The Annals of King T\'aejo. Founder of Korea\'s Choson Dynasty - Byonghyon Choi

174 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o

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As it was the anniversary of the king’s great-grandmother, the king had the

morning audience suspended for the day.

21st Day (Kihae)

After the morning audience at the court, the king ordered Yu Kyŏng, chan-

cellor of the National Academy, to present a lecture on the Extended Meaning

of the Great Learning (Taehak yŏnŭi).

The king held a banquet for merit subjects in the Royal Council Hall

(p’yŏnjŏn) and conferred on them the certificates of merit subject as well as

the documents for entitlement to a stipend, belts decorated with gold and

silver, and the fabric for making the outer pieces and inner linings of robes

as appropriate. He specially bestowed upon Chancellors Pae Kŭngnyŏm

and Cho Chun, separately, a kojŏngnip hat^11 with a string of jade beads and

an okchŏngja decoration attached to the top of the hat.

On this day, he bestowed the family name upon his his son-in-law Yi

Che, Lord of Hŭngan. He allowed him to use the same family name as that

of the royal house.^12

The inspector-general submitted a memorial to the king: “Since we are pre-

sumptuously occupying the Office of the Inspector-General despite being

ignorant and unworthy, how can we keep silent and betray your good wishes

to rule the state well? So we have made a list of proposals for your review.

We fear that they may appear narrow-minded, but we wish you could adopt

them if you find them to be useful.

“1. Since the Northwest Region serves as the protective barrier for the

whole nation, we established ten wings (units) in P’yŏngyang, another

11. According to the History of Koryŏ, it is an official cap worn by military officials of
    ranks 5 to 6.


12. He is the son of Royal Secretary Yi Inip and nephew of Chancellor Yi Inim, who
    enthroned King U. Inip tried to distance himself from his elder brother, Inim, who was noto-
    rious for abusing power, and eventually retired early to Sŏngju, his hometown. Since Yi Che
    belonged to the Sŏngju Yi clan, T’aejo at this time made him a member of the Chŏnju Yi clan,
    to which he himself belonged. Sŏngju was once called Hŭngan Strategic Prefecture during the
    reign of King Ch’ungnyŏl of Koryŏ.