Choe Rip (崔岦, 30 May 1539 (3rd day of the 5th lunar month)1 – 7 August 1612 (11th day of the 7th lunar month)2) was a literary scholar and civil official of the mid-Joseon period. His courtesy name was Ipji (立之), his art name was Ganyi (簡易) and Donggo (東皐), and his family seat was Tongcheon (通川)1. Together with Yi I and others, he is counted among the eight great prose masters of the Seonjo era, and he was a master of diplomatic documents, whose fame reached as far as China. In factional terms he belonged to the Westerners, and he was a close friend of Heo Jun3, author of Donguibogam, and of Seokbong Han Ho4, known as a master calligrapher.
Song Gap-jo (art name Suong), the father of Song Si-yeol (Useong), was among his disciples. He was a disciple of Yi I.
Life
Early years
In 1539 (34th year of Jungjong), he was born in Kaesong as the son of the Jinsa Choe Ja-yang. His eighth-generation ancestor was Choe Un-hae, a famous general of the late Goryeo and early Joseon, and he was a descendant of [https://dh.aks.ac.kr/sillokwiki/index.php/%EC%B5%9C%EC%9C%A4%EB%8D%95(%E5%B4%94%E6%BD%A4%E5%BE%B7)|Choe Yun-deok], who opened the northern border of the Four Commanderies and Six Garrisons in the reign of King Sejong. His fifth-generation ancestor5 Choe Ro was known as a master calligrapher, and as a Jeolchung sanghogun he was enshrined in the Shrine of Loyal Subjects of King Danjong. It is said that Choe Rip began writing characters and composing poems from the age when he could hold a brush. He broadened his scholarship as a disciple of the great scholar Yi I of his time, and in 1555 (10th year of Myeongjong) he passed the Jinsa examination and became a Jinsa.
Entering office
In 1561 (16th year of Myeongjong) he passed the regular literary examination with first place and entered public service. Through his literary talent and learning he earned the praise of many men of letters of his day, but he was also criticized for his attitude of not recognizing the scholars of his time.
After passing with first place, he served as magistrate of Jangyeon, and in 1571 (5th year of Seonjo) he became magistrate of Ongjin. In 1576 (10th year of Seonjo) he was appointed magistrate of Jaeryeong. In 1577 (11th year of Seonjo) he went to the Ming court as a jilijeong (text examiner) for the Chusacheong (envoy) sent to petition for the revision of the Jongye record. After returning from Ming he again served as magistrate of Jaeryeong. It was during this time that he associated with Yi I (李珥), who was then living in seclusion in Haeju.
In 1581 (14th year of Seonjo), while serving as magistrate of Jaeryeong in Hwanghae Province, he worked hard to relieve the people suffering from famine, and as a result King Seonjo bestowed upon him pyori (outer and inner garments that the king gave to his subjects). In the same year he again served as jilijeong to the Chusacheong Kim Gye-hui and went to Ming.
In 1584 (17th year of Seonjo) he served as Cheomji. However, early that year he suffered the grief of parting from Yi I, a colleague he respected and a close friend. In 1586 (19th year of Seonjo) he was transferred to Hogun, and there he placed first in the Imunjeong examination, which tested the literary ability and learning of officials. As a result he rose to Cheomji Jungchubusa (senior 3rd rank, danggwan) and enjoyed the honor of being granted the title of Gayeon Daebu (senior 2nd rank).
In 1587 (20th year of Seonjo) he served as Pansagyeol of the Jangnyewon, but the Office of Censors requested his investigation for having mishandled a lawsuit. In the same year, 1587 (20th year of Seonjo), he was transferred to the outer post of magistrate of Jinju, where he served for six years and compiled the Sipga Geunche (十家近體). In 1591 (21st year of Seonjo) he also wrote a memorial reporting to the throne the situation that Japan was threatening Joseon and intended to invade Ming.
