INTRODUCTION

Record of the Virtue of Queen Inhyeon, Lady Min depicts the life of the second queen to King Sukjong, emphasizing political intrigue and triangular relationships.  It explores the roles of women amidst political upheaval, delving into the complexities of royal court politics. The story of a virtuous queen, a passionate king, and a deceitful consort reveals the contrasting views of womanhood in late Joseon society. This classic narrative, based on historical events, has maintained its popularity through various modern adaptations.

After she dismissed the consorts and concubines, the queen summoned her noble brothers and nephews. Unable to bear her sadness before them, she wept until she choked. The brothers also shed tears as they prostrated themselves before her without uttering a word. As the king watched the scene, he could hardly breathe from the feeling of something crumbling inside him. So he just offered rice porridge to the queen. The queen sighed before she took some porridge once or twice. The king then personally laid her down and adjusted the pillow beneath her head. When he left Gyeongchun Hall of Changgyeong Palace after a while, it was on the Hour of the Snake,[1] on the fourteenth day of the eighth month, in the Year of the White Snake.[2] The queen was thirty-five years old at the time, and it had been eight years since she had been restored as the queen.

      The sound of lamentation reverberated throughout the palace so that it seemed like even ghosts were mourning, and palace maidens hit their heads against one another’s as if to follow the queen to her death. And who could truly fathom the depth of the king’s grief? He struck the ground as he cried out loud, tears falling like rain to soak his dragon robe, so none dared look at him. Officials and commoners alike felt a greater sadness than at the loss of their own parents, all due to the queen’s decorous virtue and behavior.

      Following established funeral rituals, the king laid the body in the coffin before putting on mourning attire. He participated in every memorial service that was held four times a day, bowing down and weeping. His grief grew each day so that the entire palace became worried.  On the fourth day of the ninth month, as the king attended the rite, he ordered a funeral ode he had composed to be read out loud. It was as follows:

      On this year, month, and day, this king comes to address the queen, bearing inadequate offerings as tribute. Ah! Can it be true that the wise queen is gone?  The moon has faded and a new day has come, but I can hardly comprehend what has passed in my disoriented state. I feel that fate has cast me helplessly into a desolate world. Since I cannot hear her voice or see her face, I fear that she is truly gone. Ancients have spoken of the grief at the loss of one’s mate and the sadness at the passing of one’s wife, but the immense pain and regret I feel must be incomparable in old times and new. Ah! The queen was born into an illustrious noble family, and she received the wise instructions of her father and older brothers. She lacked nothing in her extraordinary and beauteous character, but due to an unfortunate fate and my lack of wisdom, she was deprived of her position as queen for six years. How could that be forgotten? In times of uncertainty, she behaved in an ever more upright manner, and in times of confusion, she conducted herself in an ever more tranquil manner. It is due to the virtue of the wise queen that so many of my faults have been hidden. As she filled the palace with her beautiful sense of filial piety and honor, I desired nothing more than to live harmoniously with her in such an atmosphere. Yet Heaven saw fit to take her away so quickly, leaving me with nothing to hope for. Ah! The queen has passed away peacefully to forget this world, but how can I bear the sadness of being left behind to travel on the long and far road of life? Ah! Despite the purity of her character, she could not produce a child, and despite the kindness of her virtue, she could not even reach the age of sixty. How callous the will of Heaven can be! It must be due to my lack of virtue that I lost my good fortune and Heaven came to despise me. So I am beset by endless regret. As I gaze upon Tongmyeong Hall, I seem to hear the queen’s virtuous voice and see her decorous form, but I know that my way to her is blocked and she is thousands of ri away. Even if I had not lost my virtue and lived with her without incident until now, my grief over her loss would have been great. Thinking of how she suffered for six years through my fault, I am drunk with sadness and regret. This overlong ode has become confused, so I will end it here.

When the rites official finished reading, the king burst out in loud weeping, and the sound of his sobbing and the sight of his tears pained the hearts of all present. The officials around him wept in sadness and dared not look up at their sovereign.

      The king granted the queen the posthumous title of Inhyeon,[3] and gave the name of Myeong Tomb[4] to her gravesite in her hometown in Gyeonggi Province. The building at the site was named Gyeongyeon Mausoleum. The monarch ordered high-ranking officials to oversee the construction of the tomb with care, telling them to leave a space at its right side so that he would rest there one day. And the day of the funeral was set for the eighth day of the eleventh month.

