Song In-su Grave and Spirit-path Stele, Cheongju

This is the grave of Song In-su (pen name Gyuam, 1499-1547), a noted official of the mid-Joseon period and great-granduncle of Song Si-yeol, together with the spirit-path stele erected at the entrance to the grave in his honour. Song In-su's clan seat was Eunjin; his courtesy name was Misu, his pen name Gyuam, and his posthumous title Munchung. In 1521, the sixteenth year of King Jungjong, he passed a special state examination and went on to serve as jeongja and suchan of the Hongmungwan, the Office of Special Advisers. While serving as a censorial official, he tried to block Kim An-ro's return to power, for which he was demoted to magistrate of Jeju-mok, and was later banished further, to Sasu. When Kim An-ro and his faction were purged in 1537, Song In-su successively held the posts of chamui of the Board of Rites, royal secretary, and vice minister of the Board of Punishments, before becoming daesaseong, or rector, of the Seonggyungwan, where he lectured on Neo-Confucianism. At the time of the Eulsa Purge he was stripped of his offices and retired to the countryside to devote himself to teaching younger scholars, but during the Jeongmi Purge he was made to take poison and died. Song In-su's spirit-path stele was erected in 1578, the eleventh year of King Seonjo, thirty-one years after his death. The stele's body and capstone are carved from a single block of stone set atop a marble base. The stele body measures 137 by 277 centimetres. The base is carved with six spider figures in all - two on the front, two on the back, and one on each side - while the capstone is carved with two dragons grasping a yeouiju, a wish-fulfilling jewel. The inscription was composed by Song In-su's younger cousin Song Gi-su, jaheondaebu and jijungchubusa, written in calligraphy by Song In, bongheondaebu and lord of Yeoseong, with the headline seal-script lettering run around the top of the stele body done by Kim Je-sin, jijegyo of the Office of the Censor-General. On the back of the stele is carved a supplementary inscription composed in 1669, the tenth year of King Hyeonjong, by Song In-su's great-grand-nephew Song Si-yeol. Song In-su's grave retains its original form well and fully embodies the burial customs of the Joseon period. His spirit-path stele likewise displays throughout the characteristic features of mid-Joseon spirit-path steles, and because its original form has been preserved since it was erected, it is of great heritage value.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Cheongju, Chungbuk

Designation

Provincial Monument · 시도기념물