Civil official named the first incorruptible official of Joseon; posthumous title Sagan
| Life | 1344 ~ 1421 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 광주 안씨 |
An Seong (1344-1421) was a civil official of late Goryeo and early Joseon from Gwangju. His early name was Somok, courtesy name Ilsam and pen names Seolcheon and Cheongok. His father was An Gi, and he is the founder of the Sagan-gong branch of the Gwangju An; his posthumous title was Sagan (思簡).
He passed the licentiate examination under King U and the civil examination in 1380, serving as a scholar of the Bomungak and then magistrate of Sangju, where he became known for incorruptibility. After Joseon was founded he was named an incorruptible official in 1393, counted as the first in Joseon. He later served as vice-minister of Bongsangsi, as censor and as magistrate of Jibo, and in 1411 went to Ming China as an envoy before becoming Gangwon governor; he rose to state councillor and was enfeoffed as Lord of Pyeongyang.
His descendants remember him as the root of a family of incorruptible officials, and he is said to be enshrined at Changgye Seowon in Jangsu, North Jeolla.
The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture says that when An Seong was appointed Governor of Songgyeong he struck his head on a palace pillar and wept, saying that as a man of a family that had served Goryeo for generations he could not serve another man and face his ancestors' spirits in Songgyeong. His attendants wished to kill him, but Taejo restrained them, saying that killing him would leave no loyal scholars to later ages, and sent him out quickly. This is an anecdote handed down rather than an entry in the official histories, so story and fact should be read separately.
The story is often cited to show that An was remembered as someone who kept his loyalty to Goryeo even while chosen as an incorruptible official in the new dynasty.
In 1396, while a vice-minister of Bongsangsi, he was exiled to Chuksan for wrongly composing a posthumous title for Jeong Hui-gye, but in 1400 he returned to office and became magistrate of Jibo after serving as a censor. Wikipedia adds that on becoming a governor he received Taejong's own handwriting, a woodblock print of which survives. In 1411 he went to Ming as a New Year envoy and was then made Gangwon governor, eventually reaching second state councillor.
Some sources say he also served as governor of Gaeseong before being enfeoffed as Lord of Pyeongyang, so the order of his offices differs slightly between them.
His grandson An Paeng-myeong and great-grandsons An Yun-son and An Yun-deok rose to censorial posts and ministerial rank, and An Hwang and An Heon-jing are also recorded as his descendants. The Encyclopedia notes of An Sa-ung that as a descendant of the incorruptible An Seong he kept the family tradition and stayed poor, showing that later generations used him as their standard.
The location of his grave was not confirmed.
His line divides into the Jubu-gong (An Cheol-gwan), Seoryeong-gong (An Cheol-san) and Gamchal-gong (An Jong-saeng) branches.