Bang-ui, Grand Prince Ikan (익안대군 이방의) (1360 – 29 October 1404), third son
## Yi Bang-gan, Grand Prince Hoean (회안대군 이방간) (1364 – 10 April 1421), fourth son
## Yi Bang-won, Grand Prince Jeongan (정안대군 이방원) (13 June 1367 – 8 June 1422), fifth son
##Yi Bang-yeon, Grand Prince Deokan (덕안대군 이방연) (1370 – 1388), sixth son
## Princess Gyeongshin (경신공주) (? – 22 March 1426), second daughterAs a legitimate daughter of the king, her title properly translates to "Royal Princess" (''Gongju''; 공주, 公主).
## Princess Gyeongseon (경선공주), third daughter
# Queen Sindeok of the Goksan Gang clan (신덕왕후 강씨) (12 July 1356 – 15 September 1396)
## Princess Gyeongsun (경순공주) (? – 1407), first daughter
## Yi Bang-beon, Grand Prince Muan (무안대군 이방번) (1381 – 6 October 1398), seventh sonOn 14 September 1406, Taejong bestowed upon his slain half-brothers Yi Bang-beon & Yi Bang-seok the posthumous names of "Prince Gongsun" (공순군) and "Prince Sodo" (소도군); Taejong never acknowledged the fact that his youngest brother became the crown prince (7 September 1392; Yi Bang-gwa stripped him off his title during the First Strife of Princes). On 21 August 1680, Sukjong elevated their posthumous names to "Grand Prince Muan" and "Grand Prince Uian".Both princes were slain during the onslaught of the First Strife of Princes (제1차 왕자의 난). Jo Jun (조준) killed Yi Bang-beon out of the city gates; after his younger brother was stripped off his title as crown prince, Yi Geo-yi (father-in-law of his elder half-sister Royal Princess Gyeongshin) and others, appeared from Yeongchumun Gate of Gyeongbok Palace and killed him. Yi Je, the husband of younger sister Royal Princess Gyeongsun, was killed alongside Jeong Do-jeon's faction.
## Yi Bang-seok, Grand Prince Uian (의안대군 이방석) (1382 – 6 October 1398), eighth son
# Consort Seong of the Wonju Won clan (성비 원씨) (? – 1449)
# Royal Lady Jeonggyeong of the Goheung Yu clan (정경궁주 유씨)
# Princess Hwaui of the Gim clan (화의옹주 김씨) (? – 1428)
## Princess Sukshin (숙신옹주) (? – 1453), fifth daughter
# Lady Chandeok of the Ju clan (찬덕 주씨)
## Princess Uiryeong (의령옹주) (? – 1466), fourth daughter
# Palace Lady Yi (궁인 이씨)

Ancestry

One of the many issues demonstrating the early strained relationship between Joseon and Ming was the debate of Taejo's genealogy, which began as early as 1394 and became a sort of diplomatic friction that lasted over 200 years. The Collected Regulations of the Great Ming () erroneously recorded "Yi Dan" (이단; Taejo's personal name) as the son of Yi In-im (이인임), and that "Yi Dan" killed the last four kings of Goryeo, thereby establishing Ming's opinion of Taejo as an usurper first and foremost, from the time of the Hongwu Emperor when he repeatedly refused to acknowledge him as the new sovereign of the Korean Peninsula. The first mention of this error was in 1518 (about 9 years after the publication), and those who saw the publication made petitions towards Ming demanding for redress, among others Left ''Chanseong'' Yi Gye-maeng (좌찬성 이계맹) and then- Minister of Rites Nam Gon (예조판서 남곤), who wrote ''Jonggye Byeonmu'' (종계변무, 宗系辨誣). It took until 1584 (after many Ming envoys had seen the petitions), through Chief Scholar Hwang Jeong-uk (대제학 황정욱), that the issue was finally addressed. The Wanli Emperor commissioned a second edition in 1576 (covering the years between 1479 and 1584). About a year after its completion, Yu Hong (유홍) saw the revision, and returned to Joseon with the good news.

