성승 成勝
Military official executed for plotting the restoration of King Danjong; father of Seong Sam-mun; pen name Jeokgok, posthumous title Chungsuk
| Life | 1456 |
| Era | 조선 전기 |
| Clan | 창녕 성씨 |
Life & career
Seong Seung (?-1456) was an early-Joseon military official whose seat was Changnyeong; his pen name was Jeokgok (赤谷) and his posthumous title Chungsuk (忠肅). The son of Seong Dal-saeng and grandson of Seong Seok-yong, he was the father of the martyr Seong Sam-mun. His wife was a daughter of Bak Cheom of the Juksan Bak clan, and his sons were Sam-mun, Sam-bing, Sam-go and Sam-seong. His year of birth is not recorded.
After passing the military examination he served in 1440 as commander of Gyeongsang Province, in 1446 as vice commissioner of the Privy Council, and in 1447 went to Ming China as envoy for the emperor's birthday. In 1450-1451 he went again as deputy envoy for the New Year and in 1451 was appointed magistrate of Uiju. In 1455, under King Sejo, he was made deputy commissioner and then commander-in-chief of the Five Garrisons; Sejo tried to win him over with promotion to head of the Privy Council, but he is said to have declined, citing illness.
After the coup of 1453 he gathered Seong Sam-mun, scholars of the Hall of Worthies such as Bak Paeng-nyeon, Ha Wi-ji, Yi Gae and Yu Seong-won, and military men such as Yu Eung-bu and Bak Jaeng to plan the restoration of King Danjong. They set the banquet for Ming envoys at Changdeok Palace on 1 June 1456 as the day, and Seung, as a sword-bearing guard, was to stand beside Sejo and remove him. That day Sejo ordered the guards abolished because the venue was cramped, and the plan was halted; later Gim Jil informed on the plotters, and on 8 June Seung was executed outside the Armory. His four sons and three grandsons were all killed and the line ended; he was cleared in 1784 and posthumously made Left Consort of the State Council.
Because his kin were almost wiped out, no detailed account of his life survives, and records of him are thinner than those of his son Seong Sam-mun. The main evidence for how he is remembered is the record of rites at the annex shrine of Noeun Seowon in Hongseong, the loyalists' altar at Jangneung, Danjong's tomb, and Sungmojeon at Donghaksa in Gongju. His father Seong Dal-saeng's tomb is also said to have been desecrated over this incident.
Noeun Seowon and Its Annex Shrine
In Hongseong, an annex shrine for Seong Sam-mun's father Seong Seung was raised at Noeun Seowon (formerly Nogun Seowon) in 1687, and he was honored there after his rehabilitation in 1784. The academy was abolished in 1864, after which scholars buried the spirit tablets of the martyrs and built the Noeundan altar to continue the rites. The birthplace remains of his son Seong Sam-mun are at the same place.
Grave
His surviving tomb is in Hongbuk-eup, Hongseong, South Chungcheong (old Noeun-dong, Hongju), a double tomb with his wife of the Juksan Bak clan. There was also a tradition of a tomb at the Noryangjin Sayuksin site, but only Seong Sam-mun's remains there now.
Descendants
His sons and grandsons were all executed and his line is said to have ended.