Imjin War
In 1592 (25th year of Seonjo), the year the Imjin War broke out, on 9 September he was appointed Gongju magistrate, but before he took up the post, on 13 September he was transferred again to Jeonju buyun, and he served as Jeonju buyun until May of the following year, 1593 (26th year of Seonjo). Afterward he became Seungmunwon jejo, and during the war he stayed in the temporary court at Pyongyang and Uiju, where he wrote many diplomatic documents to be sent to Ming. His literary skill was such that no one could match it, and he gained great renown. In November of that year he went to Ming as a Jusacheong gyeom Sain-sa (envoy). The works he wrote were highly praised and respected by Ming officials and scholars. In August 1594 (27th year of Seonjo) he went to Ming as deputy envoy of the Jusacheong and handled diplomacy, and for the investiture of the crown prince he again went to Ming as deputy envoy of the Jusacheong with the chief envoy Yun Geun-su. At that time he exchanged several poems and maintained a lifelong friendship with Yun Geun-su. Shortly after returning from Ming, in 1595 (28th year of Seonjo) he rose to Pansagyeol of the Jangnyewon, and in the same year he concurrently held the post of Seungmunwon jejo. Then once more he wrote the opening preface of the document for the investiture of the crown prince. In the same year he submitted a memorial requesting to resign from the post of Seungmunwon jejo, but it was not approved. Afterward, while concurrently holding the post of Seungmunwon jejo, his offices became Haenghogun and Haengbuhogun. (The character 行 placed before an office was attached when an official of high rank was appointed to a lower post.) In 1597 (30th year of Seonjo) he served as magistrate of Anbyeon, and then again became Pansagyeol of the Jangnyewon. In 1598 (31st year of Seonjo) he was ordered to take charge of the Chinese envoy's escort office, but he resigned due to illness and stayed at Tongjin.
After the Imjin War
After the Imjin War and the Jeong-yu War both ended in 1598 (31st year of Seonjo), he rose to Seungmunwon jejo, and he went three times to the Ministry of Rites in the Ming capital, Beijing, to submit documents. It is said that even Ming scholars greatly admired Choe Rip's writings.
After the Imjin War, in 1599 (32nd year of Seonjo) he took up the post of Haeng Yeoju magistrate, an outer post. In 1600 (33rd year of Seonjo) he lived in Yongsan and associated with the notable men of his time, and then in 1601 (34th year of Seonjo) he built the Ganyidang in Pyongyang and stayed there. In 1602 (35th year of Seonjo) he returned to the court, became Seungmunwon jejo concurrently Jeonggyojeong dangsang, and was ordered to take charge of the revision of the I Ching. However, because his opinions did not agree with others, he submitted a memorial requesting to resign from the post of dangsang of the I Ching Revision Office.
At the center of factional strife
Choe Rip was an acquaintance of Yi I, who was elevated as the leader of the Westerners, and he also had deep friendships with Yun Du-su and Yun Geun-su, who were central figures of the Westerners. The records of exchanges with Choe Rip in the collected works of Yun Du-su, Oeum Yugo, amount to more than ten instances. Until the early stage of the Imjin War, after he entered office, his literary reputation was good, and the only reason his work was not highly used was that his ancestors had not held high office.6
That family background was an important factor for appointment to important posts is clearly shown by the fact that Yi Hang-bok and Yi Deok-hyeong, who rose to the ranks of chief ministers in their thirties during the Imjin War, both had fathers who had served in high offices of dangsanggwan rank or above.7 Moreover, this is seen even more clearly in the case of Yun Du-su and Yun Geun-su, brothers with whom he had friendships, and in the men who rose to important posts at court at that time.
A similar case is Yi I, who, among the figures of his time, became a high official despite his father not holding a high post, and who gained fame as a prodigy.8 Even Yi I, whom King Seonjo cherished so much, resigned from office many times, and as a result he reached the rank of senior 2nd rank only at age 46. At age 47 he even became senior 1st rank Upchanseong, but until his death he remained mostly in the post of minister.
