- Annals of Joseon Dynasty
Infobox Korean name
hangul=조선왕조실록
hanja=朝鮮王朝實錄
rr=Joseon Wangjo Sillok
mr=Chosŏn Wangjo ShillokThe Annals of Joseon Dynasty (known also as "The true record of the Joseon Dynasty") are the annual records of theJoseon Dynasty , who ruledKorea , and were written from1413 (year 13 of the reign of Taejong) to1865 (year 2 of the reign of Gojong). The annals comprise 1,893 volumes. The thick extensive set of records is considered to deal with the longest period of a single dynasty in the world.When a king died, the annals of his reign were started after the coronation of his successor by the Sillokcheong, the Office for Annals Compilation.
Nobody was allowed to read the Draft History, not even the king, and any historiographer who disclosed its contents was severely punished. These strict regulations lend great credibility to these records. The Joseon Dynasty's Annals of the first three reigns, those of King Taejo (r.1392∼1398), Jeongjong (r.1399∼1400), and Taejong (r. 1401∼1418), were in manuscript form in excellent calligraphy. But later annals, from the Annals of King Sejong (r. 1418∼1450), were printed with movable metal and wooden type, which was unprecedented in the making of annals in Japan and China. Movable-type printing of these massive works required elaborate skill. It should also be noted that the Annals of Emperor Sunjong and Gojong are noted for its bias, as the Annals were at that time written with the influence of Japanese officials.
Joseon established four separate repositories to store copies of the "Annals:"
Chunchugwan (inSeoul ),Chungju County,Jeonju County andSeongju County . All three except the repository inJeonju were burned down in the Japanese invasions of 1592 to 1598 (more widely known in Korea as the Imjin Waeran). Joseon printed five more copies after that war and stored them in Chunchugwan and the mountainsMyohyang-san ,Taebaeksan ,Odaesan , andMani-san . The Chunchugwan copy was lost in 1624, due to the treason ofYi Gwal . Part of the Mari-san copy was lost during the Manchu invasion (1636), and the surviving volumes moved toJeongjok-san in 1678. The Myohyang-san copy was moved toJeokseong-san in 1633.The copies of the "Annals" were preserved to the end of
Joseon Dynasty . In Japanese Colonial Period, the Japanese moved the Odae-san copy toTokyo University , but most of the copy was soon lost in theGreat Kantō earthquake of 1923. 47 books have remained, and in July 2006, the copy returned to South Korea.The "Annals" are written in Classical Chinese; it was translated into modern Korean in the 1980s in
North Korea and in 1994 inSouth Korea . Parts of the "Annals of Joseon Dynasty" have been scanned bySeoul National University and are available online.The "Annals" are the 151st Korean national treasure and an entry in
UNESCO 'sMemory of the World .ee also
*
List of Korea-related topics
*Samguk Sagi
*Goryeo-sa External links
* [http://sillok.history.go.kr/main/main.jsp Official Site (in Korean)] (South Korean gov't)
* [http://kyujanggak.snu.ac.kr/info/info01.jsp Kyujanggak Online] : The 5th column lists "Annals of Joseon Dynasty"
* [http://www.unesco.org/webworld/nominations/en/korea_choson/reading.htm Annals of the Choson Dynasty] -UNESCO Memory of the World Register
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