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Preface |
The
fortress is the shining accomplishment of a sagacious
king who led a political and cultural renaissance
with the counsel of young scholars seeking institutional
reforms and practical application of academic theories.
"Oh! Sadness! How can I ever put into words
what happened that day? The sky and the earth seemed
to come together; the sun seemed to be losing light,
and everything went dark." So said Lady Hyegyeong,
a princess of the 18th century Joseon dynasty, in
her tearful memoirs.
She said she had no desire to linger in this world
for even one more second after the terrifying filicide.
"I desperately wanted to kill myself; I looked
for something sharp, but found nothing. " In
her autobiographical account, Hanjungnok (Reminiscences
in Retirement), a masterpiece of court literature
and an invaluable historical record, Lady Hyegyeong
recalls the death of her husband, Prince Sado, in
what is undisputably the most bizarre incident in
the five-century history of the Joseon royal court.
One hot summer day in 1762, King Yeongjo ordered
the crown prince to commit suicide, accusing him
of undermining morality in the royal household and
plotting a rebellion. When the poor prince's repeated
efforts to kill himself failed, the enraged king
ordered his son to climb into a large wooden rice
chest and locked it up himself. |
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27-year-old prince died of hunger in the rice chest
eight days later. In her memoirs, a vivid account
of her personal ordeal as well as a veritable political
testimony, Lady Hyegyeong contends that the fateful
incident was motivated by the rampant factional
strife in court and a personality conflict between
the dogmatic reigning king his introverted son and
heir apparent. Despite deep chagrin and a professed
desire to end her life, Lady Hyegyeong lived on
and lent support her son who had been left vulnerable
by his father's tragic death. She explained that
she could not double the sorrow of her little son
by following her husband to death. |
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"And,
even more important than that, I was deeply concerned
how the Grand Heir would do without me as the future King."
The Grand Heir, who was not yet ten, grew up into a wise
monarch. Endowed with the posthumous title of Jeongjo,
he was an able administrator of state affairs and a staunch
patron of science and the arts, helping the nation embark
on its mod- ernization process.
Stigmatized by the traumatic childhood experience surrounding
his father's death and the imperfect legitimacy of his
authority, Jeongjo is also recognized for his extraordinary
filial devotion. He reinstated his father's title of crown
prince in 1777, the year after he came to the throne succeeding
his grandfather, Yeongjo. In 1789, When his royal authority
had gained a solid base and the nation prospered under
his rule, Jeongjo ordered his father's tomb be moved from
the eastern suburbs of Seoul to Mt. Hwasan, about 8km
form the present city of Suwon, which was commended as
the most auspicious site in the country. The old Suwon
Magistracy was upgraded to a separate capital and a beautiful
fortress was constructed around the booming new town,
named Hwaseong, meaning "Brilliant Fortress."
Embracing the busy downtown area of the present Suwon-si,
capital of Gyeonggi-do, some 30km south of Seoul, Hwaseong
Fortress embodies Jeongjo's devotion to his ill-fated
father and his ideals for a modern administrative and
commercial center with stalwart defense. The 5.74Km wall,
fortified with various military facilities, is the shining
accomplishment of a sagacious king who led a political
and cultural renaissance with the counsel of young scholars
seeking institutional reforms and practical application
of academic theories. To stroll along the fortress is
to share the aspirations of an ancient king who use admirable
academic and artistic expertise to build a city of fresh
conception, ensuring that the industrial activities of
its residents are protected from external invasions. For
those who are inclined to historical romance, the King's
tragic childhood experience and his lauded affection for
his parents adds a rueful color to the excursion along
the fortress, parapeted with crenels and merlons and highlighted
by lofty watch towers and secret gates leading down to
dark labyrinths. Hwaseong Fortress stretches over changing
terrain from high mountain ridges overlooking a crowded
urban center to flatland park with well-tended lawn to
a bustling marketplace surrounded by a densely populated
neighborhood. The fortress looks remarkably different
from most other ancient town walls and military fortifications
scattered around Korea. It stands out not only for its
diverse functions but the aesthetic novelty and technical
innovation involved in its planning and construction. |
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Defense of a Separate Capital |
Hwaseong
Fortress was constructed over two and a half years
from 1794 to 1796, according to a design by Jeong
Yak-yong. A young intellectual who would later lead
the school of "Pragmatic Studies," or
silhak, Jeong was then working for the royal library,
Gyujanggak, established by Jeongjo to encourage
academic research. In designing the fortress and
planning its construction, Jeong broadly employed
the scientific knowledge of his fellow silhak, thinkers.