When the Easterners and Westerners divided and full-scale factional strife began, slander and jealousy about his writing began. In 1586 (19th year of Seonjo) he placed first in the Imunjeong examination, and according to the national law he rose to the office of Cheomji Jungchubusa and was given the rank of Gayeon Daebu, junior 2nd rank. However, the memorials objecting that his grant of Gayeon Daebu was excessive appear as many as five times in the Veritable Records alone, and King Seonjo repeatedly rejected them.9 It seems that this unusual measure by Seonjo instead became the occasion for intensified checks on him.
In his younger years, even though he passed by posts of pure office or positions on the road to success because of his humble family, he placed first in the Imunjeong examination, which the state recognized for scholarship, yet he was never once appointed to an office concerned with learning. At that time, the offices concerned with learning were the gateway to important high posts, and in those days they were a necessary course for reaching the high officials of senior 2nd rank and above.10
During the Imjin War, when Easterners led the court of Joseon, slander about his humble family and about his writing increased more and more. This slander was carried on to his son Choe Dong-mang as well. He was excluded from important posts at the central court and was given official posts far from scholarship.11 Under these circumstances, after the Imjin War he repeatedly resigned or went to outer posts in order to write books.12 Yet, because there was no outstanding man capable of handling diplomatic documents, he was again appointed to the central court, and this pattern repeated until his death in old age.
Evaluations of Choe Rip in the Veritable Records
Ming official Liu Huang-shang showed an insolent attitude toward the retainers of Joseon's scholar-officials and even toward the king, but when reading Choe Rip's writings he is said to have washed his hands, burned incense, and read the documents respectfully and reverently.
"Your writing is inferior to Kim Su-on of Goe-ae in its ki (vital force), but superior in its beop (method). It falls behind Kim Jong-jik of Jeompilje in its i (principle), but is better in its sa (expression). If one takes the strengths and supplements the weaknesses, it is nearly a tripartite balance. The remaining three or four gentlemen are merely good when compared to a mere scholar." Thus he highly evaluated Choe Rip's writing.
After his death, in the 7th year of Yeongjo (1731, 10th day of the 6th month), a mention of Choe Rip appears in a conversation between Yeongjo and Park Mun-su recorded in the Seungjeongwon Ilgi.
Song In-myeong reported, "A person like this should not be treated with baseless debate or worldly views."
Then the king said (Chusang, referring to the king): "Appointing a military official to the Three Offices (Hojo, Hyeongjo, Gongjo) was done in the past too. If their aspirations are not greatly different, one should employ them solely on the basis of talent. How could one simply follow worldly conduct? In the past, Choe Rip also was not from a distinguished family."
Kim Jae-ro said, "He was a jungin (middle people)."
Then the king said, "If there were a Choe Rip in such a time, would you not employ him?"
Park Mun-su said, "How could a man like Choe Rip be easily obtained in this world?"13 -Omitted-
The Choe Rip who appeared in the conversation between the ruler and the ministers, long after his death, is, in context, a recollection that he was a talent sufficient for important use regardless of the fame of his family. However, the modern translator who rendered this Seungjeongwon Ilgi text into Korean explained in a 2018 annotation a mistaken annotation about the phrase "was not from a distinguished family," and this resulted from quoting the parenthetical text of the historian's note in the Joseon Wangjo Sillok. The Joseon Wangjo Sillok too was rendered into modern Korean, and a historian added an extra interpretive note that "his lineage was humble," and by quoting this, the meaning is reversed as if the history books belittled Choe Rip's family and did not employ him highly.
However, if one looks clearly at the historical record before and after, as can be seen, Choe Rip, even though his family's power was weak and his people were few, was a talent who greatly helped the state when employed, and this is the proof for which Choe Rip is mentioned, and it can be seen that he left great influence on the state affairs of later generations.
During the Imjin War, a time of national calamity in which millions of people died, despite submitting several memorials requesting dismissal because of the importance of diplomatic documents to Ming, he was repeatedly assigned posts until his old age, and his desire to rest from office and devote himself solely to literary writing was not fully realized.
