Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Ma Cheon-mok

The Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Ma Cheon-mok was issued in 1401, the first year of King Taejong of Joseon, by the Directorate for Meritorious Subjects to Ma Cheon-mok, who held the ranks of Jeolchung General and Senior General of the Ungmu Guards Command; it is a handwritten manuscript. Jwamyeong Gongsin, "Meritorious Subject for Aiding the Mandate", was a title of merit conferred on those who helped suppress the Second Strife of Princes in the early Joseon period; Ma Cheon-mok took a leading role in helping Prince Jeongan, who later became King Taejong (1367-1422), put down the uprising. Following the precedent set immediately after King Taejo's enthronement, when the Founding Meritorious Subjects of King Taejo were designated, King Taejong selected forty-seven meritorious subjects who had assisted him, conferred on them the title of Jwamyeong Gongsin, divided them into four ranks, and rewarded them; Ma Cheon-mok was granted a certificate as a third-rank meritorious subject. The Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Ma Cheon-mok is one of the certificates issued to the forty-seven Jwamyeong meritorious subjects, and is, to date, the only surviving copy. Compared with the Founding Meritorious Subject certificates and the Founding Deputy Meritorious Subject certificates granted in the early Joseon period, this document retains the same format, except that the issuing office changed from the Privy Council to the State Council; it is therefore valuable material for tracing changes in the format and style of official merit certificates. In addition, the granting of merit titles, the details of rewards by rank, and the privileges accorded are important research material on meritorious subjects, while the list of members of the Directorate for Meritorious Subjects is valuable for understanding its organisation and operation. Given that most of the merit certificates so far designated from the early Joseon period are certificates for deputy meritorious subjects, and that the Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Yi Hwa, a National Treasure, is the only certificate for a principal meritorious subject, the Certificate of Meritorious Subject Issued to Ma Cheon-mok is of great historical and scholarly value.

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Where it is

Region

Jongno-gu, Seoul

Designation

Treasure · 보물