YI Family History
(慶州李氏族譜)
February 2007
From a
brief and far from complete view of the YI family history in February, 2007, I
am thus relating my layman’s translation of the genealogy – and will hopefully produce
a more complete translation in both English and Korean in the future. The copy
of the genealogy currently is in the possession of my brother-in-law as the
eldest male descendant of my wife’s branch of the YI family. As derived from
Chinese tradition, the family genealogy is written entirely in Chinese
characters with a few side notes in the Korean han-gul alphabet. I’ll endeavor to provide both.
Research Challenges
As
already noted, the family history is written entirely in Chinese characters
with only a few margin notes in the Korean alphabet. A proficient reader of
Chinese, this challenge is actually the least challenging. The greater
challenges are presented by Korean history itself.
First,
the family history that my brother-in-law has inherited appears to be a hand
copy of a master book which records the descendants of YI
Al-p’yeong. As such, I have no way of discerning the completeness of the
copy nor determine which margin notes are original and which were added later
by my in-laws’ more recent ancestors.
Second,
Korean history -- I am by no means a scholar of Korean history, but from what I
have read I find the sources themselves present numerous challenges as they are
derived from Korean records, Chinese records, and Japanese records, each with
their own conflicting perspectives and biases – not to mention conflicting
legends and myths about the Korea’s origins!
This
again presents language as a problem in that, if memory serves, Korea adopted
Chinese characters perhaps as early as the 3rd century of the Common
Era and yet a few centuries after we pick up our story with the Silla Dynasty（新羅/신라）at the beginning of the first millennium. As such, the
earliest Chinese character “source records” on the founding of
Now
add inconsistencies in Korean Romanization where “고구려” can be written as “Koguryeo,” “Koguryŏ,” and “Goguryeo”.
And
lastly, as noted before -- time. While the YI family genealogy records all
direct male descendants down to my brother-in-law, given the short time with
which to skim the book I can only here relate 16 generations down from YI Al-p’yong and three generations up from
my father-in-law.
More
to follow…
YI Al-p’yeong
(李謁平/이알평)
1. YI Al-p’yeong (李謁平/이알평). The YI family descends from YI
Al-p’yong, of Kyeongju (慶州/경주) in North Kyongsang
Province (慶尚北道/경상북도), in southeastern Korea,
during the founding of the Silla Dynasty (新羅/신라; 57 BCE – 935 CE). YI
was given the surname by Silla’s first king Hyeokgeosei (赫居世/혁거세;
reigned 57 BCE-4 CE) and entitled the Duke of Acan？(阿[餐]公), chieftain of the Keupryang (及梁部大人/급량), one of the six Jinhan (辰漢/진한) tribes from which the Silla Dynasty was founded and the tribe from which Hyeokgeose originated.
Descendants of YI Al-p’yeong
Recent YI
Family Descendants
2. YI Keum-hyon
(李金現/이금현) served
as a military commander-in-chief (兵部令).
3. YI Keum-seo
(李金書/이금서),
supposedly a third generation descendant of YI Al-p’yong,
YI Keum-seo is recorded as having married a woman
from the Kim family (金氏)
and the third daughter of the Koryŏ king Kyong-sun (敬順王/姓金名傅/;
reigned 927-935).
If YI Al-p’yeong were an early Silla Dynasty figure then how in three generations did YI Keum-seo serve the Koryŏ
court 900 years or more later?
4. YI Yeun-heung
(李潤弘/이윤흥) was
also noted as a military commander-in-chief (兵部令).
5. YI Sung-hun (李承訓/이숭훈) and one brother:
|
5A |
YI Sung-hun
(李承訓/이숭훈) |
|
|
|
|
5B |
YI Sung-mu (李承[譕]/이숭[무]) [or] YI Sung-ch’o (李承[譙]/이숭[초]) |
|
|
|
6. YI Ju-hu
(李周後/이주후) is
recorded as having been military commander (大司、左右司). He had at least one brother:
|
6A |
YI Ju-hu
(李周後/이주후) |
|
|
|
|
6B |
YI Jeijeong (李齊廷/이제정) |
|
|
|
7. YI Ch’ing
(李偁/이칭)
8. YI Ch’i-ryeon
(李侈連/이치련)
9. YI Ch’ong-[t’ap] (李寵[遢]/이총[탑]).
(The second character of his surname appears to be a ‘進’
with a ‘日’
above it.) He had at least one brother:
|
9A |
YI Ch’ong-[t’ap] (李寵[遢]/이총[탑]) [or] YI Ch’ong-xxx (李寵[進日]/이총--) |
|
|
|
|
9B |
YI Ch’un-rim (李春林/이춘림) |
|
|
|
10. YI Ch’un-jeong (李春貞/이춘정) married
into the court of Sunheung (順興/순흥;
modern day Kimhae (金海/김해))
11. YI Hyeon-bok (李玄楅/이현복)
12. YI Seon-yong (李宣用/이선용) served
the Koryŏ court (高麗/고려;
918-1392) as a 9th ranked (九品) and 8th ranked (八品) official.