Many writers and scholars of his time recognized his ability and fame, and in the 40th year of Seonjo's reign (1607) Heo Gyun praised him, saying, "His meaning is deep and his expression is outstanding." In the obituary (jolgi) in the Veritable Records, it is explained that "his family was humble, but his person was arrogant." However, in his memorial of 1595 requesting dismissal from the post of Seungmunwon jejo, he lowered himself, saying that he was "himself humble and his literary skill empty in name," and in later memorials too there are writings that consistently lower himself.14 This shows the extreme severity of the historians' slander and that the enmity of factions was recorded in the historical materials as it was, and it reveals both the intense defamation and the distortion of modern interpretation.
If one were to faithfully transmit the coarse writing of the Gwanghaegun Ilgi:
"The writings of Choe Rip, with their sharp will and plain intention, have a remarkably fine style. If his intention is too deep, he rather conceals it; if his words are too strange, he rather makes them difficult, and in the end he formed his own school of style. If one discusses its flaws, there is a somewhat cramped feeling, but when judged by the rules there is truly a unique and earnest craftsmanship. His poems too have a vigorous charm, and he obtained the method of structuring verses of Huang Shan-gu (Huang Tingjian) and Chen Hou-shan (Chen Shidao), but because he gave excessive meaning and removed modifiers, striving only to eliminate hackneyed words, there were many stiff expressions and no poetic charm. During the six years he was magistrate of Jinju, he wrote only one regulated verse before returning, so such was his polishing and revision. Once he wrote a quatrain on the subject of a strange rock, in which there is the line: a stone as large as a louse hanging between the windows, in three years it became as big as a cartwheel; to me a stone the size of a fist, not facing toward Hwasan it sits. Such great charm was like this.15"
is what is described.
Since the original text of the Veritable Records is in classical Chinese, when it is rendered into Korean in this way, the individual feelings of the historian strongly influence the result. He is said to have been lazy and to have written barely one poem in six years, and it is coldly evaluated that he had no poetic charm; but unlike these disparaging descriptions, in fact, many diplomatic documents, poems, and prose works were produced over Choe Rip's life. They were compiled into nine volumes in the later reign of Injong and were even printed and preserved, and traces of his active literary work remain in various old documents. Looking at the traces of Choe Rip's writings in various historical materials, it is clear how narrow-minded and distorted the obituary is in calumniating people, claiming that in the six years of his later tenure he wrote only one regulated poem.
He is counted, together with Han Seokbong, among the three great writers with beautiful calligraphy, and he was also very famous as one of the eight great prose masters recognized for his creative power. Therefore, just as his ancestor General Choe Yun-deok was repeatedly mentioned over the 500-year history of the Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty, Choe Rip too was a figure whose achievements continued to be mentioned after his death.
However, it is too extremely malicious, to the point of overshadowing his fame, to describe the record of a literary giant who was in charge of Ming diplomatic documents and was widely known not only in Joseon but also in China, with the slanderous obituary texts in the Gwanghaegun Ilgi.16
Choe Rip was a literary figure representing the mid-to-late Joseon period, and his ability as an official was repeatedly praised to the point of serving as a model. He left a great influence on Joseon history. If one gathers the more than 30,000 old documents taken out during the Japanese colonial period, the many classical historical materials scattered and not yet interpreted within the country, a clear record of achievement can be found for this figure; yet until now, efforts to seriously excavate and continue the lineage of Joseon classical literature have not progressed. Even the translation work promoted in the 21st century by the Korea Institute of Classical Literature Translation was not free from the political defamation of its time. In his poem depicting the dream in which he met his five-year-old child lost in the calamity of the Imjin War, and in his poem rejoicing in the victory reports of the allied army during the war, one can fully feel the period sentiment of a literary man who endured the most tragic era of Joseon history.