Based on a study of ancient fortresses of Korea,
China and Japan, he worked out a marvelous plan
for a military stronghold taking full advantage
of the topography of the area and making up for
the deficiencies of earlier facilities. Suwon and
its surrounding areas with its rich produce, human
resources and easy access to both Seoul and China
across the Yellow Sea, had been a point of strategic
interest since the Three Kingdoms period. Jeongjo
apparently planned to build up Suwon as a prosperous
city by boosting commercial and manufacturing activities.
And, as many historians assume, he probably dreamed
of moving the capital there to be near the tomb
of his beloved father and carry out political reforms
away from the faction-minded courtiers in the capital.
In any case, Jeongjo ordered the removal of the
residents around Mt. Hwasan to the present downtown
section of Suwon-si at the expense of 100,000 ryang
of gold (one ryang equals 37.5 grams)from the national
treasury. The residents were exempted from all taxes
for 10 years thereafter and the urban infrastructure
including administrative, industrial and education
facilities were newly built. Three years later,
the king ordered the old Suwon Magistracy to be
promoted to a separate capital and appointed Chae
Je-gong, a respected statesman who had previously
served as the chief state minister, its first magistrate.
The construction of Hwaseong Fortress began in the
second month of 1794 under royal decree. Strategically,
the fortress was a clear departure from the convention
of building simple walls surrounding cities and
towns and separate fortresses in nearby mountains
for the evacuation of residents in times of war.
It is equipped with assorted defense facilities
such as command posts, observation towers, battlements,
secret gates and arrow-launching platforms built
along ramparts with crenellated parapets. It has
four major gates in the four cardinal directions
which served as town gates. The construction cost
870,000 nyang(the Joseon unit of currency), 1,500
sacks of rice and 700,000 man-days. The workers,
mobilized from across the country, were all paid
from the national treasury, which was also a novel
policy considering that most government projects
had previously been undertaken with compulsory labor.
The King personally visited the construction site
to direct the work on various occasions and when
the fortress was completed in the ninth month of
1796, he was greatly impressed but feared it was
too opulent. He invited a number of officials and
engineers who had worked on the construction to
the palace and commended them, granting various
presents. |
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Major Facilities |
Hwaseong
Fortress attests to the Joseon leaders's heightened
awareness of the need for efficient military strongholds
in the wake of the devastating Hideyoshi invasions
of 1592-1598, which left much of the peninsula in
rubble. In his war memoirs, Jingbirok(A Record for
Penitence and Warning), Yu Seong-yong the war-time
prime minister who led both the government and the
military of Joseon during the seven-year conflict,
deplored that the front defense lines had collapsed
so quickly, causing enormous loss of human lives
and property, because the military was poorly prepared
with few useful defense facilities. He pointed out
that town walls and fortresses needed protruding
battlements and chemises, among other facilities,
to efficiently repel the invading troops. Enclosing
an area of 130 hectares, Hwaseong Fortress originally
had 48 facilities along its perimeter. They included
four major gates, five secret gates, two floodgates,
three observation towers, two command posts, two
arrow shooting platforms, five battlements, five
sentry towers, four corner towers, one beacon tower,
four guard posts, nine bastions and two bunkers.
Seven of them have been lost in floods and wars
and left out of the recent renovation. They include
one floodgate, one observation tower, two secret
gates, two guard post and two bunkers. The four
major gates stand in the four cardinal directions:
Janganmun in the north, Paldalmun in the South,
Changnyongmun in the east and Hwaseomun in the west.
