Jingbirok

The ''Jingbirok'' (; known in English as the ''Book of Corrections''), written in Hanmun, is a first hand account of the Imjin War written by high ranking Joseon scholar-official Ryu Seong-ryong. Party to high level decision making on the allied Ming-Joseon side and able to access all Joseon records, Ryu Seong-ryong's ''Jingbirok'' has become an invaluable source in the study of the conflict, and Chinese-Korean-Japanese relations. In 1969 the ''Jingbirok'' was listed as the 132nd of the National Treasures of South Korea.

The writing of the Jingbirok

Ryu Seong-ryong

Ryu Seong-ryong (1542–1607) was born in Uiseong, in Gyeongsang province, during the Korean Joseon Dynasty, to a yangban family of the Pungsan Ryu clan. Passing the ''Samsai'' level of the Gwageo civil service examination in 1564, and the ''Mungwa'' level in 1566, Ryu rose through the ranks of the scholar-official bureaucracy holding various positions including ''Jwauijeong'' (Second State Councillor) and '' Ijo Panseo'' (Minister of Personnel). At the time of the 1592 Japanese invasion of Korea Ryu held the position of a provincial ''Dochechalsa''. During the war Ryu was appointed ''Yeonguijeong'' (First State Councillor), and it was in this capacity that he helped direct the Joseon defences, being responsible for all Joseon military units and leaders, including Yi Sun-sin and Gwon Yul.

After the war in 1598, Ryu was ousted from office by factional infighting, although he was later rehabilitated he refused to serve again in high office. The ''Jingbirok'' was written and compiled at this time by Ryu in his home village, now preserved in the Hahoe Folk Village, in today's Andong, North Gyeongsang Province.

Aim of the Jingbirok

Ryu Seong-ryong wrote the ''Jingbirok'' in order to prevent such an invasion from happening again, reflecting on the mistakes. In the preface he writes that during the conflict the Joseon state suffered "the loss of three capitals, and collapse everywhere" (三都失守，八方瓦解) reflecting on his own role in this he wrote that he was "not up to the task the nation entrusted, the ills that nation suffered was because of threats not grasped, this cannot be swept away, nor can death atone for this guilt" (無似受國重任，於流離板蕩之際，危不持，顛不扶，罪死無赦). Ryu placed the blame for the disaster suffered by Joseon on his own inadequate emphasis on national security, and was therefore resolved to properly document hard lessons dearly paid for, with the hope that following generations could avoid the mistakes that he had made. Although the ''Jingbirok'' includes details of Japanese atrocities, the focus of the ''Jingbirok'' is on Joseon failures, and Ryu is harsher in his assessment of his own side than he is of the enemy.

Publication history

The ''Jingbirok'' was written in Hanmun;therefore, it was as equally accessible to the classically educated scholars of China, Japan and Vietnam as it was to classically educated Koreans.

Structure

The early form of the ''Jingbirok'' was completed by the time of the 37th year of King Seonjo's reign (1604) and consisted of sixteen scrolls and a coda:

*Scrolls One and Two, are written in the form of an annal, being a chronology from 1586 to 1598 of events between the Joseon-Ming allies and the Japanese
*Scrolls Three to Five, ''Roots'' (芹曝集), background leading up to the invasion
*Scrolls Six to Fourteen, ''Jin-Sa Records'' (辰巳錄), documents, orders and proclamations made by the author as prime minister''Jin-Sa Records'' (辰巳錄) is named after the Earthly Branches used to denote years in the Sexagenary cycle, 1592 was Im-Jin (壬辰), 1593 Gye-Sa (癸巳)
*Scrolls Fifteen to Sixteen, ''Military transcripts'' (軍門謄錄), transcripts and the author's correspondence between 1595 and 1598 regarding the conflict
*Coda, ''A Record of the Crisis'' (亂後雜記), a record of events during the conflict

By 1633 (11th year of King Injo's reign) this had evolved into a widely read two volume format known as the ''Seoaejip'' consisting of the ''Jingibrok'' and Ryu Seong-ryong's ''The Anthology of Seoae'' (). In 1647 the ''Jingibrok'' was issued as a single stand alone volume.

Known printed editions

;Classical Chinese
* 1647, published by Gyeongsang-do governor Jo Su-ik
*1695, Japanese Kanban edition published in Kyoto in two volumesThe infobox image is from this edition
*1913, as part of a multi volume collection of Joseon works, Classic Joseon Books Publication Society.Online version of the 1913 Chinese edition
Japanese National Diet Library

;Modern Korean (Hangul)

;Japanese (translations)
*1876, ''Translation of Joseon Ryu's Chōhiroku, in one volume'', translated by Osanai Ryotaro and Minoru SuzukiOnline version of the 1876 Japanese edition
Japanese National Diet Library
*1894, ''Joseon Chōhiroku'', Online version of the 1894 Japanese edition
Japanese National Diet Library
*1921, ''Chōhiroku'', translated by Nagano NaohikoOnline version of the 1921 Japanese edition
Japanese National Diet Library
*1966, ''Chōhiroku'', translated by Soga Masataka, NCID：BN05109352
at Japanese CiNii bibliographic database
*1979, ''Chōhiroku'', translated by Pak Chong Myung, The Eastern Library,

;English
*''The Book of Corrections: Reflections on the National Crisis During the Japanese Invasion of Korea, 1592-1598'', an English translation of the ''Jingbirok,'' Ryu Seong-ryong, translated by Choi Byong-hyon,

See also

* The Jingbirok: A Memoir of Imjin War
*The Second World War (book series)

Notes

References

*This article is based on the Chinese Wikipedia article on this topi
懲毖錄
and include details taken from the Japanese 懲ヒ録 and Korean 징비록 articles.

External links

Encyclopedia of Korean Culture
{{in lang, ko

Japanese invasions of Korea (1592–1598)
16th-century documents
17th-century documents
Military memoirs
History books about Korea
National Treasures of South Korea
Korean chronicles
Chinese-language literature of Korea