Im Bak (林樸, 1327–1376) was a civil official of the late Goryeo period. His courtesy name was Wonjil (元質).
Life
He was a native of Gilan County (吉安縣), Andong Prefecture (安東府). In the 9th year of King Gongmin (恭愍王) (1360), he passed the civil service examination and was appointed as a military adjutant of Gaeseong (開城叅軍).1
In the following year, the 10th year of King Gongmin (1361), when the Red Turban bandits captured Gaegyeong and King Gongmin fled to Bokju (Andong), Commander-in-chief (元帥) Kim Deuk-bae (金得培) recruited Im Bak because he was well versed in military strategy, placing him under his command and having him take part in military operations. Also, in the midst of the chaos, he buried the historical records of the Goryeo royal house and the ritual manuals (儀軌) for the sacrifices of the Office of Editors and Sacrifices (典校祭享), intending to hide them; but after the Red Turbans were suppressed and they were dug up again, many had been carelessly discarded by the soldiers and not gathered up. It is said that Im Bak, together with Ryu Gu (柳玽) and Yi Gu (李玖), collected them, but what they retrieved amounted to no more than one or two in ten.1
In the 12th year (1363), he accompanied Yi Gong-su (李公遂), who had been dispatched as an envoy to the Yuan (元), as a recording secretary (書狀官) on the trip to the Yuan. At that time, Deokheung-gun (德興君), a member of the Goryeo royal family who was staying in the Yuan, told Emperor Shun of the Yuan that King Gongmin had died at the hands of the Red Turbans, and was thereby invested by the Yuan court as the new King of Goryeo.2 However, the envoys who had come from Goryeo reported that King Gongmin was still alive and that the Goryeo royal army had defeated the Red Turbans. When the emperor ordered them to accompany Deokheung-gun back to Goryeo as its king, they refused, saying, "To follow a king who was once a monk is no different from a wife betraying her husband." Meanwhile, Choi Yu (崔濡), who had fled from Goryeo to the Yuan, attended Deokheung-gun and came to Goryeo with soldiers from the Liaoyang Province (遼陽省). Upon hearing that Deokheung-gun was coming, the Goryeo court dispatched Gyeong Cheon-heung, Choe Yeong, and others to the north to block him.
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When Deokheung-gun reached Liaoyang, Choi Yu argued that they must win over Yi Gong-su, who was still at the Yuan court as a Goryeo envoy, and take him along to Goryeo. He bribed Tuluteimur (禿魯帖木兒) and Park Bul-hwa (박불화) heavily, intending without fail to bring Yi Gong-su back with him. But Yi Gong-su told Im Bak, the recording secretary, "I have already lost my parents and have no heir, and I have risen to a high position. How could I have even the slightest intention of depending on another? I would shave my head and enter the mountains before I would ever follow him," and his resolve was firm. Emperor Shun of the Yuan also did not follow the requests of Tuluteimur and the others.3 Meanwhile, the soldiers of Deokheung-gun and Choi Yu, who had crossed the Yalu River (鴨綠江) to come to Goryeo, were defeated by the Goryeo army led by Yi Seong-gye and others in the area of Uiju in the first month of the 13th year of King Gongmin (1364), and were driven back north of the Yalu. The Goryeo court was mistakenly informed that Yi Gong-su had received the post of Right Chief Councillor from Deokheung-gun, and so removed Yi Gong-su from office. However, in the Yuan, Yi Gong-su wrote a letter jointly signed with the attendants of the envoy group, placed it inside a bamboo cane, and secretly sent his servants Jeong Ryang (鄭良) and Song Won (宋元), disguised as beggars, to Goryeo by a shortcut to warn that Choi Yu would again invade Goryeo. Only then did the Goryeo court realize that Yi Gong-su had not joined Deokheung-gun; they appointed him領都僉議 and conferred on him the title of Meritorious Subject of Loyalty, Righteousness, Virtue, and Transformation (推忠守義同德贊化功臣) in recognition. Just then, in the Yuan, Porotemur (孛羅帖木兒) led troops into Daedu (大都), expelled the Chancellor (丞相) and took his place. The Censor-in-chief (御史大夫) Tokgen-temur (禿堅帖木兒) and the Pyeongjang (平章) Lodisa (老的沙) said that "the King of Goryeo has merit and no fault, and has been slandered by petty men." In the 10th month, Emperor Shun issued an edict restoring the king to his throne and sent Choi Yu off in shackles.4 Yi Gong-su returned to Goryeo on the 25th day of the 10th month. Initially, Deokheung-gun, having been appointed King of Goryeo by the Yuan and conferring offices on the Goryeo people residing in the Yuan, also approached Im Bak and tried to win him over by promising him the post of Director of the Office of Political Affairs (典理摠郞). But Im Bak refused. When Im Bak returned, the king admired him for not following Deokheung-gun despite his offer of high office, and appointed him Secretary of the Central Secretariat (中書舍人).1