The two larger gates, Janganmun and Paldalmun, resemble
Seoul's main gates, Namdaemun(South Gate)and Dongdaemun(East
Gate), in the shape of the roof and the decorative
details of stone and woodwork showing the most refined
style of the time. The two gates are of similar
design and size but Janganmun is more important
today because it is the original gate while Paldalmun
was burnt down in 1950 during the Korean War and
reconstructed in 1975.
Both gates have an imposing two-story wooden pavilion
standing on top of a stone structure with an arched
entrance, which is shielded by a semicircular chemise
built of brick and flanked by gate guard platforms
on either side. The chemise also has an arched entrance
in the center and a single-story pavilion-shaped
wooden superstructure. The chemise is connected
to the gate guard platforms with parapet walks with
crenels and merlons. There are five machicolations
over the arched entrance. Janganmun, linked to the
main road leading to Seoul, may be the best point
to start a tour along the fortress. Walking counterclockwise
to the west from this gate, the first structure
encountered across the traffic road is a gate guard
platform, which rises higher than the rampart. About
1km from here past a park with well-tended lawn
are two sentry towers that are pavilion-like buildings
standing on protruding battlements. Hwaseomun, the
west gate with a single-story wooden superstructure,
looks smaller and simpler than Janganmun and Paldalmun.
But an observation tower standing nearby is worthy
of attention for its unique appearance. The fortress
originally had three observation towers named Gongsimdon,
meaning "tower with empty interior," one
to the northwest, one to the south and one to the
northeast. The southern tower was removed as Suwon-si
expanded in modern times. The two remaining towers
are among the most distinctive structures among
all facilities of the fortress. Built of stone and
brick and topped by a pavilion-type wooden superstructure,
the three-story towers have gun embrasures arranged
alternately to serve the purposes of observing enemy
movements and firing arms. They have wooden floor,
spiral ladders and banquettes on the wall inside.
The southwestern stretch of the fortress, from Hwaseomun
to Paldalmun, meanders along the ridges of Mt. Paldalsan
overlooking lush wood and beyond to downtown Suwon-si,
which is today a busy administrative and commercial
center with a population of 800,000. Among the structures
here are two corner towers, three sentry towers,
a command post, an arrow launching platform and
two secret gates. From here past Paldalmun and market
and then across a stream, the rampart runs to another
comer tower, more sentry towers and beacon tower.
The brick-built beacon tower has five mounds for
making different signals with fire or smoke: one
for peace time; two when the enemy has been spotted;
three when the enemy is approaching; four when the
enemy has made its way into the city; and five when
combat has stared. Past another sentry tower from
here is the east gate named Changnyongmun and an
arrow-launching platform. The the northeastern observation
tower looms high over the rampart. The eastern command
post stands nearby, which is connected to a secret
gate. then past another sentry tower and another
secret gate, there is the most beautiful section
of the fortress, surrounded by a picturesque landscape.
The northeastern corner tower is an exquisite L-shaped
pavilion with an ornate roof, which stands on a
hill with beautiful willow trees overlooking a lotus
pond with an artificial islet. Not far from this
pavilion is located the northern floodgate, a stone
bridge with seven arched sluices topped by an elegant
open pavilion and brick-built parapets. Nangnamheon
is the only pavilion remaining of the detached palace
built by Jeongjo as the administrative headquarters
of the separate capital. The king stayed at the
palace when he was visiting Hwaseong to pay homage
at his father's grave. He also held banquets and
ordered the civil service examinations to be conducted
here. All other palace structures were destroyed
during the Korean War. A reconstruction project
is under way with completion scheduled for 2002. |
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Political and Social Background |
The
stone rampart, roughly an oval shape extending to
north and south but meandering due to the changing
topography, is some 4-6 meters in height, growing
higher on flatland and lower on mountain ridges.
