Yi Cha-ch'un explained

Yi Cha-ch'un
이자춘
李子春
King of Joseon (posthumously)
Succession:Darugachi
Reign:1343–1356
Birth Date:20 January 1315
Birth Place:Aldong, Ssangseong Prefecture, Yuan dynasty
(now Gyeongheung-gun, North Hamgyeong Province)
Death Date:3 June 1361 (aged 46)
Death Place:Gwiju-dong, Hamheung-bu, Dongbuk-myeon, Goryeo
(now Yeongheung-gun, Hamgyeongnam-do)
Burial Place:Jeongneung tomb
Hamju County, South Hamgyeong Province, North Korea
Spouse:Lady Yi
Queen Uihye
Issue:5 sons and 1 daughter
Posthumous Name:
  • First: King Hwan (환왕, 桓王; given in 1392 by King Taejo)
  • Last: King Yeonmu Seonghwan the Great (연무성환대왕, 淵武聖桓大王; given in 1411 by King Taejong)
Temple Name:Hwanjo (환조, 桓祖)
House:Jeonju Yi
Father:Yi Chun
Mother:Lady Bak of the Munju Bak clan

Yi Cha-ch'un (; 20 January 1315 – 3 June 1361) or known by his Mongolian name Ulus Bukha, was a minor military officer of the Yuan Empire who later transferred his allegiance to Goryeo and became the father of Yi Sŏng-gye, founder of the Joseon Dynasty.

Biography

Yi Cha-ch'un was a chiliarch of a Yuan Dynasty mingghan in Ssangseong Prefecture (present-day Kŭmya County, South Hamgyŏng Province, North Korea - former Goryeo territory annexed by Mongol Empire). After Ssangseong was reconquered by Goryeo under King Gongmin, he migrated to Hamju and got promoted to manho (the equivalent of the Mongolian myriarch of a tümen, lit. ten thousand or chief of ten thousand). He married a Goryeo-Korean lady from Anbyeon, who became Queen Uihye, the mother of Yi Sŏng-gye. He died in Hamgyong in 1361.

Since he was glamorized by his descendants, descriptions of Yi Cha-ch'un's life tend to be contradictory to each other. For example, he is said to have risen to the rank of scholar-official. However, when he died, the king at the time expressed condolences for Cha-ch'un as if for scholar-officials, implying that Yi Cha-ch'un was not a scholar-official.

Family

  1. Queen Uihye of the Yeongheung Ch'oe clan (의혜왕후 영흥 최씨; 1304–?)
    1. Princess Jeonghwa (1330–?), First daughter
    2. Yi Sŏng-gye, King Taejo of Joseon (1335–1408), Third son
  2. Royal Noble Consort Yi of the Hansan Yi clan (빈 한산 이씨; 1319–1334)
    1. Yi Wŏn-gye, Grand Prince Wanpung (1330–1388), first son
    2. Yi Ch'ŏn-gye, Grand Prince Yeongseong (1333–1392), second son
  3. Princess Jeongan (정안옹주; 1320–1404)
    1. Yi Hwa, Grand Prince Uian (1348–1408), Fifth son
  4. Unknown woman (1325–?)
    1. Yi Yŏng (이영; 1341–1394), Fourth son

In popular culture

See also