      Ah! It is beyond the ability of humans to decide the span of one’s life, as it was the case of the queen who, despite all her wisdom and virtue, could not produce a child, was destined to die young, and was harmed by the slander of wicked people. But Heaven continues to enact its will upon the world. When it is difficult for even good people to gain fortune, how can evil people go through their lives without being subjected to the consequences of their actions?

When the queen had been sick, Consort Jang Hui had gone to see her twice or so but then avoided paying her respects by pretending that she had fallen ill as well. The queen knew her to be a cunning woman who could not refrain from deceiving other people, but she made no mention of her. Lady Jang referred to her not as the queen but as Lady Min, and ordered the shaman and the fortuneteller to pray every day to bring about her death. When the queen finally died, she was filled with joy and acted all the more proudly and arrogantly as someone who succeeded in realizing her will.

      She planned to destroy the spirit house but she was told that since she had prayed to evil spirits there for so many years, getting rid of it so quickly might bring harm upon the crown prince as well as herself. After consulting with the shaman and the fortune teller, it was determined that the seventh day of the ninth month would be a good time to dismantle it. Even such unseemly things are beyond the control of human beings, so there was nothing to be done. 

      At this time, the king did not visit any of his concubines because his thoughts were full of the queen. As he grew increasingly sad beneath the moonlight, his inner pain tormented him to the extent of changing his very appearance. When all his officials bade him to take care of his health, he addressed them.

      “I am sad not because I miss the affection I shared with my wife, but because of the memory of her goodness. That is why I cannot forget the past.”

      At those words, the officials shared in his sadness.

      On the seventh day of the ninth month, the autumn weather was cool and the light of the new moon was hazy. The king fell into a particularly melancholy state and wept by candlelight before he leaned on the backrest of his seat and dozed off. Whether it was a dream or a true vision, a eunuch who had passed away appeared before him and spoke.

      “An evil air and a wicked spirit came to the royal palace, bringing terrible harm upon the queen. I fear that another great misfortune will occur, so I bow down and bid Your Majesty to look into this matter.”

      The eunuch pointed at Chwiseon Hall, then guided the monarch to the building that housed the queen’s memorial tablet. On top of the structure, he saw the queen in the company of her maidens, her face contorted with pain and sadness. She wept as she spoke to the king.

      “Although I was destined to live a short life, I was not meant to die by poisoning. But that woman Jang did countless things to bring curses and damnations upon me until wicked spirits harmed me and cut my life short. That woman Jang became an enemy with whom I could not live in the same world. Because of my unjust death, my spirit is full of regret and stuck among clouds. I could end Jang’s life myself, but I bid Your Majesty to judge this matter for yourself and distinguish between what is white and what is black, and avenge the wrong I suffered. The royal palace will know peace only when all that is wicked has been expelled from it.”

      The king, filled with gladness, tried to grab her clothes and speak to her, but then he woke up and realized that it was a dream. As the candles around him shone brightly and eunuchs attended him outside his chamber, he felt such sorrow that he cried out loud. He then asked a eunuch what time it was, and was told that it was the first watch.[5] The king went forth and ascended his palanquin in a dignified manner. He ordered that they proceed to Yeongsuk Palace quietly without making a fuss. He had not been there in seven or eight years, so no one expected his visit. 

      As it happened, it was Consort Jang Hui’s birthday, and Sukjeong had come to pay her respects and to congratulate her for driving the queen to her death with their stratagem. Lady Jang’s maidens quarreled over who also deserved credit for the deed, bringing up past events. All the while, the shaman and the fortune teller performed a shamanistic ritual at the spirit house. The king arrived on a palanquin without anyone noticing so that when he entered the hall the maidens got up in fright and did not know what to do. He had overheard their conversation and was greatly angered by it but he said nothing so that he could observe their behavior. 

      The maidens thought that since the queen had passed the king had come to see Consort Hui on her birthday. So they prepared a splendid dinner and brought the meal table to him. But the king snorted at it and looked out into the distance where he noticed a building that had been brightly lit but was now dark and quiet. He became suspicious so he went outside and saw a folding screen that covered one side of the structure. When he ordered that the screen be removed, the maidens panicked but there was nothing they could do but obey. On the wall was a portrait which, upon examination, was no doubt that of Queen Min. It was faded and full of holes made by arrows. When the king demanded to know what it was, the people around him were too terrified to speak. Lady Jang came running and spoke out.

      “That is a portrait of the queen. I was so impressed with her virtue that I had it made so that I may think about her.”

