The Evaluation of Yamen Clerks Is Also Absolutely Necessary. Without Evaluating Their Job Performance, the Magistrate Cannot Exhort People to Work.
Managing people depends on two words, exhortation [kwŏn] and reprimand [ching]. Without rewarding those who made contributions, the magistrate cannot exhort people to work, and without punishing those who committed crimes, he cannot control people. If there is neither exhortation nor reprimand, people become too relaxed in their discipline and hundreds of affairs break down, and officials, regardless of their rank and position, are no different as far as this matter is concerned. Nowadays there exists punishment for crimes, but no reward for contributions. Because of this, the conduct of subofficials grows increasingly wicked.
When Lu Huan of the Tang dynasty governed Shanzhou, both benevolence and dignity were conspicuous in his governance. The custom of Shanzhou was worshipping spirits, but the residents said, “There is no need to pray to the spirits nor to ask the shamans to pray for you. You should not dare to violate the law of Magistrate Lu. Blessing or curse will follow right away.”
Although the Magistrate Cannot Administer Alone What Is Not in the National Code of Law, It Will Be Better to Evaluate and Reward Concerned Individuals through Discussion than to Abandon Such Efforts Altogether.
The magistrate should always keep a separate record for evaluating all personnel, including the heads of the local yangban association, law-enforcement officers, yamen clerks, and government slaves and subfunctionaries, writing the name of one individual on each page of the record. Every time they make mistakes, he chastises them with disciplinary measures, and he examines and analyzes the contributions they make at the end of the year, dividing them into nine grades. He will reward those who belong to the upper three grades with key positions when he makes new appointments in the new year; he will also reward those who belong to the middle three grades, but with lower-level rewards; as for those who belong to the lowest three grades, he will suspend them from office for one year, and this will help to a certain degree in exhorting them to work harder.
Since the quotas of chief of the local yangban association and law-enforcement officers are limited, the highest and lowest grades should not exceed one person (for instance, the grade should be upper-upper or upper-middle or upper-lower), and the same merit rating based on nine grades should be applied to the yamen clerks.
If the quota of yamen clerks is thirty, one person should be placed in each category of “upper-upper” [sang-sang] and “lower-lower” [ha-ha]; two persons in each category of “upper-middle” [sang-chung] and “lower-middle” [ha-chung]; two persons in each category of “upper-lower” [sang-ha] and “lower-upper” [ha-sang]; and three persons in each category of “middle-upper” [chung-sang] and “middle-lower” [chung-ha]. The remaining fourteen people should all be placed in the category of “middle-middle” [chung-chung].
Those who belong to the category of “upper-upper” should be awarded the best place; those in the category of “upper-middle” the second best; those in the category of “upper-lower” the third best; those in the category of “middle-upper” the fourth best. As for those in the category of “middle-middle,” the magistrate should order the clerk in charge of personnel to assign them to less desirable posts; those in the category of “middle-lower” should be suspended for half a year while they are exempt from corvée labor; those in the lowest three grades should be suspended from their office for one year, but the ones belonging to “lower-lower” must be levied hard labor.
When the quotas of leaders of the local yangban association and law-enforcement officers are full and therefore there is no place for their reassignment, the magistrate should provide them with rewards like bows, arrows, brushes, and ink according to the degree of their achievements. He will also award them citations so that they can be handed down to their children.
Gate guards and government slaves should also be evaluated and rewarded in the ways mentioned above. Village representatives, heads of the community compact, and liaison agents should also be evaluated in the same way, but the village representatives who won “upper-upper” grade should be promoted to the leadership position of the local yangban association.
If we look at the custom nowadays, the yamen clerks or slaves who escort a new magistrate or his lady are usually awarded better positions the following year. This is more or less repaying a personal favor with a public reward. Making a trip to Seoul cannot really be hard work that deserves such a reward. Regular business trips to Seoul will be as difficult as escorting the magistrate. Therefore, such a reward is unjustified.
The Tenure of the Magistrate Should Be Six Years. Only When the Magistrate Stays Long Enough in His Office Can Merit Rating Be Discussed. If the Situation Does Not Allow This, the Magistrate Should Dispense Justice Both to Services and Crimes without Fail So That People Can Trust His Orders.
For the last two decades local magistrates have been replaced so frequently that their tenures have lasted only a year or two at the longest. Unless this law is changed, the civil functionaries in local districts, who include yamen clerks and leaders of the local yangban association, cannot establish plans on a long-term basis, and the law of merit rating will be subject to ridicule.
