Artifacts Used by Maeng Sa-seong (Presumed)

These are five relics handed down from Gobul Maeng Sa-seong (1360–1438): a jade flute (okjeok), a white-jade seal (baekokbangin), an inkstone carved with a grape design and sun-and-moon motif (chaeseok podomun ilwolyeon), a crystal hairpin shaped like a bamboo joint (sujeong jukjeol bipyeo), and a wooden lacquered gourd-shaped cup (mokchil dohyeongbae). Maeng Sa-seong was a civil official active from the end of Goryeo into the early Joseon period. He passed the state examination in 1386 and entered official life; after the founding of Joseon, he began his career under King Taejo as a Yejo Jwarang (junior official of the Ministry of Rites), and in 1427 became Right State Councillor. While serving as Right State Councillor, he was placed in charge of supervising the compilation of the Veritable Records of King Taejong (Taejong Sillok). When King Sejong wished to read the Veritable Records, Maeng Sa-seong opposed it, saying, "If the king reads the Veritable Records and makes corrections, the official historians will be too afraid to do their work." Whenever he went in and out of his house, he always rode an ox, so that people did not realise he was a state councillor. Of the five relics, the okjeok is a type of flute made of white jade. The baekokbangin is a jade seal with the owner's name boldly carved into its handle. The chaeseok podomun ilwolyeon is a type of purple inkstone commonly found in Korea. The sujeong jukjeol bipyeo is a hairpin whose head is fashioned from crystal shaped like the base of a bamboo stalk, with a copper sheet rolled around its shaft. The mokchil dohyeongbae is a gourd-shaped cup made from the base of a rugosa rose shrub, used as a portable drinking vessel. Among these relics, the verses and inscriptions carved on the jade flute and the seal offer insight into Maeng Sa-seong's deep accomplishment in music and poetry.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Asan, Chungnam

Designation

National Folklore Heritage · 국가민속문화유산