13. YI Ch’eok-[ko] (李[斥]高/이척[고];
second character unconfirmed)
14. YI Deuk-kyeon (李得堅/이득견)
15. YI Haek (李翮/이핵) and two brothers:
|
15A |
YI Haek (李翮/이핵) |
|
|
|
|
15B |
YI P’yeon
(李翩/이펵) |
|
|
|
|
15C |
YI Suk (李[肅羽]/이숙) [or] YI Ryeom (李[廉羽]/이[렴]) |
|
|
|
16. YI In-jeong (李仁挺/이인정) and three brothers:
|
16A |
YI In-jeong
(李仁挺/이인정) |
|
|
|
|
16B |
YI Jin (李瑱/이진) |
|
|
|
|
16C |
YI Sei-ki (李世基/이세기) |
|
|
|
|
16D |
YI Shin-yu (李臣裕/이신유) |
|
|
|
Recent Descendants of YI Al-p’yeong
Z. Two sons:
|
Z1 |
YI Deok-geun
(李德根/이덕근) YI Seong-yeo (李聖汝/이성여) |
|
(2/24) |
|
|
Z2 |
YI Ho-geun
(李浩根/이호근) |
|
|
|
YI Seong-yeo died on the 24th
day of the 2nd lunar month.
Z2. YI Ho-geon (李浩根/이호건)
had two sons:
|
Z21 |
YI Chip-kong (李集功/이집공) YI Ch’eon-seo (李天瑞/이천서) |
|
|
|
|
Z22 |
YI Chip-hyeon (李集賢/이집현) |
|
|
|
Z22. YI Chip-hyeon (李集賢/이집현)
married a woman from the Yun (尹/윤) family
of P’ap’yeong (坡平尹氏/파평윤씨) and
had at least two sons:
|
Z221 |
YI
Sang-yeong (李祥榮/이상영) YI-Wueon-seon (李元善/이원선) |
(1898) |
7 Oct 1944 |
(46) |
|
Z222 |
YI Ki-yeong (李/이기영) |
|
|
|
Z221. YI Sang-yeong (李祥榮/이상영) was born about 1898 in Kyeongju (慶州/경주), North Kyongsang
Province (慶尚北道/경상북도), in southeastern Korea. Upon
reaching adulthood he took the name YI
Wueon-seon (李元善/이원선) and married Ch’oi
Cha-seon (崔/최자선) of the Wueolseong Ch’oi family
(月城崔氏/월성최씨) in Kyeongju. They had
four sons:
|
Z2211 |
YI Kyu-rak (李圭洛/이규락) |
20 Jun 1928 |
Jul 1999 |
(71) |
|
Z2212 |
YI Kyu-won (李圭元/이규원) |
(1931) |
|
|
|
Z2213 |
YI Kyu-su (李圭秀/이규수) |
(1934) |
|
|
|
Z2214 |
YI Kyu-mun (李圭文/이규문) |
(1937) |
|
|
YI Wueon-seon
died on October 17, 1944 in
Ch’oi Cha-seon
lived on with her eldest son in Hwasong-gun, Kyonggi Province until her death on the 3rd day of the 10th
lunar month of 1984 (November 25, 1984) at the age of 83.
Z2211. YI Kyu-rak (李圭洛/이규락) was born in Pusan,
South Kyongsang Province, Korea on the 3rd
day of the 5th lunar month in 1928 (戊辰龍年五月初三/June
20, 1928). He
married KIM Sam-yi
(金/김삼이) in 1954 and had five daughters
and one son.
|
Z22111 |
YI Yun-cha (李/이윤자) |
|
|
|
|
Z22112 |
YI Chong-cha (李/이종자) |
|
|
|
|
Z22113 |
YI Kum-cha (李/이금자) |
|
|
|
|
Z22114 |
YI Chong-ok (李鍾玉/이종옥) |
|
|
|
|
Z22115 |
YI Chong-pu (李/이종부) |
|
|
|
|
Z22116 |
YI Hui-kyong (李/이희경) |
|
|
|
KIM Sam-Yi was born on the 2nd day of the 8th
lunar month in 1931 (辛未羊年八月初二/September
13, 1931).
YI Kyu-rak died in July 1999 at the age of 71.
