Choe Yun-deok (崔閏德, 1376 – 1445) was a military officer of Joseon who served as Minister of Public Works (공조판서).
He was from the Tongcheon (通川) Choe clan, with the courtesy names Yeohwa (汝和) and Baesu (伯修), and the art name Imgok (霖谷). His posthumous name was Jeongyeol (貞烈). He was enshrined in the Sejong chamber of the Jongmyo Shrine, and thereby became a Meritorious Subject Enshrined at Jongmyo (종묘배향공신).
Having passed the military examination early in life, he followed his father onto many battlefields and achieved military merit. His career progressed through the post of Minister of War (병조판서), and as a military man he served as Right State Councillor and Left State Councillor. He was also the first Chief Military Councillor of the Central Secretariat (영중추원사) and was granted an armrest stool (궤장). During the reign of Sejong, together with Yi Jong-mu, he conquered Tsushima, and he subdued the Jurchen of the north, established the Four Military Districts, and fixed the border along the Yalu River basin. He built many town walls and mountain fortresses across the country, and was called the "Great Minister of Fortification" (축성대감).
Yi Yun-geom (李允儉: 1451 – 26 August 1520 (14th day of the 8th lunar month)1) was the husband of his great-granddaughter.
Life
Childhood
In 1376 (2nd year of King U of Goryeo), he was born in Mureung village, Naegok-ri, Buk-myeon, Changwon-si, as the eldest son of Choe Un-hae, Duke Yangjang, a famous general of early Joseon. In 1382, at age 6, his mother, a Changwon Yi, died of complications after childbirth, and he was entrusted to a lowborn Yangsucheok (양수척) in the neighborhood to be raised.2 In 1389, at age 14, he shot and caught a large tiger. Afterward, by his father's order, he studied under Yangchon Kwon Keun (양촌 권근), a relative of his stepmother of the Andong Gwon clan within the same generation of the paternal line. He was born in Gyeongsangnam-do, Changwon-si.
Entering Public Service
In 1394 (3rd year of King Taejo), at age 19, he placed first in the military examination's second round (무과 회시) and served as a military aide to his father. In 1396 (5th year of King Taejo), at age 21, he followed his father to the Battle of Yeonghae, his first campaign, and soundly defeated Japanese pirates (wokou). In 1401 (the year King Taejong ascended the throne), Taejong personally met him, rejoiced at having gained a talented man, and immediately appointed him Deputy Commander of the Hunryeongwan (훈련관 부사직, 5th rank, lower). In 1402 (2nd year of Taejong), he passed the military palace examination (무과 전시) and rose to the rank of Hogun.34
In 1404 (4th year of Taejong), his father, Duke Yangjang Choe Un-hae, died, and while he was observing the mourning vigil at his father's grave, he was ordered to take up a post in the mourning period and was promoted to Grand Hogun, carrying out military duties. In 1406 (6th year of Taejong), he became Military Commander of Jitaean (지태안군사).
In 1410 (10th year of Taejong), he again passed the military examination,5 rose to Sangho-gun (상호군), and went out as Joint Commander of the Dongbuk-myeon (동북면 조전지병마사) to conquer the Jurchen. He became Military Commander of Gyeongseong (경성병마사). In 1411 (11th year of Taejong), he became Gyeongseong Military Governor concurrently Right Army Vice-Commander (우군동지총제), and soon after became Military Commissioner for all of Gyeongseong (경성등처도병마사), subduing Dongmaeng Gacheop-mok-a (童孟哥帖木兒) and thereby preventing Jurchen disturbances.
In 1412 (12th year of Taejong), he became Middle Army Military Governor (중군절제사), and in 1413 (13th year of Taejong) Right Army Military Governor (우군절제사). In 1415 (15th year of Taejong), he became Right Army Commander concurrently Commissioner of Yeonggildo (우군총제 겸 영길도도순문찰리사). In 1417 (17th year of Taejong), he returned to Hanyang and served as an examiner of the military examinations, and in 1418 (18th year of Taejong) he became Left Army Commander concurrently Provincial Military Commander (좌군총제 겸 도진무).
