Song Sun (宋純, 1493 ∼ 1583) was a civil official of Joseon. His family seat was Sinpyeong, his courtesy name was Susho, and his pen name was Myeonang. He was a native of Damyang, Jeolla Province.
Life
Song Sun was born on the 14th day of the 11th month of 1493 (the 24th year of King Seongjong) in Gichon Village, Sangdeok-ri, Gigok-myeon, Damyang-dohobu, Jeolla Province (present-day Sangdeok Village, Gigok-ri, Bongsan-myeon, Damyang, South Jeolla Province), as the eldest of three sons and two daughters born to his father Song Tae (宋泰) and his mother of the Sunchang Jo clan.1 In his youth he attended the tutelage of Song Heum and Park Sang, and he also studied under Song Se-rim, magistrate of Neungju.
In 1513 (the 8th year of King Jungjong), at the age of 21, he passed the jinsa examination. In 1519 (the 14th year of King Jungjong), at the age of 27, he passed the special literary civil service examination and became an junior captain-level clerk of the Seungmun-won. In that same year the Gimyo Purge occurred, a period when the forces of Jo Gwang-jo were purged.2
In 1520 (the 15th year of King Jungjong) he entered the Hodang (湖堂) and took part in the sagadokseo (賜暇讀書) program. In 1524 (the 19th year of King Jungjong) he became seseja sisweonwon seolseo (世子侍講院說書).
In 1526 (the 21st year of King Jungjong) Kim In-hu, a great scholar of the reign of King Injong who was known by the name Haseo, came to him and asked to be taught. In 1527 (the 22nd year of King Jungjong) he became sagan-won jeongeon (司諫院正言). In 1533 (the 28th year of King Jungjong), when Kim An-ro (金安老) seized power, he returned home, built Myeonanjeong (俛仰亭), and lived there reciting poetry.
In 1537 (the 32nd year of King Jungjong) he was appointed vice-chief secretary of the Hongmungwan and then rose to the post of jip'yeong of the Saheonbu. He subsequently served as vice-academician of the Hongmungwan and as royal inspector of Chungcheong Province, among other posts. In 1539 (the 34th year of King Jungjong) he was promoted to deputy chief secretary of the Seungjeongwon, and in the fourth month, when the Liaodong Circuit Commissioner (遼東都司) of the Ming dynasty arrived, he became a seonwisa and traveled west to meet them.
Afterward, he passed through key posts such as provincial governor of Gyeongsang Province and grand minister of remonstrance of the Saganwon, but in 1542 (the 37th year of King Jungjong), in his 50th year, he was demoted to provincial governor of Jeolla Province through the actions of Yun Won-hyeong and Hwang Heon (黃憲), and in the second month of the following year he left the post.
In 1545 (the first year of King Myeongjong's reign) the Eulsa Purge occurred, and many Sarim scholars suffered at the hands of forces led by Yun Won-hyeong. He mourned them by composing the "Sangchunga" (傷春歌).
In 1547 (the 2nd year of King Myeongjong) he was appointed vice-chief of the Dongjijungchubu and took part in compiling the Veritable Records of King Jungjong. In May of that year he went to Beijing as a envoy requesting [the Ming court's approval], and then became Governor of Gaeseong.
In 1550 (the 5th year of King Myeongjong) he became Grand Censor-in-Chief and Vice Minister of Personnel, but he was impeached, together with Gu Su-dam, Heo Ja, and others, on charges of advocating heterodox views, at the instigation of Jin Bok-chang (陳福昌) and Yi Gi (李芑), and was exiled to Seocheon in Chungcheong Province. He was released on the 11th day of the 11th month of the following year, 1551.
In the third month of 1553 (the 8th year of King Myeongjong) he was appointed magistrate of Seonsan-dohobu. He rebuilt Myeonanjeong and held a celebration for his 60th birthday, for which Kim In-hu, Im Eok-nyeong, Park Soon, Go Gyeong-myeong, and others composed poems in his honor.
In 1558 (the 13th year of King Myeongjong) he was appointed magistrate of Jeonju, but in 1560 (the 15th year of King Myeongjong) he resigned due to illness. In 1561 (the 16th year of King Myeongjong) he was appointed magistrate of Naju, and afterward rose to the post of vice minister of Justice. In 1562 (the 17th year of King Myeongjong), at the age of 70, he entered the Girogso (耆老所).
In 1568 (the first year of King Seonjo) he was appointed vice-mayor of Hanseong-bu, and in 1569 (the second year of King Seonjo) he was promoted to mayor of Hanseong-bu. He was soon appointed vice chief state councillor of the Uijeongbu, but he resigned due to illness and returned to his home village.3
In October 1570 Gi Dae-seung came to pay his respects and wrote the "Myeonanjeonggi" (俛仰亭記). In 1571 (the 4th year of King Seonjo) he was listed, as vice chief state councillor of the Uijeongbu with the rank of Jaheon Daebu, among the compilers of the Veritable Records of King Myeongjong.
In 1579 (the 12th year of King Seonjo), at the age of 87, a celebration marking the 60th anniversary of his passing the civil service examination (Hoebangyeon)4 was held at Myeonanjeong. At the suggestion of Jeong Cheol (who was known as Songgang), together with Heonap Go Gyeong-myeong and Jeongeon Im Je, they carried Song Sun in a bamboo palanquin and brought him down the mountain.5 Local magistrates and people followed behind, all admiring and envying the scene. He died in 1583 at the age of 91.
In his later years he retired from office and, in his native village of Damyang, Jeolla Province, built the Seoklim Jeongsa and Myeonanjeong, where he spent his remaining years reading, writing sijo, and living out his days. He was a pioneer of the Gangho gado (江湖歌道) school of poetry, and his writings include the Myeonanjip and the Gichonjip.
His disciples include Kim In-hu, Im Hyeong-su, No Jin, Park Soon, Gi Dae-seung, Go Gyeong-myeong, Jeong Cheol, and Im Je, among others.
References
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Footnotes