In the 1st month of the 14th year of King Gongmin (1365), when Im Bak was transferred to the post of成均祭酒 (Chief of the National Academy), he submitted a memorial that for the first time separated the Five Classics Study Hall (五經齋) and the Four Books Study Hall (四書齋), and petitioned that the civil service examinations be conducted entirely in accordance with the Chinese method of Soujian Tongkao (搜檢通考法).15 Also, when Im Bak submitted the twenty articles of "On Correcting the Mind and Discussing Governance" (正心論相), the king favored him even more and appointed him Vice Director of Ceremonies (典儀副令). Later, when King Gongmin ordered him to state the successes and failures of the government of the time, he submitted more than ten additional matters, which the king gladly accepted [嘉納] and soon promoted him to Director of Ceremonies (典儀令). In the 15th year of King Gongmin (1366), when the Yuan's Prince of Henan (河南王) Kökö Temür (廓擴帖木兒) sent an envoy, Gwak Yeong-seok (郭永錫), in reply to Goryeo's envoys Jeon Nok-saeng (전녹생) and Jeong Won-bi (정원비), and Gwak arrived in Goryeo on the 23rd day of the 11th month, Im Bak was put in charge of receiving him as Chief Escort (館伴使).1
In the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367), he was dispatched to Jeju Island as the Jeju Pacification Commissioner (濟州宣撫使), charged with pacifying the Mongol Mokho (牧胡) who then controlled the island and the people of Jeju.6 Apart from the water he filled his jar with at Naju, on the way back, Im Bak did not drink a single cup of tea on Jeju, and he was praised by the people as a sage. However, some people of Jeju criticized him for carrying water from Naju.7 In the same year, Im Bak became Chief of the National Academy (成均祭酒) and requested that the Sungkyunkwan (成均館) be rebuilt. A royal order was issued to rebuild the National Academy (國學) on the old site of the Sungmun Hall (崇文館), and to have the Confucian officials at home and abroad contribute cloth according to their rank to help defray the costs.8 Afterward, Im Bak was promoted to Grand Master of Education (大司成) and Concurrent Director of the Office of Editors (判典校事).1
After Shin Don (辛旽) came to power, in the 12th month of the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367), Im Bak was appointed Intendant of the Memorial Office (箚子房知印) in place of Seong Seok-rin (成石璘). The Goryeosa jeolyo (고려사절요) records that Im Bak usually praised Shin Don, saying that he possessed great virtue, so that Shin Don liked him; every night he went in and out of Shin Don's house on foot wearing old clothes, and devised plans for Shin Don. Before being appointed Intendant of the Memorial Office, when Shin Don cited the Dosun Bigi (道詵祕記) and urged the king to move the capital because the energy of Songdo had declined, Im Bak received the king's order to go to Pyongyang and survey land suitable for the capital. When he went to Pyongyang, he was accompanied by Kim Rin (金麟), Secretary of the Internal Affairs (內書舍人), and Kim Hui (金禧), Drafter of Edicts (知製敎), both wearing swords.910 At that time, having been appointed Intendant of the Memorial Office by Shin Don, he personally carried the register of officials (班簿) and graded them, but did not recommend those who were his friends. He measured Shin Don's likes and dislikes and worked only to ingratiate himself, and so it is criticized that Gyeong Cheon-heung (경천흥) and Choe Yeong (최영) and others hated him.11 Also, Im Bak once told Shin Don that in managing state affairs one should above all resolve disputes over land and people (田民爭訟), that is, land problems. Accordingly, Shin Don reported this to the king, and the Chujeong Dogam (推整都監) was established. Im Bak became its Director (都監使) and, together with Shin Don as Supervisor (提調), took charge of resolving land issues. At this time Im Bak made many fair decisions, but since Shin Don heard only one side and did not distinguish, many injustices resulted, according to the Goryeosa (고려사).12