In most sections, the ground level is much higher
inside the rampart than outside, a plan to make
it difficult for enemy troops to approach. The crenellated
parapets, some 1.2 meters high on the average, are
built either of stone or brick. Hwaseong fortress,
representing the ideals of an erudite king who worked
for a political and cultural renaissance, was also
a product of Joseon society which was going through
changes in various areas in the 17th to the 18th
century. In the circles of nobility, or Yangban,
political power came to be monopolized by a small
number of families, so many who did not belong to
these select few lineages actually lost their noble
status. In the countryside, poor peasants were being
forced to abandon their farms and the number of
landless vagrants was increasing due to the emergence
of rich peasants practising enlarged scale farming.
In urban areas, too, various changes were taking
place as wholesale merchants amassed wealth by controlling
trade and handicraft production, while small merchants
faced ruin and prices soared
As the social ills arising from these phenomena
grew increasingly explicit, the members of Joseon
society's educated class were required to make serious
reflection on the situation. Their response is embodied
in the scholarship and thought which is known today
as "Pragmatic Studies," or Silhak. The
birth of this school, therefore, connoted censure
of those who held political power and an intent
to bring about changes in the political and social
order. Of course there were government officials
who worked to effect reforms, but the chief critics
were those who were not permitted to participate
in the political process. Many of these progressive
thinkers were from the political faction called
Namin, or the Southerners, who had long been excluded
from important government positions.
The major concern of these scholars was to illuminate
the history and contemporary working of political,
economical and social institutions. First preparing
the ground through painstaking scholarly inquiries,
they proceeded to elaborate their visions of how
an idea society might be achieved. They did not
limit their concern to social sciences such as politics
and economics but extended their intellectual pursuits
to almost all branches of learning including Chinese
classical studies, historiography, geography, natural
science and agriculture. Although the subjects of
study were divers, the common point of departure
was always the actual manifestation of things. The
realities with which they were concerned were precisely
those confronting their society at the time, so
their thought inevitably had a nationalistic thrust.
The influence of these scholars in achieving a new
understanding of their own native land and its history
was felt in government circles as well. This was
particularly the case during the reigns of Yeongjo
and Jeongjo, when silhak studies were at their height.
Both these kings adopted a policy of impartiality
according equal favor to men of all factional colors
in official appointments. Particularly, Jeongjo
established a research library and institute in
the palace, called Gyujanggak, and assigned scholars
to prepare a large number of works for practical
application in the administration of the country.
Under his reign, many important books were compiled
on various subjects including criminal code , state
ceremonies, foreign relation, taxation, military
strategy and martial arts.
These pragmatic thinkers, particularly those who
traveled to Qing china, advocated commercial and
manufacturing activities. They argued that the making
and trading of goods ought to be pursed by people
of all social classes, including yangban, and that
a new model bureaucratic structure must be created
around an core of professional public servants recruited
through educational opportunities open to all. They
took the position that the well-being of the people
could be achieved through abolishing the social
status system. It was also these silhak thinkers
who initially took an interest in Catholicism, which
was introduced to Korea through European Jesuit
missionaries residing in Ming China. During Jeongjo's
reign, the first stirring of belief developed into
a strong current, especially among scholars of the
Namin faction. Jeong Yak-yong(1762-1836), the principal
designer of Hwaseong Fortress, came from a family
of early Catholic converts. Recognized as the greatest
silhak scholar, Jeong applied the institutional
approach in the most comprehensive fashion and wrote
numerous important book while living in banishment
and later in forced retirement as a result the Catholic
persecution in 1801. Jeongjo designated Catholicism
heresy but while he remained on the throne, a course
of tacit tolerance of the faith was followed and
there was no sever persecution. But when Jeongjo
died in 1800 and his grandmother, Queen Dowager
Kim, became regent for the new king, Seonjo, cruel
suppression ensued immediately.
In designing Hwaseong Fortress, Jeong extensively
applied the opinions of his fellow silhak scholars.
One notable example is the use of bricks, which
had been suggested by Park Ji-won(1737-1805), another
pioneer of the school and a well-known writer. In
Yeolha Ilgi(jehol Diary), a record of his journey
to Beijing as a member of a Korean diplomatic mission
in 1780, Park described aspects of contemporary
Chinese life in comparison with poor conditions
in Korea. He asserted, among other things, that
the weak points of the traditional Korean house
built of wood and mud, which was difficult to build
but easy to destroy, could be amended by using bricks.
