Late Goryeo Inspector-General and governor of Jeolla; Joseon founding merit subject; honorary Third State Councillor; pen name Sangchon; posthumous title Gyeongpyeong
| Life | 1337 ~ 1414 |
| Era | 고려 말~조선 초 |
| Clan | 광주 노씨 |
No Sung (1337-1414) was an official of late Goryeo and early Joseon, from Gwangju (光州), with courtesy name Jungbo (中甫), pen name Sangchon (桑村) and posthumous title Gyeongpyeong (敬平). A pupil of Yi Saek (Mogeun), he was the grandson of the senior general No Dan and the son of the censor No Jun-gyeong; his mother was a daughter of Yi Cheon-ro. As the man whose five sons founded five branches of the Daehogun line of the Gwangju No, he serves in effect as the mid-founder of that line.
He became a licentiate in 1357 (Gongmin 6) and passed the civil examination in 1365, holding key posts as remonstrator, royal secretary, Inspector-General and Deputy Director of the Privy Council. When King U wanted to roam the fields without restraint, No wept and remonstrated in a heavy rain and brought him back; another story tells that the king galloped into his garden, asked whose house it was, then rode quickly away. It is explained that the king disliked him for frequent remonstrance. In 1382 he became Inspector-General.
As governor of Jeolla in 1389 (Gongyang 1) he built fortresses at Yongan in Jeonju and Yeongsan in Naju to ease grain transport and guard against Japanese pirates, asked that taxes be waived for three years, and had relief granaries set up in districts lacking them. After the founding of Joseon he was added as a founding merit subject as Mayor of Hanyang with 30 gyeol of merit land, served as Governor of Gaeseong in 1395 and of left Gyeonggi in 1397, where he is said to have equalized labor levies and refused solicitations. Under Taejong he rose to Third State Councillor on an honorary basis in 1414 after serving in the Council and as Vice Minister.
No Sung is remembered through anecdotes about King U's outings. He is recorded as bringing the king back by speaking of fortune and misfortune and weeping when the king set out for pleasure despite rain and flooded streams, and people praised his upright character. The king, on the other hand, is said to have disliked him for his frequent remonstrance, showing how hard the position of a censor could be.
The Yanggeun-gong, Chamui-gong, Sagan-gong, Gyeongnyeok-gong and Pangwan-gong branches split from his five sons No Sang-in, No Sang-ui, No Sang-rye, No Sang-ji and No Sang-sin. The eldest, No Sang-in, is said to have settled in Hwaryeong county, Sangju, through No Sung's marriage to a daughter of Kim Seon-chi of Sangju, and his descendants lived around Sasan-ri, Hwaseo-myeon. Chief State Councillor No Su-sin came from this line and raised the standing of the Daehogun line. Sources differ on whether No Sung was a great-grandson of No Seo or one of his later descendants, so the exact lineage should be checked in the genealogy.
The location of his tomb was not confirmed in this research.
Five sons No Sang-in (Yanggeun-gong), No Sang-ui (Chamui-gong), No Sang-rye (Sagan-gong), No Sang-ji (Gyeongnyeok-gong) and No Sang-sin (Pangwan-gong) founded the five branches.