Book II 231founding the dynasty had their names on the stipend records and received
titles in accordance with their contributions. If their parents and wives, on
the other hand, were given nothing but titles and no stipends, would it be
reasonable?”14th Day (Kyŏngin)
[The representatives of] Wuliangha^116 came and presented their local
products.15th Day (Sinmyo)
The day being the Onset of Spring, various officials during the morning
audience congratulated the king, and the king bestowed upon them his cal-
ligraphy of words and phrases related to the Onset of Spring.16th Day (Imsin)
The king issued a royal decree: “Yi Yŏm, assistant grand councilor, was
meticulous, precise, and farsighted. His father, deputy chief director of the
State Finance Commission, treated me with great respect. Yŏm was like an
old friend to me from the moment we met. Notwithstanding, he has never
failed to respect me despite the fact that many years have passed and has
always admonished me to reduce my mistakes; therefore, his contributions
are not small.
“In the Kyŏngo year (1390), when Prince Kongyang [King Kongyang]
moved down to Namgyŏng [Seoul],^117 Kim Chongyŏn, a fugitive who had
committed a crime, gathered a wicked gang of people and secretly con-
spired to harm me. Thus, I was in danger, and the crisis could soon have
extended to the state. However, Prince Kongyang and a few of his subjects,
being ignorant, tried to protect them, while punishing the ones who reported
their crimes, and there was a rumor that concerned my safety. I did not
- Wuliangha refers to either a chief or representatives of a Jurchen tribe who lived in the
region of the Tumen and Yalu Rivers and in the north of Hamgyŏng Province. - The word, “moved” (徙) here is rather intriguing because King Kongyang did not
move the capital nor his palaces. According to the Augmented Survey of the Geography of
Korea (Sinjŭng tongguk yŏji sŭngnam), he only had Namgyŏng or Hanyang belong to Left
Kyŏnggi Province. (Vol.I, p. 252)