Meeting the Wise King Sejong
Conquest of Tsushima
In 1418 (year of Sejong's accession), he became Commander-in-Chief of the Central Army (중군도총제), and then in 1419 (1st year of Sejong) became Right Deputy Minister (우참찬) of the Uijeongbu. Subsequently, in the expedition to Tsushima, he conquered Tsushima as Commander of the Three Armies (3군도절제사). In 1421 (3rd year of Sejong), he rose to Minister of Public Works and went to China as a special envoy (정조사).
In 1423 (5th year of Sejong), he became Military Governor of Pyeongan Province (평안도 도병마절제사) and concurrently Magistrate of Anju (안주목사). In 1425 (7th year of Sejong), he became Right Chanseong (우찬성). In 1426 (8th year of Sejong), he was placed in charge of the Sabok Office (사복제조) and as Reception Commissioner (영위사) for a Chinese envoy. In 1427 (9th year of Sejong), he rose to Vice Commander of the Left Army (판좌군부사), and as an escort commander (수조관) he guarded the crown prince and went to China.
In 1428 (10th year of Sejong), he became Minister of War, and then, concurrently serving as Commissioner-General (도순찰사) of the three provinces of Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang, he repaired fortresses. Afterward, in 1430 (12th year of Sejong), he became Vice Commander of the Central Army (판중군부사), and in the 14th year of Sejong, Chief Military Councillor of the Central Secretariat (판중추원사).
Promotion to Right State Councillor After Conquering Yi Man-ju
In 1433 (15th year of Sejong), as Military Governor of Pyeongan Province concurrently Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies (3군도통사), he conquered the Jurchen Yi Man-ju in the region of the Hun River (Pajeo River). For this achievement he was specially promoted to Right State Councillor of the Uijeongbu, and became one of the rare military men to attain the post of chief minister. He submitted several memorials arguing that it was improper for a military man to hold the post of chief minister, but Sejong did not grant permission. He also concurrently served as Commissioner for Pacification of Pyeongan Province (평안도 도안무찰리사). In 1434 (16th year of Sejong), he submitted a memorial asking to resign as Right State Councillor, but again the king did not grant it.
Left State Councillor and Appointment as the First Chief Military Councillor
In 1435 (17th year of Sejong), he became Left State Councillor of the Uijeongbu. He proposed the 24 articles of the Bibyeonsa (비변사), and when he submitted a memorial requesting resignation, the king did not grant it. In 1436 (18th year of Sejong), for the sake of Duke Jeongyeol, who had submitted a memorial asking to resign, a Chief Military Councillor post was newly established in the Central Secretariat (중추원), a military-rank office, and he became the first to hold the post of Chief Military Councillor of the Central Secretariat (영중추원사).6 In 1438 (20th year of Sejong), he received a special order to accompany the royal carriage. In 1440 (22nd year of Sejong), he again proposed the 9 articles of the Bibyeonsa, and at this time his stepmother, a Lady of the Andong Gwon clan, died, and he observed three years of mourning at her grave. After completing the three years of mourning, in 1442 (24th year of Sejong), he was reinstated as Chief Military Councillor of the Central Secretariat. In 1444 (26th year of Sejong), at the advanced age of 69, he submitted a memorial asking to resign as Chief Military Councillor of the Central Secretariat, but the king did not grant it.
In 1445 (27th year of Sejong), he was granted an armrest stool (궤장) at the Royal Giroso (국조기로소). Not long after, on 5 December 1445 (27th year of Sejong), he died, at the age of 70.
He was given the posthumous name Jeongyeol (貞烈). [Keeping one's integrity with purity is 'Jeong (貞); having merit and bringing peace to the people is 'Yeol' (烈).] Sejong ordered the ritual officials to bury him at the expense of the state at Sagyeok, below Mount Baekwol, Buk-myeon, Changwon-bu.
In 1446 (28th year of Sejong), Sejong personally bestowed a eulogy for Duke Jeongyeol. In 1450 (year of King Munjong's accession), he was selected as the first of the ministers enshrined with Sejong at the Jongmyo (Seoul Jongmyo), and his spirit tablet was enshrined there.
In 1683 (9th year of Sukjong), he was granted royal recognition by the Sangyeol Shrine in Tongcheon, and in 1707 (33rd year of Sukjong) by the Cheongcheon Shrine in Anju, where he was enshrined together with Eulji Mundeok. Afterward he was granted royal recognition by the Yongcheon Shrine in Yongcheon. In the 3rd year of Jeongjo, the 18th year of Jeongjo, the 18th year of Sunjo, and the 5th year of Heonjong, the commemorative gate (정려각) erected in Changwon was repaired on each occasion.7 His grave and birthplace site were designated as cultural properties.