      The king replied in anger. “If you had it made so you could think of the queen, why is it full of arrow holes?”

      Lady Jang could not reply.

      The king ordered the eunuchs who came with him to bring some candles and went to a building on the west side which turned out to be a hideous spirit house. With his anger rising, he summoned palace servants and had them gather all the maidens and put them in restraints. He then addressed them with a severe air.

      “I had my suspicions, but if you try to hide any of the cunning and evil things that went on in the palace, I will have you killed.”

      The king’s rage was so great that it was like the sudden clap of thunder and his sternness was as cold as ice. So who would dare hide things from him?

      A wicked maiden named Sigyeong pretended to know nothing at first but when she began to lose skin and flesh from torture, all the maidens quickly revealed everything that had gone on. Hearing their confession, the king’s mind became filled with such horrible images that his body felt a chill and his hair stood on end. He spoke out.

      “They say that if you raise a tiger, you will come to harm in the end. I suppose this is an instance of that. Since I have invited misfortune by not getting rid of that woman Jang, I would be ashamed if this affair became known in other countries.”

      He ordered the palace maidens and servants to be sent to the Office for the Deliberation of Forbidden Affairs so that he could personally interrogate them the following day. He then returned to his quarters but could not sleep. 

      The next day, he made an announcement. 

      “How unfortunate it is that the queen could not live out her destiny but died a most tragic death. It is because Consort Jang Hui, through her wicked stratagem, committed a great crime against the country.”

      He then ordered officials of the Office for the Deliberation of Affairs to take Chunsang, Jeolhyang, and other maidens who were imprisoned at the Royal Treasury building and cut their heads off at Injeong Gate. Royal Secretary Yu Inbu prostrated himself on the ground before addressing his sovereign.

      “Consort Jang Hui’s crime is great, but I beg Your Majesty to calm yourself in consideration of the crown prince.”

      The king replied in anger.

      “I have kept Lady Jang in the royal palace all this time because of the crown prince. Yet she erected a spirit house and hid a cursed object in order to drive the queen to her death. Such an evil and unrighteous act is unprecedented in history. By interrogating the prisoners personally and exposing their guilt, I intend to console the queen’s soul. Yet the royal secretary is trying to protect that traitor Jang by having her questioned at the Office for the Deliberation of Forbidden Affairs. How could an official do such a thing for a criminal who murdered the mother of the country? Deprive Yu Inbu of his title and throw him out of the palace.”

      A prisoner named Cheolhyang, after she was beaten on the shins three times, revealed what she knew.

      “After the spirit house was built in the Year of the Blue Pig,[6] the shaman and the fortuneteller prayed for the queen’s death and Lady Jang’s recovery of her former position. The queen’s portrait was hung and shot with arrows. I know nothing more, but Sihyang and others do.”

      The maiden Sihyang, who was twenty-three at the time, made a confession after she was interrogated.

      “Consort Jang Hui exchanged letters with Jang Huijae’s concubine Sukjeong. Consort Hui was delighted to read her letters, but I do not know why. She summoned Sukjeong and they made many plans to harm the queen. She also hid a small box in her skirt and, accompanied by Cheolhyang and myself, went to a pond on the left side of Tongmyeong Hall at twilight and buried something there. She also sealed something in many envelopes and buried them beneath the stone steps of Sangchun House. Although I went about with Cheolhyang, I did not know what was going on. One day, the maiden Chuiyeong said to Consort Hui, ‘Everything has been completed.’ Consort Hui asked her, ‘Do Siyeong and Cheolhyang know the location?’ Chuiyong replied, ‘They were there when it was done, so they must know. Siyeong and Cheolhyang serve you under different capacities but we do not know their minds, so it would be best not to trick them but to tell them everything.’ I myself did not know anything at the time, but now that I think about it, they must have been planning a treacherous deed out of fear of those in power.”

      Siyeong, who was forty-one at the time, was a wicked person but she dared not hide anything. She related how a skeleton was dressed up in colorful silk, marked with the queen’s birthday and her family name, and buried in the ground; how another skeleton was wrapped in a dress that was sprinkled with powder made from human bones and it was buried as well; and how that dress was then sent to the queen who refused to accept it at first, refused again when it was sent to her on her birthday in the following year, but then finally accepted it out of consideration of the crown prince. She also said that the most heinous act of praying for a curse upon the queen’s life was the idea of Jang Huijae’s concubine, Sukjeong.

      When Sukjeong and others were arrested and severely beaten, the shaman and the fortuneteller made their confession.

