Miribeolminsokbangmulgwan Changnyeong Seong Ssi Historical Documents, Miryang

The historical documents held by the Miribeol Folk Museum (director: Seong Jae-jeong) in Beompyeong-ri, Chodong-myeon, comprise 57 items in total: two petitions (sangseo) recommending filial piety from the reign of Emperor Gojong, nine documents relating to grave-site lawsuits (sansong), and 46 household registers (hogudanja, official household census documents). 1. Petitions recommending filial piety (2 items). These petitions were submitted by gentry families (sajok) living in Jinju, asking that a memorial gate (jeongnyeo, a commemorative arch honouring exemplary conduct) be granted in recognition of the utmost filial devotion shown toward his mother by Heo Seong, a member of the local gentry. Of the two petitions, one was addressed to the county magistrate and the other to a secret royal inspector (amhaeng eosa). 2. Documents relating to grave-site lawsuits (9 items). These documents were drawn up during a lawsuit brought by members of the Changnyeong Seong clan, who had once lived in Goseong and had long since settled in Jinju, over the secret burial (tujang) of outsiders' graves near their ancestral graveyard in Hwaam-dong, Daedun-myeon, Goseong. The lawsuit is known to have run from 1887 to 1890, and nine documents survive: six petitions to the magistrate (soji), one petition (sangseo) to a higher authority, one written pledge (supyo), and one grave-site diagram (sandohyeong). The dispute arose when Jeong Byeong-gu of Bakdal-dong, Daedun-myeon, secretly made a grave near the grave of the mother of the brothers Seong Yun and Seong Yul in Hwaam-dong. A written pledge was obtained from Jeong setting a deadline for moving the grave, but the Jeong side failed to honour it; while this dispute continued, a man named Hwang Jae-geun of Gagok-ri, Gwangil-myeon, committed a further secret burial. Seong Yun and others then submitted petitions to the government office, an investigation of the grave site was carried out, and the authorities ordered both the Jeong and Hwang sides to move their graves elsewhere. Friction over compliance continued, and the lawsuit went on, eventually being appealed as far as the provincial governor (gwanchalsa). The records show that although the Seong side won the case, Hwang had still not moved the grave by 1890, and the matter remained unresolved. 3. Household registers (46 items). Of the 46 registers, the oldest dates from the second year of King Yeongjo (1726), and the most recent from the thirty-first year of Emperor Gojong (1894). By period, twelve date from the eighteenth century and the rest from the nineteenth. By head of household: Seong Eon (1648–?), one item; a woman of the Jeonju Choe clan, wife of Seong Dae-jung, one item; Seong Dong-jip, renamed from Seong Dong-gu (1725–1794), nine items; Seong Sa-mu (1749–1808) and Seong Chi-won (1780–1865), seven items; Seong Yeong-gyu, renamed from Seong Du-gyu (1813–1871), ten items; Seong Bok-gyu (1811–1871), two items; Seong Ui-gyu (1816–1860), three items; Seong Dam (1833–1902), six items; and Seong Yun (1839–1903), six items. Most of those named were disciples of Nammyeong Jo Sik and descendants of Seong Yong, second son of Busa Seong Yeo-sin, a figure who had a significant influence on Jinju and the surrounding area in the mid-Joseon period. Each of the 57 documents is individually catalogued by date and size, ranging from the smallest, a 23.8 by 38.0 centimetre written pledge, to the largest, a 116.3 by 75.0 centimetre petition.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Miryang, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료