Military officer who joined the Wihwa Island withdrawal; merit subject of Joseon's founding and second-class Jeongsa merit subject; enfeoffed as Prince Hwasan; posthumous title Huiyang
| Life | 1418 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 안동 장씨 |
Jang Sa-gil (張思吉, ?-1418) was a military officer of the late Goryeo and early Joseon from a local-magnate family of Uiju on the lower Yalu River. Wikipedia names his father as Jang Ryeo (張侶, the Goryeosa form), the Andong Jang sources name Jang Yeol (張烈), commander of Uiju, so the spelling of the name differs. His younger brother was Jang Sa-jeong, and his posthumous title is Huiyang (僖襄).
In 1382, when Hobaldo's raiders attacked Uiju, he fought alongside his father and brother and was struck by an arrow; he then succeeded his father as garrison commander of Uiju. He became Vice Commissioner of the Privy Council (Millik Busa) in 1389, was enrolled as a merit subject of the withdrawal from Wihwa Island in 1390, and the same year helped Yi Du-ran put down Japanese pirates in Seohae-do. After Jeong Mong-ju was removed in 1392, he is said to have led troops on Yi Bang-won's order to guard the residence of Yi Seong-gye.
With the founding of Joseon in 1392 he was enrolled as a merit subject and enfeoffed as Prince Hwaryeong (some sources call him a first-class founding merit subject); in 1398 he sided with Prince Jeongan (Yi Bang-won), became a second-class Jeongsa merit subject and Prince Yeongga, and was afterwards styled Prince Hwasan. He later served as Vice Councillor and Grand General of the Right and as State Councillor without Portfolio, and died on 30 October 1418. He is described as brave and shrewd, with a long beard reaching his belly.
The Hwasan-gun branch, regarded as the representative line of the clan, is said to derive from Jang Sa-gil and his son Jang Cheol being enfeoffed as Prince Hwasan. The clan has Taesa Jang Jeong-pil as founder, yet is also introduced as a family that produced founding merit subjects at the turn of Joseon. His younger brother Jang Sa-jeong was also enrolled as a founding and Jeongsa merit subject.
The annals record that he was impeached by the Office of the Inspector-General over the commoner status of his concubine Bokdeok and apologized before Taejong, and that he was dismissed and later reinstated for missing the court congratulations for the Ming emperor's birthday. Alongside his services as a merit subject, such critical records also remain. For the background of the Wihwa Island withdrawal see Yi Seong-gye.
Seoul Economic News says his tomb is at Geumchon, Paju, Gyeonggi Province, where the Andong Jang lineage holds seasonal rites. Wikipedia gives no tomb record, so confirm the exact location with the clan.
Wikipedia lists a son Jang Ju (張住), a daughter Lady Sunhye and a grandson Jang Ja-eun (張字殷). Jang Ui, the ancestor who resettled in Andong, is said to be his fifth-generation descendant.