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| Jungjong 중종 中宗 | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| King of Joseon | |||||||||||||
| Reign | 18 September 1506 – 9 December 1544 | ||||||||||||
| Enthronement | Geunjeongjeon Hall,Gyeongbokgung,Hansŏng | ||||||||||||
| Predecessor | Yeonsangun | ||||||||||||
| Successor | Injong | ||||||||||||
| Born | 25 April 1488 Gyotaejeon Hall,Gyeongbokgung,Hansŏng,Joseon | ||||||||||||
| Died | 9 December 1544(1544-12-09) (aged 56) Hwangyeongjeon Hall,Changgyeonggung,Hansŏng,Joseon | ||||||||||||
| Burial | Jeongneung Mausoleum,Seonjeongneung Cluster,Gangnam District, South Korea | ||||||||||||
| Spouse(s) | |||||||||||||
| Issue among others... | |||||||||||||
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| Clan | Jeonju Yi | ||||||||||||
| Dynasty | Yi | ||||||||||||
| Father | Seongjong of Joseon | ||||||||||||
| Mother | Queen Jeonghyeon | ||||||||||||
| Religion | Korean Confucianism(Neo-Confucianism) | ||||||||||||
| Korean name | |
| Hangul | 중종 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | 中宗 |
| Revised Romanization | Jungjong |
| McCune–Reischauer | Chungjong |
| Birth name | |
| Hangul | 이역 |
| Hanja | 李懌 |
| Revised Romanization | I Yeok |
| McCune–Reischauer | I Yŏk |
| Courtesy name | |
| Hangul | 낙천 |
| Hanja | 樂天 |
| Revised Romanization | Nakcheon |
| McCune–Reischauer | Nakch'ŏn |
| Monarchs of Korea | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Joseon monarchs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jungjong (Korean: 중종;Hanja: 中宗; 25 April 1488 – 9 December 1544), personal nameYi Yeok (이역;李懌), firstly titledGrand Prince Jinseong (진성대군;晉城大君), was the 11th monarch of theJoseon dynasty ofKorea. He succeeded to the throne after the deposition of his elder half-brother, the tyrannicalYeonsangun.[1]
In September 1506, on the dayYeonsangun was deposed, soldiers belonging to the coup's leaders surrounded the house of Grand Prince Jinseong. He was about to commit suicide, thinking that his older half-brother was finally going to kill him, but after being dissuaded by his wife, Lady Shin (later known asQueen Dangyeong), Grand Prince Jinseong found himself becoming the eleventh king ofJoseon.
Jungjong worked hard to wipe out the remnants ofYeonsangun's era by reopeningSungkyunkwan (the royal university) and theOffice of Censors (which criticizes inappropriate actions of the king). However, during the early days of his reign, the new king could not exert the royal power freely as those who put him on the throne held immense control over the country. When three of the main leaders of coup died of old age or natural causes in the next eight years, Jungjong began to assert his authority and carried out large-scale reforms with the help ofJo Gwang-jo and otherSarim scholars, despite much opposition from conservative nobles who had participated in the 1506 rebellion.
Jo Gwang-jo strengthened local autonomy by establishing a self-governing system calledHyangyak, promotedConfucian writings by translating them intohangul (Korean native script) and distributing them widely, pursued a land reform that would distribute land more equally between the rich and poor, and introduced a supplementary system to recruit talents for the government. He believed that any talented people, includingslaves, should be appointed as officials regardless of social status. TheAnnals of the Joseon dynasty state that during his time as Inspector General (Daesaheon; 대사헌), he enforced the laws strictly so that no official dared to receive a bribe or exploit the local populace.[2]
While Jungjong and Jo Gwang-jo shared a common passion for the reformist agenda, the former was chiefly interested in solidifying royal authority whereas the latter was more concerned withneo-Confucian ideology, according to which those who rule must be a virtuous example to the rest.[3] Jo's uncompromising character and frequent remonstrations also began to irritate the king.