Achievements
Conquest of Tsushima
In 1419 (1st year of Sejong), despite the Joseon court's conciliatory policy, Japanese pirate raids continued, and on 14 May the court deliberated on a punitive expedition against Tsushima. Then, on 19 June of the lunar calendar that year, Jangcheon-gun Yi Jong-mu was appointed Commissioner of the Three Armies (3군도체찰사), Chief State Councillor Yu Jeong-hyeon was made Commander-in-Chief of the Three Provinces (3도도통사), and Right Chanseong Choe Yun-deok was made Commander of the Three Armies (3군도절제사). Leading nine military governors subordinate to the three provinces, 227 warships, and 17,000 soldiers, they departed from Masanpo on Geoje Island and set out to conquer Tsushima, the base of the Japanese pirates.
On 20 June, the advance force landed on Tsushima, and after the main force landed behind it, the Joseon army searched every corner of the island and destroyed the bases; the pirates fled into the mountains and offered defense. On the 26th, while advancing to decide the battle with the pirates, Left Army Military Governor Park Sil encountered an ambush and retreated. In this battle, the commanders Park Hong-sil, Park Mu-yang, Kim Hae, and Kim Hui were killed, and more than a hundred soldiers were wounded. Thereupon Choe Yun-deok blocked the important passages, and after about two weeks the lord of Tsushima surrendered. The Joseon army accepted the surrender, rescued Joseon people who had been taken captive as well as Ming Chinese who were being held, and withdrew its troops. On 3 July, seven days after receiving the surrender, the army returned in triumph to Geoje Island. It had been about two weeks since they set out.
After the conquest, instead of notifying Tsushima of its incorporation into Gyeongsang Province, Joseon permitted trade with Tsushima and opened the Three Ports (삼포). Through this policy of accommodation, Japanese pirate incursions ceased for a long period.
Conquest of Yi Man-ju
He achieved merit by conquering the Jurchen Yi Man-ju in the vicinity of the Hun River (Pajeo River) and by establishing the Four Military Districts in Pyeongan Province.
On 9 December 1432 (14th year of Sejong), a report from the Governor of Pyeongyang stated that more than 400 Yain horsemen had invaded the border and plundered people and goods; Governor Park Cho of Ganggye pursued them, rescued the people, and recovered the stolen goods. Then, on 21 December, Yi Man-ju of the Pajeo River basin invaded; because they had long been short of food, they frequently raided the Four Districts area.
In January 1433 (15th year of Sejong), the Governor of Pyeongan Province reported 75 casualties, including 48 dead, from the battles at Yeonyeon and Ganggye. On the 11th of the same month, Choe Yun-deok was appointed Military Governor of Pyeongan Province. At first he advised that the expedition must be undertaken cautiously, but Sejong's will to conquer was firm. He then appointed Choe Yun-deok as Chief Military Councillor concurrently Magistrate of Yeongnyeongbyeon Prefecture (영영변도호부사). At court, a force of 3,000 was initially discussed, but Choe Yun-deok advised a force of more than 10,000, and that number was adopted.
In April 1433 (15th year of Sejong), all the troops assembled at Ganggye Prefecture. Choe Yun-deok was made Military Governor of Pyeongan Province concurrently Commander-in-Chief of the Three Armies, and Kim Hyo-seong was made Provincial Military Commander (도진무). Forming 15,000 soldiers from the provinces of Hwanghae and Pyeongan, they finally set out on 19 April for the Pajeo River basin, a tributary of the Yalu River. Dividing their subordinate military governors into seven units, they attacked and occupied each Jurchen village in one stroke, leading to a great victory. For his merit in this battle, Choe Yun-deok was appointed Right State Councillor in May. Then, at the feast held in Geunjeongjeon for the commanders who had gone out to war, Sejong showed complete trust, such as by allowing the crown prince to receive his cup while seated.8 Afterward, the Four Districts were established at Yeonyeon, Jaseong, Muchang, and Uye.
