502 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
6th Month
1st Day (Kyehae)
The king offered sacrifices by sending officials to Sach’ŏngwang Monastery
and other places.^426th Day (Mujin)
The government renamed Hanyang Magistracy (Hanyang pu) as Hansŏngbu
(Hansŏng pu) and relocated yamen clerks and people to Hyŏnju, changing
its name to Yangju County.^43The king dispatched Ch’oe Yugyŏng, administrative director of the Security
Council, to find out if a canal (chogŏ) could be constructed in the north of
T’aean County for the passage of grain transport ships. Yugyŏng returned
and reported, “The ground being too elevated and filled with hard rocks, it
is impossible to construct waterways quickly.”The king ordered Kwŏn Kŭn, deputy commissioner of the Security Council,
to make the rules concerning the four family ceremonies [coming of age,
wedding, funeral, and ancestral rite].Chŏng Tojŏn, director of the State Finance Commission, presented the king
with his new book, Discourse on the Governance (Kyŏngje mun’gam).^449th Day (Sinmi)
When the king wanted to see the draft of the annals of his reign since he
ascended to the throne, following the precedent set forth by Emperor- In Buddhism, Sach’ŏngwang, literally Four Heavenly Kings, were the deities in charge
of the four main compass directions and therefore worshiped as guardian deities of the state.
The Buddhist monastery of that name was located in the south of Mt. Nangsan in Kyŏngju,
South Kyŏngsang Province. - Modern Yangju City, Kyŏnggi Province.
- This book was written to supplement or reinforce the discussion on governance in the
Administrative Code of Chosŏn (Chosŏn kyŏnggukchŏn), which Chŏng Tojŏn had published
earlier. Chŏng reviews the government system from a historical perspective since the days of
the Three Dynasties and advocates the monarchy led by grand councilors, not kings and
emperors. The book is included in the Collected Works of Sambong.