Song Sang-hyeon (; 1551 – 23 May 1592) was a civil minister, writer, and general during the

Joseon Joseon ( ; ; also romanized as ''Chosun''), officially Great Joseon (), was a dynastic kingdom of Korea that existed for 505 years. It was founded by Taejo of Joseon in July 1392 and replaced by the Korean Empire in October 1897. The kingdom w ...

dynasty. He was the prefect of Dongnae during the Siege of Dongnae, one of the first battles of the

Imjin War The Imjin War () was a series of two Japanese invasions of Korea: an initial invasion in 1592 also individually called the "Imjin War", a brief truce in 1596, and a second invasion in 1597 called the Chŏngyu War (). The conflict ended in 159 ...

. He led troops against Japanese general Konishi Yukinaga and was defeated. When presented with demands of surrender, Song famously declined and was captured alive and subsequently killed. His

art name An art name (pseudonym or pen name), also known by its native names ''hào'' (in Mandarin Chinese), ''gō'' (in Japanese), ' (in Korean), and ''tên hiệu'' (in Vietnamese), is a professional name used by artists, poets and writers in the Sinosp ...

was Cheongok, his

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

was Deokgu, and his posthumous name was Chungnyeol.

Early life

Song Sang-yeon was born to Saheonbu baliff Song Bok-heung (宋復興) and his wife, a descendant of Lee Mun-gun (李文健), writer of the Mukjae Diaries. Known to be a gifted child, Song is said to have mastered the

Confucian classic The Chinese classics or canonical texts are the works of Chinese literature authored prior to the establishment of the imperial Qin dynasty in 221 BC. Prominent examples include the Four Books and Five Classics in the Neo-Confucian traditi ...

s (經史) during his teens. At fifteen years old, he took Seungbosi, the preliminary Sungkyunkwan admission exam, and won first place. It was during this time that Song became friends with eminent future Joseon scholar and politician Kim Jang-saeng. In 1570, he passed the higher Sungkyunkwan admission exam, Jinsasi, and became a Jinsa.

Legacy

After his death, the Chungnyeolsa Shrine was built in his memory on 1608 by Yun Hwon, the governor of Dongnae.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Song, Sang-hyeon People of the Imjin War Joseon scholar-officials Joseon generals 1551 births 1592 deaths Sang-hyeon