Chungseon of Goryeo

King Chungseon of Goryeo
King of Goryeo
Predecessor	Chungnyeol
Successor	Chungsuk
Born	1275
Died	1325 Dadu, Yuan Dynasty China
Spouse	Lady Jo Lady Hong Lady Seo Princess Botapsillin of Yuan
Father	King Chungnyeol of Goryeo
Mother	Princess Gyeguk

Chungseon of Goryeo
Hangul	충선왕
Hanja	忠宣王
Revised Romanization	Chungseon wang
McCune–Reischauer	Ch'ungsŏn wang
Courtesy name
Hangul	중앙
Hanja	仲昻
Revised Romanization	Jung-ang
McCune–Reischauer	Chungang

Monarchs of Korea Goryeo

Taejo 918–943 Hyejong 943–945 Jeongjong 945–949 Gwangjong 949–975 Gyeongjong 975–981 Seongjong 981–997 Mokjong 997–1009 Hyeonjong 1009–1031 Deokjong 1031–1034 Jeongjong II 1034–1046 Munjong 1046–1083 Sunjong 1083 Seonjong 1083–1094 Heonjong 1094–1095 Sukjong 1095–1105 Yejong 1105–1122 Injong 1122–1146 Uijong 1146–1170 Myeongjong 1170–1197 Sinjong 1197–1204 Huijong 1204–1211 Gangjong 1211–1213 Gojong 1213–1259 Wonjong 1259–1274 Chungnyeol 1274–1308 Chungseon 1308–1313 Chungsuk 1313–1330 1332–1339 Chunghye 1330–1332 1339–1344 Chungmok 1344–1348 Chungjeong 1348–1351 Gongmin 1351–1374 U 1374–1388 Chang 1388–1389 Gongyang 1389–1392

Chungseon of Goryeo (20 October 1275 – 23 June 1325) (r. 1298 and 1308–1313) was the 26th king of the Goryeo dynasty of Korea. He is sometimes known by his Mongolian name, Ijirbuqa (益知禮普花, means 'small ox'). Adept at calligraphy and painting, rather than politics, he generally preferred the life of the Yuan capital Beijing to that of the Goryeo capital Kaesong. He was the eldest son of King Chungnyeol; his mother was a Yuan royal, Princess Gyeguk, a daughter of Khublai Khan also known by her Mongolian name/title Qutlugh-kelmysh.

In 1277, Chungseon was confirmed as Crown Prince; in the following year he travelled to China and received his Mongolian name.

In 1296, he was married to the Yuan Princess Botapsillin. However, the king already had three Korean wives, the daughters of the powerful nobles Jo In-gyu, Hong Mun-gye, and Seo Won-hu.

Chungseon's mother died in 1297, and this was followed by a violent purge brought on by allegations that she had been murdered. Perhaps upset by these evens, King Chungnyeol petitioned Yuan to abdicate the throne and was accordingly replaced by Chungseon in 1298. Faced with intense plotting between the faction of his Mongolian queen and his Korean queen, Chungseon returned the throne to his father shortly thereafter.

He became the Prince^{[N 1]} of Shenyang,^{[N 2]} a new title, in 1307^[1] or 1308.^[2] After his father's death in 1308, Chungseon was obliged to return to the throne of Goryeo and made efforts to reform court politics, but spent as much time as possible in China. The title King of Shenyang was renamed Prince of Shen^{[N 3][3]} in 1310. He is a very rare case of personal unions in East Asia. He retired from the throne in 1313, and was replaced by Chungsuk of Goryeo. Chungseon was briefly sent into exile in Tibet (lately Sakya) after the death of the emperor Renzong of Yuan (元仁宗) but was permitted soon thereafter to return to Beijing, where he died in 1325.

See also

• List of Korean monarchs
• Goryeo politics
• Korea under Yuan rule
• List of Korea-related topics
• A Study on Relations between Koryo's Policy towards Yuan and Costume Policy under Yuan's Interference (Author: Ahn, Jeong-Hee) (Didital Collection, Donga Univ, South Korea)

Notes

1. The title wang (王) can be translated as "prince" (e.g., 秦王 Prince of Qin, Emperor Taizong of Tang's title until Xuanwu Gate Incident) or "king" (e.g., 魏王 King of Wei, Cao Cao's title when he died) in English.
2. 瀋陽王 (Simplified Chinese characters: 沈阳王; Mandarin Chinese Pinyin: Shěnyáng Wáng; Korean hangul: 심양왕, Revised Romanization: Simyang-wang)
3. 瀋王 (Simplified Chinese characters: 沈王; Mandarin Chinese Pinyin: Shěn Wáng; Korean hangul: 심왕, Revised Romanization: Sim-wang)

References

1. According to the History of Yuan (specifically, 《元史·卷二十二·武宗一》)
2. According to Goryeosa (specifically, 《高麗史·卷三十三·世家》)
3. History of Yuan (specifically, 《元史·卷二十三·武宗二》)