When Shin Don fell from power and was exiled to Suwon, in the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371), Im Bak, as Inspector (察訪使), went with Commissioner of Investigation (體覆使) Kim Gyu (金㺩) to Suwon, told Shin Don, who was in exile there, that the king had summoned him, brought him back, and executed him.13 The biography of Shin Don in the Goryeosa records that when Im Bak summoned Shin Don, Shin Don said, "The king is calling me because of the child's affair." At one point, when Im Bak was attending the king together with General Yi Mi-chung (李美冲), the king pointed at Yi Mi-chung and said, "You too know about the matter of the child," and Yi Mi-chung nodded in agreement. When Im Bak withdrew and asked Yi Mi-chung about it, Yi Mi-chung answered: "His Majesty once gave me gold coins and told me to go to Shin Don's house and give them to the child. When the child was overjoyed, Shin Don told me, 'His Majesty visits our house often, but it is not because of me.' I reported all of this, and so His Majesty said these words." After Shin Don was executed, Im Bak told the historians Min Yu-ui (閔由誼) and Yi Ji (李至), "Executing Shin Don was a great joy for the nation, but there is another great joy. Do you know it? His Majesty favored a palace woman, who bore a son, and he is already seven years old. Shin Don secretly raised him so that the people of the country would not know. This too deserves execution." In this way he made known the existence of King Gongmin's son.14 A child named Moninu (牟尼奴) entered the palace in the 7th month of the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371), received the title of Grand Prince of Gangnyeong Prefecture (江寧府院大君) and the name U (禑), and entered the Empress Dowager's hall. King Gongmin told the Acting Chief Councillor (守侍中) Yi In-im (李仁任), "Since there is a crown prince, I have no worries. A beautiful woman was in Shin Don's house, and having heard that she bore sons well, I favored her and so obtained this child." Thus he revealed Moninu to be his own son and entrusted Yi In-im with his guardianship.15 In the 22nd year of King Gongmin (1373), Im Bak, as Concurrent Director of the Office of Editors (判典校寺事) and Acting Chief Councillor (檢校侍中), was sent by royal order to condole with Yi In-bok (이인복), elder brother of Yi In-im, who had retired to Gyeongsan (京山) on account of the death of his father Yi Jo-nyeon (이조년).16
In the 23rd year of King Gongmin (1374), he was appointed Royal Secretary (代言). In the 9th month, he observed the three-year mourning period after the death of King Gongmin, but on the day after the king died, while staying beside the mourning hall, he laughed openly and was rebuked by Yu Won-jeong (柳爰廷), Judge of the Office for the Royal Funeral (殯殿都監判官).1 When Gim Ui (金義) of Goryeo, who was escorting the Ming envoys Im Mil and Chae Bin on their way to Ming, killed the Ming envoys and fled to the Northern Yuan (北元), the Northern Yuan sent Tuqtuqa Buqua (脫脫不花), grandson of Wang Go (王固), King of Simyang (瀋陽王) (Sim-wang), to Goryeo in an attempt to install him as the new King of Goryeo in place of King Gongmin. Yi In-im and others, jointly with the royal family and the high ministers (宰樞), attempted to send a state letter to the Chancellery (中書省) of the Northern Yuan announcing the accession of King U and requesting its approval. At that time, Im Bak, serving as Left Royal Secretary (左代言), together with Director of the Office of Editors Park Sang-chung (朴尙衷) and Vice Director of Ceremonies Jeong Do-jeon (鄭道傳), argued that this was improper and refused to sign the state letter.17 Then, upon the impeachment by the Grand Censor (大司憲) Yi Bo-rim (李寶林), he was stripped of rank, made a commoner, and exiled to Gilan County (吉安縣).118
Earlier, people of Yean (禮安) had flattered Ji Yun (池奫) and had King U's umbilical cord buried in their county, which was then elevated to a district (郡). Im Bak, who was in Gilan County, said that the site chosen for King U's placenta shrine was not an auspicious place, and the people of Andong reported this to the court. At that time, Ji Yun held power together with Yi In-im and Im Gyeon-mi, and he had an affair with King U's wet nurse, Madam Jang, while Ji Yun's wife was also close to Madam Jang and frequently visited the palace.19 Furthermore, Kim Seung-deuk (金承得), Chief Censor (執義) and a faction member of Ji Yun, and Kim Yun-seung (金允升), Chief Secretary (知申事), told King U that Im Bak's refusal earlier to sign the document to be submitted to the Chancellery of the Northern Yuan was an attempt to enthrone Sim-wang Tuqtuqa Buqua, and they also brought up that he had been a faction member of the traitor Shin Don, demanding his execution. Then they sent Son Gyeong-saeng (孫慶生), Commissioner of Investigation, who bound Im Bak in iron chains and transferred him to the Board of Justice (典法司). He was then given one hundred strokes of the cane and exiled to Muan (務安), and on the way to his place of exile he was trampled to death.1 At that time, it is said that Yi In-im and Gyeong Bok-heung (경복흥) did not learn the circumstances of Im Bak's death.
