Jeong Mong-ju

Portrait of Jeong Mong-ju

Korean spelling
Hangeul	정몽주
Hanja	鄭 夢 周
Revised Romanization	Jeong Mong-ju
McCune- Reischauer	Chŏng Mongju
See also : Korean name

Korean spelling
Hangeul	포은
Hanja	圃 隱
Revised Romanization	Po Eun, Poeun
McCune- Reischauer	P'o Ŭn, P'oǔn
See also : Korean name

Jeong Mong-ju (born November 22, 1337 in Yeongcheon , † April 4, 1392 in Kaesŏng ) was a Korean politician of the Goryeo dynasty , diplomat, neo-Confucian philosopher, poet and writer. His original name was Mongran ( 몽란 , 夢蘭 ) · Mongryong ( 몽룡 , 夢龍 ), his writer's name was Po Eun ( 포은 , 圃 隱 ).

Life

Jeong Mong-ju came from the Jeong clan from the city of Yeongcheon in Gyeongsang Province . He studied at the then by the scholar Yi Saek (1328-1396) most renowned academic institution Sungkyunkwan , as well as his friend and later political rival Jeong Do-jeon , and taught there himself Confucian scriptures. Through his translations of the works of Confucius , which were rated as excellent , he became an important representative of Neo-Confucianism in the late Goryeo Empire and the beginning Joseon Empire at the end of the 14th century.

Political activity

After taking the exam for civil service in 1362, he was initially associated with King Gongmin (공민왕, 恭 愍 王, 1351-1374) of the Goryeo Empire. As a diplomat, he consulted the court of the Ming Dynasty in China six times . Through his knowledge and a recognized sense of justice, he was able to defuse tensions between this and the Yuan dynasty . In 1377 he came to the Japanese court as a diplomat, where he reached an alliance against the Wokou , the pirates in the China Sea who destabilized the political situation in Korea, and the release of hundreds of prisoners from the Goryeo Empire.

The end of the Goryeo dynasty was brought about by the division of the court: on the one hand there was General Choi Yeong , who sought the conflict with the Ming Empire, on the other hand General Yi (also: U), who found the diplomatic solution sought with China, then wanted to usurp the royal throne and found a new dynasty. Here Jeong Mong-ju took sides with the older dynasty and, because of his refusal to follow new rulers, was replaced in 1392 by men of Yi Bang-won (later King Taejong ), fifth son of Yi Seonggye , founder of the Joseon Dynasty and Taejo named, murdered on the Sonyukkyo Bridge in Kaesong.

The "steadfast heart"

The Korean people remember Jeong Mong-ju for his loyalty to his ruling house. Jeong's poem, which expresses his attitude in response to Yi Bang-won, is written in the form of a three-line Sijo and is in the tradition of death poems .

Damshim-ga :

이몸 이 죽고 죽어 일백 번 고쳐 죽어 此 身 死 了 死 了 一百 番 更 死 了 ( 차신 사료 사료 일 백번 갱 사료 )

백골 이 진토 되어 넋 이라도 있고 없고 白骨 爲 塵土 魂魄 有無 也 ( 백골 위진 토 혼백 유무 야 )

임 향한 일편 단심 이야 가실 줄 이 있 으랴 . 鄕 主 一片 丹心 寧 有 改 理 歟 ( 향주 일편 단심 유개 리여 )

My body may die a hundred deaths.

And my white bones turn to dust and my soul to nothing.

But the steadfast heart I cherish for mine will never die.

Fonts

• Poeunjip ( 포은 집 , 圃 隱 集 )
  • Korean edition in Chinese script:
  • 圃 隱 先生 文集 .
  • 文集 編纂 委員會 / 景仁 文化 社 , 1999.
  • 圃 隱 集. 大洋 書籍 , 1975.
• Poeunsigo ( 포은 시고 , 圃 隱 詩 藁 )
  • 圃 隱 詩 藁: 卷 上, 下. [鄭 夢 周 著] . Reprinted from 1608 edition. (With contributions from the Asami Collection and Korean Rare Book Collection of the University of California, Berkeley).

literature

• Kang Jae-eun, Suzanne Lee: The land of scholars: two thousand years of Korean Confucianism. Paramus . Homa & Sekey Books, New York 2006, ISBN 1-931907-30-7 .
• Lee, Gil-sang: Exploring Korean history through world heritage. Academy of Korean Studies, Seoul 2006, ISBN 89-7105-551-0 .
• Keith L. Pratt: Everlasting flower: a history of Korea. Reaction Books, London 2006, ISBN 1-86189-273-X .
• Yi, Ki-baek: A new history of Korea. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Mass. 1984, ISBN 0-674-61575-1 .

See also

• List of Korean Philosophers

Web links

• Jeong Mong-ju: symbol of unshakable loyalty. In: KBS World , June 9, 2011 , short biography in German, accessed on May 18, 2012.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} Jeong Mong-ju: symbol of unshakable loyalty. In: KBS World , as of June 9, 2011 .
2. ↑ Isaac Titsingh (translator): Nipon o daï itsi ran ou Annales des empereurs du Japon , tr. Par M. Isaac Titsingh avec l'aide de plusieurs interprètes attachés au comptoir hollandais de Nangasaki; ouvrage right, complété et cor. sur l'original japonais-chinois, accompagné de notes et précédé d'un Aperçu d'histoire mythologique du Japon, par M. J. Klaproth . Paris / London 1834. p. 313. ( Online in Internet Archive ), French. (Translation of the original: Siyun-sai Rin-siyo / Hayashi Gahō: Nihon Ōdai Ichiran , 1652).
3. ↑ Kim Dae-hang: Classical Poetic Songs of Korea. Ewha Womans University Press, Seoul 2009, ISBN 978-89-7300-843-8 , p. 80. ( Preview in Google Book Search ).

Note: This article places the family name before the person's first name. This is the usual order in Korean. Jeong is the family name here, Mong-ju is the first name.