Kim Jeon (金詮, 1458 – 1523) was a civil official and scholar of early and mid Joseon. His courtesy name was Jungryun (仲倫), his pen names were Naheon (懶軒) and Neunin (能人), and his posthumous name was Chungjeong (忠貞). He was from the Yeonan (延安) clan. During the reign of Yeonsangun, he was implicated in the Muo Purge (戊午士禍), dismissed from office, and exiled to Namhae. However, when Jungjong came to power, he was reappointed and held several posts before becoming Right State Councillor of the Uijeongbu and soon after Chief State Councillor. In 1513, after reformist new Sarim scholars such as Jo Gwang-jo (趙光祖) entered government, he opposed their radical reform policies.
He was one of the co-compilers of the Veritable Records of Seongjong and the Sokdongmunseon. He was so incorruptible that he owned no house, no fields, and enjoyed himself only with a geomungo and wine. He was also a skilled writer. However, he was identified as one of the instigators of the Gimyo Purge (己卯士禍), and together with Nam Gon he was branded a traitor by the Sarim faction and faced much criticism.
He was the father-in-law's uncle of... (sic)
Kim An-no (金安老) was his nephew, and he was the great-grandfather of Kim Je-nam (金悌男) of Kim Je-nam, a Yeongdonnyeong Buwon-gun, and the great-great-grandfather of Queen Inmok (仁穆大妃), the second queen of Seonjo. In addition, Yun Won-hyeong (尹元衡), a Lesser Yoon (小尹) and younger brother of Queen Munjeong (文定王后), was his granddaughter's husband. His nephew Kim An-no and granddaughter's husband Yun Won-hyeong were members of the Hungu faction, a faction of royal relatives, but he was a Sarim scholar and a disciple of Kim Jong-jik (金宗直). A disciple of Kim Jong-jik.
Life
Early life
Kim Jeon was born in 1458. His great-grandfather was Kim Ja-ji (金自知), Kaesong magistrate; his grandfather was Kim Hae (金侅), Vice Director of the Naeja-si; his father was Kim U-sin (金友臣), Jiljungchubu-sa (知中樞府事); and his mother was a daughter of Yi Gye-chung (李繼忠), Governor of Cheongpung, of the Incheon Yi clan. Kim An-no was his nephew. He first married Pung-cheon No (風川盧氏), a daughter of Magistrate No Hu (盧昫), but she died, and he then remarried Jincheon Song (進川宋氏), a daughter of Gamyeok Song Hwan-ju (宋環周). In his youth he studied under Jeompilje Kim Jong-jik.
He made his name under Kim Jong-jik, refined his literary talent, and studied the Spring and Autumn principles of loyalty and Zhu Xi under him.
In 1472 (the 3rd year of Seongjong), he passed the jinsa examination and became a jinsa. In 1480 he passed the saengwonsi and became a saengwon.
Muo and Gapja Purges
In 1489 (the 21st year of Seongjong), he passed the regular civil service examination with top honors and rose to be magistrate of Yean. His good governance earned him much praise. Because of this, the people built a living shrine (生祠堂)1 for him. After serving as compiler in the Hongmungwan, in 1496 (the 2nd year of Yeonsangun) he was granted a leave for study with Shin Yong-gae (申用漑) and Kim Il-son (金馹孫).
He was then promoted to jeonhan in the Hongmungwan and, concurrently serving as compiler in the Chunchugwan, took part in compiling the Veritable Records of Seongjong.
However, in 1498 (the 4th year of Yeonsangun), the Muo Purge broke out when the "Jeuijemun" literary inquisition expanded. He was dismissed from office because he was a disciple of Kim Jong-jik, because as an investigator he had seen the Jeuijemun without reporting it, and because of his close ties with Kim Il-son, Shin Yong-gae, and others. In 1501 (the 7th year of Yeonsangun), by royal command he was specially reinstated and reappointed as buhogun. In 1504 (the 10th year of Yeonsangun) he rose to daesaseong of the Seonggyungwan, but was demoted again due to the Gapja Purge.
Before and after the Jungjong Restoration
Afterward, Seong Hui-an (成希顔), Yu Sun-jeong (柳順汀), and others asked him to join the Jungjong Restoration. He was passive about the coup, but after the Jungjong Restoration he was promoted to chamchan of the Yejo and concurrently to dongji gyeongyeonsa, and then held posts such as chamchan of the Ijo, chamchan of the Hojo, and daesaheon of the Saheonbu.