Old age
After the compilation of the Juyeok Eonhae (周易諺解) in 1603 (36th year of Seonjo), he requested an outer post for the revision of the I Ching and became magistrate of Haeng Ganseong, and after more than three years at Ganseong he completed the revision of the I Ching. However, in the early period of his tenure he placed too much importance on this revision work and neglected the affairs of the district, and as a result he heard discontented voices from the people. After finishing the revision of the I Ching, he performed his administrative duties properly, and when his term ended he returned to the central court and rose to vice minister of Punishments. In 1606 he took the post of Dongji jungchubusa concurrently Seungmunwon jejo. In 1607 (40th year of Seonjo) he again went out as magistrate of Gangneung. In 1608 (41st year of Seonjo), at the age of 70, he requested dismissal due to illness. Afterward he gave up his office, lived at his home in Hanyang, and then moved to Kaesong, where he spent the rest of his life. He died in Kaesong on the 11th day of the 7th month of 1612 (5th year of Gwanghaegun), at the age of 74.
After his death, in 1631 (9th year of Injo), through the arrangement of Wolsa Yi Jeong-gwi and others, nine volumes of his autograph collection were published, and afterward, suffering loss during the Manchu invasions (Byeongja Horan) and other disasters, the nine-volume collection was re-published as a woodblock movable-type edition in 1643 (21st year of Injo), and it is now preserved at the National Museum of Korea.
Evaluation
In the Seonjo period, Choe Rip, Yi I, Yi San-hae, Choe Gyeong-chang, Baek Gwang-hong, Yun Tak-yeon, Song Ik-pil, and Yi Sun-in were named as the eight great writers of Joseon. He, who made his name in writing in both Joseon and Ming, was famous for his excellent poetic talent and for his uigomun style modeled on ancient prose, and he was skilled at the Songseol style of calligraphy. Originally a man of Hanyang, he lived in seclusion in Kaesong, and for that reason, together with Cha Cheon-ro and Han Ho (Han Seokbong), both from Kaesong, he was called the "Three Masters of Songdo" (松都三絶).
He was a close friend of the medical scholar Heo Jun, who was his age-mate. When Heo Jun completed the Donguibogam in 1610 (2nd year of Gwanghaegun) and was restored to his rank and returned to court, the poems he wrote expressing his emotions are preserved in Choe Rip's collection Ganyijip (簡易集). In his later years he respected the writings of Ouyang Xiu and always carried them with him, and in his early period he is described as having loved the writings of Ban Gu and Han Yu and having tried to emulate them.
While he was alive he made his name in both Ming and Joseon through his writing. Some people gave him harsh criticism, saying that his writing was difficult and obscure, yet his works were widely included in the later selections: not only the officially compiled Byeonbon (別本) Dongmunseon (東文選) compiled in the reign of Sukjong, but also the private anthologies of Dongmun Palga Seon (東文八家選) compiled by Seo Yu-bi, Dongmun Jipseong (東文集成) by Song Baek-ok, Sagunja Muncho (四君子文鈔) by Nam Gong-cheol, and Daedong Munjun (大東文雋) by Hong Gil-ju. In addition, he became the subject of commentary by many prose writers, including Kim Chang-hyeop, Kim Chang-heup, and An Seok-gyeong, and considering the contemporary situation in which only Chinese writings were mainly dealt with, this was quite exceptional.
He was also evaluated as having established his own school in poetry. His poems are characterized by a refined and polished poetic style modeled on Huang Ting-jian and Chen Shi-dao, and Heo Gyun and Hong Man-jong even evaluated them as superior to his prose.
The poem titled Goeseok (<怪石>) that he wrote during his six years of service as magistrate of Jinju is as follows.
窓間懸一虱
目定車輪大
自我得此石
不向華山坐
A louse hangs between the window frames,
Stare at it and it looks as big as a cartwheel.
Since I obtained this stone,
I no longer sit facing toward Mount Hwa.
In 2014, a Korean rendering of Choe Rip's Chinese poem "Uhu" (雨後), introduced through a news outlet, is as follows:
朝來風急雨濛濛 錦繡千林一半空 (Jonae pungeup umongmong geumsu cheollim ilban gong)
已作漫山秋色了 殘紅與泛碧溪中 (Iljak manssan chusaek ryo janhong yeo beom byeok gyejung)
A strong wind blew in the morning and drizzle fell,
The brocade-embroidered forest was half emptied.
