Jeong Se-pil Tombstone, Hapcheon

Imheon Jeong Se-pil (1494–1566) was a fifth-generation descendant of Poeun (Jeong Mong-ju) and the great-grandson of Lord Seolgok, Jeong Bo, a loyal subject of Jangneung. He passed the military examination (mugwa) in 1534, served as magistrate of several prefectures and counties, and went on to serve as army commander of Left Gyeongsang Province. While in office he was renowned as an incorrupt official (cheongbaekri), and he formed a bond of moral friendship with Toegye Yi Hwang and Deokgye O Geon. He also published the first printed edition of the Yeongil Jeong clan genealogy, the Gajeong-gyechukbo (1553), which is the second-oldest clan genealogy in Korea, after the Andong Gwon clan's Seonghwabo. He once owned a famous horse, which Yun Won-hyeong, a powerful figure of the day, coveted; Yun sent someone to tempt him with a high post in exchange for it. Jeong, with a stern expression, said, "A great man's conduct should be as clear as the blue sky and bright sun - how could I trade my horse for an office?" That very day he beheaded the horse, withdrew to the south, and lived in seclusion amid the mountains and valleys, taking for himself the pen name Imheon. The sword used to behead the horse is still kept at Oksan Yeongdang shrine and treasured as a precious relic of the clan, and a volume of the Imheon Silgi has also been handed down. He died in 1566, the 21st year of King Myeongjong, at the age of seventy-three, and the grieving king sent the ritual official Yi Gi-nam to perform a memorial rite for him. The royal memorial text stated: "Solemnly I reflect: Master Poeun resisted the fall of Goryeo with loyalty and integrity. I rejoice that his distant descendant rose to office. Though his rank lay among the military ranks, his nature was never boastful... Hearing of your death, my sorrow is great. Now that Lord Munchung too has passed, who is left among the ranks of ministers?" The tombstone stands 175cm tall overall. Its body is of bluish-grey stone, 112cm high, 46cm wide and 13cm thick. The base is a plainly worked natural stone, 20cm thick, and the capstone is of Hwangdeung granite, 58cm high and 77cm wide. The front and back faces bear differing lotus-petal cloud patterns; both sides show the shape of unopened lotus leaves, and the crown is shaped like a lotus bud. On the front a single stem with four half-opened leaves stands upright, flanked by an upward-facing lotus-petal pattern with lotus peaks rising above waves. On the back a single lotus flower sits at the centre, with two lotus seed pods carved in relief above cloud patterns on either side, making this a capstone centred on the lotus-flower motif rather than the usual hornless-dragon head or coiled-dragon motifs.

AI Translation

Where it is

Region

Hapcheon, Gyeongnam

Designation

Cultural Heritage Material · 문화유산자료