In 1515, when Queen Janggyeong gave birth to Crown Prince In-jong and died, the Hungu faction ministers recommended Royal Consort Gyeongbin Park, who was favored by Jungjong, as the new queen. Under the system of soliciting opinions proposed by Jo Gwang-jo, Park Sang (朴祥), magistrate of Damyang, and Kim Jeong (金淨), magistrate of Sunchang, petitioned for the return of Queen Danggyeong Sin. However, opposition to restoring Queen Danggyeong and concerns over rank order if she returned were strong at court, and Yi Haeng (李荇) recommended that Park Sang and Kim Jeong be punished. Meanwhile, Kim Geun-sa (金謹思), Vice Director of the Hongmungwan, considered both correct. Afterward, the censors recommended punishing Park Sang and Kim Jeong, and Park Sang was exiled to Namp'yeong and Kim Jeong to Boeun. In September 1515, Kim Jeon and Nam Gon asked for pardon, arguing that the punishments of Park Sang and Kim Jeong were excessive, but were rebutted by Yi Haeng.
From 1513 he served as Jiljungchubu-sa, then as Uijeongbu uchanchan, Minister of Personnel, Minister of Justice, Minister of Rites, and Minister of Works, and then went out as Pyeongyun of the Hansung-bu before being promoted to Uijeongbu uchanseong. At this time he opposed the radical reform policies of the new Sarim scholars such as Jo Gwang-jo, Kim Jeong, and Kim Sik. Together with Nam Gon, he argued against the Sarim reform politics, including the deletion of meritorious service awards for the new Sarim and the establishment of the Hyeonryanggwa examination.
In 1518, as chief of the Chanjipcheong, he took part with Shin Yong-gae and Nam Gon (南袞) in compiling the Sokdongmunseon, and in 1519 he became Pan-jungchubu-sa.
Gimyo Purge and assassination threats
In 1519, together with Shim Jeong (沈貞), Hong Gyeong-ju (洪景舟), and Go Hyeong-san (高荊山), he conspired and cooperated in starting the Gimyo Purge (己卯士禍), and helped purge Jo Gwang-jo and his new political forces. While Nam Gon, An Dang (安瑭), and others opposed executing the faction of Jo Gwang-jo and argued for exile or reduced sentences, he refused to help the faction of Jo Gwang-jo. Afterward, for his merit in the Gimyo Purge he became a Wonjong meritorious subject, and was promoted to Uijeongbu uuijeong, then in 1520 (the 15th year of Jungjong) became Uijeongbu Yeuijeong and concurrently Seja-sa.
After Jo Gwang-jo and Kim Sik were executed, the Kim Jong-jik school regarded Nam Gon, Kim Jeon, and others as traitors and criticized and despised them. Although he had been a member of the Kim Jong-jik school and had taken part in the Jungjong Restoration, and Seong Hui-an and Yu Sun-jeong, with whom he had associated, had already died, there was no one left to take their side. Because he had not defended Jo Gwang-jo and others during the Gimyo Purge, he became the target of criticism and denunciation.
Ahn Cheo-gyeom (安處謙), a Seonggyungwan hakyu, and his brother Ahn Cheo-geun (安處謹), a former sujeon, later plotted to eliminate Shim Jeong and Hong Gyeong-ju, leaders of the Hungu faction, and also planned to eliminate Nam Gon and Kim Jeon, who had been identified as traitors and turncoats. However, the plot of Ahn Cheo-gyeom and his brother to remove Nam Gon and Shim Jeong was exposed through the denunciation of Song Sa-ryeon (宋祀連)2. In the Sinsa Purge of 1521 (the 16th year of Jungjong), Nam Gon and others, having received word of the Ahn brothers' plot from Song Sa-ryeon, claimed that Ahn Cheo-gyeom and others were plotting treason, and purged An Dang and his faction.
He interrogated Jo Gwang-jo, and Yun Won-hyeong (尹元衡) was his granddaughter's husband. His son, Magistrate Kim An-su's daughter, married Yun Won-hyeong, but was poisoned.
After death
He was buried at San 40-1, Wonheung-ri, Wonden-eup, Goyang-gun, Gyeonggi Province (present-day Wonheung-dong, Goyang). Taking the road from the Nonghyup University entrance three-way junction toward Seosamneung, his ancestral graves and tomb are on the left. His tomb and stele were designated as Goyang Local Cultural Heritage No. 12 on June 16, 1986.
