882 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
Sitting in the Office of Royal Lectures, the king ordered Deputy Director
Cho Pak to present a lecture on the Great Learning.The censors submitted a memorial to the king, which contained four reform
measures on current affairs:
“1. The most important of the teachings of Buddha is to keep hearts clean
by reducing desires. Building temples and making pagodas and statutes of
Buddha are nothing but secondary. A gang of ignorant monks, under the
pretext of building new temples or reading some Buddhist sutras, goes
around districts and counties as the monks please. Showing their written
prayer with the royal signature, they insult local magistrates and lure foolish
people. We request that you prohibit them from recklessly frequenting the
palace to obtain the king’s signature on their written prayers and from vis-
iting the people to extort them of their properties with those written prayers,
and that those who dare to violate this order be strictly investigated and
punished by the office responsible.
“1. The purpose of establishing an office and peerage is to raise the dig-
nity of the royal court and govern the people in accordance with the will of
Heaven. Therefore, it is most necessary to employ the scholars who are
wise, capable, and fair- minded. At the end of the previous dynasty, even
artisans, merchants, and base servants could purchase offices, causing dis-
grace to the dignity of the court. The old abuses and evil practices still
remain unchanged. We request that hereafter the artisans, merchants, and
base servants be rewarded with property if they made contributions to the
state, not with offices in the government, so that the dignity of the office can
be raised, and the royal court respected.
“1. Since the security of the royal palace cannot but be strict, royal guards
are installed both inside and outside to check and control the people who
come in and out. The purpose of installing these guards is not only to pre-
vent unexpected incidents but also to prevent the people who visit from
requesting an audience with the king so that they cannot mislead the king
and throw the court into disarray. At the end of the previous dynasty, monks
and women who were crafty and petty frequented the palace as much as they
wanted, and because of that, the judgment of the king was clouded and order
and discipline deteriorated. We request that hereafter people should be pro-
hibited from entering the palace freely and that this restriction be enforced.
“1. Though we already have the law of evaluating the performance of
local magistrates, it happens that those who are appointed to the posts in the