The whole mountain has already put away its autumn colors, and only blue hues float on it.[17]
Rendering a Chinese poem into Korean gives it Korean literary form, so the speaker's nuance cannot be accurately captured. The result can be as different as translating a foreign language, and the possibility of mistranslation is therefore very large.
A Korean poetic text polished directly by a descendant of the Tongcheon Choe clan genealogy[18] is as follows.
"In the morning wind, drizzle falls drop by drop, embroidering the brocade over a thousand trees, and half of the view turns empty.
The whole mountain has already finished its autumn colors, yet the remaining red leaves dye the blue valley stream all over."
The problem of mistranslation
As can be confirmed from the original text at link 17 above, this text is a creative poetic line made by Choe Rip himself,
but from the article title, which calls it "a Chinese poem interpreted into our sijo," it commits the error of misleading people into thinking the work originated in China.
The parenthetical note on Choe Rip's family in the historical record was also the character "寒微" (hanmi), and the characters for "cold" (寒, han) and "rare" (微, mi) have been mistranslated as a disparagement of his lineage. Because the interpretation "poor family," which does not exist in the original, arose from a wrong Korean translation, and this wrong Korean translation was moved around in various places, interpretations differing from the original meaning, such as "half-humble" (반한한) or "originally poor," accumulated and were repeated in descriptions of the figure. The Tongcheon Choe family was a famous house throughout the Goryeo period, and even in early Joseon it had a firm standing, to the point that it was among the first to become a meritorious subject for King Sejong's merit subjects; it was a distinguished family that continued for a long time. Although it was implicated in the Danjong tragedy, the reputation of Choe Rip's family itself and the remembrance of its ancestors continued to be repeated throughout the Joseon dynasty, so there is controversy over interpreting the phrase "being in a humble family" as economic poverty or the lowliness of the family. This can also be seen in the interpretation of Choe Rip's Chinese poem in recent media reports, where the process of mistranslation can be traced.
Regarding the line 已作漫山秋色了 殘紅與泛碧溪中, the interpretation "the whole mountain has put away its autumn colors and only blue hues float" is a serious distortion.
The original line treats the character 殘紅 (janhong, "remaining red") as if it were absent entirely, and also ignores the character 溪 (gye, "stream"), so even the color imagery in the line has been transmitted in exactly the opposite way. By ordinary sense, a mountain that has "put away autumn" (了) must be in the following season, winter, so it is impossible for a winter mountain to remain blue. Moreover, if one inserts into the interpretation the age descriptions of "fifties and sixties," which Choe Rip did not intend in his creative purpose, and further adds the strained and fanciful interpretation that "the speaker, an aged poet, harbors a longing for lost green youth," the original meaning of the poem cannot be recognized. When the poem is damaged to this degree by a mistaken historian in the modern era, a normal critical review cannot be achieved either. Therefore, interpretations that imply or omit should be restrained.
Since translation and interpretation are not re-creation, the interpretation of historical materials should follow explicitness.
- 《Ganyijip (簡易集)》
- 《Jooyeok Bonui Gugyeol Bueol (周易本義口訣附說)》
- 《Hansa Yeoljeon Cho (漢史
기타
벼슬에 대하여
통천최씨 가문이 계유정란과 사육신 사건으로 멸문의 피해를 입은 내력을 고려할 때, 관료로서 벼슬의 기록은 꽤 자세히 남아 있다. 선조실록에는 "다만 재상의 반열17에 오른자가 직무를 소홀히 한다."는 탄핵 상소가 있었다고 적고 있으나, 이것은 상황을 너무 과장한 것이다.
