조선 인조대 星州 포수 李士龍의 순절과 후대의 현창

Abstract

After Second Manchu invasion of Joseon in 1636, Joseon Dynasty was forced to dispatch its troops to attack Ming at the request of Qing. In this situation, Lee Sa-ryong, a Joseon gunner, was dispatched to the Jinzhou battle in 1641 and died for his loyalty to Ming. Born in Seongju, Sa-ryong had a grandfather named Lee Yu-mun who was recognized as a meritorious subject for his contribution during Japanese Invasion of Joseon in 1592. His father Lee Jeong-geon passed the military service examination for his contribution at the battle against the Qing forces at the Namhan Mountain Fortress during Second Manchu invasion of Joseon in 1636. Lee Sa-ryong was born in 1613 and held office as a lower-rank military officer. Later generations of literary people, however, depicted him as a low- rank soldier intentionally to highlight his loyalty. Belonging to Eoyeongcheong, he was ordered to the Jinzhou battle in 1641. He was put in the Jinzhou area, armed with a musket rifle. At that time, the Ming forces led by Jo Dae-su faced the Qing forces at the Jinzhou Fortress. Saying that he could not bear to see his rifle kill Ming soldiers, he refused to load his musket rifle and continued to fire his empty rifle before being caught and killed. His act was an object of respect throughout the latter part of Joseon. Many men of letters left works in his memory. During the reign of King Injo, they held a memorial service at his tomb. During the reign of King Hyeonjong - King Sukjong, the royal court conferred him posthumous honors and gave rewards to his descendents according to proposals from several government officials and Neo-Confucian scholars. His hometown of Seongju set up a shrine in his memory called Chungryeolsa, whose construction began in 1689 and was finished in 1692. The efforts to highlight Lee''s act became even more prominent during the reign of King Jeongjo, who conferred him a posthumous title of Seongju-mok county governor and appointed his descendents as royal guards. He gave articles for memorial services to Chungryeolsa where Lee was enshrined and even kindly offered the Sa-aek privilege to the shrine. Learning that the era name of Qing was used at the Sa-aek ceremony, King Jeongjo took disciplinary actions against the officials responsible for it. King Jeongjo, as a monarch, was active in these efforts to highlight Lee’s act, which is one of the characteristics of such efforts during his reign. By making such efforts to highlight Lee’s act, the king re-emphasized Joseon’s loyalty to Ming, won over many different factions and included even the common people in his grand will through the highlighted concept of “loyalty.” Lee Sa-ryong did not systematically receive Neo-Confucian education, but he practiced its teachings more dramatically than any other person. He was born again as an object of respect regardless of social class. He became the pride of Joseon people who still had not overcome the shocks of Second Manchu invasion of Joseon in 1636 and the driving force of their efforts to overcome it. This paper set out to verify his achievements about which there were different theories and broady promote his spirit.