Chapter 183: Samin Hakdang. (1)
Rumors about the horses and various tribute goods presented by the Jurchens sparked a nationwide competition of loyalty. Fruits, seafood, medicinal herbs, and other items considered rare throughout Joseon were sent forth, and from regions that lacked such things, Songdeokbi (Stele of Praise) were erected to honor Sejong's virtue. As these monuments went up one by one, the competition to erect Songdeokbi spread competitively throughout all of Joseon and even to the northern frontier settlements.
The competition was so intense that Sejong urgently issued a royal decree.
— The busy farming season is beginning, so let the people devote themselves to their livelihoods!
Watching this entire spectacle from the side, Hyang wore an expression of disbelief and muttered.
"So there was a reason that family in 21st century Pyongyang called themselves a dynasty..."
Hyang grumbled about the phenomenon that was not just enthusiastic but bordering on 'fanatical,' when a question suddenly rose in his mind.
"But didn't you say the Jurchens also erected Songdeokbi?"
His curiosity suddenly piqued, Hyang diligently gathered relevant information.
Having marked the gathered information on a map, Hyang gave a light whistle.
"Whew~ That's roughly the Donggan-do region, isn't it? It's uncertain how much Joseon's territory will expand through Dongjin and Seojin, and for how long it can be held, but at least there will be solid material evidence up to the Gando region."
* * *
While such commotion was unfolding, the officials of the court silently focused on their duties.
No, they had no choice but to.
"If you don't meet the deadline, it's overtime! Do you want to come to work even on your days off?"
"Certainly not!"
These were court officials burning with passion under the goal of 'defending their holidays.'
With the entry of the Gyeongsul year, the officials of the Ministry of Rites were added to the list of officials suffering from overwork.
The cause that kept the Ministry of Rites officials busy was the 'Samin Hakdang.'
* * *The Samin Hakdang was the embodiment of the 'expansion of education' clause written in the Gyeongjang. In the initial planning stage, only boys could enter the Samin Hakdang. However, when the Giyu Rebellion was suppressed, Sejong added an order.
"Our Joseon lacks talent! Despite the shortage of talent, we placed restrictions on learning, which led to such impious events! Therefore, allow girls to also enter the Samin Hakdang, which is responsible for the most basic education!"
Though it was Sejong's firm command, the Minister of Rites could not easily accept it.
"Is it necessary to have girls learn academics as well?"
To the Minister of Rites' question, Sejong briefly counter-questioned.
"Then is your daughter illiterate?"
"...I shall obey the command."
At Sejong's question, the Minister of Rites had no choice but to immediately lower his head. This was because, at least for children of noble families, it was essential to possess basic academic literacy starting with the Thousand Character Classic, even if they were girls.
Sejong, who had been looking at the Minister of Rites with an expression of disappointment, turned to the ministers.
"They say children grow up emulating their parents. But if the mother, who spends the most time with them until they become adults, is unlearned and ignorant, how can she be a proper example?"
At Sejong's point, all the ministers had to bow their heads.
"His Majesty's words are most just!"
* * *
And so, having received Sejong's royal command, the Ministry of Rites officials had headaches.
"His Majesty's overflowing virtue in ordering girls to attend as well is good, but... will parents actually send them? Given the current situation, there are quite a few who wouldn't even send their boys..."
The common people they had observed immediately put their children to work once they grew to a certain age. If they lacked the strength to farm together, they would at least make them tend cattle—this was daily life.
Having seen such sights, the Ministry of Rites officials showed negative reactions to Sejong's command.
This was a misunderstanding by the officials, no, the sadaebu (scholar-officials).
When the mid-to-lower-level officials in charge of practical affairs saw the common people, it was during the time before they passed the civil service examination—late Taejong period, early Sejong period.
As mentioned before, that was a period when Joseon suffered consecutive severe famines. At that time, survival came before children's education for Joseon's farmers.
However, if they had even a little leeway, ordinary commoners were passionate about their children's education.
Their devotion to education was also for survival.
