Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Sim Ji-baek

A document issued in the tenth month of 1397 by the Office of Merit Subjects, on the king's order, to Sim Ji-baek, confirming him as a subject of merit. It is 140 cm long and 30.5 cm high, and was handed down in a Sim family in Padogmyeon, Dancheon, South Hamgyeong. The system of original merit subjects of the founding was a new kind of reward created in early Joseon to widen the circle of those honoured for the founding of the dynasty; between 1392 and 1397 it was conferred on some 1,400 people in several rounds. Seventy-four received it with Sim Ji-baek. Each was given fifteen gyeol of land; each merit subject's parents and wife were given land and rank, and their descendants office. None of this appears in the Annals — it is known only from this document. It is an early Joseon document making heavy use of idu, the system of writing Korean with Chinese characters, which makes its style and content valuable historical evidence, and it was printed from wooden movable type, which adds to its importance. Among early Joseon wooden-type prints surviving in South Korea it is the most complete, and its scroll form is itself characteristic of the period. The characters are uneven in size and irregularly set, so it is not fine printing, but as a surviving wooden-type print it is a very valuable source for the history of Korean type.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seo-gu, Busan

Designation

National Treasure · 국보