Injong (29 October 1109 – 10 April 1146), personal name Wang Hae, was the 17th monarch of the Korean Goryeo dynasty. He was the eldest son of King Yejong and Queen Sundeok, the daughter of Yi Cha-gyŏm. His reign saw two major internal crises that nearly ended the Goryeo dynasty, the collapse of the Northern Song dynasty, and the establishment of the Jin dynasty as the dominant power in East Asia.
Background
Domestic Injong ascended the throne in accordance with the third of the Ten Injunctions of Taejo, as "the eldest legitimate royal issue."M. J. Seth, A history of Korea: from antiquity to the present, (Rowman and Littlefield, Lanham MA, 2011), p. 99-101. Despite the reverend status of this document,R. E. Breuker, Establishing a Pluralist Society in Medieval Korea, 918–1170: History, Ideology and Identity in the Koryŏ Dynasty, (Brill, Leiden, 2010), Ch. 10. its succession rules were often disregarded. As recent as in 1095 Injong's grandfather King Sukjong came to power after abdication of his nephew. At the age of twelve and a half Injong's succession became possible largely due to the influence of his maternal grandfather Yi Cha-gyŏm, while according to the report of the Song envoy Xu Jing, Injong's uncle Prince Po, supported by the Han An-in faction, "had designs on [the throne]"
International By the early 1122 the Khitan-led state of Liao was effectively destroyed by the armies of Taizu of Jin, an emergent Jurchen-led state. Large number of Khitans fled to Goryeo.D. Twitchet and K.-P. Tietze, The Liao, in D. Twitchet and J. K. Fairbank (eds.), The Cambridge History of China, vol. 6, Alien Regimes and Border States, 907—1368 (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), Ch. 1. Operations of Northern Song against Khitan were unsuccessful, and the lost Song territories south of the Great Wall (Sixteen Prefectures of Yanyun) were recovered only after the Jurchen victory over Liao. The 1123 treaty formalized the superior status of Jin: the annual tribute of Song was set to 200,000 taels of silver and 200,000 bolts of silk.H. Franke, The Chin Dynasty, in D. Twitchet and J. K. Fairbank, Ch. 3 Despite the weak performance against Khitan, the Song government overestimated both the importance of the reclamation of Yanjing (modern-day Beijing) and its own military capabilities.A. D. Levine, The Reigns of Hui-tsung (1100–1126) and Ch'in-tsung (1126–1127) and the Fall of the Northern Sung, in P. J. Smith (ed.), The Cambridge History of China, vol. 5, Part One: The Sung Dynasty and Its Precursors, 907–1279, (Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1994), Ch. 7.
1122–1126: Control by Yi Cha-gyŏm
1122–1123 The early years of Injong's reign were dominated by his maternal grandfather Yi Cha-gyŏm.Seth, p. 89.J. Kim, A history of Korea: from "Land of the Morning Calm" to states in conflict, (Indiana University Press, Bloomington IN, 2012), pp. 155-157. As the Supreme Chancellor (munha sijung, junior first rank) at the head of combined Secretariat-Chancellery (chungseo munha-seong) Yi Cha-gyŏm was the highest-ranking government official. His dominance was challenged during the last years of Yejong, but with the beginning of his grandson's reign Yi Cha-gyŏm took decisive steps to buttress it. By the end of 1122 Princes Po and Hye were exiled, Han An-in assassinated, and several hundred of his followers,H.-w. Kang, The development of the Korean ruling class from late Silla to early Koryo, (PhD Thesis, University of Washington, 1964), pp. 280-289; available at http://hdl.handle.net/1773/11100 including a dozen core members of Tanju Han and Cheongan Im clans, were either banished or demoted.
During this period, officers of the Royal Army began to play an important role in the domestic politics. Through his career Yi Cha-gyŏm cultivated muban military officials, that after 960 had a lower status and enjoyed less perquisites than their civilian munban counterparts. Two of his most important allies were Ch'oe Hong-jae, a high civilian official of a military background, and a military commander Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng.
With this power base Yi Cha-gyŏm emerged as the most influential figure in the Goryeo politics. He became the Chief-Minister-Extraordinary in charge of all three chancelleries (samseong), while keeping the position of the head (superintendent, pansa) of the Ministry of Personnel (Yi-bu). He was also created a Duke (kong). Nevertheless, his authority never became absolute: he had to take heed of other factions both in execution of policies he favored and in rooting out the opposition.
In foreign relations he was aligned with the Gyeongju Kim faction led by Kim Pusik and his brothers, advocating a submission to the newly established Jin. In 1123 the renewed Song offer of formal investiture was rejected.P. Yun, Balance of Power in the 11th-12th Century East Asian Interstate Relations, Journal of Political Criticism 9, 139 (2011.11) Jin stepped up the pressure on Goryeo by occupying Uiju (Poju) area along the Yalu River; from their point of view it was a repair of the frontier defenses. After a suppression of unrest in Balhae a secure North-Eastern frontier allowed Jin to focus on the Song.Franke, p. 226
1124–1126 In early 1124 Ch'oe Hong-jae and military officers associated with him plotted to overthrow Yi Cha-gyŏm, but were unsuccessful. Ch'oe and the associates were purged from their positions and exiled. Following the purge Yi married one of his daughters to Injong, and increasingly filled the mid- and high-ranking government positions with his loyalists and relatives, including his five sons. He and his faction profited from seized property of the purged officials.
