Early Joseon scholar-official, pen name Nosongjeong, founder of the Nosongjeong-gong branch who withdrew home when King Danjong was deposed
| Life | 1395 ~ 1462 |
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 경주 정씨 |
Jeong Ji-nyeon (1395-1462) had the courtesy name Yuyeong and the pen names Nosongjeong and Mangchil, the latter self-chosen. He entered office through hereditary privilege and passed the regular civil examination in 1438 while serving as an instructor. In 1443, while in charge of the Yanghyeongo he was impeached for privately using rice but was pardoned, and in 1451 he served as Seonggyungwan Saye.
When King Danjong was forced out, he is said to have given up office and returned home to devote himself to the classics. Yet he is also recorded as an original-merit subject of the third class in 1457, so accounts of his withdrawal and the merit title can be read differently depending on the source. Posthumously he was raised to Left Minister (Jwachanseong) and given the title Lord Gyerim.
His father is known as Jeong Ryeom (鄭廉), though one document writes Jeong Yeom (鄭濂).
Local records of the Suncheon Gyeongju Jeong describe the Nosongjeong line as the branch formed by descendants of Jeong Ji-nyeon within the Munheon-gong branch. A clan cafe post says it further divides into the Panseo-gong, Jean-gong, Chamui-gong and Gamsa-gong lines. The Jean-gong name seems to come from the title of his son Jeong Hyo-sang and Chamui-gong from the post of Jeong Hyo-jong, but the origin of these names could not be confirmed.
Okgye Seowon in Myeongmal Village, Yeonhyang-dong, Suncheon, is introduced as enshrining six persons with Jeong Ji-nyeon as the principal figure, along with Jeong Seung-bok, Jeong Sa-jun, Jeong Sa-hoeng, Jeong Bin and Jeong Seon. It was demolished in 1868, restored in 1953, and is designated a local cultural heritage material.
His father is known as Jeong Ryeom, but the opening of the Wikipedia article also writes Jeong Yeom, so the name differs. His withdrawal after Danjong's deposition and the record of his enrollment as a third-class original-merit subject under Sejo sit in some tension and it is hard to follow only one account. That his sons Hyo-hang and Hyo-sang took office suggests the family was connected to the court after Sejo.
His sons are given as Jeong Hyo-hang, Jeong Hyo-sang, Jeong Hyo-jong and Jeong Hyo-bon. His descendants form the Nosongjeong-gong line of the Munheon-gong branch, said to divide into the Panseo-gong, Jean-gong, Chamui-gong and Gamsa-gong lines. His great-grandson Jeong Nae is known as the first Gyeongju Jeong settler of Suncheon, and Nae's son was Jeong Seung-bok.