Jojongam Hermitage

Jojongam is a rock inscribed in the tenth year of King Sukjong (1684) by Yi Je-du, magistrate of Gapyeong, together with Heo Gyeok and Baek Hae-myeong, bearing carved writing expressing the resolve never to forget the favour shown by Ming China during the Japanese invasions of the 1590s, nor the humiliation later suffered at the hands of Qing China. At the very top of the rock is carved the phrase "Sa mu sa" ("think no evil"), in the handwriting of Uijong, the last emperor of Ming, which Heo Gyeok had brought back with him. Below it are carved, in the calligraphy of Song Si-yeol, King Seonjo's own phrase "Manjeol pildong jaejo beonbang" ("though it bends ten thousand times, it always flows east; [Ming] restored this vassal state") and eight characters from a piece of writing bestowed by King Hyojong on Song Si-yeol, "Ilmo dowon jitong jaesim" ("the day grows late and the road is long; deep pain remains in the heart"). On the rock beside it, Yi U, Prince Nangseon, carved the three characters "Jojongam." In the fourth year of King Sunjo (1804), the Jojongam Girisilbi, a stele recording this history, was erected on top of the large rock. The stele has no separately dressed base stone but is set directly into a rectangular groove cut into the bare rock; its inscription was composed by Jo Jin-heon and written out by Kim Dal-sun. The site reflects the reverence for Ming and rejection of Qing, the idea of Joseon as the "Little China," and the sense of moral obligation toward Ming that were widespread among intellectuals of the late Joseon period.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gapyeong, Gyeonggi

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물