The idea that Goryeo has to submit to Jin was still encountering resistance. The embassy dispatched in 1125 to Emperor Taizong of Jin was rejected by his officials because the correspondence it carried addressed the emperor improperly and did not use the term 'servant' when referring to Goryeo. The question whether to accept that the mandate of the Northern Song dynasty passed to Jin was debated through 1126. Eventually Kim and Yi convinced Injong and the reluctant officials to submit to Jin.Breuker, p. 229K. Pratt, Everlasting flower: a history of Korea, (Reaktion Books, London, 2006), p. 96. By that time the Song were collapsing under Jin attack, Emperor Huizong abdicated, while a Goryeo embassy (that included Kim Pusik ) had to return without being able to reach then capital of Song, Kaifeng. The embassy to Jin sent in 1126 presented the submission of Goryeo in proper terms and brought up the matter of Uiju. Taizong transferred the disputed area to Goryeo.Breuker, pp. 66, 207
It was reported that Yi Cha-gyŏm intended to usurp the throne and eventually planned to poison the king. According to this report, there was a popular prophecy that a man of the sippal cha, or eighteen child, an anagram on the Chinese character for the surname Yi, would become king and the transfer his court to the Southern Capital (modern Seoul), leading Goryeo to a renewed prosperity. Yi Cha-gyŏm is alleged to believe in this prophecy, based on his family name and a location of the family seat in Incheon, close to Seoul. Attempts of Yi to further aggrandize his station are a matter of the public record. He planned performance of royal ritual music at the tombs of his forefathers and celebration of his birthday as the anniversary of a king (insujeol). Both moves were opposed by Kim Pusik and his supporters.Breuker, p. 238
A more serious challenge to the paramount position of Yi Cha-gyŏm was a rising organized by two courtiers, Kim Ch'an and An Po-rin. Beyond the involvement of some twenty-five young courtiers, the plot had a confidence of Injong and a support of three senior military officers, including one commander and one deputy commander of two (out of six) regular army divisions. Several senior statesmen, such as Yi Kong-su, approved the plot in principle but advised caution. The group struck "one night in 1126". The plan involved gaining control of the palace and king's person as the first stage of the coup, followed by a strike against other key targets. The conspirators captured the palace and killed several of Yi Cha-gyŏm loyalists, including the Minister of War (a brother of Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng). However, the palace was surrounded by the troops of Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng and armed monks led by Yi Cha-gyŏm's son. The rest of capital Kaesong remained in the control of the Yi faction. To finish the stand-off Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng ordered torching the palace (Yi Cha-gyŏm's disapproval was on the record as sent to him). Most of the palace, including libraries and the academy, burned down. "Countless" conspirators were killed. Injong offered to abdicate in favor of Yi Cha-gyŏm, but the latter refused.
In the following government reshuffling Yi Cha-gyŏm rewarded his loyalists. However, Yi Kong-su kept his senior position in the Secretariat-Chancellery, and two Kim brothers were actually promoted, with Kim Pusik becoming the Chief Censor. King Injong was living in Yi Cha-gyŏm's house and had married another of his daughters.
This triumph was, however, short-lived. Other aristocratic factions joined forces to bring Yi Cha-gyŏm down. They fostered a disunity between Ch'ŏk and Yi, using the question of responsibility for violation of the sacred palace grounds as a bait. Involvement of Injong, Yi Kong-su and Kim Pu-il left traces in the official records. In the fifth month of 1126 Yi Cha-gyŏm, his family and followers were arrested by the soldiers of Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng. Yi was banished to Jeolla province and later beheaded. Banished officials — Choe Hong-jae, members of Tanju Han and Cheongan Im clans and their associates — were recalled and reinstated in their positions. In the sixth month of 1126 King Injong married a daughter of Im Weonae. Ch'ŏk Chun-gyŏng was demoted and banished in 1127.
1127–1136: Reforms and Myo Cheong's rebellion After the fall of Yi Cha-gyŏm the government was dominated by Kyeongju Kim and Han An-in/ Cheongan Im clans. Provincial clans, particularly from the Western Capital (Seogeong, modern Pyongyang) area were important in toppling Yi Cha-gyŏm and contended for a larger share in the decision-making. Paek Su-han, Chong Chi-sang, a famous poet and Confucian scholar, and Myo Cheong, a Buddhist monk and geomancer were prominent representatives of this faction. Myo Cheong appeared at the court in 1127 Breuker, Ch. 11, pp. 407-447 and officially became political adviser to Injong in 1128. It is possible that the Pyongyang group was used by the king to balance influence of the established aristocracy.
Already in 1127 Myo Cheong instigated a fifteen-point restoration rescript (yusin chigyo) of Injong. It included political reforms, called for austerity, and urged measures to restrict official exploitation of the peasantry. Educational reforms were part of the package and intended to strengthen the royal authority. Injong ordered that each chu (large districts) and hyeon (district) establish a school (to prepare to the civil service examinations), thus facilitating the access of local elites to positions in the central administration.Seth, p. 84 Injong completed the reconstruction of the government school system by instituting the "six colleges" at the National Academy.Kim 147
Myo Cheong had a reputation for sanctity and was a speaker "easily dazzled his listeners". His teachings were enjoying a growing popularity with the people and some members of the elite, including the king. Politically the Pyongyang faction was opposed by the Kyeongju Kim and Han An-in/Cheongan Im groups. Its supporters included Choe Hong-jae, an old foe of Han An-in faction, now a senior member of the Censorate, and Yun Ŏn-i, son of the famous general Yun Kwan, influential Confucian scholar and a close ally of Chŏng Chi-sang. Indeed, out of six senior censorial officials in 1133, two were supporters of Myo Cheong and only two steadfastly opposed him.