Which King is This?

[TheBo]

Yes, sageuk, I think I heard that, too. And thanks for the info.

Griffin, I'm not on Yeongjo's side by any means, but everything we've seen about this dynasty has consisted of tension, strife, backstabbing and plain cupidity (that's a much nicer name for GREEEEEEEEEED isn't it). It seems that if anyone--king, queen, prince, minister, admiral, general, doctor, nurse (who else have we heard about? LOL)--tried to do something for the good of the people, s/he was misinterpreted and stymied by those who maybe thought they knew better or only wanted to consolidate their own position. So maybe he thought (or knew) that was all he could do. I hope I can understand him better after I read my Lady Hye-gyong book.

Bo

[griffin]

One could simply say: Yeongjo blew up. I guess he lost his patience completely with prince Sado after numerous run-ins in which he deemed his son's behaviour inappropriate and unfilial. Prince Sado didn't much helped himself since he was afraid of his father and never explained his own actions at all.

The most interesting thing is that no one seemed to have appraised Yeongjo that his son was mentally unstable. I suppose no one wanted to suffer the consequences that would befall the messenger of such ill news. So whatever Sado did, rape, murder, inane excavations, explorations, etc was covered up.

If it happened this way, it's not surprising Yeongjo misunderstood prince Sado and tolerated his "excesses" till the critical point.

I don't suppose he tried to hasten to end his son's sufferings at the end by ordering the chest to be bound tightly with ropes and covered up with grass. o.O

[sageuk]

I always wondered as to why historicals would show Sado as a victim of strife. I read that the belief that he was a conspiracy victim began to rise during the 19th century, but how that belief started, I don't know. Maybe Jeongjo refused to believe his father was a maniac and blamed the officials for his father's fate, or maybe the it was a folktale to vilify the officials at the court (internal affairs was terrible during the 19th century). Those are my theories anyway. The many historicals probably show Sado that way so the audience would sympathize with him and his son.

In Yi San, there is a bit of an allusion to Sado's mental illness. In the first episode, there is a scene where he cuts down eunuchs out of frustration when rumors about him being a traitor circulated

If they ever make a movie focusing on Sado's mental illness, I'd like to see it in the same way they explored the psychology of another nutcase in the Aviator. Or Hitchcock style


Yeongjo's act is not the only cruel thing I heard. You heard of Liu Bei right? You know what he did? When one of his generals risked his life to rescue his baby son, Liu Shan, Liu Bei threw the infant onto the ground to show that his officers were more important to him than his own son. In his words, ""brothers are as hands and feet; wives and children are as clothing. You may mend your torn dress, but who can reattach a lost limb?" THough then again this is from a romantication of the Three Kingdoms war, so I'm not sure if that part is accurate or not

[griffin]

In Yi San, there is a bit of an allusion to Sado's mental illness. In the first episode, there is a scene where he cuts down eunuchs out of frustration when rumors about him being a traitor circulated

I think it can also be interpreted as inability to control his temper. It's just a tinny incident. No one, it seems, is keen to portray Sado as he was described in the memoir. The saddest thing is, he seemed to know he had a problem but there was nothing he nor those around him who knew this could do to stop it. All they did was to cover up whatever he did.

It's a great story (a tragic story) to do but no one wants to do it.

I have no idea on Liu Bei's doings as I have only the barest knowledge of that Chinese era. But it's hard to believe he would kill his own son just to emphasize his point. Would not that make him a heartless man in the eyes of his companions he's trying to impress?

[sageuk]

May 26, 2011 1:44:50 GMT -5 griffin said:

In Yi San, there is a bit of an allusion to Sado's mental illness. In the first episode, there is a scene where he cuts down eunuchs out of frustration when rumors about him being a traitor circulated

I think it can also be interpreted as inability to control his temper. It's just a tinny incident. No one, it seems, is keen to portray Sado as he was described in the memoir. The saddest thing is, he seemed to know he had a problem but there was nothing he nor those around him who knew this could do to stop it. All they did was to cover up whatever he did.

It's a great story (a tragic story) to do but no one wants to do it.

I have no idea on Liu Bei's doings as I have only the barest knowledge of that Chinese era. But it's hard to believe he would kill his own son just to emphasize his point. Would not that make him a heartless man in the eyes of his companions he's trying to impress?

If they ever make a movie focusing on Sado's mental illness, I'd like to see it in the same way they explored the psychology of another nutcase in the Aviator. Or Hitchcock style

Liu Bei's son survived.

[griffin]

Opps, lol, my bad, for some reason, I read it as he killed his son. I think that's the problem with me nowadays when the road seems to lead to a familiar destination, I'll jump ahead, but it turns out to be different if one looks more carefully. ;D

I didn't watch the Aviator though. o.O

[sageuk]

It was said that Liu Bei's son grew up to be mentally retarded afterward.

There was a drama in the 80s once again directed by Lee Byung-hoon, called Memoirs of Lady Hyegyong. It was said that the series was very historically accurate, so that one may be what you were looking for. Too bad no videos can be found

[griffin]

Dang. All the nice historical dramas, it seemed, are history. ;D What injustice! We should bear up arms in protest.

I've a feeling though, that those old dramas would be recycled as reduxe once they ran out of ideas. ;D If so, would they be a better reproduction or worse than the original?

Oh yeah, on Jeongjo, other than a connoisseur of the art. He also did some paintings. Other than this, he's also an excellent archer, once hitting 24 out of 25 volleys on that particular trip to Hwaseong Fortress in a archery competition.

Is there any more I missed out (not on those about his reign or about the royal library, etc)?

[TheBo]

I'm moving this forum to "off air" -- you're welcome to cry about missed dramas there, guys. LOL.

You can be like me--"D'oh! I meant to be Korean!"

Bo