The stele was erected in 1611 (the 3rd year of Gwanghaegun). Sin Heum (申欽) wrote the text, and his great-grandson Kim Rae (金王+來) wrote the calligraphy and seal script and erected it. The inscription is badly damaged, and the characters are difficult to read. In 1901 (the 4th year of Gwangmu) the tomb was newly constructed.
Works
Co-authored
- Veritable Records of Seongjong
- Sokdongmunseon
Family
Kim An-no, a powerful minister during the reign of Jungjong, was the son of his elder brother Kim Heun (金訢). Kim An-no also became a royal in-law when his son Kim Hui married Princess Hyohye, a daughter of Jungjong. Kim Gam (金勘), who served as a minister in the same period, was his sixth-degree cousin.
- Grandfather: Kim Hae (金侅)
- Father: Kim U-sin (金友臣, 1424 – 1510, Jiljungchubu-sa, posthumous name Hogan)
- Mother: Incheon Yi clan – daughter of Yi Gye-chung (李繼忠), Governor of Cheongpung
- Elder brother: Kim Sim (金諶)
- Elder brother: Kim Heun (金訢)
- Wife: Pung-cheon No, daughter of Magistrate No Hu (盧昫)
- Eldest daughter: married to Jeong Chung-ryeo (鄭忠礪)
- Wife: Jincheon Song clan – daughter of Gamyeok Song Hwan-ju (宋環周)
- Eldest son: Kim An-do (金安道)
- Grandson: Kim Jin (金禛)
- Grandson: Kim In (金裀)
- Grandson: Kim O (金祦, grandfather of Queen Inmok, maternal great-grandfather of Grand Prince Yeongchang)
- Granddaughter: married to Han Sung-geon (韓崇健)
- Second son: Kim An-u (金安遇)
- Granddaughter: married to Shim U-myeong (沈友明)
- Granddaughter: married to Kim Gwang-guk (金光國)
- Grandson: Kim Hui-saeng (金喜生)
- Third son: Kim An-su (金安遂)
- Daughter-in-law: Madam Kang (姜氏, second wife of son Kim An-su)
- Fourth son: Kim An-dal (金安達)
- Grandson: Kim Bul (金祓)
- Granddaughter: married to Hong Jeok (洪籍)
- Maternal grandfather: Yi Gye-chung (李繼忠)
- Father-in-law: Song Hwan-ju (宋環周)
Evaluation and criticism
He was incorruptible and had no selfish desires, and he did not covet wealth. Personally he owned no house, and outside of that he had no fields, enjoying himself only with a geomungo and wine, and was also a skilled writer.
As a disciple of Kim Jong-jik and a figure of the Sarim faction, he endorsed the purge of the faction of Jo Gwang-jo, and so later Sarim scholars branded him, together with Nam Gon, as a turncoat and traitor, making him a target of criticism and denunciation. In addition, his nephew Kim An-no was a powerful minister related to Jungjong through the royal in-laws, and this was another reason both were condemned together.
Scholarly lineage
In terms of scholarly lineage, it traces back to Baek I-jeong and An Hyang, and runs as Baek I-jeong, An Hyang → Yi Je-hyeon → Yi Saek → Jeong Mong-ju → Gil Jae → Kim Suk-ja → Kim Jong-jik → Kim Jeon.
Baek I-jeong, An Hyang → Yi Je-hyeon → Yi Saek → Jeong Do-jeon
→ Yi Sung-in
→ Jeong Mong-ju → Gwon Geun
→ Gwon U → Sejong the Great
→ Jeong In-ji
→ Gil Jae → Kim Suk-ja → Kim Jong-jik → Jeong Yeo-chang
→ Kim Goeng-pil → Jo Gwang-jo
→ Kim An-guk
→ Kim Jeong-guk
→ Judae Bujeong Yi Sim-won
→ Son Jung-don → Yi Eon-jeok
→ Kim Il-son
→ Kim Jeon
→ Nam Gon
Because he took a position that sympathized with and cooperated in the Gimyo Purge, he was not recognized as a Sarim figure after the Sarim came to power, and was regarded as a symbol of betrayal and apostasy, together with Nam Gon.
Notes