Book XIV 823
14th Day (Chŏnghae)
Ullambana, the All Souls Festival,^31 was held at Hŭngch’ŏn Monastery.
19th Day (Imjin)
Ha Yun was appointed governor of Ch’ungch’ŏng Province, Yi Chŏngbo
governor of Left Kyŏnggi Province, and Kim Pun third minister of rites.
22nd Day (Ŭlmi)
Mt. Obong^32 collapsed.
25th Day (Musul)
Eunuch Pak Yŏngmun returned from his inspection trip and made a report
to the king: “Each garrison failed to give instruction in the Diagram of
Troop Dispositions. Only Naju Garrison is a little better than others.” Upon
hearing the report, the king became indignant and immediately gave orders
to arrest the instructors of each garrison and discuss the failure of each gar-
rison commander in supervising the instructors and their training.
26th Day (Kihae)
The Agency of Land Management Grants of the Board of Taxation sub-
mitted a memorial to the king:
“At the end of the previous dynasty, discipline deteriorated, and it led to
the collapse of the land system above all else. Men in power monopolized
- Also called Paegjung in Korea, Ullambana in Sanskrit; it is a Buddhist festival held on
the fifteenth of the seventh lunar month. Ullambana, 盂蘭, may be another form of lambana
or avalamba, “hanging down,” referring to extreme suffering in purgatory; but there is a sug-
gestion of the dependence of the dead on the living. By some, 盆 is regarded as a Chinese
word, not part of the transliteration, meaning a vessel filled with offerings of food. The term is
applied to the festival of All Souls, held about the 15th of the 7th moon, when masses are read
by Buddhist and Taoist priests and elaborate offerings made to the Buddhist Trinity for the
purpose of releasing from purgatory the souls of those who have died on land or sea. Thanks
to the Confucian value of filial piety and ancestor worship, it became very popular among
Asian countries.
- There are a number of mountains in various provinces that are named Obong. It is not
clear which one is referred to. The collapse of the mountain here may refer to a landslide.