In replying to a disciple, Confucius said, “One can dispense with military equipment or food, but trust cannot be abandoned under any circumstance.”71 To make the law trustworthy is the primary duty in governing the people. Once the magistrate proclaims through his order that those who break certain laws will be punished and those who make contributions will be rewarded with certain prizes, he must execute his orders as he proclaimed. Otherwise people will not trust his words when he is actually serious about his project. The damage of broken promises may be not significant in ordinary times; however, when national crises take place, what will he do if his subordinates distrust his orders and disobey them? To make the law trustworthy, therefore, is the foremost priority of the magistrate.
There is an old proverb, “A military commander does not withdraw his orders.” The magistrate is like a military commander. Unless his orders are respected, how can he lead the people?
The Merit Rating of the Governor Can Also Be Discussed; However, Because It Is Too Simple and Crude, It Cannot Be Expected to Bring About Practical Results. Therefore, One Must Try to Change the System by Submitting Memorials to the King.
Commentary on Ancient Precedents [Kojŏgŭi]72 stated as follows: “The security of the state depends on the direction of public sentiment; the direction of public sentiment depends on the state of people’s welfare; the state of people’s welfare depends on the performance of the magistrate; and the performance of the magistrate depends on the appraisal of the governor. Therefore, the merit rating of the governor is a key to understanding the heavenly mandate and the direction of public sentiment, as well as the criteria for judging the internal security of the state. Although the law of merit rating is that critical, there has been no other time in which the law has been as flawed by extreme simplicity and crudity as it is in our time. This makes me worried.”
Now I would like to introduce a sample of merit rating that is experimental and imaginary, based on the form of a royal inspector’s report.
MAGISTRATE OF SUNCH’ANG KIM SO-AND-SO.
Self-discipline: Did not bring his whole family to his post; made his children and personal friends stay in his private quarters, prohibiting them from visiting him at the hall of state in the yamen. (positive)
Public service: Did not miss the deadline for official reports; rewarded the yamen clerks who carried out his orders earlier than the deadline he had set. (positive)
Love of people: Held a banquet for the elderly, but because he invited too many of them, there was some controversy. (negative)
Personnel: Recommended seven scholars as nominees for office [gongshi], which received the approval of public opinion. The scholars in his district who passed the local examination singularly outnumbered those in other districts. (positive)
Taxation: In fixing the price of grain in the Ever-Normal Granary, he unreasonably reduced it by 5 p’un, causing complaints from the people. (negative)
Rites: The students of the county school had fights in Myŏngryun Hall, but he did not punish them because of his personal relationship with them, which undermined the good custom of scholars. (negative)
Military affairs: The soldiers [in his district] were well informed and skilled in martial arts because of the systematic training. (positive)
Punishments: In dealing with lawsuits, he cross-examined both the plaintiff and the defendant and gave his final sentence. As a result, he settled a number of pending lawsuits that had accumulated over many decades. (positive)
Public works: Although there were seven reservoirs that were destroyed, he never tried to restore them. (negative)
In this evaluation there are five positives and four negatives, so the final result of his appraisal is “middle-middle.”
The original copy of the magistrate’s self-evaluation [chujŏkjang] cannot be removed by the office of the governor. Even though the magistrate’s report is not made on the basis of the rules of the nine-grade system, it must be submitted to the royal court. If this law is strictly observed, the governor will not dare to conceal the achievements of magistrates or downgrade their integrity.
Commentary on Ancient Precedents stated as follows: “The magistrate who has received merit ratings for three years, regardless of whether he is in office or not, should personally go to Seoul and directly report to the king when he receives a call from the court.
“When the magistrate visits the king, he carries in his arms his own self-evaluation reports, as well as the governor’s merit ratings for the period of three years, and, kneeling down, reads them aloud, and if the king happens to ask questions, he should be able to answer them on the spot. This was the way in which Emperors Yao and Shun met with the local magistrates every day. This ancient law, which was extremely solemn and austere, was not like the current ones, which are so careless and loose that the judge must think at least a hundred times to make a right decision.”
Commentary on Ancient Precedents stated as follows: “When the king finishes the meeting with the local magistrates, he dispatches twelve secret inspectors to eight provinces so that they can check the truth of the reports submitted by the magistrates. (To the regions like Yŏngnam and Honam, and the provinces of P’yŏngan and Hamgyŏng, two secret inspectors are dispatched.)”
“In the years like Cha, O, Myo, and Yu,73 the king starts receiving reports from the magistrates from the Onset of Spring [Ipch’un],74 meeting with five or six of them every day, and finishes his interviews ten days before the Onset of Summer [Ipha].75 When he finishes receiving the self-evaluation reports from the magistrates, the king dispatches his secret inspectors during the Onset of Summer and makes them report back before the Onset of Winter. (The magistrates in northern provinces are made to report to the king when they return after finishing their tenures.)”
