Taejong

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Taejong
3rd King of the Joseon Dynasty

Tomb of King Taejong and his Queen Wongyeong
Tomb of King Taejong and his Queen Wongyeong
Spelling of names
Hangeul 태종
Hanja 太宗
Revised Romanization Taejong
McCune-Reischauer T'aejong
Reign
Reign of November 28, 1400
Reign until August 10, 1418
predecessor King Jeongjong
successor King Sejong
Life dates
Born on the June 13, 1367
place of birth Hamhung , Goryeo
Birth Name 이방원
Hanja 李芳 遠
Revised Romanization Yi Bang-won
McCune-Reischauer Yi Pangwon
father King Taejo
mother Queen Shinui
Death dates
Died on May 30, 1422
Place of death Suganggung Palace, Hanyang , Joseon
tomb Heonilleung , Hanyang
Spouses, mistresses, offspring
Woman (s) Queen Wongyeong
and seventeen other ladies of the court
Sons Prince Yangnyeong (Yi Je)
Prince Hyoryeong (Yi Bo)
Prince Chungnyeong (Yi Do)
Prince Seongnyeong (Yi Jong)
and eight other princes
Daughters Princess Jeongsun
Princess Gyeongjeong
Princess Gyeongan
Princess Jeongseon
and thirteen other princesses and a daughter whose name is unknown

Taejong ( Korean : 태종 ) (born June 13, 1367 , Joseon ; † May 30, 1422 , ibid) was the 3rd King of the Joseon Dynasty ( 조선 왕조 ) (1392-1910) in Korea during his reign from 1400 to 1418 .

Life

Yi Bang-won ( 이방원 ) was born on June 13, 1367 as the fifth son of General Yi Seong-gye ( 이성계 ) and later King Taejo ( 태조 ) in Hamhung , Goryeo . His mother was Queen Shinui ( 신의 ). During his father's reign a dispute arose between the brothers over the succession to the throne after his father had appointed his youngest son Yi Bang-seok ( 이방석 ) as his successor in 1392 . Yi Bang-won was the driving force in this dispute and he never shrank back from killing opponents.

His first victim was the moderate reformer Jeong Mong-ju ( 정몽주 ), who after Yi Bang-won's father fell off his horse and was injured and Jeong Mong-ju, as an opponent of his father, wanted to have him killed with his followers, by Yi Bang- won himself was killed. As a result, Yi Seong-gye seized power and established the Joseon Empire and the Joseon Dynasty.

When Yi Seong-gye, whose supporter was Yi Bang-won, increasingly withdrew from government affairs and the neo-Confucian scholars gained increasing influence and established an administrative law based entirely on Confucian ideals and principles, the most dedicated sons of Yi Seong- gyes dissatisfied, as they did not benefit from the situation that had developed and the question of succession divided them even more.

Yi Bang-won finally killed the reformer Jeong Do-jeon ( 정도전 ), who was largely responsible for the new policy and, among other things, was also considered a supporter of his brother and heir to the throne Yi Bang-seok. He had Yi Bang-seok executed and his next elder brother sent into exile. Thereupon Yi Seong-gye appointed his second son Yi Bang-gwa ( 이방 과 ) as his successor, who ascended the throne in 1398 after Yi Seong-gye's abdication. In 1400 Yi Bang-gwa renounced pressure and finally took the throne in favor of his brother Yi Bang-won, with which Yi Bang-won was enthroned as King Taejeong ( 태성 ) and had achieved his goal.

After Taejong acceded to the throne, the political system and the military were reformed. Taejong established six ministries, formed a central army, and replaced the Secret State Council with a council assembly. Buddhism was suppressed and the monasteries lost their base through economic reform. This administrative system was fundamentally different from the political systems of earlier kingdoms and continued beyond his reign.

On June 3, 1418, King Taejong withdrew his firstborn son Yangnyeong ( 양녕 ) after years of frustration with him. He named his third son Prince Chungnyeong ( 충녕 ) as his successor and finally abdicated on August 10, 1418 in Chungnyeong's favor by abdicating the throne.

King Taejong died on May 30, 1422 in Suganggung Palace ( 수강 궁 ) in Hanyang ( 한양 ) and was buried in the royal tomb of Heonilleung ( Grab ), which is now in the Seocho-gu ( 서초구 ) district of the city of Seoul .

literature

  • Hiyoul Kim : Korean History . Asgard, St. Augustin 2004, ISBN 3-537-82040-2 .
  • Park Hong-Kyu : King Taejong as a Statesman: From Power to Authority . In: Korea Journal . Winter , 2006, p. 193–222 (English, online [PDF; 208 kB ; accessed on January 20, 2019]).
  • Han Young Woo : Joseon Era . In: A Review of Korean History . Volume 2 . Kyongsaewon Publishing Company , Pajubookcity, Gyeonggi-do 2010, ISBN 978-89-8341-092-4 (English).

Individual evidence

  1. Han : Joseon Era . 2010, p.  30 .
  2. a b c Kim : Korean History . 2004, p.  94 f .
  3. Park : King Taejong as a Statesman: From Power to Authority . 2006, p.  216 f .
  4. Heolleung / Illeung (aka Heonilleung ) ( UNESCO World Heritage ) ( 서울 헌릉 과 인릉 (유네스코 세계 문화 유산)) . In: Visit Korea . Korea Tourism Organization , accessed January 20, 2019 .
Sign of King Taejong