In late 1519, the conservative officials came up with a plan to further weaken Jo Gwang-jo's influence; they used honey to writeJu Cho Wi Wang ("Ju Cho will be King"; 주초위왕, 走肖爲王) on mulberry leaves so that caterpillars would leave behind the same words as if in supernatural manifestation. When thehanja characters 走 (ju) and 肖 (cho) are put together, they form the character 趙 (jo), and the expression's meaning changes to "Jo [Gwang-jo] will be King". The incident was reminiscent of another occurrence that took place before the fall of theGoryeo dynasty, when the phraseMok Ja Deuk Guk ("Son of wood will gain the country"; 목자득국, 木子得國) became popular. In this case, the combined characters 木 ("wood") and 子 ("son") form the character 李 ("yi"), which was the surname of General Yi Seong-gye (later known asKing Taejo, the founder of Joseon).
The only living leader of the 1506 coup, Hong Gyeong-ju (홍경주;洪景舟), used this event to heighten Jungjong's suspicions and fears. Finally, in January 1520, Jo Gwang-jo was executed on charges of factionalism and many of his followers were exiled, while his radical reform programs were abruptly abandoned. The incident became known as theThird Literati Purge (Gimyo Sahwa; 기묘사화, 己卯士禍).[4]
After Jo Gwang-jo's elimination, Jungjong never had the chance to rule on his own again. His reign was marked by tumultuous struggle among various conservative factions, each of them backed by one of the king's wives or concubines.
In 1524,Nam Gon and Shim Jung ousted the corrupt officialKim Allo, but he managed to return to power and took revenge by accusing Royal Noble Consort Gyeong (one of the king's concubines) of plotting against the crown prince, which led to her execution along with her only son, Prince Bokseong. Following this case, Kim Allo started using the protection of the crown prince as an excuse to begin a reign of terror against his enemies, and even attempted to depose Jungjong's third wife,Queen Munjeong, after she gave birth to a son (the futureKing Myeongjong). He eventually met his downfall at the hands of the queen's brothers, Yun Won-ro andYun Won-hyeong. Despite these events,Yun Im, older brother of the lateQueen Janggyeong and an ally of Kim Allo, was able to maintain his standing and preserve hisnephew's position as heir to the throne.
The scholars and officials now gathered around two new centers of power and each group developed into separate political factions. Yun Im's party became known as "Greater Yun" and the Yun brothers' party as "Lesser Yun". Their conflict caused theFourth Literati Purge (Ulsa Sahwa; 을사사화, 乙巳士禍) after Jungjong's death.
As the royal court was weakened by the continual internal conflict, foreign powers driven away by earlier monarchs returned with much greater effect.Japanese pirates often plundered the southern coastal regions, while theJurchens attacked the northern frontier numerous times, bleeding the army dry.
The king died on 9 December 1544 and was originally buried inGoyang,Gyeonggi Province.[5] He was later moved to theSeonjeongneung Cluster, inSeoul, the burial ground of his parents,King Seongjong andQueen Jeonghyeon. The tomb is calledJeongneung (정릉).
The throne passed to his eldest legitimate son, Crown Prince Yi Ho (posthumously honored asKing Injong), who died without issue less than a year later and was succeeded by his younger half-brother, Grand Prince Gyeongwon (today known asKing Myeongjong).
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Consort(s) and their respective issue
| Ancestors of Jungjong of Joseon | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Jungjong of Joseon Born: 16 April 1488 Died: 9 December 1544 | ||
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| Preceded by | King of Joseon 18 September 1506 – 8 December 1544 | Succeeded by |
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| Posthumous[note 1] | |||||||
| King of Joseon (1392–1897) |
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| Emperor of Korea (1897–1910) | |||||||
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| King Yi[note 4] (1910–1947) |
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| Director of the Royal Family Association (1957–) |
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