In the 5th month of the 2nd year of King U (1376), the year Im Bak died, Hong Jung-seon (洪仲宣), Vice Chief Councillor (政堂文學), abolished the method of selecting scholars proposed in Im Bak's policy recommendation (對策), and again selected scholars by poetry and rhapsody (詩 and 賦); he also abolished the provincial examinations (鄕試), metropolitan examinations (會試), and palace examinations (殿試).20
Family
According to the biographies in the Goryeosa, Im Bak had a son named Im Ga (林稼)1, and had younger brothers such as Im Geun (林根), Im Su (林樹), and Im Ju (林株), as well as a younger sister whose name is not known. The younger sister had not married and was attended by only three female servants. Im Bak called his younger siblings together and, worrying about the future of his unmarried younger sister, gave her all the servants and property they had, and she was married to Yi U (李遇), a Sisa (侍史). Yi U refused, saying that he could not monopolize property handed down through the family for generations, but Im Bak insisted and sent her to him. When Im Bak died, his younger sister tried to send the children of the servants she had attended to her brothers, Im Geun and the others, and to her nephew Im Ga; but Im Ga refused, saying that this was not what his father had wished. Im Ga lived into the early Joseon period. In the 8th year of King Sejong (1426), while serving as Haengsajik (行司直), he beat his servant Baek-dong (白同) without restraint on the charge that Baek-dong had betrayed him and evaded military service; he cut off both of his ears, severed his muscles, and shaved his head, cruelly torturing him to death. For this crime he was sentenced to one hundred strokes of the heavy cane and21 afterward had his official certificate (職牒) revoked and fell ill and lived in poverty. At that time, the matter involving Im Bak's younger sister became known, and the Joseon court specially restored Im Ga's official certificate to him, it is said.22
Literary works
When Deokheung-gun was about to return to Goryeo, he asked Im Bak for a poem, and Im Bak wrote a poem on a folding screen (屛風) as follows.
The Yuan scholar (學士) Wei Su (危素) saw Im Bak's poem and exclaimed, "Even in these times there are scholars who keep such loyalty and integrity!" Im Bak's poem is included in the Dongmunseon under the title "Jeda Deokheung-gun Sobyeong" (題德興君素屛).
Footnotes
Footnotes
Goryeosa, vol. 111, Biographies 24, Various Ministers, Im Bak ↩↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9↩10
Goryeosa, vol. 87, Chronological Tables 2, May, 12th year of King Gongmin (1363). ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Yi Gong-su ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Yi Gong-su ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 73, Treatises 27, Selection 1 (選擧 一), Subject 1, 16th year of King Gongmin (1367); Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 28, King Gongmin 3, 1st month of the 14th year of King Gongmin ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 41, Houses 41, 15th day of the 4th month of 1367, Gyeongsin ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 111, Biographies 24, Various Ministers, Im Bak ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 74, Treatises 28, Selection 2, Schools, National Academy ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 41, Houses 41, 10th day of the 4th month of the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367), Eulmyo ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 132, Biographies 45, Rebellions, Shin Don ↩
Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 28, King Gongmin 3, 12th month of the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367) ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 111, Biographies 24, Various Ministers, Im Bak ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 132, Biographies 45, Rebellions, Shin Don ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 132, Biographies 45, Rebellions, Shin Don; Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 29, King Gongmin 4, 7th month of the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371) ↩
Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 29, King Gongmin 4, 7th month of the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371) ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Yi In-bok ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Park Sang-chung; and same book, vol. 119, Biographies 32, Various Ministers, Jeong Do-jeon; Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 30, Sin-u 1, 4th month of the 1st year of King U (1375) ↩
Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 30, Sin-u 1, 5th month of the 1st year of King U (1375) ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 125, Biographies 38, Treacherous Ministers, Ji Yun ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 73, Treatises 27, Selection 1, Subject 1, King U ↩
Sejong Sillok, vol. 38, 6th day of the 2nd month of the 8th year of King Sejong (1426), Byeongo ↩
Sejong Sillok, vol. 38, 21st day of the 12th month of the 9th year of King Sejong (1427), Gapsul ↩
Im Bak (林樸, 1327–1376) was a civil official of the late Goryeo period. His courtesy name was Wonjil (元質).
