Sareung Royal Tomb Stone Furnishings Chaeseok Master Artisan Site

Songgye Byeoreop was the retreat of Prince Inpyeong, Yi Yo (1622–1658), the third son of King Injo. Prince Inpyeong stayed here from time to time and took the pen name Songgye ("Pine Stream"); he was deeply attached to the place, even having his retainer Yi Sin carve the words "Guncheon Eunpok" ("Silver Falls from the Ninth Heaven") beside the waterfall. After the prince died in 1658 at only around thirty, Songgye Byeoreop passed to his sons, who probably used it only occasionally. His sons — Prince Bokchang, Yi Jeong; Prince Bokseon, Yi Nam; and Prince Bokpyeong, Yi Yeon — became, as royal relatives, too deeply involved in politics, and in particular formed close ties with the Namin, the "Southerner" political faction. Afterwards Songgye Byeoreop lost its owner and was left abandoned, and appears to have been destroyed when a stone-quarry office for royal tomb furnishings was set up on the site. The inscription relating to the Sareung stone-quarry office now confirmed is important precisely because it documents those circumstances. The inscription known as the Record of the Supervision of Stone Quarrying for Sareung reads: Third Inspector Yi Jun / Assistant Section Chief Jo Jeong-ui / Clerk Pak Heung-ju / Stonemason Jo Geum, on a day in the first month of the gimyo year / Supervisor of Stone Quarrying for Sareung / recorded on completion. The ostensible reason this place was chosen as a stone-quarry site was that its rock was hard and strong, making it suitable for royal tomb furnishings; but behind this lay an intention to thoroughly destroy the place where Prince Inpyeong's sons had allied with the Namin faction and engaged in scheming. Amid this destruction, the inscriptions "Guncheon Eunpok" and "Songgye Byeoreop" survived only because they were directly connected with Prince Inpyeong himself, so that no one could bring themselves to remove them. Songgye Byeoreop was thus destroyed, and in time its very name faded from memory, leaving only the waterfall "Guncheon Eunpok" as a notable scenic spot. In this way Songgye Byeoreop, though destroyed, gradually receded from memory; yet after the stone for the royal tombs of Hwireung and Sareung had been quarried, the inscription "Buseok Geumpyo" ("Stone-Quarrying Prohibition Marker") was carved on a large rock at the entrance to the village. It is not known exactly when the Buseok Geumpyo was carved, but it is thought to date from after 1626, when stone was first quarried here. The prohibition on private quarrying of stone was a measure taken by the Joseon royal house to ensure supplies would be available in the event of a state funeral. The fact that stone was in fact quarried from the site of Prince Inpyeong's Songgye Byeoreop is highly suggestive, implying that political considerations also played a part in the choice of the quarry site.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Gangbuk-gu, Seoul

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물