Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty

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Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty
Veritable Records of Jeongjo
Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJoseon Wangjo Sillok
McCune–ReischauerChosŏn Wangjo Sillok
North Korean name
Hangul
Hanja
Revised RomanizationJoseon Bonggeon Wangjo Sillok
McCune–ReischauerChosŏn Bonggŏn Wangjo Sillok

The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty[a] are the Veritable Records of Joseon, the last royal house to rule Korea. Kept from 1392 to 1865, the annals (or sillok) comprise 1,893 volumes and are thought to be the longest continual documentation of a single dynasty in the world. With the exception of two records compiled during the 1910–1945 Japanese colonial era, the records are the 151st national treasure of South Korea and listed in UNESCO's Memory of the World registry.

Since 2006,[3] the annals have been digitized and made available online by the National Institute of Korean History. Both modern Korean translations in the Hangul script and the original Classical Chinese text are available.[4] In January 2012, the National Institute of Korean History announced a plan to translate them to English by the year 2033. The work was scheduled to start in 2014 with an initial budget of ₩500 million, but it was estimated that an allocation of ₩40 billion is needed to complete the project.[5]

Compilation process[edit]

The Joseon monarchy employed professional historians that maintained extensive daily records on a wide variety of topics relating to the monarchy and state. These daily records were called sacho (사초; 史草; lit. draft histories). The sacho and other materials were used by the Sillokcheong ("Office for Annals Compilation") to compile official histories only after the death of each king and coronation of his successor.[2][6][7]

Great care was taken to ensure the neutrality of the records; historians were guaranteed legal protection and editorial independence, even from the king. Only the historians were allowed to read the sacho; if any historian disclosed or altered its contents, they were subject to severe punishment.[7][6]

A famous example used to illustrate the reliability and extensiveness of the records is that of King Taejong and his horse:[8]

While shooting at a deer with a bow and arrow, [the king's] horse tipped over and he fell off of it, and was not injured. The king looked to his left and right, and said "Do not let the historians know that this happened".[9][b]

— The Veritable Records of Taejong, Vol. 7, article 4

Both the king's apparently embarrasing fall and his request were recorded by the historians.[8]

The records are all written in Classical Chinese.[2][7] The records of the first three kings of the Joseon dynasty, those of Taejo (r. 1392–1398), Jeongjong (r. 1399–1400), and Taejong (r. 1401–1418), were written by hand. Later annals, from the Annals of Sejong (r. 1418–1450) onwards, were printed with movable metal and wooden type, making Korea the first nation in East Asia to print their royal records in this manner.[7]

History[edit]

Beginning in 1445, they began creating three additional copies of the records, which they distributed at various locations around Korea for safekeeping: the Chunchugwan office in Seoul, Chungju County, Jeonju County, and Seongju County. These locations were considered remote and safe from fire.[10][11][7] Despite this precaution, during the 1592–1598 Japanese invasions of Korea, all repositories except for the one in Jeonju were destroyed. The Jeonju records too narrowly avoided destruction, and were only saved by the private initiative of several scholars. After the war, the govenrment began maintaining five repositories at Chunchugwan, Mount Myohyang, Taebaeksan, Odaesan, and Manisan.[10]

The 1624 Yi Gwal's Rebellion resulted in the destruction of the Chunchugwan repository. It was not replaced; they ultimately returned to printing four copies of the records and storing them at the other repositories. The Mount Myohyang copy was moved to Jeoksangsan in 1633. Part of the Manisan collection was lost during the 1636 Qing invasion of Joseon, and the surviving volumes moved to Jeongjok-san on Ganghwa Island in 1678. Thereafter, the records remained in tact until the end of the Joseon dynasty's rule in the 20th century.[10]

During 1910–1945 Japanese colonial period, the Jeongjoksan and Taebaeksan repositories went under the control of the Japanese colonial government, and transferred to the holdings of Keijō Imperial University in Seoul. The Odae-san copies were taken to Tokyo Imperial University in Japan. There, they were mostly destroyed during the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake. The remaining 46 copies were not returned to Korea until 2006.[10]

