Yeopyo Stele of Singyeseong Fortress, Miryang

(1) The subject of the inscription. Sin Gye-seong (1499–1562), courtesy name Jaham, pen name Songgye, was of the Pyeongsan Sin clan. He was a disciple of Park Yeong (pen name Songdang) and a close friend of Jo Sik (pen name Nammyeong); together with Nammyeong he represented the practical scholarly spirit of the western half of Gyeongsang Province. Having been born and raised in the same town as Jeompiljae Kim Jong-jik, he naturally became a man of earnest, upright conduct in the scholarly tradition of the Sarim faction, and for this he was enshrined at Yerim Seowon in Miryang and worshipped at Sinsan Seowon in Gimhae. (2) The nature of the inscription. A yeopyo stele is a stele erected in the village where a person lived, in order to commemorate and honour him; it is similar to a yuheobi, a stele marking a site associated with a historical figure, but is a distinctive type of stele with few other known examples. (3) The author and calligrapher of the inscription. The text was composed by Kim Geuk-il (pen name Yakbong), who was Magistrate of Miryang when he wrote it in 1576, and who was the eldest brother of Kim Seong-il (pen name Hakbong), a fellow student under Yi Hwang (pen name Toegye). (4) Dimensions of the stele and its pavilion. The stele body is of sandstone, measuring 80 cm wide and 187 cm tall, and is fitted with a capstone and a base stone. The pavilion is a single-storey timber structure with a gable roof, one bay wide on both its front and side elevations. (5) The circumstances of the stele's construction. The yeopyo stele of Songgye Sin Gye-seong was first erected in 1576, fourteen years after his death, on the initiative of Son Yeong-je, Jang Su-jeong, Yi Gyeong-ok and others, using a text composed by Kim Geuk-il, then Magistrate of Miryang; the calligraphy was done by a local man, Park Do-saeng. The stele was destroyed during the Japanese invasions of 1592, and was re-erected on the initiative of Park Su-chun, using a commemorative text by Jeong In-hong (pen name Naeam); although the Naeamjip, Jeong In-hong's collected writings, records that he erected this stele, his descendants say that no such stele was ever erected by him. In 1634, Yi Yu-dal, Magistrate of Miryang, rebuilt it using a commemorative text by Jang Hyeon-gwang (pen name Yeoheon); the calligraphy on this occasion was done by O Yeo-beol, Magistrate of Changwon, and the headpiece inscription was written by Kim Se-ryeom, an official of the Office of the Censor-General. In 1756 the pavilion was destroyed by fire and the stele itself was badly damaged. In 1765 Sin Sa-il, an eighth-generation descendant, obtained the cooperation of the local literati and the magistrate Kim In-dae to prepare a new stone and rebuild both the pavilion and the stele. The commemorative text was composed by Yun Geup, Minister of Rites, who also wrote out in his own hand both Yakbong's yeopyo inscription and Yeoheon's reconstruction text, while the headpiece inscription was written by Yu Cheok-gi (pen name Jisujae).

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Miryang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료