Book II 183register them on the record and settle them down by providing them lands
and punish those who disobey the orders.
“1. Powerful families in the provinces secretly seize people of good status
to make them their personal servants. We request to have those people
searched out vigorously so that they can be registered for labor service.
“1. One who wants to become a monk should be required to present to the
government 100 bolts of osŭngp’o fabr ic^26 if he is a man of yangban stat us;^27
150 bolts of osŭngp’o if he is a commoner; and 200 bolts of osŭngp’o if he
is a man of base status. After collecting osŭngp’o fabric from them, the
district they belong to should issue certificates authorizing them to become
monks. Those who enter the Buddhist priesthood without permission should
be strictly punished.
“1. When the government or an individual makes a loan to the people, the
law prohibits the lender to charge any interest on interest. Nevertheless,
ignorant people charge interest on interest, and this is very wrong. From
this day forward, it should not be allowed that the amount of interest exceed
the principal of the loan, regardless of the length of the loan.
“1. The Buddhist monks build temples or print books on Buddhism in
collusion with officials, both in the central and local governments, and even
worse, make the government pay for their expenses, causing harm to the
people. From this day forward, such practices should be strictly banned.
“1. The military weapons for land or sea battles should always be main-
tained properly for potential enemy attack.
“1. Royal guards and navy soldiers should be divided into two groups and
made to serve on a rotation basis.”
The king granted the proposals as they are.
26th Day (Kapchin)
The king played kyŏkku in the inner court of the palace.Pae Kŭngnyŏm, left chancellor, Cho Chun, right chancellor, Kim Sahyŏng,
vice grand councilor of the Chancellery, Nam Ŭn, commissioner of the- Osŭngpo, literally “five-thread fabric,” was one of fine-quality fabrics used to
pay taxes. - Literally, “two orders” of officialdom who served in the bureaucracy, the term yangban
used to broadly designate the status group in Chosŏn society privileged to occupy civil and
military posts in the bureaucracy. (Ki-baik Lee, p.173)