      “We have been close to Jang Huijae from the beginning. When he was being sent away in exile, he gave us a lot of money and recommended us to Consort Hui. We lowborn ones are so ignorant, we committed crimes out of greed for treasure. We admit to everything.”

      When Sukjeong was interrogated, she told the truth about her guilt.

      “Consort Hui sent her maidens to me day after day, asking me to make a child’s clothing for her, so I did as she requested. She then sent me treasures every once in a while saying, ‘There is much weeping in Chwiseon Hall as Consort Hui is ill and requires a shamanistic ritual to be performed.’ So I went to the royal palace. As the shaman and the fortuneteller were praying for the death of the queen, Consort Hui told me what was going on and consulted me on the matter. I agreed to join her cause, and I was the one who made that dress for the queen. The skeleton was procured by Jang Huijae’s servant Cheolyeong.” 

      When the order went out to arrest Cheolyeong, he ran away. A few days later, however, he was caught as he was recognized by his facial features. He made his confession.

      “I once made a pact with Jang Huijae to work together for all our lives. When he was being sent away in exile, he gave me a lot of money and said, ‘If there is something that needs to be done on behalf of Consort Hui, do your utmost to achieve it.’ So I procured skeletons from all eight provinces and gave them to her.” 

      Since the confessions of all those who were interrogated were exactly the same, it made all the officials of the court feel a chill go through their bodies and their hair stand on end. When they dug into the ground, they found so many horrifying and evil things that they could hardly look at them. When they took out the queen’s dress and shook it, blue powder fell from it. The king was greatly enraged but he also let out a deep, sad sigh.

      “All that has happened in the royal palace, it is due to the lack of intelligence on my part.  This affair is so shameful that it must not be told to anyone outside. After I die, how could I possibly face the queen in the underworld?”

      From that day on, ten criminals were taken to the Bureau of Weapons where they were beheaded. After the rest of the accused palace maidens and servants were exiled to faraway places, the king spoke out.

      “To cause the death of the mother of the country through a nefarious plan is a serious crime. Yet officials insisting on uttering unseemly words have come to me for several days, submitting memorials that read, ‘It is not right that a king should personally interrogate criminals who have been arrested.’ I am surprised by this. How could it be the right thing for me to follow this advice and not seek to avenge the murder of the queen? I think such officials are bound to cause anxiety and misfortune if I keep them at my side. Send them away in exile to faraway places.”

      Consort Jang Hui was put under house arrest at her quarters. When the king thought of her crimes, he wanted to order her beheading right away. But as the bond between father and son is one of the Five Relationships, he could not impose such a harsh penalty on her and face his son. He spoke.

      “Even if that woman Jang should receive the full punishment for her crimes and be beheaded, that would not make up for all her wrongdoing. But in consideration of the crown prince, I order that she be executed in a manner that keeps her body intact.”

      He then had palace maidens carefully prepare a bowl of poison and send it to Consort Hui along with the following message.

     “Since you have committed a great crime against the country, it is imperative that you take this poison. It is fitting that you should die, so do not look upon the sky and think that you can avoid death. In consideration of the crown prince, I allow you to meet your end with your body intact, so you should regard that as an honor. Now, die quickly.”

      At this time, when the entire country became noisy with the exposure of Lady Jang’s crimes, she felt neither fear nor embarrassment as she was a cunning and stubborn person. She continued to rejoice in the death of the queen and only planned further mischief. When the poison was presented to her, she spoke out.

      “What crime have I committed that I should be given poison? If you want to kill me, then kill my son first.”

      She upturned the bowl of poison and yelled at the maiden who brought it.

      The maiden could do nothing, so she reported to the king who became furious and spoke out.

      “You should be executed in front of me, but I sent you the poison because I was loath to set my eyes on you. If you have any sense of shame, kill yourself quickly so that your son can find peace. Be glad that you do not die at the hand of another. And how dare you spew such foul words at me, going so far as to using your own son. You should understand that I am doing you a great favor by giving you poison to drink. Do not make me add to your punishment by having three generations of your family incur your guilt.”

      When the maiden informed Lady Jang of the king’s words, she stamped her feet and clapped her hands as she replied frantically.

      “Lady Min was destined to live a short life, so what does that have to do with me? If you kill me now, do you think that in the future the crown prince will let you live?”

      And so she spoke without modesty, uttering foul words in a stubborn manner.