Life
He was a native of Gilan County (吉安縣), Andong Prefecture (安東府). In the 9th year of King Gongmin (恭愍王) (1360), he passed the civil service examination and was appointed as a military adjutant of Gaeseong (開城叅軍).1
In the following year, the 10th year of King Gongmin (1361), when the Red Turban bandits captured Gaegyeong and King Gongmin fled to Bokju (Andong), Commander-in-chief (元帥) Kim Deuk-bae (金得培) recruited Im Bak because he was well versed in military strategy, placing him under his command and having him take part in military operations. Also, in the midst of the chaos, he buried the historical records of the Goryeo royal house and the ritual manuals (儀軌) for the sacrifices of the Office of Editors and Sacrifices (典校祭享), intending to hide them; but after the Red Turbans were suppressed and they were dug up again, many had been carelessly discarded by the soldiers and not gathered up. It is said that Im Bak, together with Ryu Gu (柳玽) and Yi Gu (李玖), collected them, but what they retrieved amounted to no more than one or two in ten.1
In the 12th year (1363), he accompanied Yi Gong-su (李公遂), who had been dispatched as an envoy to the Yuan (元), as a recording secretary (書狀官) on the trip to the Yuan. At that time, Deokheung-gun (德興君), a member of the Goryeo royal family who was staying in the Yuan, told Emperor Shun of the Yuan that King Gongmin had died at the hands of the Red Turbans, and was thereby invested by the Yuan court as the new King of Goryeo.2 However, the envoys who had come from Goryeo reported that King Gongmin was still alive and that the Goryeo royal army had defeated the Red Turbans. When the emperor ordered them to accompany Deokheung-gun back to Goryeo as its king, they refused, saying, "To follow a king who was once a monk is no different from a wife betraying her husband." Meanwhile, Choi Yu (崔濡), who had fled from Goryeo to the Yuan, attended Deokheung-gun and came to Goryeo with soldiers from the Liaoyang Province (遼陽省). Upon hearing that Deokheung-gun was coming, the Goryeo court dispatched Gyeong Cheon-heung, Choe Yeong, and others to the north to block him.
When Deokheung-gun reached Liaoyang, Choi Yu argued that they must win over Yi Gong-su, who was still at the Yuan court as a Goryeo envoy, and take him along to Goryeo. He bribed Tuluteimur (禿魯帖木兒) and Park Bul-hwa (박불화) heavily, intending without fail to bring Yi Gong-su back with him. But Yi Gong-su told Im Bak, the recording secretary, "I have already lost my parents and have no heir, and I have risen to a high position. How could I have even the slightest intention of depending on another? I would shave my head and enter the mountains before I would ever follow him," and his resolve was firm. Emperor Shun of the Yuan also did not follow the requests of Tuluteimur and the others.3 Meanwhile, the soldiers of Deokheung-gun and Choi Yu, who had crossed the Yalu River (鴨綠江) to come to Goryeo, were defeated by the Goryeo army led by Yi Seong-gye and others in the area of Uiju in the first month of the 13th year of King Gongmin (1364), and were driven back north of the Yalu. The Goryeo court was mistakenly informed that Yi Gong-su had received the post of Right Chief Councillor from Deokheung-gun, and so removed Yi Gong-su from office. However, in the Yuan, Yi Gong-su wrote a letter jointly signed with the attendants of the envoy group, placed it inside a bamboo cane, and secretly sent his servants Jeong Ryang (鄭良) and Song Won (宋元), disguised as beggars, to Goryeo by a shortcut to warn that Choi Yu would again invade Goryeo. Only then did the Goryeo court realize that Yi Gong-su had not joined Deokheung-gun; they appointed him領都僉議 and conferred on him the title of Meritorious Subject of Loyalty, Righteousness, Virtue, and Transformation (推忠守義同德贊化功臣) in recognition. Just then, in the Yuan, Porotemur (孛羅帖木兒) led troops into Daedu (大都), expelled the Chancellor (丞相) and took his place. The Censor-in-chief (御史大夫) Tokgen-temur (禿堅帖木兒) and the Pyeongjang (平章) Lodisa (老的沙) said that "the King of Goryeo has merit and no fault, and has been slandered by petty men." In the 10th month, Emperor Shun issued an edict restoring the king to his throne and sent Choi Yu off in shackles.4 Yi Gong-su returned to Goryeo on the 25th day of the 10th month. Initially, Deokheung-gun, having been appointed King of Goryeo by the Yuan and conferring offices on the Goryeo people residing in the Yuan, also approached Im Bak and tried to win him over by promising him the post of Director of the Office of Political Affairs (典理摠郞). But Im Bak refused. When Im Bak returned, the king admired him for not following Deokheung-gun despite his offer of high office, and appointed him Secretary of the Central Secretariat (中書舍人).1
