Yu Mong-in

Ryu Mong-in (柳夢寅, 1559 – 30 August 1623 (5th day of the 8th lunar month)¹) was a Korean literary official of Joseon. His family seat was Goheung (高興), his courtesy name was Eungmun (應文), and his art names were Eou-dang (於于堂), Ganjae (艮齋), and Muk-hoja (默好子).

Life

In 1582 (15th year of King Seonjo), he passed the Jinsa examination, and in 1589 he passed the Munkwa civil service examination at the top of the list (Jangwon). In 1592 he served as Munhak of the Royal Lecture Office for the Crown Prince (世子侍講院文學), teaching the crown prince, the future Gwanghaegun. In 1592, when the Imjin War broke out, he accompanied King Seonjo as far as Pyongyang. He afterwards served as Vice Minister of the Board of War (병조참의), Governor of Hwanghae Province, Royal Secretary (도승지), Magistrate of Namwon, Left Vice Governor of Hanseong Prefecture, and Great Censor (대사간), among other posts.

In terms of factional affiliation, he belonged to the Northern Faction, but during the Injo Restoration he distanced himself from the proposal of the Great Northern faction to depose Queen Dowager Inmok, and he withdrew from office. He is known to have been skeptical of factionalism itself, and to have maintained friendships transcending factions with members of the Western, Southern, and Northern factions. In July 1623, he was accused of plotting to restore Gwanghaegun by Hyeongyeon Ryu Eung-hyeong (柳應泂), and was executed for treason together with his son Ryu Yak (柳瀹). During the reign of King Jeongjo he was posthumously exonerated and was posthumously appointed Minister of Personnel (이조판서).² His posthumous name was Uijeong (義貞).

Works

• Eoueya-dam
• The collected writings Eou-jip were published in 1832 by descendants including Ryu Geum and Ryu Yeong-mu.

Anecdotes

The art name Eou-dang (於于堂) of Ryu Mong-in is quoted from the phrase "to bewilder the multitude with idle words [於于以蓋衆]" in the chapter "Heaven and Earth" (天地) of the Zhuangzi (莊子). This passage is a recrimination spoken by a recluse who had withdrawn from the secular world against Zigong, a disciple of Confucius. He named his art name using an onomatopoeic empty character that does not reflect the meaning of each character, and in this one can glimpse Ryu Mong-in's free attitude toward writing. Ryu Mong-in's literary views tended to be excluded from the discussion of the ancient-prose theory (고문론) in Korean classical Chinese literature. This stems from the fact that Ryu Mong-in did not receive much attention in discussions of the main lineage of classical Chinese writing from the late Goryeo to the late Joseon period.