Heo Bong (許篈, 1551 – 16 September 1588) was a civil official, politician and poet of mid-Joseon Korea. His courtesy name was Misuk (美叔), his pen name was Hagok (荷谷), and his family seat was Yangcheon.1 He was from Gangneung, Gangwon Province.
In 1568 (the 1st year of Seonjo), he passed the Generals' Examination for Saengwon (生員試) of the Gwangjeungsi (增廣試) and placed first as top scorer. In the 5th year of Seonjo (1572), on 10 March, he passed the royal examination held at Chundangdae (春塘臺) and was placed third in the second rank. His father Heo Yeop was a founding member of the Easterners, and he was an early member of the Easterners as well. He became the vanguard of the Easterners and took the lead in attacking the Westerners. In 1583, while serving as Royal Inspector (巡撫御史) of Gyeonggi Province, he impeached Hан Ong (韓顒), magistrate of Suwon, for failing to maintain military discipline in the Suwon area, as well as Minister of War Yi I. Later he denounced the conduct of Yi I, who was serving as Minister of War, but was instead exiled to Jongseong, Gapsan and other places in Hamgyong Province. After that, he abandoned his office and lived as a wanderer, and he died suddenly of complications such as Jaundice and Pneumonia. He was the son of Heo Yeop, the elder brother of Heo Gyun, and the older brother of Heo Nanseolheon. He was a disciple of Yu Hui-chun (柳希春).
Life
Early life
He was born at the villa of Heo Yeop in Chodang-dong, Gangneung, Gangwon Province, and was the son of Heo Yeop. His party affiliation was the Easterners. He was from Gangneung, and later moved to Hanseong to live. Because the disciples of Seo Gyeong-deok together with the disciples of Yi Hwang, Yi Eon-jeok and Cho Sik gathered to form the Easterners, his father Heo Yeop became a member of the Easterners as a disciple of Hwadam (Seo Gyeong-deok), and he naturally also became a member. Heo Seong was his older half-brother, and Heo Gyun and Heo Nanseolheon were his full younger siblings. He also recommended that his younger siblings Heo Nanseolheon and Heo Gyun go to Yi Dal of Sokgok to learn Poetry.
The relationship with his siblings is unknown, but during the trial over Heo Gyun, his two sons Heo Chin and Heo Chae testified that Heo Gyun had sowed discord between their grandmother and their father, and that because of this he (Heo Bong) had resented Heo Gyun.
He studied under Yu Hui-chun (柳希春) of Miam, and in 1568 (the 1st year of Seonjo) he passed the Generals' Examination for Saengwon of the Gwangjeungsi (增廣試) as top scorer, becoming a Saengwon. On the same day, his elder brother Heo Seong (許筬) also passed the Saengwon examination of the Gwangjeungsi, placed fifth in the first rank.
Passing the examination and early career
On 10 March of the 5th year of Seonjo (1572), he took the royal Munkwa examination (親試文科) at Chundangdae (春塘臺), and the next day he passed the Munkwa examination in the third place of the third rank (丙科). That year he became Gyeomyeol (檢閱). In 1573 he was appointed to a military post and was included in the Hongmun Rok (弘文錄) that year, and in the same year he took part in Sagadokseo (賜暇讀書) together with Kim Hyo-won (金孝元) and others. As court factional politics divided into the Easterners and Westerners, he followed his father Heo Yeop and became an Easterner, and together with Kim Hyo-won and others he became the vanguard of the Easterners and confronted the Westerners.
In 1574 he became Assistant Magistrate (佐郞) of the Ministry of Rites. That May, he volunteered as Scribe (書狀官) to accompany the Seongjeolsa (聖節使) Park Hee-rip (朴希立), an envoy dispatched to the Ming dynasty, and on 11 May he went to Beijing together with Jo Heon and others, as a Jiljeonggwan (質正官). He later wrote the travel account 《Hagok Jocheongi》 (荷谷朝天記) about his trip to the Ming dynasty. He returned that October and became Vice Compiler (副修撰), and in 1574 he became Assistant Magistrate of the Board of Personnel (吏曹佐郞). In 1575, as Assistant Magistrate of the Board of Personnel, he, together with Kim Hyo-won and others, became the vanguard of the Easterners and took the lead in attacking the Westerners, including Yi I (李珥), Park Soon (朴淳) and Seong Hon (成渾), and opposed them.
