346 LAND REFORM
provinces. Not only royal relatives but central government agencies and influ-
ential magnates as well were allowed by the throne to petition to take over con-
trol of fishing wcirs, salt flats, and marshland along the coast, a process called
ch olsu ib 'an. These lands were run as estates by stcwards called kamgwan or
tojang who tyrannized the local fishermen and salt manufacturers. Local big
shots had even taken to legitimizing arbitrary seizures ofland by the use of these
palace estatc certificates ofregistration (ib 'an).
Furthermore, palace families in the capital were entitled to grants of wood-
land to supply fuel. Yu proposed to eliminate both the fishing weirs and salt flats
of the palace estates and capital bureaus and the woodlands assigned to royal
relatives. The weirs and salt flats would be turned over to the common people
to earn a living and the woodland would be turned into commons for fuel gath-
ering and pasture. Yu's recommendation probably had an effect on the Taewongun,
who perceived the palace estates to be a major source of corruption and loss of
state revenue and finally took over their tax-exempt lands between 1866 and
- 1()4 Yu's proposed reforms appear on balance to have aimed at a significant
reduction of the economic advantages of the estates of the merit subjects, princes,
and princesses. even though he was willing to provide thcm with both land grants
and prebends.
Yu seems to have been unwilling to adopt a ruthless, functional definition of
powcr, privilege, and status that would have led him to strip all the idle or unem-
ployed nobles and scholar-officials of their perquisites. On the contrary, his
approach was to acknowledge status but limit its propensity to perpetuate itself
over generations, to prevent the creation of hereditary aristocracy. Contrary to
commoners the sons of the sadaebu would be able to retain their father's land
grants for three years beforc the officials would make a determination whether
to take back the land or transfer it to some one else. Young or orphancd sons of
scholars would he entitled to receive all their father's land grant, and sons of
officials would hc cntitled to four kyang. When they reached the age of twenty,
they would be given the allotment equivalent to their own position or function.
But if the sons of scholars and officials failed to kecp up with their studies by
the time they reached the age of twenty and were unable to gain admittance to
school, their land grant would be reduced to the one kyong given to common-
crs.^105 This was Yu's attempt to strikc a compromise between functional and
ascriptive criteria for the sadaebu.
Yu also established regulations for allowing hut limiting the inheritance of
status by descendants of kings, merit subjects, and high officials. He set the num-
ber of generations that could inherit land grants, prebends, eligibility for
appointment to office. and membership in special capital guard units. He used
four types of terms for these categories. Sejok or "hereditary eldest legitimate
sons" was defined as including the eldest legitimate son and grandson of regu-
lar wives (chiikc/zolI!dason) of princes (wangja) and merit subjects (kongsin).
The term "son and grandson" must have meant all descendants of kings, not
just the first two generations, because Yu's regulations stipulatcd that eldest sons