      When the king heard what she had said, he blew up in anger and ordered a palanquin to be brought at once. He then rode it to Yeongsuk Palace. When he saw the woman Jang sitting on a patio and ordering people about, he had her dragged down to the garden. He reprimanded her.

      “All of heaven and earth know that you have committed a great crime against the country by murdering the queen. It is fitting that I should have your head and limbs cut off, and display the head for all to see. But in consideration of the crown prince, I granted you the favor of giving you an easy death. So how dare you increase your guilt by refusing my order again and again?”

      The woman Jang opened her eyes wide and looked straight into the king’s face as she replied in a loud voice.

      “Lady Min hated me, and for that she incurred the wrath of Heaven and died as a result. So why am I to blame? All this is the result of Your Majesty’s unwise rule as you have acted in a manner that is unworthy of a king.”

      So she faced him in a fiercely proud manner.

      The king opened his eyes wide in rage and folded up his sleeves before yelling at her.

      “The wickedness of this woman is without precedent even from the time of remotest antiquity.”

        When he ordered those around them to force her to drink the poison, Lady Jang began hitting them with her hands and body as she cursed out.

      “I will die with the crown prince. What crime have I committed?”

      With his anger rising even more, the king ordered that she be restrained and force fed the poison. Many palace maidens came running and held Lady Jang by the arms and waist but she closed her mouth and refused to open it.

      The enraged king ordered, “Pry open her mouth with a stick and pour the poison in.”

      The maidens opened her mouth using the handle of a spoon. When Lady Jang finally realized that she was at a critical point, she wept as she spoke.

      “Your Majesty, I beg you to overlook my guilt and think of our past affection and of the crown prince’s honor, and spare my life.”

      The king ignored her and repeated his order to feed her the poison. The woman Jang then began to speak cunningly to the king as she gazed into his face while weeping as profusely as the rain and begging sorrowfully.

      “If you mean to kill me with this poison, then please let me see the crown prince one last time so that I may go to the underworld without any regret.”

      Through her wickedness, she begged so helplessly that her cunning show was enough to move one’s heart to pity. But the king showed no sympathy for her as he saw to it that three bowlfuls of poison was poured into her. After a moment, she let out a loud scream before collapsing at the steps with blood gushing out of her. One bowlful was enough to melt her vital organs, so with three bowlfuls black blood spilled out of seven orifices[7] at once and spread across the ground. How pitiful it was! Born into the small body of a palace maiden, she murdered the mother of the country and ended up taking many people with her to death. This was no doubt Heaven’s punishment for her crimes.

      The king watched her die before he returned to his quarters and ordered that her body be sent to her original home. He commanded the following day.

      “The crime of woman Jang was great, so I have dealt with her according to royal law. Yet consideration must be given to the love between mother and son. So for the sake of the crown prince, I will allow a simple funeral to be held for her.”

      After Jang Huijae was executed, his body was cut into pieces and all his wealth was confiscated. Every government official and common person in the land was glad to hear of it and rejoiced. 

      Who remained to take proper care of Lady Jang’s body? The corpse that was in a bloody dress was carelessly wrapped in white cloth and taken outside the palace where it was placed in a room to await the king’s order on how to dispose of it. When his command to conduct a simple funeral came, servants sent to bring the body in a coffin discovered that it had disintegrated overnight. It was full of black blood and decaying rapidly. It would have been better if she had been executed cleanly. 

      No one came for Jang Huijae’s body. Because many people ground their teeth in their anger toward him, his head was hung up on a staff so that people could see it. How pitiful it was! Such is the misfortune that comes to those who act in ignorance of their proper place. He had been nothing but a lowborn servant at the palace, so when his sister had become a concubine to the king he should have been content with his raised status and its accompanying luxuries. Yet he had gone beyond his station and ended up committing a great crime against the country. And so all the people of the land should take care to learn from this.

      After the king personally completed the interrogation and punishment of the criminals, he wrote a funeral ode and held a ceremony at Memorial Hall on the thirteenth day of the tenth month. The content of the address was as follows.

