Was Prince Yeonsan Truly a Foodie? A Look at His Gluttony and Tyranny
Hello! This is Woojins.
Was Prince Yeonsan truly a
foodie?
The portrayal of Prince Yeonsan
as a 'foodie' in dramas
has historical basis.
He wasn't just a
foodie, but he actually
wielded tyranny through food.
Obsession with Health Foods
He constantly demanded
deer tails and tongues
from local government offices.
If the quality was poor,
he would even dismiss
the officials.
Love for Precious Fruits
He forced the tribute
of fruits like tangerines, yuja, and kumquats,
regardless of the season.
He also
ate green grapes in ice
while composing poems.
Devouring Beef
He personally abolished
the ban on cattle slaughter (Ugeumnyeong),
which was the lifeline of agriculture.
It is even recorded that
he slaughtered 10 cows a day,
and even ate
the placenta of pregnant cows.
Pheasant Dishes
In the 10th year of Yeonsan's reign alone,
a whopping 40,000 to 50,000 pheasants
were presented as tribute.
He even distributed the pheasants
that the palace couldn't consume
to his officials.
Thus, his gourmetism
transcended luxurious tastes
and drove the lives of the people
into ruin.
It was tyranny.
Are the Literati Purges Fiction?
Historical Truth and Reinterpretation
The literati purges (Sahwa) during
the reign of Yeonsangun
represent an era of dramatic purges.
In particular, the Gapja Sahwa
had a strong character
of a pro-government coup
to strengthen power.
However, some settings
appearing in 'Chef of a Tyrant'
are closer to fiction.
The Yasa of the 'Blood-Stained Skirt'
The setting that Yeonsangun
saw his mother,
Yun's blood-stained
skirt and was enraged
is a Yasa
not found in the Annals.
Actual Record
Yeonsangun dragged
Royal Noble Consort Jeong and
Royal Noble Consort Eom, concubines of
his father Seongjong, and
killed them brutally in
Changgyeonggung Palace.
He told his two half-brothers
that they were criminals
who killed his mother and ordered them
to beat his mother directly.
He also dug up the graves
of dead officials and
ground their bones into powder.
In the Gapja Sahwa alone,
239 people were punished,
and thousands of people
were victimized by association.
The Muo Sahwa
The Muo Sahwa that occurred earlier
was an incident in which
the Sarim faction was purged
as Kim Jong-jik's 'Eulogy for Emperor Yi'
was interpreted as
criticizing Sejo's seizure of the throne.
As Hayden White argued, history,
depending on records and interpretations,
is a 'narrative.'
The Sahwa also
shows the gap between
the Annals and media representation.
Finally.
At the boundary of history and creation
The setting of dramas that
depict Yeonsangun as a 'foodie'
has historical basis,
but his gluttony was also
a symbol of tyranny that
tormented the people.
Also, the Sahwa is consumed
dramatically in the media,
wearing the clothes of
Yasa and fiction,
but the actual record
was rather more brutal
and shocking.
Even if we acknowledge
the possibility that
the Annals of Yeonsangun were
exaggerated by the forces
that deposed him,
we must maintain a
critical perspective
between records and
representation.
History is not just a
fact of the past,
but also how we
reinterpret it today.
In that respect,
the 'Chef of a Tyrant' controversy
can be seen as a good opportunity
to confirm the depth
of our historical understanding.
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