Hwang Bang-chon Portrait

This is a portrait of Hwang Hee, pen name Bangchon (1363-1452), enshrined at Hwasanseowon Confucian Academy. Hwang Hee was a chief state councillor of the early Joseon period who held a wide range of posts at court and in the provinces, and worked to establish the institutions and systems of the newly founded Joseon dynasty. This portrait is a copy made in 1844, the tenth year of King Heonjong, of one long kept at Okdongseowon Confucian Academy in Sangju, North Gyeongsang Province; rather than reflecting Hwang Hee's mild temperament, it shows him with a solemn and dignified bearing. Measuring 54 cm wide and 80 cm high, it is painted in colour on silk, and gives an even more elegant impression than the original, for which it was designated the national standard portrait. The portrait at Okdongseowon Confucian Academy in Sangju was painted when Hwang Hee was sixty-two; about five copies were made from it, but all were lost amid the turmoil of war, and copies now survive at Nodeokseowon Confucian Academy and the portrait shrine at Paju. Among these, the portrait at Hwasanseowon Confucian Academy is regarded as the finest. Hong Yeo-ha, upon viewing this portrait, wrote the following of Hwang Hee's character: 'At home he was so mild that the young servants would crowd around him, tugging at his beard, begging to be held, or demanding food, just as they would with their own parents, and he let them be; yet once he put on his official robes, tucked the ceremonial tablet into his belt, and appeared at court, the whole assembly fell silent with awe. It is as if a dragon, while hidden in a pond, is despised by mere turtles and lizards, but once it transforms, raises wind and rain and thunder, and shakes heaven and earth.'

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Jinan, Jeonbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산