In the 1st month of the 14th year of King Gongmin (1365), when Im Bak was transferred to the post of成均祭酒 (Chief of the National Academy), he submitted a memorial that for the first time separated the Five Classics Study Hall (五經齋) and the Four Books Study Hall (四書齋), and petitioned that the civil service examinations be conducted entirely in accordance with the Chinese method of Soujian Tongkao (搜檢通考法).15 Also, when Im Bak submitted the twenty articles of "On Correcting the Mind and Discussing Governance" (正心論相), the king favored him even more and appointed him Vice Director of Ceremonies (典儀副令). Later, when King Gongmin ordered him to state the successes and failures of the government of the time, he submitted more than ten additional matters, which the king gladly accepted [嘉納] and soon promoted him to Director of Ceremonies (典儀令). In the 15th year of King Gongmin (1366), when the Yuan's Prince of Henan (河南王) Kökö Temür (廓擴帖木兒) sent an envoy, Gwak Yeong-seok (郭永錫), in reply to Goryeo's envoys Jeon Nok-saeng (전녹생) and Jeong Won-bi (정원비), and Gwak arrived in Goryeo on the 23rd day of the 11th month, Im Bak was put in charge of receiving him as Chief Escort (館伴使).1
In the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367), he was dispatched to Jeju Island as the Jeju Pacification Commissioner (濟州宣撫使), charged with pacifying the Mongol Mokho (牧胡) who then controlled the island and the people of Jeju.6 Apart from the water he filled his jar with at Naju, on the way back, Im Bak did not drink a single cup of tea on Jeju, and he was praised by the people as a sage. However, some people of Jeju criticized him for carrying water from Naju.7 In the same year, Im Bak became Chief of the National Academy (成均祭酒) and requested that the Sungkyunkwan (成均館) be rebuilt. A royal order was issued to rebuild the National Academy (國學) on the old site of the Sungmun Hall (崇文館), and to have the Confucian officials at home and abroad contribute cloth according to their rank to help defray the costs.8 Afterward, Im Bak was promoted to Grand Master of Education (大司成) and Concurrent Director of the Office of Editors (判典校事).1
After Shin Don (辛旽) came to power, in the 12th month of the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367), Im Bak was appointed Intendant of the Memorial Office (箚子房知印) in place of Seong Seok-rin (成石璘). The Goryeosa jeolyo (고려사절요) records that Im Bak usually praised Shin Don, saying that he possessed great virtue, so that Shin Don liked him; every night he went in and out of Shin Don's house on foot wearing old clothes, and devised plans for Shin Don. Before being appointed Intendant of the Memorial Office, when Shin Don cited the Dosun Bigi (道詵祕記) and urged the king to move the capital because the energy of Songdo had declined, Im Bak received the king's order to go to Pyongyang and survey land suitable for the capital. When he went to Pyongyang, he was accompanied by Kim Rin (金麟), Secretary of the Internal Affairs (內書舍人), and Kim Hui (金禧), Drafter of Edicts (知製敎), both wearing swords.910 At that time, having been appointed Intendant of the Memorial Office by Shin Don, he personally carried the register of officials (班簿) and graded them, but did not recommend those who were his friends. He measured Shin Don's likes and dislikes and worked only to ingratiate himself, and so it is criticized that Gyeong Cheon-heung (경천흥) and Choe Yeong (최영) and others hated him.11 Also, Im Bak once told Shin Don that in managing state affairs one should above all resolve disputes over land and people (田民爭訟), that is, land problems. Accordingly, Shin Don reported this to the king, and the Chujeong Dogam (推整都監) was established. Im Bak became its Director (都監使) and, together with Shin Don as Supervisor (提調), took charge of resolving land issues. At this time Im Bak made many fair decisions, but since Shin Don heard only one side and did not distinguish, many injustices resulted, according to the Goryeosa (고려사).12
