The Incheon Lee clan () is a

Korean clan Korean clans are groups of Korean people that share the same paternal ancestor. They are indicated by the combination of a ''bongwan'' () and a family name. Korean clans distinguish clans that happen to share the same family name. The ''bongwan' ...

. Historically known as the Gyeongwon Yi clan or Inju Yi clan, it was one of the most powerful clans in the early Goryeo period due to their status as in-laws of the ruling

House of Wang The House of Wang was the royal ruling house of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea, from 918 to 1392. Its founder was Taejo of Goryeo, Wang Kŏn, the chancellor of Taebong who overthrew its tyrant king Kung Ye and founded the new dynasty of Goryeo. Hi ...

. According to the 2015 South Korean census, there were 83,855 members of this clan.

Name and origin

An ancestor of the clan, a 23rd generation descendant of King Suro and

Heo Hwang-ok Heo Hwang-ok (; 32AD – 189AD) also known as Empress Boju (), was a legendary queen mentioned in '' Samguk yusa'', a 13th-century Korean chronicle. According to ''Samguk Yusa'', she became the wife of King Suro of Geumgwan Gaya at the age of 16 ...

, was Hŏ Ki (). He was sent to

Tang China The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

as an ambassador of

Silla Silla (; Old Korean: wikt:徐羅伐#Old Korean, 徐羅伐, Yale romanization of Korean, Yale: Syerapel, Revised Romanization of Korean, RR: ''Seorabeol''; International Phonetic Alphabet, IPA: ) was a Korean kingdom that existed between ...

. Emperor Xuanzong bestowed the surname "Yi" on Hŏ Ki because he helped him escape from the

An Lushan Rebellion The An Lushan rebellion was a civil war in China that lasted from 755 to 763, at the approximate midpoint of the Tang dynasty (618–907). It began as a commandery rebellion attempting to overthrow and replace the Tang government with the rogue ...

. When Yi Hŏ-ki () returned to Silla, King Gyeongdeok awarded him the title of "Prince of Soseong" (邵城伯)''.'' Later, Yi Hŏ-gyŏm, a 10th generation descendant of Yi Hŏ-ki and the grandfather of

Queen Wonseong Queen Wonseong of the Ansan Kim clan (; 995 – 15 August 1028) or formally called as Grand Queen Mother Wonseong () was a Korean queen consort as the 3rd wife of King Hyeonjong of Goryeo who became the mother of his successors, Deokjong and ...

, began the Incheon Lee clan.

Dominance in early Goryeo

The Gyeongwon Lee clan was thought to have been local aristocrats or hojok from Gyeongwon County (modern-day Incheon). The clan was able to use their marriage ties to the

Ansan Kim clan The Ansan Kim clan () is a Korean clan that was an aristocratic family from the Goryeo Goryeo (; ) was a Korean state founded in 918, during a time of national division called the Later Three Kingdoms period, that unified and ruled the Kor ...

, who were in-laws to the royal family, to become royal in-laws themselves. Yi Cha-yŏn, the grandson of Hŏ-gyŏm, married his three daughters to King Munjong. One of those three, Queen Inye, became the mother of three kings, Sunjong, Seonjong, and

Sukjong Sukjong () is the temple name of several Korean kings. It can refer to: * Sukjong of Goryeo (1095-1105) * Sukjong of Joseon Sukjong (; 7 October 1661 – 12 July 1720), personal name Yi Sun (), was the 19th monarch of the Joseon dynasty of Ko ...

. From 981 to 1146, the Gyeongwon Lee clan had 27 officials in the central bureaucracy, 12 of whom were first or second grade officials. This was more than any other clan in during that time period. In 1095, Yi Cha-ŭi, attempted to replace King Heonjong with his nephew, Wang Kyun. However, Prince Gyerim (later King Sukjong) and his allies killed Yi Cha-ŭi on August 29, 1095 before it could happen. The family reached the peak of its power during the time of

Yi Cha-gyŏm Yi or YI may refer to: Philosophic principle * Yi (philosophy) (义; 義, righteousness, justice) among the Three Fundamental Bonds and Five Constant Virtues Ethnic groups * Dongyi, the Eastern Yi, or Tung-yi (Chinese: , ''Yí''), ancient peo ...

. Yi Cha-gyŏm married his daughter to King Yejong, who produced a son who would be later become King Injong. King Injong was enthroned as the next king with the aid of Yi Cha-gyŏm. He married his two other daughters to King Injong, becoming both his maternal grandfather and father-in-law. Yi Cha-gyŏm used his ties to the royal

to influence the court and purge his political opponents. Yi sought to depose King Yejong and take the throne for himself after seeing a prophecy that eighteen sons, meaning someone of the Yi surname would become king. The king attempted to stop the plot, however military forces under Yi's ally, Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng () foiled the king's scheme. The royal library and palace were burned down, the king's close supporters were executed, and King Yejong himself was himself under house arrest. King Yejong was due to be poisoned to death by Yi. However, the king convinced Yi's ally, Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng, to switch sides and arrested Yi and sent him into exile in 1126.

References

External links

* {{Cite book, title=Doosan Encyclopedia 외래귀화성씨 外來歸化姓氏, publisher=

Doosan Encyclopedia ''Doosan Encyclopedia'' () is a Korean-language encyclopedia published by Doosan Donga (). The encyclopedia is based on the ''Dong-A Color Encyclopedia'' (), which comprises 30 volumes and began to be published in 1982 by Dong-A Publishing (). ...

, url=http://terms.naver.com/entry.nhn?docId=1129680&cid=40942&categoryId=31639&mobile Clans based in Incheon

Name and origin

Dominance in early Goryeo

See also

References

External links