Jingbirok
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The ''Jingbirok'' (; known in English as the ''Book of Corrections''), written in Hanmun, is a first hand account of the
Imjin War The Imjin River ( in South Korea) or Rimjin River ( in North Korea) is the 7th largest river in Korea. It flows from north to south, crossing the Demilitarized Zone and joining the Han River downstream of Seoul, near the Yellow Sea. The river i ...
written by high ranking
Joseon Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
scholar-official
Ryu Seong-ryong Ryu Seong-ryong (November 1542 – May 1607), was a scholar-official of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea. He held many responsibilities including the Chief State Councillor position in 1592. He was a member of the "Eastern faction", and a follower o ...
. Party to high level decision making on the allied
Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
-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 A National Treasure () is a tangible treasure, artifact, site, or building which is recognized by the South Korean government as having exceptional artistic, cultural and historical value to the country. The title is one of the eight State-designa ...
.


The writing of the Jingbirok


Ryu Seong-ryong

Ryu Seong-ryong (1542–1607) was born in
Uiseong Uiseong County (''Uiseong-gun'') is a county in Gyeongsangbuk-do Province, South Korea. Located near the center of the province, it is bounded by Andong on the north, Cheongsong on the east, Gunwi County on the south, and Sangju and Yecheon on t ...
, in
Gyeongsang Gyeongsang ( ko, 경상도, ''Gyeongsang-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the Kingdom ...
province, during the Korean
Joseon Dynasty Joseon (; ; Middle Korean: 됴ᇢ〯션〮 Dyǒw syéon or 됴ᇢ〯션〯 Dyǒw syěon), officially the Great Joseon (; ), was the last dynastic kingdom of Korea, lasting just over 500 years. It was founded by Yi Seong-gye in July 1392 and re ...
, to a
yangban The ''yangban'' () were part of the traditional ruling class or gentry of dynastic Korea during the Joseon Dynasty. The ''yangban'' were mainly composed of highly educated civil servants and military officers—landed or unlanded aristocrats ...
family of the Pungsan Ryu clan. Passing the ''Samsai'' level of the
Gwageo The ''gwageo'' or ''kwago'' were the national civil service examinations under the Goryeo and Joseon dynasties of Korea. Typically quite demanding, these tests measured candidates' ability of writing composition and knowledge of the Chinese cla ...
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 The ''Jwauijeong'' was the Second State Councillor of the Uijeongbu (State Council), subordinate in rank only to the Yeonguijeong, during the Joseon Dynasty of Korea (1392 -1910). Only one official was appointed to the position and was variousl ...
'' (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 ''Yeonguijeong'' () was a title created in 1400, during the Joseon Kingdom and the Korean Empire times (1392–1910) and given to the Chief State Councillor as the highest government position of "Uijeongbu" (State Council). Existing for over 500 ...
'' (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 Admiral Yi Sun-sin (April 28, 1545 – December 16, 1598) was a Korean admiral and military general famed for his victories against the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon Dynasty. Over the course of his career, Admiral Yi fough ...
and
Gwon Yul Gwon Yul (; December 28, 1537 - July 6, 1599) was a Korean Army General and the Commander-in-chief (도원수; 導元帥) of the Joseon Dynasty, who successfully led the Korean forces against Japan during the Japanese invasions of Korea (임진 ...
. 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 The Hahoe Folk Village (Korean: 안동하회마을) is a traditional village from the Joseon Dynasty, located in Andong, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. The 'Ha' is short for river and 'hoe' means to 'turn around, return, come back. The village i ...
, in today's
Andong Andong () is a city in South Korea, and the capital of North Gyeongsang Province. It is the largest city in the northern part of the province with a population of 167,821 as of October 2010. The Nakdong River flows through the city. Andong is a m ...
,
North Gyeongsang Province North Gyeongsang Province ( ko, 경상북도, translit=Gyeongsangbuk-do, ) is a province in eastern South Korea. The province was formed in 1896 from the northern half of the former Gyeongsang province, and remained a province of Korea until the ...
.


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 National security, or national defence, is the security and defence of a sovereign state, including its citizens, economy, and institutions, which is regarded as a duty of government. Originally conceived as protection against military atta ...
, 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 Seonjo of Joseon (26 November 1552 – 16 March 1608) was the fourteenth king of the Joseon Dynasty of Korea from 1567 to 1608. He was known for encouraging Confucianism and renovating state affairs at the beginning of his reign. However, politi ...
's reign (1604) and consisted of sixteen
scroll A scroll (from the Old French ''escroe'' or ''escroue''), also known as a roll, is a roll of papyrus, parchment, or paper containing writing. Structure A scroll is usually partitioned into pages, which are sometimes separate sheets of papyrus ...
s and a coda: *Scrolls One and Two, are written in the form of an
annal Annals ( la, annāles, from , "year") are a concise historical record in which events are arranged chronologically, year by year, although the term is also used loosely for any historical record. Scope The nature of the distinction between anna ...
, being a
chronology Chronology (from Latin ''chronologia'', from Ancient Greek , ''chrónos'', "time"; and , '' -logia'') is the science of arranging events in their order of occurrence in time. Consider, for example, the use of a timeline or sequence of events. I ...
from 1586 to 1598 of events between the Joseon-
Ming The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...
allies and the
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
ese *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 The twelve Earthly Branches or Terrestrial Branches are a Chinese ordering system used throughout East Asia in various contexts, including its ancient dating system, astrological traditions, zodiac and ordinals. Origin This system was built ...
used to denote years in the
Sexagenary cycle The sexagenary cycle, also known as the Stems-and-Branches or ganzhi ( zh, 干支, gānzhī), is a cycle of sixty terms, each corresponding to one year, thus a total of sixty years for one cycle, historically used for recording time in China and t ...
, 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 Gyeongsang ( ko, 경상도, ''Gyeongsang-do''; ) was one of the eight provinces of Korea during the Joseon dynasty. Gyeongsang was located in the southeast of Korea. The provincial capital was Daegu. The region was the birthplace of the Kingd ...
governor Jo Su-ik *1695, Japanese
Kanban Kanban (Japanese: カンバン and Chinese: 看板, meaning signboard or billboard) is a scheduling system for lean manufacturing (also called just-in-time manufacturing, abbreviated JIT). Taiichi Ohno, an industrial engineer at Toyota, develope ...
edition published in
Kyoto Kyoto (; Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in Japan. Located in the Kansai region on the island of Honshu, Kyoto forms a part of the Keihanshin metropolitan area along with Osaka and Kobe. , the ci ...
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 The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
;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 The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
*1894, ''Joseon Chōhiroku'', Online version of the 1894 Japanese edition
Japanese
National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
*1921, ''Chōhiroku'', translated by Nagano NaohikoOnline version of the 1921 Japanese edition
Japanese
National Diet Library The is the national library of Japan and among the largest libraries in the world. It was established in 1948 for the purpose of assisting members of the in researching matters of public policy. The library is similar in purpose and scope to ...
*1966, ''Chōhiroku'', translated by Soga Masataka, NCID:BN05109352
at Japanese
CiNii CiNii () is a bibliographic database service for material in Japanese academic libraries, especially focusing on Japanese works and English works published in Japan. The database was founded in April 2005 and is maintained by the National Institu ...
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) ''The Second World War'' is a history of the period from the end of the First World War to July 1945, written by Winston Churchill. Churchill labelled the "moral of the work" as follows: "In War: Resolution, In Defeat: Defiance, In Victory: ...


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