Book XIII 749*
The king dispatched Sŏng Sŏngnin, grand academician of the Office of
Royal Decrees and State Records, to have his royal portrait enshrined in the
Hall of Deep Origin (Chunwŏnjŏn) in Hamju.^14
There was an earthquake overnight.Pak Sin and another remonstrance official submitted a memorial to the king:
“We have heard that Your Majesty has recalled Cho Sun, and he is now
riding a post- horse on his way to the capital. He is a man cunning and crafty
enough to cloud your judgment and reverse right and wrong with his elo-
quence. He is the kind of person who must be driven out in an enlightened
age, even if he has not committed any crime. However, he actually did
commit a crime a year ago when he stole the offerings [for the monastery],
and his crime of betraying your trust became quite clear. Though we, along
with the Office of the Inspector-General, requested that he be punished,
Your Majesty only had him banished to his hometown, and everybody was
not exactly happy about it.
“Notwithstanding the fact that, if you recall him in less than a year, you
will not only fail to fully chastise him for his old crimes but also you cannot
imagine the magnitude of abuses and greed that could be committed by
unrepentant people in the days to come. Though we believe that the strong
intelligence and good judgment of Your Majesty will certainly not allow
such cunning and trickery to work their own way, we are still troubled by
your decision because the wicked should be punished and the cunning aban-
doned. So, prostrating ourselves at your feet, we beg that Your Majesty quickly
withdraw your orders and leave him as he is in his old hometown.” The king
said, “There is no one among the eunuchs who can convey my orders.”27th Day (Kapchin)
The king inspected the palace walls.Relief was provided to the starving people in the north of Sŏnju of the
Northwest Region.- The Hall of Deep Origin was built in 1396, the fifth year of T’aejo’s reign, on the site
where T’aejo’s placenta and umbilical cord were buried.