Queen Hyosun

Queen Hyosun (효순왕후 조씨; 8 January 1716 – 30 December 1751), of the Pungyang Jo clan, was the crown princess of Joseon. She married Crown Prince Hyojang, who died one year after the marriage. She was never known by the title queen during her lifetime. Both Hyosun and her husband were posthumously made the adoptive parents of the future King Jeongjo in 1764, in an attempt to distance the boy from the crimes of his birth father, Crown Prince Sado. She was posthumously called as Hyosun, the Bright Empress (효순소황후, 孝純昭皇后).

Biography

Hyosun was the daughter of Jo Mun-myeong, a government official aligned with the Soron faction, and his second wife, who was from the Jeonju Yi clan, the royal house of Joseon. She married Crown Prince Hyojang in 1727 when she was 9, on which occasion her father-in-law, King Yeongjo, gifted her a book of instructions that he had written.

Hyosun's husband died of an unknown illness in 1728 when she was 12 years old. She eventually was given the title Hyeonbin or Crown Princess Consort Hyeon (Hangul: 현빈 조씨 , Hanja: 賢嬪 趙氏) in 1735. She remained in the palace and reportedly developed a good relationship with the wife of the new crown prince, Lady Hyegyeong. It is also said that King Yeongjo had favored and seen Hyosun as another daughter like Princess Hwapyeong.

Hyosun died in the winter of 1751. King Yeongjo was reportedly deeply saddened by her death and led the mourning rites.

Posthumous treatment

Hyosun was initially granted the posthumous title of Consort Hyosun Hyeon () and venerated in the same temple as her deceased husband. Her brother-in-law, Crown Prince Sado, was killed in 1762, and Yeongjo issued a decree that made Hyosun and Hyojang the adoptive parents of Sado's eldest son, in a move seen as an attempt to preserve the boy's legitimacy as an heir. On King Jeongjo's succession, Hyosun thus received the posthumous title of Queen Hyosun ().

Queen Hyosun was granted the title of Hyosun, the Bright Empress () in 1908 when Emperor Sunjong succeeded to the throne.

Family

* Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
** Jo Gi (조기, 趙磯)
* Great-Great-Great-Grandfather
** Jo Hui-bo (조희보, 趙希輔)
* Great-Great-Grandfather
** Jo Hyeong (조형, 趙珩) (1606 - 1679)
*** Adoptive great-great-grandfather: Jo Min (조민, 趙珉); older brother to Jo Hyeong
* Great-Great-Grandmother
** Lady Mok of the Sacheon Mok clan (사천 목씨, 泗川 睦氏)
* Great-Grandfather
** Jo Sang-jeong (조상정, 趙相鼎)
* Great-Grandmother
** Lady Hong of the Namyang Hong clan (남양 홍씨)
*Grandfather
** Jo In-su (조인수, 趙仁壽) (1648–1692); was a prime minister
*Grandmother
** Lady Kim of the Gwangsan Kim clan (증 정경부인 광산 김씨, 贈 貞敬夫人 光山 金氏) (1649–1722)
*Father
**Jo Mun-myeong (1680–1732) (조문명, 趙景命)
*** Uncle: Jo Gyeong-myeong (조경명, 趙景命) (1674 - 1726)
**** Aunt: Lady Kim of the Andong Kim clan (안동 김씨, 安東 金氏)
*** Uncle: Jo Yeong-myeong (조영명, 趙令命) (1674 - 1722)
**** Aunt: Lady Sim of the Cheongseong Sim clan (청송 심씨, 靑松 沈氏)
*** Uncle: Jo Hyeon-myeong (조현명, 趙顯命) (1690 - 1752)
**** Aunt: Lady Yun of the Chilwon Yun clan (증 정경부인 칠원 윤씨, 贈 貞敬夫人 漆原 尹氏)
**** Aunt: Lady Kim of the Andong Kim clan (정경부인 안동 김씨, 貞敬夫人 安東 沈氏)
*Mother
** Step-mother: Internal Princess Consort Hwawon of the Andong Kim clan (화원부부인 안동 김씨, 花原府夫人 安東 金氏) (1681 - 1721)
*** Step-grandfather: Kim Chang-eob (김창업, 金昌業) (1658 - 1722)
*** Unnamed grandmother; Kim Chang-eob’s concubine
** Biological mother: Internal Princess Consort Wangheung of the Jeonju Yi clan (? - 1734) (완흥부부인 전주 이씨, 完興府夫人 全州 李氏)
***Grandfather: Yi Sang-baek (이상백, 李相伯) (1648–1721); genealogically an adopted 7th great-grandson of Prince Yangnyeong (biologically an 8th great-grandson of Jeongjong of Joseon)
***Grandmother: Lady Shin of the Goryeong Shin clan (고령 신씨, 高靈 申氏)
* Siblings
** Older half-brother: Jo Jae-ho (조재호, 趙載浩) (1702 - 1762)
*** Sister-in-law: Lady Won of the Wonju Won clan (원주 원씨, 原州 元氏)Lady Won is the adoptive 6th eldest granddaughter of Princess Sukgyeong (a daughter of King Hyojong and Queen Inseon)
** Older half-brother: Jo Jae-yeon (조재연, 趙載淵) or Jo Jae-hun (조재혼, 趙載混) (1709 - 1750)
*** Sister-in-law: Lady Seong of the Changnyeong Seong clan (창녕 성씨, 昌寧 成氏)
** Older brother: Jo Jae-heung (조재홍, 趙載洪) (1713 - 1758)
*** Sister-in-law: Lady Yi of the Deoksu Yi clan (덕수 이씨, 德水 李氏)
** Younger brother: Jo Jae-bu (조재부, 趙載溥) or Jo Si-bu (조시부, 趙時溥) (1720 - 1776)
*** Sister-in-law: Lady Jo of the Changnyeong Jo clan (창녕 조씨, 昌寧 曺氏)
** Younger sister: Lady Jo of the Pungyang Jo clan (조씨, 趙氏)
*Husband
**Crown Prince Hyojang (15 February 1719 – 16 November 1728) (효장세자)
*** Father-in-law: King Yeongjo of the Joseon (영조대왕, 英祖大王) (31 October 1694 - 22 April 1776)
*** Mother-in-law: Royal Noble Consort Jeong of the Hamseong Yi clan (정빈 함성 이씨, 靖嬪 咸成 李氏) (1694 - 1721 June/November)
**** Legal mother-in-law: Queen Jeongseong of the Daegu Seo clan (정성왕후 서씨, 貞聖王后 徐氏) (12 January 1693 - 3 April 1757)
* Son
**Adopted son: Jeongjo of Joseon (28 October 1752 – 18 August 1800)
*** Adoptive daughter-in-law: Queen Hyoui of the Cheongpung Kim clan (효의선황후 김씨, 孝懿宣皇后 金氏) (5 January 1754 - 10 April 1821)

References

Notes

Works

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hyosun, Queen
18th-century Korean people
1716 births
1751 deaths
Royal consorts of the Joseon dynasty
Korean queens consort
Korean posthumous empresses
People from Seoul
Pungyang Jo clan