Han Baek-gyeom (韓百謙, 1552–1615) was a civil official and scholar of the mid-Joseon period. His family seat was Cheongju, his courtesy name was Myeonggil (鳴吉), and his pen name was Guam (久菴).12 He was the seventh-generation descendant of Han Sang-gyeong (韓尙敬), a meritorious founder of the Joseon dynasty and Chief State Councillor, and the fifth-generation descendant of his grandson Han Gye-hui (韓繼禧, a cousin of Han Myeong-hoe), who served as Left Assistant State Councillor.
Life
Family background and early life
Han Baek-gyeom was born in 1552. His father, Han Hyo-yun (韓孝胤), served as magistrate of Gyeongseong in Gyeongseong, Hamgyeong Province. His uncle Han Hyo-sun (韓孝純) was a leader of the Great Northerners faction and, as Left State Councillor during the reign of Gwanghaegun, led the push for the deposition of the queen; however, Han Baek-gyeom and his brothers did not take part in this, and in factional terms they belonged to the Southerners (南人). His younger brother Han Jun-gyeom (韓浚謙) belonged to the Westerners (西人). He was known for his literary talent and was one of the seven ministers who received the final instructions of Seonjo. He served as Minister of Revenue and Commander-in-Chief of the Five Provinces, was enfeoffed as Lord Seopyeong (西平府院君) as the father-in-law of Injo, and served as Yeongdonnyeongbusa. Han Baek-gyeom, however, did not aspire to office. From his youth he devoted himself to learning and entered the school of Min Sun (閔純) of Haengchon (杏村), a disciple of Seo Gyeong-deok of Hwadam, from whom he received instruction in the Xiaoxue and the Jinsilu (近思錄). He continued to study questions of moral principle (義理) and mastered the Six Classics, Analects, and Mencius as well as the Lianluo Guanmin tradition.
Studies and official career
Han Baek-gyeom did not sit for the civil service examinations and concentrated on his studies. In 1586 (the 19th year of Seonjo), on the recommendation of acquaintances, he took office, serving as Chamberlain of the Central Division (中部參奉), Chamberlain of Gyeonggijeon (慶基殿參奉), Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Revenue, and Junior Secretary of the Ministry of Punishments. He was then appointed to provincial posts as hyeongam of Anak in Hwanghae Province, where he served for two years, and later as hyeongnyeong of Hamjong and magistrate of Yeongwol in Gangwon Province.
In 1589 (the 22nd year of Seonjo), he was implicated in the Jeong Yeo-rip conspiracy and was exiled. During the Imjin War, he was released, and for his merit in executing those in his place of exile who had collaborated with the enemy and incited rebellion, he became Chief Clerk of the Inner Office (內資直長). He then held a series of central and local posts.
In 1602 he served as magistrate of Cheongju, was promoted to senior-grade official, and was awarded the rank of Tongjeong Daebu (通政大夫). He then served as Judge of the Jangnyewon and as Junior Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue. In 1608, when Seonjo died, the senior ministers, considering Han Baek-gyeom well versed in ritual, entrusted him with all the funeral rites in the Bin-jeon (殯殿).
In 1612, at the age of 60, he was appointed magistrate of Paju but resigned and withdrew to the countryside, devoting himself to scholarship. In 1615, at the age of 64, he completed his notable work, the Dongguk Jiriji (東國地理志), and in the seventh month of that year he passed away.2 The epitaph was written by Jeong Gyeong-se (鄭經世). His tomb, the Tomb and Stele of Yi Seok-hyeong (Gyeonggi Provincial Monument No. 171), is located in Bupyeong-ri, Gangcheon-myeon, Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province.
After death
The Tomb and Stele of Han Baek-gyeom is located in Bupyeong-ri, Gangcheon-myeon, Yeoju, Gyeonggi Province. It was designated Gyeonggi Provincial Monument No. 165 on April 13, 1998.
