156 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
is stabilized and well governed, what would happen to the grand plan Your
Majesty has made and intends to leave to posterity? We believe that, being
kind and generous by nature, Your Majesty enjoys saving the lives of the
people and forgiving the people of their crimes. Your Majesty’s grace and
virtue are without limit, like the great Heaven.
“However, over the past five hundred years, the royal family members of
the Wang clan and other powerful families have acquired vast numbers of
slaves, sometimes reaching over a thousand. These slaves are now scattered
all over, often visiting their lords who are exiled and taking messages back
and forth as they frequent the capital. Though the state is secure at the
moment, the people who complain will increase as the time of peace con-
tinues. If those slaves happen to rise to action, our worries will not be small.
“In the previous dynasty, the residents of the villages known as yŏkcha,
chinch’ŏk, and pugok^146 in the five circuits and two border regions (odo
yanggye)^147 were originally the people who rebelled against T’aejo, the
founder of the Koryŏ dynasty. So they were confined to those isolated dis-
tricts to perform menial labor. Your sacred virtue being too generous, you
allowed even those who committed crimes against you to be exonerated
from menial labor. However, they should not be allowed to keep slaves as
they did formerly. We urge that Your Majesty allow them to keep only an
adequate number of slaves, and that the remaining slaves be handed over to
the government office.”
The king ordered that the royal family members of the Koryŏ Wang clan
and the high officials of the Two Departments (Yangbu)^148 be provided with
twenty slaves each, and those below them in rank with ten slaves each, and
that the rest of the slaves be handed over to the government.21th Day (Kyŏngo)
When the king traveled to the hot springs in P’yŏngju,^149 one member each
of the Censorate, the Council of Generals, the Comprehensive Rites Agency,- These are the names signifying the districts where the low-caste laborers resided.
- These are the administrative divisions in the early Koryŏ period. The five circuits (to)
were: Yanggwang, Kyŏngsang, Chŏlla, Kyoju, and Sŏhae. The two border regions (kye) were:
the Northern (or Western) Border Region (Pukkye or Sŏgye) and the Eastern Border Region
(Tonggye). See Ki-Baik Lee, p. 114. - “Two Departments” collectively refers to the officials of the Secretariat-Chancellery
and the Security Council. (Duncan, p. 26) - An old name of P’yŏngsan in Hwanghae Province.