The Story of Hong Gildong (3 page)

In the time of the ascension of King Seonjong
1
the Great to the throne of Joseon, there lived a state minister in the city of Jangan
2
whose family name was Hong and whose personal name was
mo
.
3
His progenitors had attained lofty positions in the royal court and had maintained great wealth for generations, so they were renowned throughout the country for their illustrious nobility. He passed the civil service examinations at a young age and reached the position of high minister
4
in the government, where his reputation for integrity and moral courage earned him the special favor of the king. He had a son named Inhyeon who also passed the examinations early and gained the rank of assistant section chief
5
at the Ministry of Personnel.
6
He too received the attention of his sovereign.

On a warm spring day, the minister was suddenly overcome by fatigue and fell into a dream. He found himself in a place where verdant mountains lay in multiple folds, fresh waters flowed gently, and willow branches were arrayed like so many canopies of green. In the midst of the fairest panorama, golden songbirds calling for their mates evoked the pleasures of spring. Awed by the grandeur of the scenery, the minister strolled through the land until the path he walked on ended at a rocky cliff that soared up to pierce the sky. A waterfall that fell from a height looked like a white dragon at play, and the mountain's stone wall of ten thousand
jang
7
was covered in many-colored clouds. Filled with joy at finding himself in such a marvelous world, the minister sat on a
rock to fully appreciate the beauty all around him. Suddenly, deafening explosions of thunder shook heaven and earth, the waters rose up in tumultuous eruptions, and a fierce tempest blew through the land. A blue dragon appeared, shaking its beard, glaring with its frightful eyes, and opening wide its red mouth as it rushed at the minister to hunt him down. Taking great fright, he tried to flee from the creature but it quickly enveloped him. He woke up then and realized that it had all been a dream.

The minister felt a great happiness in his heart,
8
and he immediately entered the inner chamber
9
of his house, where his wife stood up to greet him. With a delighted expression on his face, he led her to the resting place of the room. There he took her exquisite hands and made apparent his intention to become one with her in a decorous manner.

But his wife's delicate features turned serious as she spoke to him. “Your Lordship is a person of high position in the world and no longer a young man of excessive vitality. So why are you acting like a licentious youth in broad daylight and in view of the maids who spy upon this chamber? For the sake of your dignity, I will not comply with your desire.” She withdrew her hands, opened the chamber's door, and walked out.

The minister felt embarrassed by the situation and considered explaining his behavior by telling her of the dream. But he resisted the urge as he felt that it was wrong to divulge a secret vision heaven had granted him. Unable to allay his frustration, he went to the outer chamber with an upset expression as he lamented his wife's lack of understanding. It was then that a maid named Chunseom entered the room to serve him tea. After the minister took his drink, he saw that all was quiet in the household, so he took Chunseom's hand and led her into a side chamber where he lay with her. She was a girl of nineteen years at the time.

Although Chunseom was only a servant girl, she had a gentle nature and her demeanor and actions were always as proper as those of a respectable maiden. She may have been lowborn, but
there was nothing lowly about her character. When the minister approached her so suddenly with an authoritative air and made apparent his ardent desire for her, she dared not resist his advance and allowed him the use of her body. From that day on she never ventured outside the house and showed no interest in other men. The minister was so impressed by her loyalty that he made her a concubine.
10

Within a month, Chunseom began to show signs of being with child, which earned her the animosity of a senior concubine whose name was Chorang. The latter was a person of wicked character who became filled with jealousy when she learned of the pregnancy. She dared not reveal her feelings in words or looks, but she resented the minister for his actions and regarded Chunseom with hatred.

And so time passed, through ten lunar months,
11
until a day came when a tempest blew, fierce rain poured down, and a fragrant air filled the house. Chunseom gave birth to a precious boy whose face was the color of snow and whose presence was as grand as the autumn moon. He was born with the appearance of a great hero. The minister was delighted and granted him the name of Gildong.

As the boy grew up, he exhibited magnificence in both the strength of his body and the brilliance of his intellect. He needed to hear only one thing to understand ten,
12
and learning ten things allowed him to master a hundred. He never forgot a single thing he heard or saw just once.

But the minister had cause to lament his fate. “The will of Heaven can be so callous. How could it allow such a heroic personage to be born of a servant girl and not of a proper wife?” He often grieved over this.

When Gildong was five years old, the minister took his hand and complained to his wife. “You were disobedient to me once, so you must bear the responsibility for this situation.”

His wife smiled and asked him to explain. The minister frowned and let out a deep sigh before answering her. “If you
had heeded me in the past, this child would have been born of your body.” It was only then that he told her of the dream.

His wife bewailed the lost fortune, but there was nothing they could do to change what fate had ordained.

Years went by and Gildong reached his eighth year, exhibiting ever greater talent and refinement of character. He was adored by his family, but the concubine Chorang continued to regard him with envy that pained her in the pit of her stomach night and day. The minister loved Gildong greatly, but because he was born of a mere servant girl he was punished with a switch to the legs if he dared to call him Father.
13
The minister also frowned at Gildong if he addressed his older brother as Brother, and prohibited him from doing so. This became a source of great sorrow for Gildong, who constantly lamented that he could not properly acknowledge his own father and brother, and had to endure contemptuous treatment in the household, all because he was lowborn.