When Shin Don fell from power and was exiled to Suwon, in the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371), Im Bak, as Inspector (察訪使), went with Commissioner of Investigation (體覆使) Kim Gyu (金㺩) to Suwon, told Shin Don, who was in exile there, that the king had summoned him, brought him back, and executed him.13 The biography of Shin Don in the Goryeosa records that when Im Bak summoned Shin Don, Shin Don said, "The king is calling me because of the child's affair." At one point, when Im Bak was attending the king together with General Yi Mi-chung (李美冲), the king pointed at Yi Mi-chung and said, "You too know about the matter of the child," and Yi Mi-chung nodded in agreement. When Im Bak withdrew and asked Yi Mi-chung about it, Yi Mi-chung answered: "His Majesty once gave me gold coins and told me to go to Shin Don's house and give them to the child. When the child was overjoyed, Shin Don told me, 'His Majesty visits our house often, but it is not because of me.' I reported all of this, and so His Majesty said these words." After Shin Don was executed, Im Bak told the historians Min Yu-ui (閔由誼) and Yi Ji (李至), "Executing Shin Don was a great joy for the nation, but there is another great joy. Do you know it? His Majesty favored a palace woman, who bore a son, and he is already seven years old. Shin Don secretly raised him so that the people of the country would not know. This too deserves execution." In this way he made known the existence of King Gongmin's son.14 A child named Moninu (牟尼奴) entered the palace in the 7th month of the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371), received the title of Grand Prince of Gangnyeong Prefecture (江寧府院大君) and the name U (禑), and entered the Empress Dowager's hall. King Gongmin told the Acting Chief Councillor (守侍中) Yi In-im (李仁任), "Since there is a crown prince, I have no worries. A beautiful woman was in Shin Don's house, and having heard that she bore sons well, I favored her and so obtained this child." Thus he revealed Moninu to be his own son and entrusted Yi In-im with his guardianship.15 In the 22nd year of King Gongmin (1373), Im Bak, as Concurrent Director of the Office of Editors (判典校寺事) and Acting Chief Councillor (檢校侍中), was sent by royal order to condole with Yi In-bok (이인복), elder brother of Yi In-im, who had retired to Gyeongsan (京山) on account of the death of his father Yi Jo-nyeon (이조년).16
In the 23rd year of King Gongmin (1374), he was appointed Royal Secretary (代言). In the 9th month, he observed the three-year mourning period after the death of King Gongmin, but on the day after the king died, while staying beside the mourning hall, he laughed openly and was rebuked by Yu Won-jeong (柳爰廷), Judge of the Office for the Royal Funeral (殯殿都監判官).1 When Gim Ui (金義) of Goryeo, who was escorting the Ming envoys Im Mil and Chae Bin on their way to Ming, killed the Ming envoys and fled to the Northern Yuan (北元), the Northern Yuan sent Tuqtuqa Buqua (脫脫不花), grandson of Wang Go (王固), King of Simyang (瀋陽王) (Sim-wang), to Goryeo in an attempt to install him as the new King of Goryeo in place of King Gongmin. Yi In-im and others, jointly with the royal family and the high ministers (宰樞), attempted to send a state letter to the Chancellery (中書省) of the Northern Yuan announcing the accession of King U and requesting its approval. At that time, Im Bak, serving as Left Royal Secretary (左代言), together with Director of the Office of Editors Park Sang-chung (朴尙衷) and Vice Director of Ceremonies Jeong Do-jeon (鄭道傳), argued that this was improper and refused to sign the state letter.17 Then, upon the impeachment by the Grand Censor (大司憲) Yi Bo-rim (李寶林), he was stripped of rank, made a commoner, and exiled to Gilan County (吉安縣).118
Earlier, people of Yean (禮安) had flattered Ji Yun (池奫) and had King U's umbilical cord buried in their county, which was then elevated to a district (郡). Im Bak, who was in Gilan County, said that the site chosen for King U's placenta shrine was not an auspicious place, and the people of Andong reported this to the court. At that time, Ji Yun held power together with Yi In-im and Im Gyeon-mi, and he had an affair with King U's wet nurse, Madam Jang, while Ji Yun's wife was also close to Madam Jang and frequently visited the palace.19 Furthermore, Kim Seung-deuk (金承得), Chief Censor (執義) and a faction member of Ji Yun, and Kim Yun-seung (金允升), Chief Secretary (知申事), told King U that Im Bak's refusal earlier to sign the document to be submitted to the Chancellery of the Northern Yuan was an attempt to enthrone Sim-wang Tuqtuqa Buqua, and they also brought up that he had been a faction member of the traitor Shin Don, demanding his execution. Then they sent Son Gyeong-saeng (孫慶生), Commissioner of Investigation, who bound Im Bak in iron chains and transferred him to the Board of Justice (典法司). He was then given one hundred strokes of the cane and exiled to Muan (務安), and on the way to his place of exile he was trampled to death.1 At that time, it is said that Yi In-im and Gyeong Bok-heung (경복흥) did not learn the circumstances of Im Bak's death.
