Military officer who took part in the Wihwa Island withdrawal and became a second-class Jeongsa merit subject; Prince Hwasan; said to be a son of Jang Sa-gil; posthumous title Jangyang
| Life | 1399 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 안동 장씨 |
Jang Cheol (張哲, ?-1399) was a military officer of the late Goryeo and early Joseon. Andong Jang sources, the Sinailbo and Seoul Economic News introduce him as the third son of Jang Sa-gil, while English Wikipedia calls him a grandson of Jang Yeol (張烈, sometimes written Jang Ryeo in the Goryeosa), commander of Uiju, which is consistent with being Jang Sa-gil's son. His posthumous title is said to be Jangyang (莊襄).
He passed the military examination in the late Goryeo and is said to have taken part in the 1388 withdrawal from Wihwa Island. Andong Jang accounts say he served as military commander (cheomjeoljesa) and magistrate of Yeongheung. After Joseon was founded, in 1398 (7th year of Taejo) he held the post of Vice Commissioner of the Central Secretariat and sided with Yi Bang-won (later Taejong) together with Jang Sa-gil and Jang Sa-jeong.
In the First Strife of Princes (Mu-in Jeongsa) of 1398 he helped Yi Bang-won against the faction backing Crown Prince Bang-seok, and for taking part in the removal of Jeong Do-jeon, Nam Eun and others he was enrolled as a second-class Jeongsa merit subject and enfeoffed as Prince Hwasan. He died the following year, 1399.
The 1398 incident in which Yi Bang-won removed Jeong Do-jeon, Nam Eun and others of Crown Prince Bang-seok's faction is called the First Strife of Princes or Mu-in Jeongsa, and those who served in it were enrolled as Jeongsa merit subjects. Jang Cheol rose to the second class, and his father Jang Sa-gil is said to have received the same rank. That father and son (or kinsmen) shared the same merit class shows the clan's standing in early Joseon.
Accounts of Jang Cheol's lineage vary, so check it against your own genealogy. Detailed records of his life are few, so this entry is limited to what could be confirmed.
The location of his tomb could not be confirmed.
He is regarded, with his father Jang Sa-gil, as a central figure of the Hwasan-gun branch.