Chae Je-gong Tomb

Chae Je-gong (1720–1799), pen name Beonam, belonged to the Pyeonggang Chae clan and was a distinguished chief minister during the reign of King Jeongjo. At the king's special command, he drew up regulations to correct the abuses of privately owned slaves (sa-nobi); these regulations reduced the number of private slaves and paved the way for the abolition of private slavery in 1801. From 1790 he served for three years as sole Left State Councillor, directing state affairs single-handedly, and oversaw the construction of Suwon Fortress before retiring from office in 1798. Chae Je-gong is buried alone in this tomb; the graves of his two wives are located in Anseong. A tomb stele stands beside the burial mound, and in front of it are set a spirit-offering stone, a stone table, an incense-burner stone, a pair of spirit-guide pillars and stone sheep. From the mid-18th century onward, fewer tombs were built with civil-official stone statues, and stone sheep came to replace them. The spirit-offering stone, stone table and incense-burner stone are all very finely dressed, giving a sense of the outstanding stone-working skill of the Joseon period. The tomb stele takes the form known as gaeseokbangbu — a roof stone set on a square base. Although the date of its erection is not recorded, its style suggests it was made around 1830, when Chae Je-gong's official rank was posthumously restored.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Yongin, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물