Jeong also devised equipment such as cranes and
pulleys, which proved useful in conveying the enormous
quantity of construction materials used including
stone. metal and timber. He insisted that the devices
could greatly reduce the energy needed to lift heavy
things and that there was no danger of dropping
them "By using eight wheels, for example, we
can generate 25 times as much as the energy we put
in," he said. "So we will be able to save
much of the pain of the workers and cut construction
costs." |
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White Paper on Construction |
Construction
of Hwaseong Fortress led to another monumental achievement
without a precedent: publication of a white paper
on the entire project, A 10-volume work printed
with metal type, "Hwaseong Seong-yeokuigwe"(Records
of Hwaseong Fortress Construction) was published
in 1800, shortly after Jeongjo died. The book was
a decisive source of information for rehabilitation
of the fortress, seriously damaged during the Korean
War, which was carried out in the 1970s under the
order of Park Jeong-hui, an army general who became
president.
The first volume contains an introduction comprising
the construction schedule, a list of supervisors
with name and rank, and architectural plans accompanied
by drawings of details. The main contents, in six
volumes, include related official documents, royal
instructions, proceedings of court conferences,
rosters of workers and regulations for wages, names
and quantities of the material used to build individual
structures, and revenues and expenditures. Three
volumes of supplements concern the construction
of the detached palace including descriptions of
each structure, relevant records and documents.
According to the white paper, the manpower was divided
largely into bureaucrats performing the roles of
supervisors, treasurers, bookkeepers and warehouse
keepers, engineers and technicians, and simple laborers.
A total of 1,856 skilled workers were employed on
22 different jobs. They included 662 masons, 235
carpenters, 295 gilders, 150 bricklayers, 83 metalworkers,
46 painters, 48 lacquerers, 36 carvers and eight
turners, Of these skilled workers, 1,101 came from
Seoul and the rest from various provinces across
the country.
The record days that, in principle, construction
material was procured by the government but limited
amounts sere purchased from private suppliers when
the need arose. Materials required for the construction
included 195,241 blocks of stone, another 800 stone
plates used for Ondol heated floor, 9,686 pieces
of ordinary timber, 14,212 pieces of wood used exclusively
for rafters, 2,300 sheets of pine board, 695,000
bricks, 2,900 Geun(one Geun equals 600 grams) of
steel plates, 530,000 roof tiles and 86,000 bags
of lime. Various advanced equipment, including cranes,
pulleys, levers, wheeled carts and sleighs, were
used to convey the construction materials, reducing
the pain of the workers and cutting back the construction
period to a remarkable extent. The expenditures
break down into 320,000 nyang spent on the purchase
of construction material, 300,000 nyang for wages,
220,000 nyang for transportation of construction
materials, and 90,000 nyang for other expenses.
Most of the expenditures for construction materials
was spent on quarrying and transporting stone. Miscellaneous
expenses include 12,000 nyang spent on buying land
in the adjacent areas and removing private houses.
Some 8,000 nyang was spent of prizes for the workers
and medical care for them.
These tremendous resources, including manpower and
material, were supplied without great difficulties
so the project was completed in a considerably short
period. The massive project proceeded smoothly owing
to the economic and social stability that characterized
Joseon society at this time. The project provided
jobs and boosted the economy around the new city.
It also represented the changing system of employment.
Corvee labor was the primary source of manpower
for most earlier construction projects undertaken
by the government. But construction workers began
to be paid wages from the late 18th century. Hwaseong
Fortress served as an exemplary case of this modernizing
process. |
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Legacy of filial Piety |
Jeongjo
was one of the most able and accomplished monarchs
of the Joseon dynasty, but his reign is often associated
primarily with his affection for his parents and
artifacts related to his filial devotion. As filial
piety was a primary virtue, as much prized as loyalty
to the king, in traditional Korean society, Hwaseong
Fortress served as a moral inspiration for the people
though it had a tragic overtone due to the intensity
and pathos characterizing Jeongjo's love for his
parents.