Many days and months have passed since the wise queen left for the Heavenly realm. The memory of her voice and form fades, but I think of her more from one month to the next. When I dwell on the past and meditate upon it, I am filled to regret to the marrow of my bones. How could I have known that the queen would come to such an untimely end because of the harm caused by a wicked person? The criminal responsible for her death engaged in unspeakable acts, erecting a spirit house and burying heinous objects in the grounds of the palace, such horrors wreaking havoc upon the queen’s body. When I think of how the queen could hardly bear the strange symptoms of her illness, I feel a tearing pain in my chest. How is it that the harm brought on by such a wicked person could overwhelm the virtue and benevolence of the queen, and how could the great merit accumulated by the ancestors of the Min family not help her? Ah! How tragic this is! It is because I lack goodness that I was unable to keep such evils away. I am the one who invited this misfortune, so what use is it for me to repent it all now? When the queen passed away, that wicked person was still living in a comfortable house. So the queen’s spirit in faraway heaven must have resented me a great deal. Ah! Whoever said that one forgets all things when one dies? The queen’s mind, as radiant as the sun and the moon, did not fade away but came to me in a dream to speak to me in a clear voice. So she was not gone after all. It is thanks to her lesson that I was able to arrest the wicked person and rid the palace of her evil group. With axe and poison, I destroyed their cunning heads and bellies full of unruly appetites. I have taken vengeance upon the queen’s enemy, making sure that she would never return to life. But for all that, I still cannot bring the queen back, so I am beset with pain and my vengeance does not taste sweet. The queen’s spirit, as it wanders between this world and the next, must be sorrowful as well. She had a truly divine capacity for judging people’s character, and when she became queen she cautioned me against having deceitful people around me. But due to my ignorance and lack of moral strength, I did not understand her meaning and allowed a great harm to come. If it had not been for her spirit’s discerning protection, I would not have been able to avenge her, and the presence of so many evil people in the royal palace would have endangered it to the extent of leading to its downfall. But thanks to her radiant spirit, I have emerged from the darkness of my ignorance to rectify the chaotic state of the palace. The deceitful people who harmed the queen in life have become enemies of the country in their death. The queen, being a person of refined morals and steadfast virtue, loved the crown prince more than a child she might have given birth to. Yet it was in the course of her care for the crown prince that she incurred harm. How wise she was! In life, her sagacious goodness was a model for the people, and in death, her radiant spirit relieved the country of its frustration. Ah! As her spirit shines ever so brightly, I pray that she remembers how I grieve for her. 

When the king finished reading, he lamented so greatly that all who saw and heard him could not stop their own tears.

      Although everyone in the palace was filled with sorrow, none dare spoke of it in consideration of the crown prince. After he had matured, his mother had become a source of grief to him. But he received the favor and love of the queen, so he became devoted to her. He could not possibly have imagined even in his dreams that such calamitous events would occur. When they came to be, he did not know what to do with himself. He subsequently took the guilt upon himself and wrote a memorial to the king detailing his faults and asking to be dismissed from his position as the crown prince. The king understood his feelings and addressed him in a sad voice.

      “How could I depose an innocent child for the crimes of his mother? Do not utter such words again.”

      The crown prince then closed the doors of his quarters and stayed indoors, refusing to take the seat of the crown prince. The king summoned him, sat him down, and took his hand. He sighed before consoling him.

      “I can see that the punishment your mother received for her crimes has affected you to the extent of making your soul ill. And you feel too ashamed to remain the crown prince. Although your mother committed acts that were deserving of death, I suffer in my heart as well. It is only natural that a son should be close to his father from the moment of his birth. So how could you spurn your father’s grace? Do not utter such words anymore.”

      The crown prince wept with his head down as he gave thanks to the king for his benevolence, but he could not look at him as he left his presence. He would bear this sorrow for the rest of his life.

      On the twelfth month, on the occasion of the departure of the queen’s coffin from the palace, the king composed another eulogy that read as follows.

Ah! The sagacious queen was a daughter from an illustrious noble family, and she was instructed on the teachings of Gongja.[8] Ever since she married and entered the royal palace, she mastered the etiquette of a great queen and, with the help of her palace maidens, perfected the moral foundation of her quarters and practiced her wifely duties with great distinction. How sad this is! Because of an ill fortune in the land and my lack of virtue, and despite all her goodness she could not enjoy a long life. Ah! Such sorrow I feel. Where can I go to be with her again? With whom could I right my wrongs? Standing before her coffin at Memorial Hall, I could imagine hearing her voice and gazing upon her form. But now that the time has come to conduct her burial rites, she must leave the royal palace forever. I feel as if I am drunk from liquor and my mind is unstable. If the queen’s soul is here, she must experience such feelings as well. The queen may be gone, but the beauteous virtue of her lifetime still shines, and all the people of the land grieve as if they have lost their own parents. She may be gone, but it is as if she is still alive. In the course of the long life I have ahead of me, how am I supposed to bear this sorrow that grows and grows? As long as I am alive, I will dwell on how I can never repay her for all her blessings that were as great as the mountain and the sea. And so I say farewell to her forever. I can only hope to be reunited with her after I am buried next to her at the royal tomb.

