To fully understand the memoirs of Lady Hyegyong, one must first understand the political circumstances at the time. At this period of the ChosOn Dynasty there were two major political parties, that of the Soron and the Noron. Crown Prince Sado was on the side of the Soron and his wife, Lady Hyegyong, followed her father on the Noron side. There was destined to be some degree of discord politically in the couple’s marriage from the beginning. Though westerners may have mixed opinions about Lady Hyegyong, Koreans, for the majority, believe that Lady Hyegyong showed much more support for her father than she ever did for her husband, the Crown Prince. After all, the marriage between the two was a decision made by parents-not desired by either of them.
Lady Hyegyong repeatedly emphasizes the need to plead the case of her family members that they might be judged fairly and be restored to their honor posthumously. Although she repeatedly voiced her desire to follow the Crown Prince in death, with such phrases as, “I felt cornered at the edge of a precipice with no way out but death. This solution…beckoned with ever stronger appeal.”(pg297) one must have doubts about her sincerity as she was never able to fulfill her ‘ever strong appealing’ desire.
There are two attitudes that Koreans have regarding Lady Hyegyong’s involvement in the ruin of Crown Prince Sado: Lady Hyegyong was an innocent victim of political turmoil who lost her husband and spent the remainder of her days in sadness; Lady Hyegyong, in the middle of political power, caused the suffering of her husband to enjoy a life of luxury under the Grand Heir’s rule. Accordingly, Koreans interpret the title of this book differently depending on their view. In Korean, the title to ‘Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong’ is ‘Han-jung-nok’-‘jung’ meaning ‘center’ and ‘nok’ meaning ‘record.’ Those that support Lady Hyegyong use the Chinese character (h) ‘han’-meaning ‘oneness’-to interpret the title as ‘Record of Bitter Tears.’ Those that counter Lady Hyegyong use the Chinese character (‘) ‘han’-meaning ‘leisure’-to interpret the title as “Record of a Leisurely Time.”
Discord
#Memoirs #Lady #Hyegyong #Book #Review
Post byBedewy for info askme VISIT GAHZLY