One night, in the middle of the ninth lunar month, the blue sky was illuminated by a full moon and a chilly wind of autumn blew—an atmosphere that enhances the joy of a happy person but exacerbates the melancholy of a troubled one. Gildong was studying in his room when he pushed aside his reading table and sighed out loud. “Born as a true man into this world, if I cannot follow the virtuous path of Gongja and Maengja,
14
then I would go forth to become a general and rise up as a high minister. I would wear a moon-sized insignia of a commander on my waist and sit upon a high seat from which I would order a thousand men and ten thousand horses to conquer the east and subdue the west. In such a way I would do great service to the country and achieve glory. I would then be elevated to become the loftiest of men below the king. And as a high minister I would work for the country with utmost loyalty so that my name would become renowned for generations and my portrait memorialized in Girin House.
15
That would be the fulfillment of a man's happiness. The ancients have said, ‘Kings, lords, generals, and ministers are not made from a special blood.'
16
But for whose benefit was such a
thing said? I have been born into a situation in which I am barred from following my ambitions, and I cannot even address my father as Father and my older brother as Brother.” Overcome with profound sorrow, he could not stop his tears from flowing.

He got up and wandered about the stone stairs of the courtyard, where he performed a sword dance beneath the moon's shadows. His father, the minister, loved the fragrance of the night air in autumn, so he opened his window to gaze at the moon's hue. When Gildong heard him, he threw away his sword and went before him.

The minister questioned him. “What are you doing prowling about in the middle of the night?”

Gildong answered him. “I came out to enjoy the moonlight.”

The minister sighed and questioned him further. “What possessed you to be out there?”

Gildong replied in a humble manner. “Of all things created by Heaven, a human being is the most precious. So it is the most fortunate thing to be born a human in this world. And being born a human, it is the most fortunate thing to be born a man. And being born a man, it is the most fortunate thing to be born in the capital city. In addition to those three fortunes, I have inherited Your Lordship's abundant spirit and strength, and I have grown up to become a sturdy man. You have shown me nothing but deep and constant love, so I should have nothing to resent in the world. Yet all my life I have had to bear this sorrow inside me which prevents me from looking up at Heaven with pride.” Two trails of tears wet Gildong's red cheeks as he spoke.

The minister felt great pity for him. As he considered the boy who was less than ten years old but who could already foresee the fortunes of his entire life, he feared that expressing sympathy for his plight would aggravate his discontent. So he admonished him loudly. “You are hardly the only lowborn child in a high minister's family. How can such a young boy harbor such a great resentment? If you ever speak of this matter again you will be severely punished.”

Gildong could only shed more tears at the minister's words as he prostrated himself over a banister in grief. After a while, the minister ordered him away, so he went to his sleeping chamber, where he could hardly console himself.

 • • • 

Several months later, Gildong went to the west pavilion to ask the minister a question. “If I may be so bold as to inquire, I know that I am but a lowborn person, but why is it that I excel in writing yet I am not allowed to take the civil examinations in the hope of one day becoming a government minister? And why is it that I am proficient in archery yet I am not allowed to take the military examinations in the hope of one day becoming a general?”

The minister reprimanded him loudly. “I told you before not to utter such resentful words, so how dare you do so now?”

He dismissed him with this admonishment, so Gildong went to his mother to speak to her. “During my time on earth I would go forth to make a name for myself, to bring glory to my parents' names and to conduct proper rites for my ancestors. Yet because of the misfortune of my birth I am treated with low regard by relatives and neighbors alike. Only Heaven knows the depth of the sorrow I harbor in my heart. How can a true man resign himself to being considered an inferior by others all his life? All I want is the opportunity to advance myself in the proper way, to enter government service and eventually become a high general in the hope of one day receiving the royal insignia
17
of the minister of war. But since I am prohibited from pursuing such an ambition, I fear that I may end up leaving home and perhaps committing some unrighteous act for which I will remain notorious even after my death. Mother, should I ever find myself in a situation that forces me to leave your side, please hide your love for me deep within you and wait patiently for my return.”

Chunseom replied, “You are hardly the only lowborn child in a high minister's family. Why do you bear such resentment and think nothing of hurting your mother's feelings? You must try to accept your lot in life for my sake.”

Gildong responded, “Even the household servants regard me with contempt and speak of me as so-and-so's lowborn child. Every time that happens, the pain of my condition affects me to the marrow of my bones. Long ago, Jang Chung's son Gilsan
18
was born of a servant girl as well, but he took leave of his mother and went up Ungbong Mountain to practice the Way
19
and became renowned for generations. I plan to follow his path one day. So I beg you to forget me for a time, until we are reunited in the future when I will try to repay you for all the love you have shown me in what paltry way I can. Also, I think Mother Goksan
20
is taking advantage of His Lordship's favor to plot against you in some way, so I fear that something unseemly might soon occur.”

Chunseom replied, “I understand the reason behind your words, but Mother Goksan is a good and kindly person. I cannot believe she would be capable of such a thing.”

“The inner thought of another is not something that can be easily discerned. So I ask you to be vigilant in the coming days and take measures to protect yourself.”

As Chunseom listened to Gildong's many troubles she felt great sadness, but there was nothing mother and son could do but console each other.

The minister's senior concubine, Chorang, was originally a courtesan
21
from the town of Goksan. Because she was beloved by the minister above all, she enjoyed the greatest favors and wielded the greatest influence in the family. She was a fiendish person to start with and became ever more arrogant. Every time some trouble occurred in the household, she would always cause mischief by going to the minister and slandering those she did not like. She gained even more power that way. Whenever someone was brought down she rejoiced in her heart, but whenever someone was raised up she became jealous and considered that person an enemy. After the minister received the dragon dream and Gildong was born, Chorang saw that he loved the boy for his extraordinary qualities. Just when she began to hate Chunseom from the worry that the minister would now favor the younger
concubine, he began to say to her with a smile—“You too should bring me happiness by giving me such a magnificent child.”