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20 book I those of Qi Jiguang,43 Yu Dayou,44 Wang Minghao,45 and Mao Yuanyi,46 must be ready at his side. That is why it is indispensable to bring a carriage full of books. If he returns home with his books without taking any local products in his carriage , will not the clean wind fill up the road of his departure?47 CHAPTER : TAKING LEAVE OF THE KING When the Hearings of the Two Offices [the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Censor General] Are Successfully Completed, the Appointee Reports to the King for His Departure. The Supplement to the National Code [Soktaejŏn] stipulated as follows: “All firsttime appointees to the office of inspector [tosa] or district magistrate must have confirmation hearings. However, those who have already served as royal advisor or are above rank 3 in their official status are exempted from this requirement. The hearings are conducted by the two officials who represent each of the two offices [the Office of Inspector General and the Office of Censor General]. (When the officials from the two offices are not both present, the ones who arrived first can proceed with the hearing.) If one happens to fail confirmation hearings even though fifty days have passed since the day of his appointment, a memorial should be submitted to the king so that his appointment can be renewed.” “Bailiffs [kamch’al] who have already had confirmation hearings at the time of their appointment are exempt from the hearings requirement even if they are first-time appointees.” 43. A military general and a national hero of the Ming dynasty. He is famous for repelling the Japanese pirates along the east coast of China and repairing the Great Wall. He produced a number of books on military science, including New Book on Effective Military Tactics. 44. A military general of the Ming dynasty and a colleague of Qi Jiguang. He is remembered for eliminating the Japanese pirates leading a fleet of battleships and suppressing the bandits of the Huichao area. 45. Unknown. 46. A military general of the Ming dynasty. He is the author of Wufei zhi, an encyclopedia of military science in 240 volumes, which he completed in 1621. 47. When a departing magistrate has a heavy load of baggage to take home, the vehicles and personnel he hires will naturally raise a great dust on the road; on the other hand, a magistrate who has little to take home can enjoy the clean wind on his way. 48. The officials during the Chosŏn dynasty were divided into two groups: civil and military officials, which are called tongban (Eastern file) and sŏban (Western file), respectively. Both of them were again divided into nine ranks, and state councilors belonged to rank 1, and ministers to rank 2. 49. An official belonging to the Office of Inspector General whose duty was to inspect state examinations or spending of public funds. 50. This is also from the Supplement to the National Code. Assuming Office 21 According to my observations, so-called confirmation hearings [sŏgyŏng] are essentially a procedure for examining the candidate’s family records [which concern the four previous ancestors] on both his paternal and maternal sides before a final decision is made about his appointment. (This rule is also applied to his spouse.) Only when there was a special order from the king could the candidate be exempt from the hearings of one of these two offices. However, nowadays this process is only a formality. According to the National Code [Kyŏngguk taejŏn], “District magistrates are required to take oral examinations on the Four Books and one classic, The Great Ming Code [Da Ming Lu], and the National Code, as well as written tests on how to govern the people.” (According to the Comprehensive National Code, candidates who have failed to pass an examination on three books or have failed to take oral tests three times are to be disqualified; ones who have failed to pass on one book or did not take oral tests twice, or ones who have failed to pass on two books and did not take one oral test, are also disqualified. The written tests are now abolished.) In my observation, ancient laws accorded special importance to the appointment of magistrates and governors. Thus they provided a series of procedures that included the process of recommendation before the appointment was made, confirmation hearings on the appointees once the appointment...

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