Saseo Jeon Sik Spirit-path Stele, Sangju

Jeon Sik (全湜, 1563–1642) was of the Okcheon clan; his pen name was Saseo, his courtesy name Jeongwon, and his posthumous title Chunggan-gong. He is enshrined at Mokdamseowon Confucian Academy in Okcheon, North Chungcheong Province, and at Okdongseowon Confucian Academy in Sangju. Over his career he held a series of offices, including Fifth Counsellor and later Fourth Counsellor and Second Deputy Director of the Hongmungwan (Hall of Worthies), Rector of the National Academy, Inspector-General, Second Minister of the Board of Personnel, Second State Councillor (Left), and Left State Councillor, as well as Councillor of Jungchubu while concurrently serving in the Royal Lecture Office and the Office of State Records. Praised as one of the 'Three Elders of Sangsan', as Sangju was then known, he was a leading literary figure of the Yeongnam School of his day, ranked foremost for his writing, and widely known for his upright and incorruptible character. The spirit-path stele was erected in 1700, the 26th year of King Sukjong; it is notable for the realistic dragon pattern on its hornless-dragon-headed capstone and for the vigorous carving of its turtle-shaped base. In the surrounding village and among the clan it is said that if one turns one's back to the turtle base and throws a stone or a coin over one's shoulder onto the capstone, landing it on top will bring either an appointment to government office or the child one wishes for. Memorial rites for Jeon Sik, whose ancestral tablet is permanently exempted from removal in recognition of his merit, are held at the Bulcheonwi Shrine in Gwandong-ri, Oeseo-myeon.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Sangju, Gyeongbuk

Designation

Provincial Tangible Heritage · 시도유형문화유산