10.03.2009

filial piety, love, and tragedy

I had written about Suwon in one of my previous posts and briefly talked about the history and ideas that went behind the construction of the city. This week however, I was able to read about it in more detail and was consumed and moved by the story of a king's love for his father and the subsequent tragedies that shook the palace and its people.

King Jeongjo (1724-1776) was a strong ruler. It is said that the dynasty flourished and prospered under his command. Unfortunately, he was also a strict and seemingly 'uncaring' father who instilled great fear and paranoia in his son, Sado. Prince Sado felt he could not live up to the standards of his father and eventually believed his father would kill him. He began to hate washing himself, which led to himatiophoia (the fear of clothes) and hallucinations. He also began digging holes to store weapons as a precaution to any assassination attempt. This paranoia eventually led to erratic murders of eunuchs and maidens in the palace. Throughout all this, his wife Lady Hyegyeong documented in her journal the mental illness that had befallen her husband. Their son (who would become the next ruler), Yeongjo, also saw how this illness had taken of a hold of his father. In the end, King Jeongjo ordered the death of his son for treason (which during this period usually meant suicide). After a few failed attempts however, Sado was forced into a rice chest where in eight days, he died of starvation.

Nine years later, King Yeongjo took the throne and with the thought of retribution, began to order the deaths of all who were involved in the death of his father. This led to the death of many officials, including his grandfather, Lady Hyegyeong's father. He then collected the finest architects and city planners and began the construction of Suwon (Hwaseong as it was known then). He moved his father's remains to the city and gave his father a proper burial that a king deserved. It is said that he loved his father dearly. Visiting the mausoleum had become one of his major preoccupations.

"Returning from the tomb, how many times I halted my carriage to look back in its direction and think of him."

The saddest part about this story is Lady Hyegyeong's loss and her helplessness throughout it all. She saw her own husband's mind deteriorate and his eventual inhumane execution. Soon after, her father and much of the people in her family were murdered at the orders of her own son. The deep pain and suffering that she went through must have been excruciating for her. In her journal, Lady Hyegyeong writes that it was the father who was the cause of his son's mental illness and it was he who murdered his own son for the very illness that he caused. Such irony and tragedy.

One interesting side note is that the palace-fortress-mausoleum in Suwon is quite different from all other memorial sites because it was actually inhabited by REAL people. The great pyramids in Egypt, the vast tombs of China, and other note-worthy memorial sites were only recreations of a world. Paintings, sculptures, buildings were made but not lived in by real people. This makes Suwon all the more important and fascinating.

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