After the funeral rites were completed, when the king felt sad, he honored the Min family by granting them awards. The awestruck members of the family begged off such honors and always conducted themselves carefully as they tried to pay their sovereign back for his benevolence with their loyalty.

      As the position of the queen was now empty, it became necessary for someone to fill it. In the Year of the Black Horse,[9] the daughter of Kim Jusin was selected to be queen, and many congratulations came on the occasion. At this time the king could not help thinking of the past and shed tears, so that the new queen, the concubines, and all the palace maidens fell into sadness and wept as well. His grief persisted beyond the three-year mourning period. When he remembered the queen’s final words, he rewarded the ten or so palace maidens who had served her during the six years outside the palace by giving them many treasures and allowing them to return home to live with their families. The maidens were moved to tears with gratitude and could hardly leave the palace. 

      In the Year of the Yellow Dog,[10] the crown prince’s wife, Lady Kim, passed away at Jangchun House in Changgyeong Palace. She had not produced a child. That year Lady Eo from the Hamjong lineage was selected to replace her, but she also failed to produce a child. 

      On the eighth day of the sixth month of the Year of the Blue Rat,[11] at the Hour of the Rabbit,[12] the king passed away at Yungbok Hall in Gyeonghui Palace at the age of sixty-three, sending the entire country into mourning. He was a monarch of many brilliant talents who possessed a sublime sense of virtue and a tolerant heart, and excelled in letters as well as martial skills. Even among great rulers of the past, there had been none like King Sukjong the Great who knew how to quickly recognize his own mistakes and take direct and correct actions to rectify them. 

      After the crown prince ascended the throne and Lady Eo was elevated to the position of queen, he found out that he could not father a child because of a malady. In the following year, therefore, he appointed Lord Yeoning as the crown prince. He would one day become King Yeongjo the Great. Lady Seo from the Dalseong lineage was selected to become his wife. The king and the crown prince had a close relationship, but the monarch passed away on the fifteenth day of the fifth month in the Year of the Blue Dog.[13] He was thirty-seven years old and had been on the throne for only four years. He was buried at the royal tomb in Yangju.

      The crown prince ascended the throne, and this was King Yeongjo the Great. Heaven granted him such a sense of filial piety and propriety that he ruled in peace for fifty years with the virtue of Yo and Sun.[14] As a progeny of King Sukjong the Great, he had received the touching love of Queen Min, so he never forgot the favors she had shown him and cherished her memory. He thought of her as a brilliant and proper person who had been competent in all things and had taken good care of herself, but who had to bear the great sadness of not having a child of her own. After he became king, he visited Queen Min’s original home in Anguk District where she had lived and suffered for six years. Regretting what had passed there, the king had a sign that read ‘A Place Worthy of Remembrance’ installed. He also honored the Min family by visiting its house in Sunla District which had been the home of Minister Min, the older brother of Grand Lord Yeoyang, and the birthplace of Queen Min. For generations the family had produced officials who had served as pillars of the royal court, and Queen Inhyeon had impressed her king with her modesty. Just as the virtues of Tae Im and Tae Sa of Ju dynasty China were passed down to posterity, in our own country the goodness of Queen Inheyon became renowned, so is that not a beautiful thing? The houses in Sunla and Anguk districts will remain in the Min family from one generation to the next, never to disappear. 

After Queen Inhyeon had been ousted from the royal palace, Consort Jang Hui plotted to have her executed through the drinking of poison and to eradicate the Min family as opportunity arose, but the king did not allow it. A few years later, when the king became suspicious after he discovered a number of things, Queen Dowager Myeongseong visited him in a dream in the Year of the Black Monkey.[15] She addressed him with an angry demeanor.

      “The queen is a holy woman of our country, and I loved her dearly. Yet she has been deposed and a wicked lowborn person has been elevated in her place, casting down the country’s dignity. I will not accept the food served at my memorial ceremony.”

      Filled with rage, she got up and told the king that she would take a palanquin through the rear garden to visit the queen. The monarch became filled with embarrassment and shame.  Queen Min then appeared, clad in a colorless dress and sitting across from the king. When the queen dowager came, the queen greeted her with much gratitude for her favor. The queen dowager held her as she lamented.

      “The unfortunate and unavoidable fate you are suffering is harsh, but soon fortune will turn in your favor. So take good care of yourself and do not consort with wicked people.”

