성담수 成聃壽
One of the Six Loyal Subjects who retired in protest at Danjong's deposition; courtesy name Isu, pen name Mundu, posthumous title Jeongsuk
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 창녕 성씨 |
Life & career
Seong Dam-su (dates unknown) was an early-Joseon scholar and retired gentleman, counted among the Six Loyal Subjects. His seat was Changnyeong; his courtesy name was Isu (耳叟; Wikipedia also gives 眉叟), pen name Mundu (文斗) and posthumous title Jeongsuk (靖肅). A great-grandson of Seong Seok-yong, he was the grandson of Seong Gae and son of Seong Hui, a Hongmungwan editor, and his mother was a daughter of the minister Yi Gyeon-gi. Seong Seung was his father's cousin, the martyr Seong Sam-mun his second cousin, and Seong Dam-nyeon his younger brother.
He passed the licentiate examination in 1450, but in 1456, when Sam-mun and others were executed for plotting Danjong's restoration, his father Seong Hui was implicated as a relative, interrogated and confined in Gimhae. Hui was released three years later and returned to Gongju but is said to have died soon after. Dam-su abandoned any thought of office and lived in retirement at Munduri in Paju, where his family tombs lay, passing his days with poetry and fishing. King Sejo offered him posts such as a minor tomb-keeper's office, which he is said to have refused, seeing them as a way to watch him.
With Gim Si-seup, Yi Maeng-jeon, Won Ho, Jo Ryeo and Nam Hyo-on he is called one of the Six Loyal Subjects, set against the Six Martyred Ministers. In 1782, by King Jeongjo's special order, he was posthumously made Minister of Personnel and was enshrined at Seosan Seowon in Haman with Gim Si-seup, Won Ho and Nam Hyo-on, and is also honored at Mulgye Seowon in Changnyeong with other worthies of the clan. Sources differ on where he retired, Munduri in Paju or Daljeon-ri in Geumnam-myeon, Sejong, so this should be checked. His younger brother Dam-nyeon is said to have entered office under King Seongjong.
Korean Wikipedia records his grandfather Seong Gae, his father Seong Hui and his younger brothers Dam-nyeon, Dam-myeong, Dam-ryeong, Dam-jung, Dam-no and Dam-gi. It is also said that Yi Gi, who took part in the Eulsa Purge under Myeongjong, and the poet Yi Haeng were his sister's sons, showing how a single family could take both the path of loyalty and the path of politics.
Mulgye Seowon and the Rites
Mulgye Seowon in Mosan-ri, Daeji-myeon, Changnyeong is introduced as honoring Seong Dam-su together with Seong Song-guk, Seong Sam-mun, Seong Su-chim, Seong Un, Seong Je-won and Seong Hon. With Seong Sam-mun the house produced two lines of loyalty, the martyrs and the retired subjects.
Grave
The exact location of his tomb and retreat could not be confirmed; sources say Munduri in Paju or Daljeon-ri in Sejong.
Descendants
Records name his younger brothers Dam-nyeon, Dam-myeong and Dam-ryeong, continuing his father Seong Hui's line.