조선시대의 평균 수명을 훌쩍 넘어 연로한 문관이 관직을 반복하여 사양하였음에도 조정에서는 계속 임관하였고, 사헌부의 추고를 받을 당시에는 이미 환갑의 나이였다. 동부중추부사로서 영위사의 양조령에 재수되었을 때에는 병이 들어 관직을 위한 운신이 어려운 때였고, 사간원의 탄핵은 임명을 철회하는 통상 절차로 생각할 수 있다. 기록으로 볼 때 일반적 의미의 '파직'이라 보기 힘들 정도로 즉각적인 임관 기록이 이어진다. 탄핵과 파직이 언급된 해에도 여주목사, 종사관직에 임명되었고, 1602년(선조 35년)에도 당상직에 임명되었다는 기록이 있다. '당하직'이 아니라 '당상직'이다.
1605년 간성 군수로 있으며 편찬한 <주역본위구결부설>은 현재 서울대 규장각 한국학연구원에 남아 있다.
유실된 임관기록들
임진왜란 초기에 최립의 벼슬이 낮다 하여 외교문서에 벼슬을 높여 보낸 것 때문으로 보이는데18, 《간이집》 권4 사행문록에 외교문서들이 수록되어 있고, 벼슬은 이조참판과 예조판서라고 기록하였다. 공식기록이라 할 만한 실록에는 정2품 이상의 벼슬을 한 기록이 한 번도 없다는 기존 서술은 게시물 내의 내용에서도 반론의 여지가 확인된다. 일본의 침략 전쟁을 두 번 거치며 수없이 소실되고 어렵게 남은 잔여 조선시대 기록을 편파적으로 확인하여 고관직을 하지 않았다고 하기에는 인정하기 어렵다. 당상관이 정1품에서 정3품까지의 상위 관료 품계이고, 참판 또한 판서의 보좌관으로 '제조'의 업무를 겸했다는 기록을 보아도, 또 여러 번 천거되었다는 서술이 있는 실록 속 기록과, 다회차 승문원 제조 임명 기록을 보아도, 그 지적은 내용이 크게 어긋난다.
정2품 이상의 관리가 사망했을 때 받게 되는 시호 기록이 없으며, 외교문서에 벼슬을 올려 적은 일은 이미 알려진 사실인데도 재상의 반열이라 한 것과, 사망 이후인 인조조에 《간이집》을 간행하면서 재신이라 한 것과, 숙종조에 최석정의 상소문에서 참판이라 기록한 것도 실록에는 없다는 기존 서술의 주장 또한, 사실로 확인할 수 있는 부분은 선조시대 40여 년의 기간에 대해 상당 부분의 기록이 소실되었다는 것뿐이다.
현존하던 시대로부터 400년 넘는 시간과 많았던 전쟁들, 그리고 36년간의 일제강점기 동안 수없이 반출되고 유실되었던 한국 고문서들의 불행을 생각할 때, 최립의 벼슬직에 시호를 받지 못했다거나 사실이 아닌 것 같다는 의구심을 제기하는 것은 매우 번외적이며 생각할 내용이 아니다.
임진왜란은 조선왕조가 가장 귀히 여겼던 조상을 모시는 '종묘'조차 불태워 전소시켰던, 엄청나게 격렬했던 전쟁이었다. 추산 100만 명 이상의 인구가 죽고 10만 명 이상이 피랍되었으며, 7년 넘게 이어진 전쟁과 국가 기능 상실의 시간 동안 민족 역사의 근간이 너무 많이 수탈되었고, 오늘날에도 적정히 회수하지 못하여 사료를 중요하게 지키지 못하고 있다.
최립은 명나라에서 유학하여 한문학을 공부하였고, 왜란을 피해 도망간 조선 왕조를 대변하여 병력을 요청하는 탄원 문서를 보내던 외교관이었다. 임진왜란 당시 '전주부윤' 직은 현재로 치면 '시장' 또는 '장관' 수준의 관직이며, 신료들의 대화에서 호남 영토의 크기와 인구의 중대성이 강조되어 임관이 신중히 논의되었던 자리였고, 임관 시의 대화가 그대로 남아 있다. 전란 중에도 조선을 구하고자 하는 마음으로 명나라에 보낸 호소문들은 후대 인조대에 정리된 문집에 내용이 남아 있다. 또한 단지 중국에 군사를 빌리는 목적으로 굽신거리기만 하지 않고, 국가의 체신을 중히 다루며 긴박하게 논한 군신의 대화들은 선조와의 알현 기록에 그대로 남아 있다.