Great Minister of Fortification
In 1421 (3rd year of Sejong), he was appointed Minister of Public Works, which was not unrelated to matters he had long proposed to Retired King Taejong and Sejong. In August of the same year he advised repairs to the walls of the capital. Afterward a Office for the Construction of the Capital Walls (도성수축도감) was established, and from the first month of the 4th year of Sejong, the work of repairing the capital walls was carried out.
In 1429 (11th year of Sejong), he became Commissioner-General of the Three Provinces of Chungcheong, Jeolla, and Gyeongsang (삼도도순무사), and was made to tour and inspect fortress sites. The following year, he was appointed Vice Commander of the Central Army (판중군부사), and in May he advised on the repair of the Lower Three Provinces and on new fortress sites, and though his courtiers opposed it, saying Choe Yun-deok's words would be followed, he was entrusted with the task of repairing fortresses and fortifications. Advising on the necessity of fortifications at Dongnae and Namhae in Gyeongsang Province, he warned that once Japan was unified it would certainly invade Joseon, and that defenses must be prepared. He thus foresaw Japan's invasion about 140 years before Yi I's proposal to raise 100,000 troops.
Afterlife
He was enshrined in the Sejong's ancestral hall (묘정), and was honored at the Sangyeol Shrine (尙烈祠) in Tongcheon and the Cheongcheon Shrine (淸川祠) in Anju. His posthumous name is Jeongyeol (貞烈).
Works
Hoyeonjeonggi (浩然亭記)
Author: Duke Jeongyeol, Choe Yun-deok
When I came to Geumgye, my spirit was worn down and my strength diminished; seeking beauty, I found an exceptionally scenic place, which is Seokgakjeong (石角亭).
My spirit, which had been worn down and my strength diminished the previous day, became clear and refreshed, so, looking far back to the meaning of nurturing well the 'vast flood-like qi' (浩然之氣) of Master Chu (Mencius) — the moral courage that is fair and upright and without shame — I named the pavilion. The meaning of these two characters fills only the space between heaven and earth.
Thus I named my pavilion; how could it not be shameful? Let later people cease their mockery.
至哉鄒孟氏 千古是吾師
二字斯亭揭 每觀動靜時
齊梁長夜世 誰識是賢師
惟此浩然氣 應無間斷時
How supreme is Mencius of the state of Zou; for a thousand ages he has been my teacher.
I have hung these two characters on this pavilion, and I look at them every time I sit or stand.
In the states of Qi and Liang it was a long dark night; who in that age recognized this wise teacher?
Only this vast flood-like qi should never be cut off for a single moment.
好雨留人故故遲 當窓盡日聽江聲
A good rain detains a person, slowing their departure; by the window, all day long, I listen to the sound of the river.
Anecdotes
He was by nature kind and frugal, and used his leisure from official duties to farm fallow land. There is also an episode in which, hearing the appeal of a woman whose husband had been eaten by a tiger asking him to avenge her husband, he caught that tiger, cut open its belly, found her husband's bones, and had them buried.
Anecdotes on His Character
It is said that when he was Military Commander of Taean, he was frugal and upright, and when a subordinate replaced the iron fittings of the quiver he wore, which had become too worn, with new iron fittings from the government office, the general became furious and had the fittings he had put on removed again.
From the 5th year of Sejong, when he became Military Governor of Pyeongan Province and concurrently Magistrate of Anju, he left behind the same episodes he had left when he was magistrate of Seosan 20 years earlier: after finishing official duties, he tilled empty land behind the public hall, grew vegetables, and taught the neighboring people to devote themselves to their livelihoods and to enjoy them. One day, a man who had come to bring a lawsuit did not recognize the Military Governor's face, and took the general for a humble country man, and asked:
"Where is the lord?"
To which he answered:
"If you wait at the court, he will come soon."
He let the man in, and then, after changing his clothes, presided over the judgment of the lawsuit.
From the 5th year of Sejong, when he was Military Governor of Pyeongan Province and concurrently Magistrate of Anju, one day a woman came and appealed with grievance:
"My husband, who used to read geomancy, was bitten and killed by a tiger in the mountains."
"I will avenge him for you," he said. He climbed the mountain, followed the tiger's paw prints, found it, shot it dead, cut open its belly, and buried the husband. The woman wept with sorrow and gratitude.