"You need to know what's written on the official notices to avoid being taken advantage of."
"Indeed, that's true. And are official notices the only problem? How do we know what tricks landlords might pull in tenancy contracts?"
"Did you hear? Go and study!"
Because of such circumstances, most farmers knew at least half of the Thousand Character Classic.
And the ordinary people of Joseon whom they looked down upon were precisely those who, even in such difficult times, would endure all manner of hardship to educate their children if they showed talent.
This could be seen from the fact that among those who passed the civil service examination each year, a significant number were yangin (commoners) of non-sadaebu origin. It was simply that the sadaebu class unconsciously ignored this fact.
* * *
In any case, since the royal command was solemn, the Ministry of Rites officials had to ponder to find a solution.
In a meeting room created within the Ministry of Rites building, the Tanghagwan and Chamsanggwan officials of the Ministry put their heads together to share opinions.
"First, let's solve the easy things one by one."
"Easy things?"
"Let's start with selecting the location for the school."
"That was supposed to use the Hyanggyo, wasn't it?"
At the mention of 'Hyanggyo,' one Gyori asked with a puzzled expression.
* * *
After the suppression of the Giyu Rebellion ended, Sejong issued a royal decree to abolish all Hyanggyo throughout Joseon.
"The Hyanggyo were built for sadaebu to gather and conduct rituals for the sages and build friendships! Yet they gathered in droves to form wicked factions—better to abolish them entirely!"
By Sejong's command, all Hyanggyo across the nation had to close their doors. The spirit tablets of the sages enshrined in the Hyanggyo were all moved to Sungkyunkwan in Hanseong, and rituals for the sages were conducted only at Sungkyunkwan.
It was the Ministry of Rites that blocked the demolition order for the Hyanggyo that had to close as a result.
At the time, the Minister of Rites risked his neck to remonstrate with Sejong.
"Demolishing the Hyanggyo that were built with such effort is wasteful! We must use them in a good direction!"
"What good direction does the minister have in mind?"
To Sejong's question, the Minister of Rites reported what he and the Ministry officials had thought together.
"We must use them as Samin Hakdang! To operate schools, buildings are needed. Rather than spending resources to construct new buildings, it is better to utilize the Hyanggyo!"
"Hmm?"
The Minister of Rites' proposal sparked Sejong's interest. Accordingly, Sejong asked the ministers for their opinions. In response to Sejong's question, the ministers—especially Kim Jeom, the Minister of Taxation—showed positive reactions.
When the ministers also agreed it was a good idea, Sejong accepted the Minister of Rites' request.
Thanks to this, most of the Hyanggyo buildings survived, except for a few that had already been destroyed.
* * *
"I'm well aware that we decided to use the Hyanggyo. But didn't a new royal command come down to educate girls as well? So we need to find new places. If the distinction between ban and sang disappears, and even the distinction between men and women disappears, this will become a major problem."
At the Jeongrang's explanation who first raised the issue, all the officials grew serious.
When ordering the establishment of Samin Hakdang, Sejong had specially emphasized something.
"Think carefully about why I named it 'Samin Hakdang.'"
Pondering Sejong's command briefly, the Ministry of Rites officials soon understood Sejong's intention. 'Samin' referred not only to the four classes of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants, but also meant 'all the people.'
Ultimately, what Sejong wanted was for them to learn and compete together in one place without distinction between ban and sang (aristocracy and commoners).
In such a situation, with a royal command to open the doors even to girls, the Ministry of Rites officials' worries were not unreasonable.
As their deliberation deepened to find a good solution, one of the Jibui, the highest-ranking officials present, spoke up.
"I think we can continue using the Hyanggyo."
"Excuse me?"
"The Hyanggyo aren't small buildings, are they? If we divide them appropriately, there will be space to teach boys and girls separately."
"Hmm..."
At the Jibui's words, the officials recalled their hometowns' Hyanggyo and calculated this way and that.
"Certainly..."
