조헌 趙憲

Righteous-army commander who died in battle during the Imjin War; pen name Jungbong (重峯)

Life & career

Jo Heon was a civil official, scholar, and righteous-army (militia) commander of the mid-Joseon period; his pen name was Jungbong (重峯). A disciple of Yi I and Seong Hon, he passed the higher civil service examination in 1567 and, drawing on his experience as an envoy to Ming China, submitted the reform memorial Donghwan bongsa (東還封事). His forthright memorials led to repeated dismissals and exiles.

When the Japanese invasions (Imjin War) broke out in 1592, he raised a righteous army in Okcheon and recaptured Cheongju Fortress. He then advanced to Geumsan together with the monk-general Yeonggyu, but he and his roughly 700 militia fighters all died in battle against the Japanese forces. He was later enshrined in the Confucian shrine (Munmyo) and is counted among the Eighteen Sages of the East (해동 18현).

Grave

Enshrined together with the fallen militia at the Tomb of the Seven Hundred Righteous Martyrs (七百義塚, Historic Site No. 105) in Geumsan, South Chungcheong Province

Other 배천 조씨 figures