The annals of the last two Joseon rulers, Veritable Records of Gojong [ko] and Veritable Records of Sunjong [ko], are controversial and considered by modern South Korean historians to lack the imparitality of the other sources. This is because Japanese officials interfered in their creation and curation. They are considered relatively separate from the other records for this reason, and are not included in the National Treasures of South Korea or UNESCO's Memory of the World register.[12][2][13][14]

Around the liberation of Korea, the Jeoksangsan copies were partially looted during the instability; there are reportedly uncertain rumors that some of these copies were actually taken during the 1950–1953 Korean War to North Korea.[10] The Jeongjoksan and Taebaeksan records were still held in the collection Kyujanggak, at Seoul National University (the successor to Keijō Imperial University). In the 1980s, the Taebaeksan copies were moved to the National Archives of Korea, Busan Center.[10]

List[edit]

English Hangul Hanja # volumes
(gwon) 		# books
(chaek) 		Monarch Start of compilation Notes
1 Veritable Records of Taejo [ko] 태조실록 太祖實錄 15 3 Taejo
(r. 1392–1398) 		1413
2 Veritable Records of Jeongjong [ko] 정종실록 定宗實錄 6 1 Jeongjong
(r. 1398–1400) 		1426
3 Veritable Records of Taejong [ko] 태종실록 太宗實錄 36 16 Taejong
(r. 1400–1418) 		1431
4 Veritable Records of Sejong [ko] 세종실록 世宗實錄 163 67 Sejong
(r. 1418–1450) 		1454
5 Veritable Records of Munjong [ko] 문종실록 文宗實錄 13 6 Munjong
(r. 1450–1452) 		1455
6 Veritable Records of Danjong [ko] 단종실록 端宗實錄 14 6 Danjong
(r. 1452–1455) 		1469 Changed name from Diary of Nosangun
(노산군일기, 魯山君日記) in 1698.
7 Veritable Records of Sejo [ko] 세조실록 世祖實錄 49 18 Sejo
(r. 1455–1468) 		1471
8 Veritable Records of Yejong [ko] 예종실록 睿宗實錄 8 3 Yejong
(r. 1468–1469) 		1472
9 Veritable Records of Seongjong [ko] 성종실록 成宗實錄 297 47 Seongjong
(r. 1469–1494) 		1499
10 Diary of Yeonsangun [ko] 연산군일기 燕山君日記 63 17 Yeonsangun
(r. 1494–1506) 		1509
11 Veritable Records of Jungjong [ko] 중종실록 中宗實錄 105 53 Jungjong
(r. 1506–1544) 		1550
12 Veritable Records of Injong [ko] 인종실록 仁宗實錄 2 2 Injong
(r. 1544–1545) 		1550
13 Veritable Records of Myeongjong [ko] 명종실록 明宗實錄 34 21 Myeongjong
(r. 1545–1567) 		1571
14 Veritable Records of Seonjo [ko] 선조실록 宣祖實錄 221 116 Seonjo
(r. 1567–1608) 		1616
Revised Veritable Records of Seonjo 선조수정실록 宣祖修訂實錄 42 8 1657
15 Diary of Gwanghaegun [ko] 광해군일기 光海君日記 187 64 Gwanghaegun
(r. 1608–1623) 		1633
187 40 1653
16 Veritable Records of Injo [ko] 인조실록 仁祖實錄 50 50 Injo
(r. 1623–1649) 		1653
17 Veritable Records of Hyojong [ko] 효종실록 孝宗實錄 21 22 Hyojong
(r. 1649–1659) 		1661
18 Veritable Records of Hyeonjong [ko] 현종실록 顯宗實錄 22 23 Hyeonjong
(r. 1659–1674) 		1677
Revised Veritable Records of Hyeonjong [ko] 현종개수실록 顯宗改修實錄 28 29 1683
19 Veritable Records of Sukjong [ko] 숙종실록 肅宗實錄 65 73 Sukjong
(r. 1674–1720) 		1728
20 Veritable Records of Gyeongjong [ko] 경종실록 景宗實錄 15 7 Gyeongjong
(r. 1720–1724) 		1732
Revised Veritable Records of Gyeongjong 경종수정실록 景宗修訂實錄 5 3 1781
21 Veritable Records of Yeongjo [ko] 영조실록 英祖實錄 127 83 Yeongjo
(r. 1724–1776) 		1781 Renamed from Veritable Records of Yeongjong
(영종실록, 英宗實錄) in 1899.
22 Veritable Records of Jeongjo [ko] 정조실록 正祖實錄 54 56 Jeongjo
(r. 1776–1800) 		1805 Renamed from Veritable Records of Jeongjong
(정종실록, 正宗實錄) in 1899.
23 Veritable Records of Sunjo [ko] 순조실록 純祖實錄 34 36 Sunjo
(r. 1800–1834) 		1838 Renamed from Veritable Records of Sunjong
(순종실록, 純宗實錄) in 1899.
24 Veritable Records of Heonjong [ko] 헌종실록 憲宗實錄 16 9 Heonjong
(r. 1834–1849) 		1851
25 Veritable Records of Cheoljong [ko] 철종실록 哲宗實錄 15 9 Cheoljong
(r. 1849–1864) 		1865
26 Veritable Records of Gojong [ko] 고종실록 高宗實錄 52 52 Gojong
(r. 1864–1907) 		1934 Often excluded from the collection
by Korean academics.
27 Veritable Records of Sunjong [ko] 순종실록 純宗實錄 22 8 Sunjong
(r. 1907–1910) 		1934