Middle of his career
In the 10th year of Seonjo (1577) he passed through the post of Gyori (校理), and in the 11th year of Seonjo (1578) he returned from serving as Royal Inspector of Hamgyong Province. In 1578, in the presence of Seonjo, he referred to Changbin Ahn as a concubine, and because Seonjo was tormented by a complex about being a child of a concubine and a complex about succession through a collateral line, he fell out of favor with the king. In 1579 he passed through the posts of Jangnyeong and Sain and became Eungyo. In 1580 he resigned because of his father's death, and in 1582, after finishing mourning, he became Jeong of the Sabokshi and Eungyo.
In 1581, Hongmungwan Jeonhan Yi San-bo became Jikjehak, and he gave a harsh criticism of Yi San-bo, saying that Yi San-bo was merely a lump of dung (李山甫特一糞塊也), and someone recorded this in the official annals.2 The reason he harshly criticized Yi San-bo is unknown.
In 1582, on the recommendation of Yi I, the Wonjeopsa (遠接使), Left Tongnye (左通禮) Hwang Jeong-uk (黃廷彧), Eungyo Heo Bong, and Magistrate of Seosan Ko Kyong-myong (Ko Kyong-myong) served as Jongsagwan (從事官) and went on the mission.
Later career
In the 17th year of Seonjo (1583), he was dispatched as Royal Inspector to Gyeonggi and impeached Magistrate Han Ong for the lax military discipline in Suwon. In the 16th year of Seonjo (1583), he served as Jeonhan of the Hongmungwan, and in September of that year he took up the post of Magistrate of Changwon. In 1583 he was dispatched as Royal Inspector of Gyeonggi Province, and after pointing out that military discipline in Suwon was not in order, he requested the dismissal of Suwon Magistrate Han Ong (韓顒), and at the same time he impeached Minister of War Yulgok Yi I.
His final post was Tonghun Daebu, Jangnyeong of the Saheonbu, and Jeonhan of the Seonggyungwan. In 1584 he impeached the official misconduct of Minister of War Yulgok Yi I (李珥), and was exiled to Jongseong in Hamgyong Province, then transferred to Gapsan (甲山). Afterward, Yulgok Yi I asked Seonjo for lenient treatment, saying that Heo Bong was rash and fond of trouble but not a treacherous person, but Seonjo refused. At the same time, three ministers who criticized Yi I, including Song Eung-gae and Park Keun-won, who had discussed the impeachment together with him, were exiled simultaneously, and this incident is called the Gyemi Samchan (癸未三竄).
Exile, release and death
The Governor of Hamgyong Province, Kwon Keuk-ji, treated him with great courtesy during his exile, and this became a subject of controversy. With the help of Yu Seong-ryong, with whom he had studied together at Honodang (湖堂), he was released the following year. After his release he gave up his political ambitions and did not go out.
In 1585, Noh Su-sin (盧守愼), a native of the same village as his father Heo Yeop, petitioned Seonjo for generous pardon for Heo Bong, and Seonjo released him but forbade him to enter Hanseong. Again in 1585, on the recommendation of Chief State Councilor Noh Su-sin, he was re-employed at court, but he refused and wandered around the country, touring Baekunsan and also going to Incheon and wandering while visiting Chuncheon and other places.
After wandering, he entered Mount Geumgang and lived in seclusion. He visited Samyeong Daesa and discussed the doctrines of Buddhism, and became absorbed in Buddhism. In the autumn of 1588 he toured Mount Geumgang, viewed Birobong, and stayed at Daemyeong Hermitage. He drank too much liquor, and when he developed chronic cold phlegm (冷痰), he set out for the eastern suburbs to see a Physician, but on 16 September of the 21st year of Seonjo (1588), at Saengchang Station (生昌驛) in Kimhwa County, Gangwon Province, near Mount Geumgang, he suddenly died at the age of 38 from complications such as jaundice and pneumonia. His writings include 《Hagokjip》 and others.
After death
Friend Seo In-won (徐仁元), who was a local official in the nearby area, helped with his funeral. The official annals only briefly record that he died in Kimhwa.3 It is said that Jang Yu (張維) once named Heo Bong as the greatest poet of his era in Joseon.
