Jeong Cheol

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Jeong Cheol
정철
정철.jpg
Left State Councillor
In office
13 March 1590 – 24 February 1591
Preceded byYi San-hae
Succeeded byRyu Seong-ryong
Right State Councillor
In office
8 December 1589 – March 1590
Preceded byJeong Eon-sin
Succeeded bySim Su-gyeong
Personal details
Born(1536-12-18)18 December 1536
Died7 February 1594(1594-02-07) (aged 57)
Korean name
Hangul
정철
Hanja
鄭澈
Revised RomanizationJeong Cheol
McCune–ReischauerChŏng Ch'ŏl
In this Korean name, the family name is Jeong.

Jeong Cheol (Hangul: 정철, Hanja: 鄭澈; 18 December 1536 – 7 February 1594) was a Korean statesman and poet. He used the pen-names Gyeham (계함) and Songgang (송강), and studied under Kim Yunjae at Hwanbyeokdang. He was expelled by the Easterners. He was from the Yeonil Jeong clan (연일 정씨, 延日 鄭氏).

Family[]

  • Grandfather
    • Jeong Woe (정위, 鄭潙)
  • Father
    • Jeong Yu-chim (정유침, 鄭惟沈)
  • Mother
  • Siblings
    • Older brother - Jeong So (정소, 鄭沼)
    • Older sister - Royal Consort Gwi-in of the Yeonil Jeong clan (귀인 정씨) (August 1520 - 25 March 1566)
    • Older sister - Princess Consort Jeong of the Yeonil Jeong clan (군부인 정씨)
      • Brother-in-law - Yi Yu, Prince Gyerim (계림군 유, 桂林君 瑠)[1]
  • Wives and their children
    • Lady Ryu of the Munhwa Ryu clan (문화 류씨, 文化 柳氏)
      • Son - Jeong Ki-myeong (정기명, 鄭振溟) (? - 1589)
        • Grandson - Jeong Woon (정운, 鄭沄)
      • Son - Jeong Jong-myeong (정종명, 鄭宗溟)
        • Grandson - Jeong Jik (정직, 鄭溭)
        • Grandson - Jeong Su (정수, 鄭洙)
        • Grandson - Jeong Yeon (정연, 鄭沇)
        • Grandson - Jeong Yang (정양, 鄭瀁) (1600 - 1662)
        • Grandson - Jeong Jeon (정전, 鄭淟)
      • Son - Jeong Jin-myeong (정진명, 鄭振溟)
      • Son - Jeong Hong-myeong (정홍명, 鄭弘溟) (7 March 1582 - 2 October 1650)[2]
        • Grandson - Jeong Yi (정이, 鄭涖)
    • Concubine - Jin-ok (기녀 진옥, 眞玉)
    • Concubine - Lady Kang-ah (강아, 江娥)

Literary works[]

He is prominent in the gasa and the sijo, which are forms of classical Korean poetry.

The following two poems are an exchange between Jeong Cheol and the gisaeng Jinok. Jeong is playing on Jinok's name, which means Genuine Gem. First he calls her a gem (ok; 玉), then suggests she is an imitation (beon-ok; 燔玉) and finally finds her to be genuine (jin-ok; 眞玉).

옥(玉)이 옥(玉)이라 커늘 번옥(燔玉)으로 여겼더니
이제야 보아하니 진옥(眞玉)일시 분명하다
나에게 살 송곳 있으니 뚫어볼까 하노라

Gem, oh, they talk of a gem
  but I thought it an imitation.
  Now I know for certain
  it is a genuine gem.
My thrusting gimlet
  will carry you with me.
- Jeong Cheol to Jinok[3]

Jinok replies by playing on the name of Jeong Cheol (鄭澈), first calling him iron (cheol; 鐵), then suggesting he might be false iron (seop-cheol; 攝鐵) and finally discovering he is genuine iron (jeong cheol; 正鐵). Unquestionably bawdy, this exchange is one of the finest examples of satire in sijo — a poetic form that placed high value on wit, double entendre and word play.

철(鐵)이 철(鐵)이라커늘 섭철(攝鐵)로만 여겼더니
이제야 보아하니 정철(正鐵)일시 분명하다
나에게 골풀무 있으니 녹여볼까 하노라

Iron, oh, they talk of iron
  but I thought it false.
  Now I know for certain
  it is true iron.
My pair of bellows
  will smelt it.
- Jinok to Jeong Cheol[3]

Other Works:

  • Gwandong Byeolgok (The Song of the Sceneries of the Gwandong).
  • Samiingok (Mindful of My Seemly Lord).
  • Songgang Gasa (Songgang's Prose Poetry Book).

Popular culture[]

Legacy[]

  • A crater on Mercury was named after him in 1979.

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ Son of Prince Wolsan (Queen Insu’s son and Queen Janggyeong’s nephew)
  2. ^ Kim Jang-saeng was his teacher
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b David Bannon, “Sijo Poetry of Korean Kisaeng,” Hangul Herald, Fall 2008: 10-13. Excerpted and used with permission.


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