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ South Korean name: 조선왕조실록; 朝鮮王朝實錄. North Korean name: 조선봉건왕조실록. Sometimes called Sillok (실록) for short. Also translated as Annals of the Joseon Dynasty or the True Record of the Joseon Dynasty. Alternate name Veritable Records of the Yi Dynasty (이조실록; 李朝實錄).[2]
  2. ^ 친히 활과 화살을 가지고 말을 달려 노루를 쏘다가 말이 거꾸러짐으로 인하여 말에서 떨어졌으나 상하지는 않았다. 좌우를 돌아보며 말하기를, "사관(史官)이 알게 하지 말라." 하였다.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "력사에 류례없는 구출작전". Uriminzokkiri (in Korean). Archived from the original on 1 July 2019. Retrieved 1 July 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  2. ^ a b c d "Origins of and system for Sillok compilation". sillok.history.go.kr. National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  3. ^ "E-Annals Bring Chosun History to Everyman". The Chosun Ilbo. 27 January 2006. Retrieved 16 October 2012.
  4. ^ "조선왕조실록". sillok.history.go.kr (in Korean). Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  5. ^ Lee, Sun-min; Ha, Hyun-ock (16 January 2012). "Annals of the Joseon Dynasty to be translated". Korea Joongang Daily. Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 29 March 2013.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  6. ^ a b "Joseon wangjo sillok (Annals of the Joseon Dynasty)". Cultural Heritage Administration - English Site. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Summary of the Annals of the Choson Dynasty". National Institute of Korean History. Archived from the original on 2006-02-20. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  8. ^ a b Seong Kuk Park, Eun Ju Lee and Jin Wan Park (2016). "Visual History with Choson Dynasty Annals" (PDF). Leonardo. 49 (4): 335. doi:10.1162/LEON_a_01286. S2CID 57571102.
  9. ^ "조선왕조실록". Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  10. ^ a b c d e f 신, 해순, "조선왕조실록 (朝鮮王朝實錄)", Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (in Korean), Academy of Korean Studies, retrieved 2024-06-03
  11. ^ "The Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty < The Story of Culture and Arts". contents.history.go.kr. National Institute of Korean History. Retrieved 2024-06-03.
  12. ^ "About the Annals of Last Two Emperors of the Choson Dynasty". National Institute of Korean History. Archived from the original on 2015-05-28. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
  13. ^ Yu Seok-jae (유석재) (2007-01-14). "고종·순종실록의 '찜찜한' 인터넷 공개". The Chosun Ilbo. Archived from the original on 2011-09-30. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
  14. ^ Jae-un Kang; Suzanne Lee; Sook Pyo Lee (2006). The Land of Scholars: Two Thousand Years of Korean Confucianism. Homa & Sekey Books. pp. 218–219. ISBN 1-931907-30-7.

External links[edit]

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