He was buried west of his father Heo Yeop's grave in Sangcho-ri (霜草里, now Seocho-dong, Seocho District, Seoul), Dong-myeon, Gwacheon County, Gyeonggi Province, and later he was reinterred together with his father's grave at Maengni (맹리, now Maengni, Wonsam-myeon, Cheoin District, Yongin, Gyeonggi Province), Mountain 61, Wonsam-myeon, Yongin County, Gyeonggi Province. Later, a family cemetery for his family was established at this location.
Works
- 《Hagokjip》 (荷谷集)
- 《Hagok Sueo》 (荷谷粹語)
Compilations
- 《Haedong Yaeon》 (海東野言)
- 《Isan Jamsul》 (伊山雜述)
- 《Uirye Sanju》 (儀禮刪註)
- 《Doyeok Gwangyeon》 (讀易管見)
Travel writings
- 《Hagok Jocheongi》
- 《Bukbyeon Gisa》 (北邊記事)
Controversy over Consort Changbin Ahn
Seonjo, who was tormented by a complex about being a child of a concubine and a complex about succession through a collateral line, made several attempts to posthumously enthrone his father Prince Deokheung (德興大院君) as king. However, all of the great ministers opposed it, and the attempts failed. At this time, in the presence of Seonjo, he said that Changbin Ahn was a concubine. On 11 May of the 11th year of Seonjo (1878), while discussing what to name the shrine of Deokheung Daewongun, Lecturer Heo Bong called Changbin Ahn a concubine, and Seonjo became greatly angry.
The lecturer Heo Bong (許篈) entered the audience and said, "When the names are not correct, the words are not in accord. Nowadays the shrine of the Daewongun is called the 'family shrine' (家廟). How can the state have a family shrine? It should only be called the 'Daewon shrine' (大院廟), or else the 'private relatives' shrine' (私親廟), that would be proper. And when Your Majesty calls Consort An (安嬪) our grandmother, that is also very wrong. Even while the Daewongun was alive, he was suppressed by the legitimate wife and did not dare to call his own mother 'mother'; how much more so, since Your Majesty entered the palace and inherited the Great Lineage, how could you dare to call her grandmother? The Daewongun, as a secondary son of a feudal lord, became a shrine not to be moved for a hundred generations, but Consort An is a concubine mother, so she cannot enter the ancestral shrine of the founder, and should only be sacrificed to in a private room."
When he said this, the King angrily said,
"Does Heo Bong dare to say so many things? An old saying goes, 'One must not harm meaning with words.' Consort An is really my grandmother, so what harm is there in calling her our grandmother? And what hindrance is there in calling it a family shrine, so why does Heo Bong dare to make comparisons, speak carelessly and create discussions? I do not know what he has in mind."
Then the Chief Minister Hong Seom (洪暹) said,
"He is a young man who has only read the old texts and has not experienced affairs in practice, so he has created excessive arguments. Your Majesty should therefore be tolerant of all. If you break his spirit like this, I fear that everyone will not speak what they really think."
Seonjo demanded of Heo Bong who the concubine was. Because Heo Bong openly pointed out Consort Changbin Ahn as a concubine (安嬪是妾母), Seonjo became furious, and there was an incident in which Chief State Councilor Hong Seom barely defended him and calmed the king's anger. However, afterward Heo Bong still used the expressions "concubine" and "concubine lady" when referring to Changbin Ahn, and Seonjo showed his anger. Yet Seonjo did not try to punish Heo Bong. During his reign, Seonjo tried several times to posthumously enthrone his biological father Deokheung Daewongun as king, but he met fierce opposition from the Sarim faction and ultimately failed to achieve his aim.
Family
- Father: Heo Yeop (許曄)
- Mother: Lady Gangneung Kim (江陵金氏), daughter of Minister of Rites Kim Gwang-cheol (光轍)
- Half-brother: Heo Seong (許筬)
- Sister: Heo Nanseolheon (許蘭雪軒)
- Full younger brother: Heo Gyun (許筠)
- Wife: Sukin Lady Jeonju Yi (全州李氏), daughter of Yi U-bin (李禹賓)
- Son: Heo Chae (許寀)
- Daughter: married to Kim Geuk-geon (金克鍵), magistrate of Tongcheon
Notes