Book VIII 553*
The Board of Rites made the rules of the civil service examination. It
made the recitation of classics the first part of the examination (ch’ojang)
and replaced the current literary licentiate examination (chinsasi) with
the classics licentiate examination (saengwŏnsi). The king approved the
new rules.
The king visited the new palace and watched kyŏkku contests for three days.8th Day (Chŏngyu)
The king bestowed 100 kok of rice and beans as well as wine and meat on
Yi Saek, Lord of Hansan, telling him, “You have grown old. Try to take care
of your health with wine and meat.” At that time, Saek abstained from wine
and meat under the pretext of believing in Buddhism; therefore, the king
gave him such an admonition.11th Day (Kyŏngja)
Pyŏn Namyong, former magistrate of Kaesŏng, got remarried to Lady Yŏm,
the wife of Minister Yi Song, who had passed away, and his son Hon also
married the daughter of his father’s second wife. The remonstrance officials
requested the king’s permission to have Hon divorced, and the king granted
their request.12th Day (Sinch’uk)
The provincial military commissioner of the Northeast Region made a
report: “A woman named Kŭmjin, a daughter of a resident of Hamju, became
a widow at the age of twenty- three and has remained faithful to her deceased
husband all her life until she reached the age of seventy- two. Sin P’il, a
resident of Chŏngju, is ninety- nine years old. The grandmother of Kim
Pugae, a resident of Yŏnghŭng, became a widow at the age of thirty- two
and has remained single for the rest of her life. Pugae served her with filial
piety so diligently that she has now reached the age of seventy- nine. The
king separately bestowed 10 sŏk of rice upon those who were recommended
for their good deeds and had them exempted from their corvée duty.