Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong
| The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong | |
|---|---|
| Date | 1795–1805 |
| Place of origin | Joseon |
| Language(s) | Korean |
| Author(s) | Lady Hyegyeong |
| Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong | |
| Hangul | 한중록 |
|---|---|
| Hanja | and |
| Revised Romanization | Hanjungnok |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hanjungnok |
The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyeong is an autobiographical manuscript written by Lady Hyegyeong of Joseon that details her life during the years she was confined to Changgyeong Palace. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, or its direct translation Records Written in Silence (Korean: Hanjungnot), is a collection of four autobiographical memoirs written by Lady Hyegyong (6 August 1735 – 13 January 1816), also known as Queen Heongyeong of the Choson Dynasty. The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong consist of four memoirs that were written within a ten year period from 1795 to 1805, depicting Lady Hyegyong’s life before and after being chosen to marry Crown Prince Sado. Perhaps most famously, the memoirs discuss Crown Prince Sado’s descent into violent madness until his execution was ordered by his father, King Yongjo. Although Lady Hyegyong’s descriptions of her husband’s madness and execution are the most famous parts of her collection, each of Lady Hyegyong’s four memoirs center around a different aspect of her life and have a different political purpose.
The memoirs include four distinct pieces written in 1795, 1801, 1802, and 1805. Each piece was written for a slightly different purpose and audience, the earliest being the most personal and the following pieces gradually becoming directed to the public.
They detail Lady Hyegyeong's life during the years she was confined to Changgyeong Palace, including her marriage to Prince Sado, his descent into madness, and his death by decree of his father King Yeongjo. The memoirs have been translated into English by JaHyun Kim Haboush.
In its entirety, The Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong is an important historical primary source. Lady Hyegyong’s memoirs are some of the only pre-modern autobiographies written by a woman in East Asia (Haboush, “Memoirs” p. 4). The significance of Lady Hyegyong’s memoirs, however, extends past the fact that they were written by a woman. By the time at which Lady Hyegyong began writing her memoirs, female narratives had started to appear in increased quantity in Korea (Ko pp. 11–12). Long before Lady Hyegyong began writing her memoirs, Korean script (Hangul) had already become the voice of women and the uneducated ever since its invention by Sejong the Great in the later half of the 15th century (Ko pp. 11–12).
By the time Lady Hyegyong had begun writing in the late 1700s, the invention of hangul had already become the voice of female narratives, which began to appear and allowed female narratives to become more and more plentiful (Ko pp. 11–12). Haboush determines this increase to be correlated with the decrease of yangban women’s inheritance rights (Ko p. 11–12). As family structures began to change, women turned to the pen “to bear public witness to history” and express for themselves how customs and family structures were changing at the time (Ko pp. 11–12). Similarly, by writing her own autobiographical memoirs, Lady Hyegyong was able to express for herself insights into life at the Choson Court during an extraordinary time.
...
Wikipedia