The secret inspectors then travel around the districts to which the magistrates belonged, carrying their self-evaluation reports, as well as the governor’s merit ratings, in order to discover the discrepancies between the reports and the truth. If a magistrate made a false report on his achievements and the governor rejected it for being untruthful, or if the magistrate truthfully reported his achievements and the governor suppressed them, the secret inspector ought to impeach them for their wrongdoings in both cases.
I have observed that although the government is supposed to dispatch secret inspectors approximately every three or four years, they are sometimes not dispatched for five or six years or seven or ten years. Therefore, it happens that the magistrates and local clerks who commit irregularities tend to count on their luck for not getting caught because of the lack of inspections. This is the reason that I propose that a law should be made and strictly enforced, under which secret inspectors are to be dispatched every three years. If the things that happened in the years of Cha, Ch’uk, and In are made to be inspected in the year of Myo that immediately follows them, and the things that happened in the years of Myo, Chin, and Sa are inspected in the year O that also follows the preceding three years, even avaricious magistrates and crafty clerks will not dare to violate the law for fear of later trouble.
Moreover, since fifty-four articles for performance evaluation issued by the court, twenty-seven reports made by local magistrates, and nine merit-rating reports from the governors are all in the hands of the inspectors, who will not be afraid and worried if the inspectors take them to the districts and launch investigations based on them? Since even powerful families and large clans can have difficulty knowing in advance who will come down as a secret inspector and his personal connections, as well as the quality of his integrity, they must fear that they have little to rely on. They may be able to persuade the governor by their power or ask for favors from him on the basis of their friendship and of compassion, but they will be frustrated to find out that the interests of the governor and the secret inspector are not the same. If it is known that the merit rating conducted by the governor is also to be reviewed by the secret inspector, the merit rating cannot not help being fair and just. Is not this type of ancient merit rating much more constructive and scrupulous? If it happens that magistrates submit false reports on their achievements, and their reports are accepted by governors without corrections, the crime of false reports, as well as that of deceiving the king, will not be forgiven. How, then, can they not be afraid of the consequences of their actions? If this law is instituted, one can look forward to the age of peace and prosperity. The secret of Emperors Yao and Shun, who ruled their kingdoms successfully, essentially had to do with the merit-rating system that they had instituted. I am convinced that my contention is far from being extreme or absurd.
1. Unknown.
2. A Neo-Confucian anthology that includes the philosophical statements of five masters (wuzi): Zhou Dunyi, Cheng Hao, Cheng Yi, Zhang Hengqu, and Zhu Xi. It is an expanded version of Reflections on Things at Hand (Jinsilu), which includes only four masters.
3. Unknown.
4. A work by Kim Chŏngguk, a scholar-official of the mid-Chosŏn period, whose pen name was Sajae. It is mainly a collection of essays and anecdotes for general readers. He was regarded as a sage in his time.
5. A scholar of the early Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sŏngjong.
6. An official of the early Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Chajin, and his pen name Ch’ungjae. He also served as fifth state councilor.
7. “Six thieves” indicates the yamen clerks of the six bureaus in the office of the magistrate.
8. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zia. He served as imperial secretary.
9. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kongmin. He was the father of Chŏng Tojŏn (1342–1398), a famous scholar-official who rendered great service in founding the Chosŏn dynasty.
10. An official of the Tang dynasty. His courtesy name was Kuan. He also served as minister of war.
11. The sentence in the source text consists of six Chinese characters: 
. Literally translated, “Hua Nanjin is a mouth, and the local government [magistrate] a hand.” Translated this way, it implies that the hand makes or gathers food, and the mouth eats what is brought by the hand. Therefore, the yamen clerk, described as the mouth, is superior to the government or magistrate, described as the hand.
12. A general of the Tang dynasty during the reign of Xuanzong. While serving at Zhenyuan County, the rebellion of General An Lushan broke out, and Zhang Xun bravely fought against the rebel armies. Loyal to the Tang dynasty, he kept fighting and repulsing the rebel forces until he was finally captured and executed by his enemy.
13. The reign name of Emperor Xuanzong (1398–1435) of the Ming dynasty.
14. An official of the Ming dynasty. His courtesy name was Bolü. He served as director (langzhong) in the Ministry of Rites and as prefect of Suzhou.
15. Qingtian means “clear sky.” It implies that Kuang’s personality was so much like the clear sky that no one could deceive him.
16. A history compiled by Chen Jian, a scholar of the Ming dynasty. It is about the rise and fall of successive dynasties throughout history.
17. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kyŏmsu, and his pen name T’anch’o. He served as inspector general and minister of rites.
18. An official of the Tang dynasty. He served as the prefect of Nanhai and as assistant director of the right in the Imperial Secretariat.
19. The expression for “with alacrity” in the source text is acting or working like “running water.”
20. An official of the Later Han dynasty. He also served as palace attendant.
21. A military official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kyehŭng. He was a descendant of Yi Sunsin, a famous admiral and the hero of the Imjin War. He served as royal secretary and provincial military commander.
22. An official of the late Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Irae. He also served as magistrate of Anju, governor of Hwanghae Province, royal secretary, inspector general, headmaster of the National Confucian Academy, minister of works, and minister of punishments.
23. A famous state councilor of the Chosŏn dynasty during the reign of Sukchong. Learned in the classics and history, as well as cartography and military affairs, and talented in literature and calligraphy, he left a number of books, including Collected Works of Yakch’ŏn (Yakch’ŏnjip).
24. Song Siyŏl (1607–1689), a famous scholar-official of the Chosŏn dynasty and leader of the Old Doctrine (subfaction of the Westerners faction). Uam was his pen name.
25. The Five Army Garrisons, also called Ogunyŏng, consisted of the Military Training Command (Hullyŏn togam), the Anti-Manchu Division (Ch’ongyungch’ŏng), the Defense Command of the Namhan Fort (Suŏch’ŏng), the Capital Garrison (Kŭmwiyŏng), and the Royal Guards Command (Ŏyŏngch’ŏng). Originally derived from the Five Commands that existed in the early Chosŏn period, these five army garrisons were reorganized during the Japanese invasions and later were permanently established in Sukchong’s reign (1674–1720).
26. The source text provides a sample chart of ten clerks that is omitted here.
27. Xie Liangzuo (1050–1103), a Neo-Confucian scholar of the Northern Song dynasty and a native of Shangcai, which is modern Anhui Province. He took the name of his hometown as his pen name. A disciple of two Chengs (Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi), he developed a doctrine that attempted to unite mind and heart and influenced the early phase of Zhu Xi’s philosophy.
28. Hu Anguo (1074–1138), a scholar of the Northern Song dynasty. Wending was his posthumous title. His courtesy name was Kanghou, and his pen names Wuyi Xiansheng and Caoan Jushi. He served as academician of the Hall for Treasuring Culture (Baowenge).
29. The “three groups” are personnel clerks, law-enforcement officials, and government slaves.
30. A contemporary of Tasan. The details of his life and career are not known.
31. Mi Buqi, an official of the state of Lu and a disciple of Confucius. Zijian was his courtesy name.
32. An official of the state of Chen and a disciple of Confucius. His name was actually Mashi, and his courtesy name was Ziqi.
33. A work of Yu Hŭich’un (1513–1577), a scholar of the mid-Chosŏn period. His courtesy name was Injung, and his pen name Miam. He served as headmaster of the National Confucian Academy and as second minister of personnel. His diary consists of both personal and public records over the period 1568 to 1577. It was known to be one of the longest of its kind throughout the Chosŏn dynasty.
34. This indicates making a little circle underneath the name of his choice.
35. Left and right here mean first and second, respectively.
36. An official of the Tang dynasty. A man of strong character and talented in local administration, he served as provincial military commander of Zhenhai and transport commissioner of Jianghuai.
37. An official of the Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Xuan. His courtesy name was Cigong, and his posthumous title Ding. He rose to the position of grand councilor.
38. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Hanzong. After serving as a petty clerk, he became prefect of Danyang.
39. An official of the Later Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Boxian, and his posthumous title Wenlie. He also served as palace attendant, commander-in-chief, and minister of works.
40. One of the six licensed stores (yugŭijŏn) in Seoul, which sold silk and linen.
41. Military settlements in North Hamgyŏng Province, established by Kim Chŏngsŏ, a military general during the reign of Sejong. They were built to defend the territory of the Tumen River against the invasion of the Jurchens.
42. A grand councilor during the Warring States period. He was famous for keeping thousands of guests in his house for advice and ideas.
43. One of the many guests of Meng Changjun. The latter asked the former to collect the unpaid loans from the people. However, Feng Huan burned the loan documents of the people who were unable to pay their loans in order to elicit favorable popular feeling for Meng Changjun, which saved Meng’s career from later political calamities.
44. King Yu of the Xia dynasty, King Tang of the Shang dynasty, and King Wen of the Zhou dynasty.
45. This was a way of recruiting talented people during the time of the Zhou dynasty. It indicates recommending an outstanding individual as a chief guest during the local drinking rite or selecting officials through the provincial examination.