Legacy

Despite the fact that he overthrew the Goryeo dynasty, and purged officials who remained loyal to the old regime, many regard him as a revolutionary and a decisive ruler who deposed the inept, obsolete and crippled governing system to save the nation from many foreign forces and conflicts.

Safeguarding domestic security led the Koreans to rebuild and further discover their culture. In the midst of the rival Yuan and Ming dynasties, Joseon encouraged the development of national identity which was once threatened by the Mongols. However, some scholars, particularly in North Korea, view Taejo as a mere traitor to the old regime and bourgeois apostate, while paralleling him to General Choe Yeong, a military elite who conservatively served the old regime of Goryeo to death.

His diplomatic policy successes in securing Korea in the early modern period is notable.Kang, Jae-eun ''et al.'' (2006)
''The Land of Scholars,'' p. 172Northeast Asian History Foundation

Korea-China relations> Early Modern Period> Korea-China relations during the Joseon
.

In popular culture

* Portrayed by Im Dong-jin in the 1983 KBS TV series '' Foundation of the Kingdom''.
* Portrayed by Kim Mu-saeng in the 1983 MBC TV series '' The King of Chudong Palace'' and in the 1996 KBS TV series ''Tears of the Dragon''.
* Portrayed by Lee Jin-woo in the 2005–2006 MBC TV series '' Shin Don''.
* Portrayed by Oh Jae-moo in the 2012 SBS TV series ''Faith''.
* Portrayed by Ji Jin-hee in the 2012–2013 SBS TV series '' The Great Seer''.
* Portrayed by Yoo Dong-geun in the 2014 KBS1 TV series '' Jeong Do-jeon''.
* Portrayed by Lee Dae-yeon in the 2014 film '' The Pirates''.
* Portrayed by Lee Do-kyung in the 2015 JTBC TV series '' More Than a Maid''.
* Portrayed by Son Byong-ho in the 2015 film '' Empire of Lust''.
* Portrayed by Chun Ho-jin in the 2015–2016 SBS TV series '' Six Flying Dragons''.
* Portrayed by Kim Ki-hyeon in the 2016 KBS1 TV series '' Jang Yeong-sil''.
* Portrayed by Lim Jong-yun in the 2016 film '' Seondal: The Man Who Sells the River''.
* Portrayed by Kim Yeong-cheol in the 2019 JTBC TV series '' My Country: The New Age'' and 2021 KBS1 TV series ''The King of Tears, Lee Bang-won''.
* Portrayed in the Mobile/PC Game Rise of Kingdoms.

See also

* List of monarchs of Korea
* House of Yi

References

Notes

Sources

*
* Goodrich, Luther Carrington and Zhaoying Fang. (1976)
''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. I ''Dictionary of Ming biography, 1368-1644'' (明代名人傳), Vol. II.
New York: Columbia University Press. ; ;
* Hussain, Tariq. (2006). ''Diamond Dilemma: Shaping Korea for the 21st Century.'' (다이아몬드딜레마). Seoul: Random House. 10-1-430-30641-6/
OCLC 180102797OCLC 67712109
* Kang, Jae-eun and Suzanne Lee. (2006). ''The Land of Scholars : Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism.'' Paramus, New Jersey: Homa & Sekey Books.
OCLC 60931394
* Titsingh, Isaac, ed. (1834). '' Nipon o daï itsi ran''; ou
''Annales des empereurs du Japon.''
(compiled by Hayashi Gahō in 1652). Paris: Oriental Translation Fund of Great Britain and Ireland
OCLC 251800045

{{DEFAULTSORT:Taejo Of Joseon
Joseon rulers
Joseon Buddhists
Korean Buddhist monarchs
1335 births
1408 deaths
14th-century Korean people
Goryeo Buddhists
Korean generals
14th-century monarchs in Asia
Founding monarchs
People from Kumya County