No matter how poor a district, there was no Hyanggyo consisting of a single room. The officials who did the calculations all nodded.
"It seems workable."
"The problem is districts without Hyanggyo or with none nearby—in such places, we'll need to construct buildings. If we were only educating boys, we could tell them to come even from a distance, but girls could face dangerous situations."
"That is true."
"Then, let's settle this agenda this way. Anyone with objections? None?"
At the Chamui's words presiding over the meeting, no one raised their hand.
This was a plan with no particular flaws to pick at, and they wanted to avoid wasting time only to find fault and end up working overtime.
Having passed that hurdle, the meeting began to pick up speed.
The smooth meeting encountered another obstacle when 'how to gather children at the schools?' was placed on the agenda.
As soon as the agenda came up, a Jwarang stepped forward to raise an issue.
"The biggest problem is the busy farming season. Unless they're very young children, they need to help with farm work."
"And if they're young enough that they can't help with farm work, it would be difficult for them to come and go to school. In principle, they can enter school from age five, but realistically, wouldn't that be unreasonable?"
"That is true."
"Therefore, the education period must avoid the busy farming season. Only then can attendance rates be raised."
"That's true as well. Then summer should definitely be avoided?"
"Yes. Besides being a busy farming season, summer also has the heat as a problem. How much did we suffer from the heat when we were studying?"
At the words 'studying and heat,' all the officials gathered in the meeting room nodded. This was because they recalled all the hardships they endured sitting through their studies during the dog days of summer. It was basic for their buttocks to become raw from sweat, and losing concentration from the heat and getting scolded by their teachers was a daily occurrence.
"But if we cut out summer entirely, won't the continuity be broken?"
At the Chamui's point, another Jwarang raised his hand.
"That's why I'm saying this. How about setting the class period to start after the harvest ends and finish before the sowing season?"
"Hm?"
Hearing that opinion, the officials briefly calculated and all nodded.
"That's a fine opinion!"
* * *
The plan created after countless such meetings was submitted to the Minister of Rites.
The Minister of Rites, who reviewed the thick plan from beginning to end, nodded.
"This is good. I will report this to His Majesty as is. Good work."
"Thank you."
"If there's nothing else, it seems you can leave work on time today."
At the Minister of Rites' words, a smile as wide as a winnowing basket spread across the Chamui's face who had submitted the report.
"Thank you!"
* * *
"Hmm..."
Sejong, who was examining the plan submitted by the Minister of Rites, nodded.
"This appears to be a good plan. Since men and women should be separate, educating them separately is correct, and avoiding the busy farming season by setting the class period from after the harvest to before the sowing is also good. I can see how hard the Ministry of Rites officials worked. Good work."
"I am overwhelmed with gratitude."
At Sejong's praise, the Minister of Rites bowed his head and let out a small sigh of relief.
'I've gotten past one hurdle!'
"But you see... I need some explanation about this part here. 'To increase attendance rates, meals are provided to those who attend.' I think some explanation is needed for this part."
'That was within expectations!'
Since Sejong's question was what he anticipated, the Minister of Rites was rather relieved and immediately proceeded to explain.
"Yes. Even after the harvest ends, food situations in households tend to worsen through the winter. Although the number of people suffering during the spring poverty season has decreased, it is still a burden. Therefore, if we provide even one meal, parents will willingly send their children to school."
"It's a good idea, but... wouldn't preparing food to feed the children coming to school be no easy matter?"
"That is why the meals provided at school will center on the dried rations supplied to the military."
"Dried rations?"
"Yes."
"Hmm..."
Sejong briefly calculated. The dried rations that Hyang had developed and the military favored were quite decent food. They weren't simply dried and powdered grain—they contained sufficient dried meat, making them acceptable as a single meal.
"If we place skilled kitchen matrons at each school, it should be reasonably edible."
Having organized his thoughts, Sejong made his decision.
"Proceed according to plan."
"I obey the command!"
'Yes! Today I leave work on time!'
The Minister of Rites answered with a joyful heart.