Mongmin Simseo

Overview

Mongmin Simseo (牧民心書) is a book in which Jeong Yak-yong (丁若鏞, pen name Dasan), a Silhak scholar of the late Joseon period, organized the moral discipline, administrative guidelines, governing techniques, and ideology that local magistrates (suryeong) should observe. Jeong completed it in 1818 (the 18th year of King Sunjo), at the age of 57, while he was in exile in Gangjin, Jeolla Province, following the Sinyu Persecution. It is a manuscript in 48 volumes bound in 16 books and, together with Gyeongse Yupyo and Heumheum Sinseo, is regarded as one of Jeong's representative works. The location shown on the map for this document is the Dasan Teahouse area in Gangjin, where Jeong stayed and wrote the book.

Background

Jeong Yak-yong and Silhak

Jeong Yak-yong was a scholar-official who enjoyed the trust of King Jeongjo and took part in the design of Hwaseong and the manufacture of the geojunggi (a hoisting machine). However, after King Jeongjo died in 1800 and the Sinyu Persecution broke out the following year, Jeong was exiled on the grounds of his association with Catholicism. After the Hwang Sa-yeong White Silk Letter incident, he was moved to Gangjin in Jeolla Province, where he spent nearly eighteen years in exile. During this period he left a vast body of writings covering Confucian classics and statecraft, and he is regarded as the figure who brought late Joseon Silhak to its culmination.

Motivation for Writing

In his preface, Jeong argued that the learning of a gentleman is half self-cultivation and the other half governing the people (mokmin, the nurturing of the people), and he criticized the magistrates of his time for pursuing only private gain and not knowing how to govern the people. He explained that he named the book "Simseo" (Book of the Heart) because, although he had the will to govern the people, he was an exiled man who could not put that will into practice himself.

Contents

Sources and Experience

Jeong made wide use of historical records, the legal codes of Joseon, various collections of writings, and other books on governing the people. He also gave detailed accounts of what he had seen during his father Jeong Jae-won's posting to local posts, of his experience as a royal secret inspector (amhaeng-eosa) and as Magistrate of Goksan (Goksan-busa), and of the realities he observed and heard about in his place of exile.

Structure

The book divides a magistrate's term, from taking office until he completes his tenure and departs, into 12 chapters, with each chapter containing six articles, for a total of 72 articles.

1. Bumim (赴任): Procedures and rules from appointment to taking up the post