조선시대의 영토가 지금의 남한과 북한을 합친 크기의 영토였고, 현재의 오키나와가 류큐왕국으로 분리된 국가로 존재하며 일본 본토군과 연합하여 전쟁에 참여하였던 것을 생각하면, 그 당시 명나라가 조선을 분할하려 하거나, 왕인 선조가 급박한 전쟁 상황에서 폐위하려 했다는 상황에서, 최립과 같이 명나라에 소통 창구가 되는 관료가 너무나 중요했던 시대 상황이었다는 것은 두말할 필요가 없다. 현대적으로 풀어 쓰면, 일본이 쳐들어오는 상황에서 중국어에 능하고 중국 정부를 설득할 만한 문장력을 갖추고, 중국용 외교문서를 정교하게 쓸 줄 아는 유일무이한 외교관이 바로 문관 최립이었던 것이다. 그 능력이 중대하게 다루어지고 벼슬을 쫓지 않아 임관을 원치 않았던 최립의 행보는, 당파와 권력을 쫓던 신료들에게 질시의 대상이 되기에 충분했다. 당시에 명나라와의 소통이 너무나 중요했을 것이고, 이런 인재가 국가 존립에 크게 관여되어 있었는데, 명나라로 보낸 문서에 언급된 벼슬이 사실인지 아닌지, 이조참판을 했던 정2품 품계 기록이 남아 있지 않아 과장인지 거짓인지를 의심하는 품계 논쟁을 21세기에 시도하고 있는 것은, 후세에게는 너무나 황망하고 어이없는 서술이다.
최립이 작성한 외교 문서로 침략당하는 조선의 상황을 설득하여 명나라로부터 4만 명의 군사를 출정 지원받았고, 명과 연합군으로 일본 침략 전쟁에서 최종 승리를 거두어 조선을 지켜낼 수 있었다. 그 때의 조선인들은 수없이 많은 죽음과 전쟁 피해의 참상을 겪었고, 다섯 살에 죽은 자식을 타지에 묻고 피난을 가던 최립의 처지 역시 편안하지만은 않았다. 그 후 수십 년이 지난 1626년에 발부된 호패청의 집계가 겨우 226만 명인데, 호패를 발부받지 않은 여성과 어린이, 노령층을 두세 배로 합산하여도 전부 합해서 천만 명에도 채 못 미쳤을 인구수의 조선시대에, 장기적 전쟁으로 얼마나 많은 목숨이 잃어졌는지는 두말할 필요가 없다. 어느 드라마에서는 360만 명의 사상자라고 언급하기도 하였는데, 두 번의 환란 중에 공직에 매여 전쟁을 고스란히 치르던 문인의 벼슬 임관 기록들이 하나하나 온전히 남아 있기를 바라는 것부터가 상당한 무리이다. 기존 글에 임진왜란 전에 정2품 품계 기록이 없다는 시비가 있었으나, 1584년(선조 17년) 호군(護軍)으로 있을 때 이문(吏文) 정시(庭試)에서 수석을 차지하여 종2품 가선대부(嘉善大夫)로 승품(陞品)되었다는 기록이 존재하며, 이 안에도 서술되어 있다. 기록자들의 인물 연구에는 좀 더 많은 확인이 필요하다. 조선왕조실록만이 유일한 사료는 아니며, 조선시대의 승지 또한 개인이기에 조정에서 언급된 적 없는 사족의 글을 인물평가로 확대하는 것은 물의를 일으킬 수 있고, 승지의 기록이 컴퓨터 기록처럼 명확할 수 있던 시대가 아님을 우선 고려해야 할 것이다.
임진왜란 중 기록 유실은 광해군 4년에 최립이 사망하고, 이후 인조가 즉위하여 두 번의 호란을 겪으며 더 많은 기록이 유실된 것으로 판단할 수 있다.19
각주