Calligraphy by King Yeongjo

This is the draft of a memorial text (jemun) that King Yeongjo (1694–1776) presented at Sukbinmyo Shrine on 6 November 1726, the birthday of his birth mother, Royal Consort Suk-bin Choi (1670–1718). On the cover, wrapped in vermilion silk woven with a floral pattern, are written the titles Eopil chinje jemun cho (a draft memorial text personally written and offered by the king) and Yeongjo eoje eopil, Sukbin Choi gwe-yeon geup Jeongbin Yissi sau chi jemun, chobon (a draft of memorial texts composed and written by King Yeongjo and offered at the spirit table of Royal Consort Sukbin Choi and the shrine of Royal Consort Jeongbin Yi). Following the memorial text is also written a short congratulatory text addressed to Royal Consort Jeong-bin Yi (1694–1721), a concubine of King Yeongjo and the birth mother of the posthumously honoured King Jinjong (Crown Prince Hyojang, 1719–1728). Royal Consort Suk-bin Choi was the daughter of Choi Hyo-won. She entered the palace at the age of seven and became a concubine of King Sukjong, and on 13 September 1694 she gave birth to King Yeongjo at Changdeokgung Palace. When she died at the age of 49 on 19 March 1718 (the 44th year of King Sukjong's reign), she was buried on 12 May of that year in Yangju, at what is now Yeongjang-ri, Gwangtan-myeon, Paju. In 1725, the first year of his reign, King Yeongjo built Yuksangmyo Shrine for his birth mother — on the present site of Chilgung, 1-1 Gungjeong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul — and enshrined her spirit tablet there. What were originally called Soryeongmyo (tomb) and Yuksangmyo (shrine) were elevated in 1753 to Soryeongwon and Yuksanggung respectively. Royal calligraphy from the Joseon dynasty is generally rare, but King Yeongjo is among the kings who left behind the largest body of such work, ranging widely in content and size, from poetry and prose to wooden plaques carved from his calligraphy. Among his many draft manuscripts of poetry and prose, this document is a rare example written directly on a blank ceremonial album (gongcheop) for royal rites, rather than on a single loose sheet. It is a work from when he was 33 years old, based on the calligraphic style of Yan Zhenqing, in which King Yeongjo's own distinctive style — one that openly reveals his temperament — was just beginning to emerge. Its content, too, poignantly expresses his longing for his birth mother.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Seongnam, Gyeonggi

Designation

Treasure · 보물