Book II 229file lawsuits using every means possible. The problem was so serious that
fights broke out among parents and brothers, who killed one another and
harmed good custom, and it made me feel very sorry. Since I had the army
march back in the Mujin year (1388), I abolished abusive private landhold-
ings to straighten out the land system and caused the people to calm down,
until peace was gradually restored both to the capital and to the provinces.
“However, the problems related to slaves still remain unresolved and con-
tinue to be troublesome, as in the past. Therefore, we must set them straight
at a time when we are trying to make a fresh start in the administration of
state affairs.
“Starting from the twenty-seventh of the twelfth month of the twenty-
fifth year (1392) of the reign of Hongwu, slaves who contend that they were
originally people of good status should remain as they are if they have
already served as slaves for a long time; however, they should again be
made people of good status if they were forced to become slaves despite
having never been slaves before. As for the slaves whose cases keep being
delayed, they should be given to the litigator who wins the lawsuit. The
slaves who ran away after the Sinch’uk year (1361)^113 of Zhizheng are an
exception to this decree.
“If there is anyone who recklessly contends with another in violation of
this decree, he should be punished by one hundred strokes of beating with a
paddle, and his documents concerning his slaves shall be confiscated and
burned by the authorities. The officials who knowingly forgive the offender
shall be punished by the law and dismissed from office with no chance for
reappointment. The Privy Council should take my orders to the offices con-
cerned and make them announce these to the public both in the capital and
through local governments.”
Intercalary 12th Month
4th Day (Kyŏngsin)
The king ordered Chŏng Ch’ong, senior secretary of the Security Council,
to compose the prayer for the publication of Tripitaka Koreana. Ch’ong- This is the year when the massive army of Red Turban bandits invaded Koryŏ and
King Kongmin was forced to take refuge in Andong, North Kyŏngsang Province, which is in
the south.