KING AND COURT 607
derived from Chou institutions in spirit, but more specifically from the details
ofT'ang procedure. .))
His main point was that the formal "rites" or procedures for the conduct of
audiences was extremely important as a guide for restoring the proper mode for
the king to conduct serious government business. Since kings of the past cen-
tury at least had failed to maintain proper order in state affairs, the wisdom of
the rites could be used as a source of authority outside of and superior to the
king's arbitrary power of decision to lead him back to the path of rectitude.
Royal Lectures: Less Intimidation
Yu naturally believed that the royal lectures, an institution created for the edu-
cation of the king in the classics throughout his life, was an important institu-
tion, but he complained that the true spirit of the royal lectures had been lost
because the power and majesty of the kings had so overwhelmed and overawed
the officials that they were afraid to express their opinions openly and honestly.
He felt that true education could not be achieved unless the intimidating atmos-
phere of the royal lecture sessions were reduced as much a:; possible. He quoted
Cho K wangjo's remarks that although the royal lecturers had been assured that
they might sit at ease in court during such sessions, in fact they were afraid to
speak their minds because they were not sure they could take the king at his word.
Cho attributed this atmosphere of intimidation to Queen Chonghili (the
Ch6nghih wanghu), who was horn in 1418 to a royal relative of the P'ap'y6ng
Yun clan, became the queen of King Sejo in 1455, and gave birth to King Yejong
and two other children. She became regent for the young Yejong in 1468-69,
continued her regency during the minority of King S6ngjong until 1475, and
died in 1483. Cho remarked that the precedent she estahlished continued
through Yansan'gun, who once executed one official, Sim Sunmun, for having
raised his head to look at the king during a royal lecture session. "So extreme
had the majesty of the throne hecome that the officials trcmhled with fear. That
we still lie prostrate [hefore the king] is also a custom bequeathed to us from
the reign of the deposed king [Y6nsan 'gunJ."4()
Yu also cited Cho Han's disapproval of requiring officials to prostrate them-
selves on the ground at lecture sessions hecause it was not a true gesture of respect.
At the heginning of the dynasty. kings granted the lecturers the right to sit at
case, and King Sejong in particular would "quietly look around and ask ques-
tions, just like a father r did with his] son in a family." As a result, officials were
never reluctant to report any source of suffering for the people or difficulty for
the country. Queen Chonghili was the one who forced officials to prostrate them-
selves before her and the king, but at least King Myangjong in the mid-sixteenth
century again permitted the lecturers to sit in a relaxed posture.
Cho argued that the denigration and humiliation of officials in the royal pres-
ence interfered with the atmosphere necessary for full communication.