Book VI 447chancellor, U Innyŏl, assistant grand councilor of the Chancellery, and
others supervise it.28th Day (Kabo)
The royal carriage arriving in the new capital, the government converted
the old guesthouse of Hanyang Magistracy into a detached palace (igung).11th Month
2nd Day (Musul)
Leading the officials of the Privy Council and the Astronomical and
Meteorological Observatory, the king inspected the sites of the Royal
Ancestral Shrine and the Altars of Earth and Grain.3rd Day (Kihae)
The government established the Engineering Bureau (Kongjakkuk)^84 for
the first time.
The Privy Council submitted a memorial to the king: “The Royal Ancestral
Shrine is designed to promote filial piety, the royal palace to display the
authority of the state and carry out state affairs, and city walls to make a
distinction between inside and outside and thereby defend the state. These
three things should be foremost priorities for those who rule the state.
“Since Your Majesty has founded a new dynasty according to the Mandate
of Heaven and established Hanyang as the nation’s capital according to
public opinion, the foundation for the everlasting rule of your royal house
has already been laid down. However, the Royal Ancestral Shrine is not yet
built, the royal palace unprepared, and the fortifications remain unfinished.
This is contrary to your wishes for making Hanyang the foundation of the
country and raising its dignity.
“We understand that Your Majesty is reluctant to hasten the construc -
tion work because you care for the people, but to face and solve those three
tasks are unavoidable. By ordering the government agencies responsible to
- This agency is presumed to be established to carry out the construction of the Royal
Ancestral Shrine and city walls of the new capital.