Person1595 – 1682

Heo Mok

Southerner scholar who opposed Song Si-yeol in the mourning-rite disputes, stressing Hyojong’s legitimacy as king

When Hyojong died in 1659, the Westerners held that his stepmother Queen Dowager Jaui should mourn for one year, the Southerners for three (the Gihae dispute). Heo Mok argued for three years on the ground that Hyojong, having inherited the throne, should be treated as the eldest son. In the Gabin dispute of 1674 the Southern view prevailed and the Southerners took power. He left the collected writings Gieon and was famed for his seal-script calligraphy.

Show on the map

Where they went

Open the full map

OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles © OpenStreetMap contributors

1 related event

1
1659 – 1674Mourning Rite Disputesparticipant
Twice, on the deaths of Hyojong and his queen, the Westerners and Southerners clashed over how long the dowager queen should wear mourning; the Westerners won in 1659, the Southerners in 1674.

People who appear alongside

Hyeonjong1641 – 1674
Eighteenth king of Joseon, born in Shenyang where his father Hyojong was a hostage; both mourning-rite disputes took place in his reign
Song Si-yeol1607 – 1689
Leader of the Westerners (later the Noron), adviser to Hyojong’s northern campaign plan and chief voice in the mourning-rite disputes; forced to take poison in 1689

Themes this person appears in

Factional Politics in Joseon1498 – 1863
From the literati purges to in-law government — how Sarim factions moved from coexistence and checks to purges and one-faction rule, then through Tangpyeong to the dominance of a few clans