In the 5th month of the 2nd year of King U (1376), the year Im Bak died, Hong Jung-seon (洪仲宣), Vice Chief Councillor (政堂文學), abolished the method of selecting scholars proposed in Im Bak's policy recommendation (對策), and again selected scholars by poetry and rhapsody (詩 and 賦); he also abolished the provincial examinations (鄕試), metropolitan examinations (會試), and palace examinations (殿試).20
Family
According to the biographies in the Goryeosa, Im Bak had a son named Im Ga (林稼)1, and had younger brothers such as Im Geun (林根), Im Su (林樹), and Im Ju (林株), as well as a younger sister whose name is not known. The younger sister had not married and was attended by only three female servants. Im Bak called his younger siblings together and, worrying about the future of his unmarried younger sister, gave her all the servants and property they had, and she was married to Yi U (李遇), a Sisa (侍史). Yi U refused, saying that he could not monopolize property handed down through the family for generations, but Im Bak insisted and sent her to him. When Im Bak died, his younger sister tried to send the children of the servants she had attended to her brothers, Im Geun and the others, and to her nephew Im Ga; but Im Ga refused, saying that this was not what his father had wished. Im Ga lived into the early Joseon period. In the 8th year of King Sejong (1426), while serving as Haengsajik (行司直), he beat his servant Baek-dong (白同) without restraint on the charge that Baek-dong had betrayed him and evaded military service; he cut off both of his ears, severed his muscles, and shaved his head, cruelly torturing him to death. For this crime he was sentenced to one hundred strokes of the heavy cane and21 afterward had his official certificate (職牒) revoked and fell ill and lived in poverty. At that time, the matter involving Im Bak's younger sister became known, and the Joseon court specially restored Im Ga's official certificate to him, it is said.22
Literary works
When Deokheung-gun was about to return to Goryeo, he asked Im Bak for a poem, and Im Bak wrote a poem on a folding screen (屛風) as follows.
The Yuan scholar (學士) Wei Su (危素) saw Im Bak's poem and exclaimed, "Even in these times there are scholars who keep such loyalty and integrity!" Im Bak's poem is included in the Dongmunseon under the title "Jeda Deokheung-gun Sobyeong" (題德興君素屛).
Footnotes
Footnotes
Goryeosa, vol. 111, Biographies 24, Various Ministers, Im Bak ↩↩2↩3↩4↩5↩6↩7↩8↩9↩10
Goryeosa, vol. 87, Chronological Tables 2, May, 12th year of King Gongmin (1363). ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Yi Gong-su ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Yi Gong-su ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 73, Treatises 27, Selection 1 (選擧 一), Subject 1, 16th year of King Gongmin (1367); Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 28, King Gongmin 3, 1st month of the 14th year of King Gongmin ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 41, Houses 41, 15th day of the 4th month of 1367, Gyeongsin ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 111, Biographies 24, Various Ministers, Im Bak ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 74, Treatises 28, Selection 2, Schools, National Academy ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 41, Houses 41, 10th day of the 4th month of the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367), Eulmyo ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 132, Biographies 45, Rebellions, Shin Don ↩
Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 28, King Gongmin 3, 12th month of the 16th year of King Gongmin (1367) ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 111, Biographies 24, Various Ministers, Im Bak ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 132, Biographies 45, Rebellions, Shin Don ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 132, Biographies 45, Rebellions, Shin Don; Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 29, King Gongmin 4, 7th month of the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371) ↩
Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 29, King Gongmin 4, 7th month of the 20th year of King Gongmin (1371) ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Yi In-bok ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 112, Biographies 25, Various Ministers, Park Sang-chung; and same book, vol. 119, Biographies 32, Various Ministers, Jeong Do-jeon; Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 30, Sin-u 1, 4th month of the 1st year of King U (1375) ↩
Goryeosa jeolyo, vol. 30, Sin-u 1, 5th month of the 1st year of King U (1375) ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 125, Biographies 38, Treacherous Ministers, Ji Yun ↩
Goryeosa, vol. 73, Treatises 27, Selection 1, Subject 1, King U ↩
Sejong Sillok, vol. 38, 6th day of the 2nd month of the 8th year of King Sejong (1426), Byeongo ↩
Sejong Sillok, vol. 38, 21st day of the 12th month of the 9th year of King Sejong (1427), Gapsul ↩