Book IV 309When the king [T’aejo] ascended to the throne, he appointed Sojong as
minister of the Board of War and included his name on the list of minor
merit subjects (wŏnjong kongsin).
Being a man of righteous integrity and ambition, he believed that it
was his duty to enlighten the king and correct wrongful customs. Whenever
he spoke to the king, he was very outspoken and hid nothing. When he
returned home from work, he paid little attention to the livelihood of his
family, who often ran out of provisions. Nevertheless, he did not mind and
only devoted himself to reading classics and histories day and night. Learned
in the study of Neo- Confucianism, he exerted himself to suppress other
religions. After he passed away from illness at the age of forty- nine, the
literati mourned his death. He left behind eight volumes of poems and prose
essays, which were collected under the title of Tonghŏnjip. His son Hoe
passed the civil service examination in the Sinsa year (1401) and now serves
as assistant director of the Office of Diplomatic Correspondence (ch’ŏmji
Sŭngmŭnwŏn sa).
18th Day (Kyŏngsin)
The king commemorated the imperial birthday in a ceremony at Such’ang
Palace and returned to the temporary palace.The king sent Sŏng Sŏngnin, assistant chancellor, to Hamju of the Northeast
Region and ordered him to erect an inscribed tombstone at Chŏngnŭng, the
royal tomb of his father, King Hwan (Hwanjo). The inscription was as
follows:
“On the Sinmi day^52 of the first month of the spring in the second year of
the king’s reign, the king ordered his servant Chŏng Ch’ong, saying, ‘It is
only thanks to the virtues accumulated by my ancestors that I, though lack-
ing in virtue, received the Mandate of Heaven and founded a new dynasty.
Since I have already dedicated posthumous titles of king to each of the four
generations of my ancestors, I want you to compose the epitaph for the royal
tomb of Chŏngnŭng, which will be handed down to posterity forever.’
“Upon receiving this royal order, I was afraid but dared not decline the
task by making excuses for my inability to write. As I reviewed the words
of Mencius, I saw that he said, ‘It is a rule that a true royal sovereign should
- The 25th day.