After passing the examination and entering court, he built the Byeoksan Fortress in Byeokyang-myeon, Tongcheon-gun. Except when he was posted to outlying posts, every day he rode a black ox to the palace in Hanyang, 500 li away, arriving at a fixed hour. On the way, he gave water to the ox at a village by Hyangcheon Station, and so the place came to be called Hyangcheon-ri; on the return trip he let the ox graze on the grass in the meadow of Anpung-myeon in Hoeyang-gun, and so the place came to be called Bangmok-ri, which later became Bangmok-ri, Anpung-myeon.
Another anecdote about General Choe Yun-deok is found in the Cheongpa Geukdam (靑坡劇談), which runs as follows. When General Choe Yun-deok (the chief minister) was in mourning for his mother (his stepmother, a Lady of the Andong Gwon clan), he was traveling south on one horse, accompanied by only one servant. As they were crossing a stream, two or three magistrates of neighboring counties gathered, pitched a tent by the stream, and drank heavily, and said to one another:
"Looking at that man in mourning clothes riding a horse, he must be a commoner of this county. To dare to speak so rudely in the presence of magistrates, he must surely be severely punished."
Then they had soldiers seize the servant and asked him:
"Who is your master?"
"Go-bul-ip-nida (Choe Go-bul)."
"What is your master's name, I say?"
Again he said:
"Choe Go-bul."
Greatly angered, they said:
"Your master committed a crime by not dismounting where he should have, and now you hide his name even further; master and servant are equally wicked!"
And they struck the servant on the head. The servant then slowly said:
"Go-bul is Chief Minister Choe Yun-deok, and (because of his mother's death) he is going down to his hometown of Changwon."
The magistrates were greatly shocked and regretted it; they immediately removed the tent, stopped drinking, and ran to ask for forgiveness. This account shows that, being honest, even when mourning his mother, he returned home with only one horse and one servant, like a village elder.
Anecdotes on His Grave and Residence Site
According to the biography written by Chong Chang-hyeop, Vice Director of the Office of Censors (사간원 대사간):
"At his birth, grass did not grow on Mueak; at his death, his spirit became immortal."
And, the villagers near his tomb are sometimes miraculously aided, and they make offerings to repay this.
At the old residence site and by the tomb, sounds of soldiers and horses were sometimes heard. When a house was built there, the person who lived in it heard those sounds every night, so he tore down the house and moved away.
In middle age, a local strongman of Changwon asked the local magistrate and had trees cut from the hill of the grave and sold them; the man in charge and the attendant both died suddenly.
When the commemorative gate was being repaired, a man named Hwang Deok-rin was the clerk in charge of the work, and when he lent the leftover boards and timber for use at the burial site, he immediately vomited blood and died.
There is a story handed down that while the Duke was alive, he left home and, when he reached the seashore about 30 li away, he remembered that he had forgotten his sword, and called out loudly to a household servant:
"My sword is in the upper chamber; bring it quickly."
The servant immediately brought it and presented it to him. When people asked the servant how this was possible, he said:
"It was as if his calling voice remained in my ears."
Legends and mysterious events concerning the Duke's grave are told in countless other ways as well.
Family
Related Works
Television Dramas
Historic Sites
- Grave of Duke Jeongyeol Choe Yun-deok: San 8, Daesan-ri, Buk-myeon, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (Gyeongsangnam-do Monument No. 121) – designated on 21 October 1992
- Birthplace Site of General Choe Yun-deok: Naegok-ri, Buk-myeon, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do (Gyeongsangnam-do Monument No. 145) – designated on 2 May 1995
- Commemorative Gate of Choe Yun-deok: Samdong-dong, Changwon-si, Gyeongsangnam-do
- Seoul Jongmyo: enshrined at the Sejong Jongmyo.
- Gwangok Seowon: Imsil, Jeollabuk-do
- Grand Ancestral Shrine of Duke Jeongyeol Choe Yun-deok: Jangsu-gun, Jeollabuk-do
- Samchung Shrine (Tongcheon Choe clan shrine) – enshrining Duke Yangjang Choe Un-hae, Duke Jeongyeol Choe Yun-deok, Duke Geunje Choe Yun-on, and Duke Okpo Choe San-jeong: Daesan-ri, Okcheon-gun, Haenam-gun, Jeollanam-do
Related Figures
Notes