Book VI 427*
The Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory reported that the moon
came close to the Constellation of Heart (Simsŏng),^37 prompting the king to
pardon those in exile.
11th Day (Muin)
Arriving at Muak, the king inspected the site. Yun Sindal, director of the
Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory, and Yu Hanu, vice director
of the Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory, advanced to speak to
the king: “According to the theory of geomancy, this place cannot be the
capital of the state.”
The king said, “You may say that a place is good or bad as you please. If
this place is indeed as bad as you say, you should look into your books first
and make a report based on that.” Sindal and Hanu withdrew from the king
and discussed the matter. The king called Hanu again and asked, “Is this
place that bad?” Hanu replied, “In my opinion, it is bad indeed.”
The king said, “If this place is not good, where is a good one?” Hanu
replied, “I have no idea.” The king became indignant and said, “Being an
official of the Astronomical and Meteorological Observatory, how can you
say that? Are you going to lie to me? Haven’t you heard that the power of
Songdo [Kaesŏng] [as the site of the capital] has run out?”
Hanu said, “That idea came from the popular belief in divination (toch’am),
but I am ignorant of it because what I have learned is only geomancy.” The
king said, “As far as I know, much of the old divination theory was also
based on geomancy. Then how can it be groundless? Tell me if there is any
good place that you have in mind.” Hanu replied, “T’aejo of the previous
dynasty took Mt. Songak as the site of his royal palace, but starting from the
middle of the dynasty, the kings ignored propitious sites and moved their
palaces many times to other places that were distant from the capital. In my
opinion, the strength of Songdo still remains strong, and therefore I believe
it would be advisable to continue to keep Songdo as the nation’s capital.
The king said, “I have already decided to move the capital. If there is no pro-
pitious site in the vicinity [of Muak], one among the old capitals of the three
kingdoms might be a good choice. Discuss the matter and let me know.”
- One of the Twenty- eight lunar mansions in the Chinese constellation system.