The annals of Jeongjo and some literary writings
dating from his reign depict week-long festivities
held at the newly built city of Hwaseong in the
second lunar month of 1795, when construction of
the fortress was still under way. Jeongjo ordered
to festivities to celebrate the 60th birthday of
his mother. He also ordered the court artists to
paint the scenes of the birthday celebration as
well as the procession of the royal entourage to
Hwaseong and the memorial rites for Prince Sado
observed at his grave. The painting were mounted
in an eight-fold screen which is now kept at the
National Museum in Seoul.
Lady Hyegyeong herself described the feast in her
memoirs written in 1802. She wrote: "In the
spring of Eulmyo year(1795), the late king(Jeongjo)
took me to the Prince's tomb and together we paid
our respects. Afterwards he held a great feast at
Bongsu Pavilion to which he invited male and female
relatives and civil and military officials as well,
giving them the chance to enjoy themselves drinking
and eating until the small hours of the morning.
The aged were offered drink at Nangnam Pavilion
and the poor were given rice at Sinpung Pavilion.
Joyful spirits and the sounds of merriment filled
the air from Hwaseong to the capital. All this was
but to express filial affection for this old mother.
Who among the officials and subjects of the entire
nation did not admire him and sing his praise?"
The princess was immensely proud of her son and
at the same time appreciated his love for her. She
wrote about Jeongjo's personality, his academic
accomplishments and his love for his parents, as
following (Translation from The Memoirs of Lady
Hyegyeong by JaHyun Kim Haboush):
"The late king was extraordinarily endowed.
He had a beautiful and dignified face, an exceptional
carriage, and a magnificent physique. He learned
to speak and to read at a very early age. From childhood,
he was diligent and hard-working; except when he
slept and ate, he was seldom without a book in his
hand. His accomplishments were superior to those
of the wise rulers of old. There was nothing he
did not know. Of all the rulers since the sage kings
of antiquity, there was none to equal the late king
in scholarship or composition, in sagacious virtue,
or in wise administration.
"The late king had an innately filial nature.
In his later years his filial attentions grew even
more thorough and careful, and he served me as though
he could not do enough. When he made excursions,
even within the city, in recognition of his mother's
anxious concern, he repeatedly dispatched messengers
bearing notes and greetings. Trips to his father's
tomb took days, but, considering my nervousness,
he stopped his entourage on the road every two hours
to send me his messages. Where can I go now for
even one letter from him? Ah! Sadness!"
!" On the day Prince Sado was ordered to enter
a rice chest, Jeongjo, a Child not yet ten, lay
prostrate behind his father, begging the enraged
Yeongjo for his father's life until he was physically
removed from the scene. He grieved like and adult
and his sad bearing and piteous cries moved all
who were present. Two years after Prince Sado's
death, Yeongjo issued a decree making the Grand
Heir a posthumously adopted son of Prince Hyojang,
the deceased older brother of Prince Sado. The decree
was to sever the legal relationship of the future
king with his father who was condemned for a crime.
But it further deepened the sorrow and grudge of
Jeongjo for his parents.
After he moved his father's tomb to Mt. Hwasan,
Jeongjo built a Buddhist temple named Yongjusa(Dragon
Bead Temple) near the tomb and designated it as
the tutelary temple for his father. He had his own
portrait hung in a pavilion beside his father's
tomb to symbolize his wish to be always there. Though
he made a wise and able monarch, Jeongjo apparently
did not enjoy being on the throne. He said to his
mother, "I have occupied the throne not because
I coveted it but because I had to do for the nation.
In the coming Gapja year(1804), my son will reach
his fifteenth year, and I will be able to abdicate
the throne to him. I will then be able to fulfill
my greatest wishes. I will retire to Hwaseong with
Your Ladyship to the task of rendering to Prince
Sado the supreme honors that I could not grant from
the throne."
Through his son, Jeongjo wished to honor his condemned
father with the title of a posthumous king and his
mother the title of a queen. But he died suddenly
in 1800 for a mysterious reason, without seeing
his lifelong wishes realized by his son, Seonjo. |
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at Haeinsa
Temple
