458 t h e a n n a l s o f k i n g t’a e j o
14th Day (Kimyo)
A man named Fu Yan from the land of Duowan^98 and a man named Suowu
from the land of Wuduli^99 presented their local products to the king, and the
king ordered the Security Council to grant them both the official title of
myriarch.15th Day (Kyŏngjin)
Giving orders to the Office of Personnel Appointments and Royal Seals
(Sangsŏsa),^100 the king had officials promoted according to the Sunjabŏp,^101
a law of employment or promotion, which is based on the number of years
and months of public service.The monks of the Chogye sect requested that the Sŏn Discussion Assembly
(Tamsŏnbŏp) be restored, so the king ordered the Privy Council to discuss
it. Then the Privy Council reported to the king: “The Sŏn Discussion Assembly
was established by the previous dynasty to promote the geomantic theory on
Songdo, the nation’s capital. Now that Your Majesty has moved to the new
capital, why should you use the old precedents related to Songdo? We request
that Your Majesty prohibit all those practices and start your governance
anew, together with the people. We also urge you to make everything that you
see and hear fresh and your mind consistent.” The king followed the advice.Censorial offices impeached Yi Kŏin,^102 magistrate of Kaesŏng, for seizing
a site for a house from the resident.- It probably refers to a region in Assam or Assam itself, which is located in the north-
east of India. The man’s name could be Fuyan. - Jurchens who lived in the regions of the Tumen and Yalu Rivers.
- This office originated in the Personal Authority, called Chŏngbang, which was estab-
lished by military general Ch’oe U (?–1249) for the purpose of handling official appointments.
However, its name was changed to Sangsŏsa during the reign of King Ch’ang (1380–1389), and
the office under that name continued to exist during the reign of T’aejo. - Since 1009 at the latest, the year of Hyŏnjong’s enthronement, the Koryŏ government
maintained a system called ch’anyŏnbŏp that evaluated the performance of officials every year
for their promotion. In 1368, King Kongmin changed the system into the so- called tosukbŏp,
which required that the performance of officials be evaluated based not only on the years but
also the number of months of their service. The Chosŏn dynasty continued to use the system. - His career was turbulent. In 1389, the first year of King Kongyang’s reign, he became
involved in the conspiracy led by Kim Chŏ, who attempted to remove T’aejo, and was exiled.