      As all the maidens who served the queen began to weep, the noise woke up the king who found himself in his bed.

      He could clearly picture the face of the queen dowager as well as the house where Queen Min lived. The former queen’s confession of her own faults filled him with pity. All day long, he wallowed sadly in sympathy for her and thought of restoring her immediately to the position of queen. But he knew that he could not act lightly in a matter of such importance to the country. So he ordered loyal officials to look into the matter. 

      At this time, all those who worked at the Royal Messengers Office were in cahoots with the palace maidens who served Lady Jang. But others reported to the king that the queen, calling herself a condemned person, refused to see her relatives or siblings, cutting herself off from people completely. They also told him how she lived honestly, virtuously, and modestly, which impressed the king. He then realized that what he had seen in his dream was true. Wicked people continued to slander the queen, saying that early on she became friendly with people outside the palace with whom she planned some treasonous act, going so far as to pray to evil spirits to bring a curse down upon the king. But the monarch protected Queen Min by displaying no reaction to such false reports.

      In the Year of the Blue Dog,[16] the king brought the queen back to the palace and restored her to her former position. Whenever he had free time from ruling the country, he spent it with her. He addressed her.

      “When I summoned you back to the palace, why did you frustrate me by acting so stubbornly? I know that I am an impatient person who cannot abide by many things, but what did it matter that I neglected certain procedures and rules of decorum? But I do realize that if I had deprived woman Jang of her title before bringing you back it would have been more proper and honorable for you. I did not think of that and acted in a neglectful way, so I regret it.”

      The queen was grateful that the king had thought of all that.

      Whenever the crown prince came to play with the queen, he brought her fresh fruit and fair flowers. He spoke to the king.

      “My mother at Yeongsuk Palace has no kindness in her, but my new mother has goodness emanating from her face.” 

      On another day he brought an ornamental knife decorated with coral and gave it to the queen saying, “It is a beautiful thing, so please wear it.”

      On the day that the queen was restored to her position, the king visited her quarters to discuss the matter of granting an official title to the grand lord.[17] He asked her, “I remember the title of his former wife but I do not recall the title of his second wife. Do you know what it is?”

      The queen replied, “I do not remember since I did not use it on a regular basis.”

      The king smiled and said, “You are just trying beg off the honor. How could you forget?”

      After he thought about it, he remembered the title so he created a new one and sent it to the government. The queen was grateful and sad at the same time, but she did not show it. Everyone in the Min family were also grateful to the king for personally overseeing the granting of the new title and looked up to him with sincere respect and obedience. Many people in the Min family were granted new positions in the government which prompted them to beg off as they dared not accept such high honors. But as the king insisted on the favor, they had no choice but to attend to him at the royal court. And so the honor of the family became ever more impressive.

      As the king received the queen with great politeness, he addressed her.

      “I have known little joy in my life, but your return to the palace has brought me the greatest happiness.”

      King Sukjong the Great was a monarch of great virtue who had a momentary lapse in judgment that he presently recovered from. He was indeed a king of great courage and talent above countless generations of rulers. And there are many who even now praise Queen Inhyeon’s upright and modest virtue as well as her conduct which were as pure as snow.

      How fair it was! The loyalty of Bak Taebo was without precedent in history, setting the standard for all his descendants to follow. 

Translated by Minsoo Kang

[1]        Roughly nine o’clock in the morning to eleven.

[2]        The year 1701.

[3]        Meaning ‘benevolence manifested.’

[4]        Meaning ‘radiant tomb.’

[5]        Roughly seven o’clock in the evening to nine.

[6]        The year 1695.

[7]        Seven orifices of the face: eyes, ears, nostrils, and mouth.

[8]        Korean for the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius.

[9]        The year 1702.

[10]       The year 1718.

[11]       The year 1720.

[12]       Roughly from five o’clock in the morning to seven.

[13]       The year 1724. 

[14]       Korean for the legendary ancient Chinese rulers Yao and Shun.

[15]       The year 1692.

[16]       The year 1694.

[17]        Reference to Queen Inhyeon’s father Min Yujung, Grand Lord Yeoyang.

Record of the Virtue of Queen Inhyeon, Lady Min

Azalea: A Journal of Korean Literature and Culture  
Volume 10, 2017, 275-345.

Trans. Minsoo Kang

Copyright © 2017 The President and Fellows of Harvard College

Digitally published by the Literature Translation Institute of Korea in 2022.