46. “Literature” here indicates essays and poems.
47. Saengjin refers to two groups of scholars: classics licentiate (saengwŏn) and presented scholar (chinsa).
48. Hasamdo indicates three provinces in the south: Ch’ungch’ŏng, Chŏlla, and Kyŏngsang.
49. Sang’odo indicates five provinces in the north: Hamgyŏng, P’yŏngan, Hwanghae, Kangwŏn, and Kyŏnggi.
50. This refers to the section in the Supplement to the National Code on personnel in relation to recommendations for public office.
51. Kwangjong (949–975), the fourth king of the Koryŏ dynasty.
52. An official of the Later Zhou dynasty (907−960). He visited the Koryŏ court as a member of a diplomatic mission and stayed permanently after his naturalization. He introduced the civil service examination to King Kwangjong and served as examination administrator (chigonggŏ).
53. An official of the Later Han dynasty during the reign of Emperor Zhang.
54. Chen Fan, an official of the Later Han dynasty. Zhongju was his courtesy name.
55. Xu Zhi, a renowned scholar of the Later Han dynasty. Ruzi was his courtesy name.
56. An official of the Shang dynasty who served as minister during the reign of King Zhou. According to a story, King Wu, who had toppled the Shang government, paid homage to Shang Rong, who was loyal to the Shang dynasty to the end, as he happened to pass by Shang Rong’s house.
57. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong, but little is known about him.
58. An official of the Koryŏ dynasty during the reign of Kojong. He was famous for his integrity and love of people. He served as director of the Bureau of Judicial Administration.
59. Gongsun Qiao, the grand master of the Zheng state during the Spring and Autumn period. Zichan was his courtesy name. He took charge of state affairs for forty years with great success. He was known as a leader of self-strengthening movements.
60. An office in the National Confucian Academy that was used by officials like the first proctor (hakchŏng) and the second proctor (hangnok). They kept the records on important current state affairs in a chest. Confucian students also gathered in the hall to discuss government policies. However, this tradition was discontinued after the Imjin War in the late sixteenth century.
61. He achieved outstanding results while serving as prefect of Xiangzhou. He was later enfeoffed as king of Jianan.
62. Men of outstanding virtue who are invited to the local drinking rite.
63. This seems to indicate a granary located in the north of the district.
64. Chaegyŏl indicates lands declared disaster areas. When land suffered damage from a natural disaster, it was exempt from taxes. However, this benefit was granted only to rice paddies.
65. A Chinese sage of the Zhou dynasty who starved himself to death, refusing to join the government of King Wu with his brother Shu Qi.
66. Chen Zhongzi was a sage of the Qi state during the Spring and Autumn period. He refused to take the property offered by his brother, named Zai, believing that it was tainted by corruption. He led a simple and independent life with his wife in a place called Wuling. Thus he was called Wuling Zhongzi.
67. An official of the mid-Chosŏn dynasty. His courtesy name was Kwanok, and his pen name Pukjŏ. He was a disciple of Song Ikp’il, a famous Neo-Confucian scholar. Rendering service in the restoration of Injo, he was granted a title, Great Lord Sŭngp’yŏng, and served as chief state councilor.
68. One of the reign names of Emperor Wu (141–87 B.C.) of the Han dynasty.
69. “Generic reference to the highest-ranking officials of government below the Three Dukes (San gong), notably including Commandery Governors because in Han they received annual salaries in money and various commodities reckoned to approximate the value of 2,000 bushels of grain” (Hucker, Dictionary of Official Titles in Imperial China, 205).
70. Liu Anshi, an official of the Song dynasty. His courtesy name was Qizhi, and Yuancheng was his pen name. He studied under Sima Guang and suffered exile a number of times because of his outspoken criticisms.
71. Adapted from the Analects, “Yanyuan,” chapter 7 (see Legge, Confucius, 254). The disciple who asked the question was Zigong.
72. One of Tasan’s works included in The Complete Works of Yŏyudang (Yŏyudang chŏnsŏ). Yŏyudang was one of Tasan’s pen names.
73. These are the names of the years in the Chinese sexagenary cycle, which is also known as stems-branches (Kanji). The calendar in Korea, as well as in China, used to be calculated by combining the Ten Heavenly Stems and the Twelve Earthly Branches. The two sets of terms are made to enumerate the years of the civil calendar. The sequence of earthly branches runs as follows: cha, ch’uk, in, myo, chin, sa, o, mi, etc. Therefore, if the triennial civil service examination is held in the year of cha, the next one is to be held in the year of myo.
74. The first of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around February 4.
75. The seventh of the twenty-four seasonal divisions; around May 5.