The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong

The memoirs of Lady Hyegyong Lady Hyegyong * married woman of the crown prince Sado (1735-1762) * Daughter-in-law of King Yongjo (1724-1776) * Mother of King Chongjo (1776-1800) * The crown princess and mother and grandmother of the kings in the late eighteenth century Korea * Cho word of honor women (women in Cho countersign Korea 1392-1910) three lords breed, preserve, and son * Patrilocal marriage * Woman writer The Memoirs * Hanjongnok Record Written in Silence * A series of autobiographical narratives by Lady Hyegyong * 4 memoirs 1795, 1801, 1802, 1805 The first 3 memoirs twaddle of her earlier life and her marriage into the empurpled family, and championing (in some cases defending her natal family. ) These memoirs are more personal, and boilersuit three hangs a shadow the fate of her husband, Crown Prince Sado, who was executed in 1762. His reputation after his finis threatens the position of her offspring. **The fourth memoir story of her husband Sado, the most importan t piece The memoir of 1795 * music genre Family injunction The first memoir was written for the benefit of her nephew, in conformity with the tradition of a family sr. writing an injunction for the instruction of the younger members of the family, exhorting them to follow in the footsteps of honorable family elders. It contains a most moving and endearing account of how the author, an innocent child of nine, was suddenly wrenched from her loving home and put in a strange and awesome court. It is also gives an intimate view of the princesss natal home, which was that of an exemplary Korean scholar. Defend the justice of her natal family, reclaim the honorable family tradition * The unspoken subjects of the first memoir With his exceptional talent and top-notch scholarship, Prince Sado would surely have achieved greatness. Of its own record, however, illness seeped into his remarkable nature andbegan to manifest itself in strange symptoms. 1. Her husbands insanity 2. Her husbands execution in the rice chest On the thirteenth day, Heaven and Earth clashed and the sun and moon turned black.When this calamity happened, how could I desire to live nonetheless one second longer 3. The loss of her son * Silence The memoir of 1805 breaking the silence * score the death of her husband at the hands of her father-in-law * Audience her grandson King Sunjo * Reason false versions has proliferated. She felt the impersonate hold of to inform her grandson, the new king, the exact truth of the incident feeling that my descriptions might cast a defect on their virtue. But I cannot withhold the truth. * Genre writing a history * Seed of dread Absence of bang and guidance from the father 1. Model child in infancy 2. Live in a separate palace from his parents * Influence of servants * Sados interest in the occult and martial games As a heir to the throne, Shado was put under immense pressure to achieve and learn conformity by the stifling educational rituals of the roya l family while, simultaneously, he was neglected by his coldly formal father, Yongjo, to such an period that even an inside observer like Lady Hyegyong, steeped in the customs of the time, cannot hide her shock in the retelling.Let the ruler be a ruler, the subject a subject, the father a father, the son a son. * Father-son relationship is at the core of tragedy * some unknown forces seem to have been driving father and son apart. What can I attribute this to but Heaven? Oh Cruelty * The coldness between them is beyond her comprehension * Fathers faults? * Favoritism * Not paying attention to his son * Humiliating his son in public * Using Sado to wash away inauspicious events * Sados insanity * Clothing phobic disorder For him to get dressed, I had to have ten, twenty, or even thirty sets of clothes laid out. He would so burn some, supposedly on behalf of some ghost or other. Even after this, if he managed to get into a suit of clothes without incident, one had to count it a s great luck. If, however, those serving him were to make the slightest error, he would not be able to put his clothes on, no matter how hard he tried. In the process, people were hurt, even killed. -Paralyzing terror of being able to live up to the expectations of propriety A successive killer When anger grips me, I cannot contain myself. Only after I kill somethinga person, perchance an animal, even a chickencan I calm down. Why is that so? Because I am deeply hurt. Why are you so hurt? I am sad that your Majesty does not love me and terrified when you criticize me. All this turns to anger. - Sados madness became such a threat to the royal family that he had to be eliminated * Mothers choice * Lady Sonhui urged the King to eliminate Sado -Sundering her maternal love and crushing her parental attachment for the sake of great principle, Lady Sonhui had brought herself to inform his Majesty . The duty everywhere private emotion * Fathers side * Political concerns 1. His ow n problem with legitimacy 2. Factional conflicts 3. uninterrupted threat of rebellion 4. High hopes for his heir * The execution * In the royal audience chamber, meanwhile, father and son faced each other. In between them there stood a wooden rice chest (measuring 4ft x 4ft x 4ft, we are told). It was opened, and Yongjo ordered his son to climb inside.Undoubtedly aware of what this meant, Sado did as his father told him. It was then pie-eyed up. Eight days later, he died, still inside it. * Rationalizing the brutal execution -Concerns over bodily taking apart -Not to give the appearance of criminal execution * Lady Hyegyongs two traumas On her husbands execution * Inevitable and justified * Public duty > private feelings On the kings orderliness of making her son an adopted son of the late prince * Unnecessary and mind-baffling * Private feelings > public duty