Yi Si-jin Filial Piety Pavilion, Chungju

Yi Si-jin (1578–1633) was a filial son of the mid-Joseon period. When his father died, his grief was so profound that he did not remove his mourning clothes even amid the turmoil of the Japanese invasions (Imjin War). When his mother's illness worsened, he cut his finger and gave her his blood to drink to revive her; when she died, he kept vigil at her grave for three years, growing so emaciated that he nearly died himself. Word of his filial conduct spread through the region. Local people reported it to the provincial governor, and it reached the king, who in 1608, the forty-first year of King Seonjo, ordered a commemorative gate (jeongnyeo) to be erected — the filial piety gate seen here. The plaque above the gate records that it is the gate of Yi Si-jin of Wansan, raised by royal command in the spring of that year. The pavilion faces south and measures one kan across the front and one kan in depth, enclosed on all four sides by hongsal, vermilion spindle-lattice gates. The platform is a low base built of natural stones, on which square cornerstones support round columns. No bracket sets were built; instead four sora, small block supports, are set only at the bays joined by the horizontal tie beam (changbang) to support the eave purlin. The frame is a three-purlin (samnyang) structure, with trapezoid-shaped king-post supports set above the beams on both sides to hold the ridge purlin, and it has a double-eaved gable roof finished with dancheong, traditional multicoloured paintwork. The cornerstones and columns are believed to be original, while the roof tiles have been repaired. On page 340 of the Dongguk Sinsok Samgang Haengsildo (Illustrated Conduct of the Three Bonds, Newly Continued), the story of the scholar Yi Si-jin is recorded, with an illustration, under the title 'Sijin Danji' (Si-jin Cuts His Finger). Yi Si-jin belonged to the Jeonju Yi clan; his posthumous title was Chungheon-gong, and his courtesy name was Gibu. Moved by his utmost filial conduct, the villagers jointly wrote a petition and submitted it to the provincial governor, who in turn reported it to the king; in the spring of 1608, the forty-first year of King Seonjo, a commemorative gate was accordingly granted and the filial piety gate was erected, standing to this day. His filial conduct is recorded on page 20 of volume 7 of the Samgang Haengsildo and on page 340 of the Dongguk Sinsok Samgang Haengsildo. The Dongguk Sinsok Samgang Haengsildo is a sequel, compiled in 1617 by Yu Geun, to the Samgang Haengsildo, surviving as a woodblock-printed edition in eighteen volumes and eighteen books. The book was written to honour seventy-two loyal subjects, filial sons, and virtuous women; it was compiled because moral order had broken down after the Imjin War, and the state issued it as a kind of national ethics text to restore moral standards among the people.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Chungju, Chungbuk

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료