KING AND COURT 599
supreme governing boards of the T'ang and Sung dynasty, such as the Depart-
ment of State Affairs (Shang-shu sheng), Secretariat (Chung-shu sheng), and
Bureau of Military Affairs (Shu-mi-yiian), had also been designed to increase
the growing despotism of Chinese rulers.4^0
Although Yu Hyongwon did not believe in a literal restoration of Chou insti-
tutions, he showed great respect for those Chinese scholars and officials who
had stressed the necessity of a supreme prime minister and a civilian State Coun-
cil, primarily as a means oflimiting the arbitrary authority of the king and assert-
ing the primacy of civilian control over the military - despite his view that all
civil officials should have an adequate education in traditional military skills
and knowledge.
Royal Marriages: Background Checks (if Consorts
Yu was especially critical of current practice in the selection of queens and spouses
for members of royalty, in particular the summoning of prospective candidates
to the palace for an inspection of their faces and physical appearance. He thought
that this practice had never been used in Korea until King T'aejong in the early
fifteenth century confiscated the property of one man who refused to allow his
son to be chosen for T'aejong's son-in-law and then summoned the sons of the
officials to the palace for a review of candidates.
Yulgok had criticized this practice in the late sixteenth century and praised
the kings of former dynasties who always sought the descendants of "former
sages," or virtuous and outstanding men. Yu also counseled against choosing
marriage partners on the basis of facial appearance, the magnificence of their
clothing, or the advice of fortunetellers. He preferred that queens or spouses for
princes and princesses should be chosen by investigating the parents of prospec-
tive spouses to see if their families were well run, and the candidates themselves
to see if their comportment was in order. Finally, the surname and clan of the
candidate had to be checked, and the approval of the top ministers (taesin)
obtained. He did not specify the purpose of this check of family pedigree, but
one might draw some deductions from his discussion of the problem.
Yu advised that marriage partners for royalty be chosen by thorough consul-
tation with officials rather than by the arbitrary act of a king "locked up deep
inside the inner recesses of the palace." It was not necessary to reproduce the
rites of antiquity in all respects, just to have an official study the ritual classics
to devise a workable compromise. Yu felt that the best system for the selection
of spouses for royalty in the "later age" since the fall of classical Chou occurred
in the Sung dynasty. and he copied out the memorial of Fan Tsu-YLi submitted
to the grandmother of Emperor Che-tsung (during the yiiall-vll pcriod, loS6-94)
for the purpose of advising her on the method of selection.
Fan had boiled down the essence of correct procedure to four clements. The
clan and surname of the candidate had to be reviewed because in ancient China
the emperors and kings had to choose their spouses from the descendants in the