His son Han Heung-il served as Right State Councillor during the reign of Hyojong, and his younger brother Han Jun-gyeom became Yeongdonnyeongbusa as the father-in-law of Injo. Because his son became a state councillor, Han Baek-gyeom was posthumously granted the post of Chief State Councillor, and he himself was enshrined in Chilbong Seowon (七峯書院), which he had established and which enshrines Won Cheon-seok.2
Scholarly achievements
The Dongguk Jiriji is a small volume of about 60 pages. Although it is little more than a single treatise, its influence was considerable because of its originality and the scholarly attitude filled with critical spirit.
Han Baek-gyeom's scholarly achievements include the "Theory of the Gijeon Remnants" (箕田遺制說) and the "Gijeon Map" (箕田圖). The Gijeon Map demonstrated that remains of the well-field system, which Gija (箕子), the king of Gojoseon, was said to have implemented, still existed in Pyongyang. It is said that the theory of remnants and this map had a profound influence on later research into land systems.2
The works of later Silhak scholars, the Bangye Suroku and the Gyeongse Yupyo, held that the core of land policy was the equality and equalization of land ownership to make distribution fair. Because Zhu Xi had rejected the well-field system, it was not welcomed by ordinary Neo-Confucian scholars after Zhu Xi. However, through Han Baek-gyeom's empirical research, it was shown that the well-field system had actually existed. Later Silhak scholars who advocated the expansion of public land systems used this as supporting material for their own theories.2
Evaluation
When Han Baek-gyeom died, many friends wept and mourned his loss. Yi Hang-bok, a minister of his time and Han Baek-gyeom's close friend, was the first to weep, and he offered a eulogy for Han Baek-gyeom. Yi Hang-bok said first that Han Baek-gyeom was a great scholar of the I Ching of his era; although he was well versed in all the classics, he had particularly deep study of the I Ching, and that everyone in the world at the time recognized him as a great scholar of it.2 Another friend, Jeong Gyeong-se (鄭經世), known as Woobok, who had served as Grand Academician (大提學) and Minister of Personnel, later wrote Han Baek-gyeom's epitaph, praising him as a scholar of the I Ching of his time and noting that he was entrusted by the state with the revision of the Zhouyi Zhuanyi (周易傳義), a book published by the government.2
Yu Hyeong-won, known as Bangye, who wrote the Bangye Suroku and the Dongguk Yeojiji (東國輿地誌), praised Han Baek-gyeom by saying, "Only Han Baek-gyeom of recent times, by his disputations, deeply uncovered what had remained undetermined for a thousand years, and it is to be settled by his theory." He fully accepted Han Baek-gyeom's theory. It has been confirmed that Sin Gyeong-jun, known as Yeoam, and An Jeong-bok, known as Sunam, were also influenced to some extent by Han Baek-gyeom's theories. Jeong Yak-yong, known as Dasan, who brought Silhak to its culmination, also declared in his work Abanggang Yeokgo that "the theory of Han Baek-gyeom is an unalterable established view (定論)," and evaluated it as a scholarship of high standard.2 Historian Yi Ki-baek, in the preface to the Guam Yugo Dongguk Jiriji, evaluated him by saying: "His claims cannot necessarily be said to be entirely correct, but in light of the scholarly standards of his time, his claims were truly a surprisingly fresh new theory. Therefore, his claims have had a great influence on the land reform theories of many Silhak scholars, including Yu Hyeong-won of Bangye, Yi Ik of Seongho, and Jeong Yak-yong of Dasan."
Family
- Grandfather: Han Yeo-pil (韓汝弼)
- Father: Han Hyo-yun (韓孝胤)
- Father-in-law: Gu Sa-jung (具思仲, 1535 – ?)3
- Mother-in-law: of the Changnyeong Jo clan – daughter of Jo Se-gi (曺世器)3
Notes
This article includes text based on the entry "Emergence of Silhak" (〈〈실학의 발생〉〉) from the Global World Encyclopedia, distributed by Daum Communications (now Kakao) under the GFDL or CC-SA license.
Footnotes