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The Annals of the Chosun Dynasty comprise 1,893 books covering 472 years (1392~1863) of the history of the Chosun Dynasty, from the reign of King Taejo, the founder, to the end of the reign of King Chuljong. Thick extensive set of records is considered to deal with the longest period of a single dynasty of any search records in the world. For their cultural and historic rarity, the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty deserve world cultural presercation as an invaluable documentary heritage. First, the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty are the authentic records of one dynasty which cover the longest period of time. There are some well-known historical documents compiled for long periods of time. For instance, the Chinese Huangming Shilu, the Annals of Ming Dynasty, records the 260 years of the reigns of 13 Chinese emperors and the Chinese Daqing Lizhao Shilu, the Annals of the Great Qing Dynasty, covered 296 years. Yet the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty are unrivaled int he length of time covered. Second, the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty boast the most extensive works containing the greatest variety of historic facts. Since the Tang Dynasty, when China initiated the tradition of compiling annals, Japan and Vietnam followed suit. However, their annals can not stand comparison with the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty in quantity and quality. The Japanese Sandai Jitsuroku, The Annals of Three Reigns, are a very small collection in comparision. The Vietnamese Great Autehntic Annals of Vietnam, recording the history of the Nguyen Dynasty (1802~1945), consist of 548 books. The Chinese Huangming, Shilu, Annals of Ming Dynasty, with 2,964 books. Surpass in number the 1,893 books of the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty, but each volume is thinner and the total number of words is much less. ( The Chinese Huangming Shilu have 16 million letters while the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty have 64 million letters.) The Annals of the Great Qing Dynasty, are composed of 4,404 books, ranking them as the world largest historical document in numbers of volumes, but they consist of the same content written in 3 different language, Manchu, Chinese and Mongolian. Thus their size is deemed to be one third of the totla number of volumes. By this account, the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty are evidently the world's most outstanding in size, historic value, richness of content and every other respect. Third, the contents of these annals are encyclopedic. They include not only general state affair but also diplomacy among neighboring northeast Asian countires, politics, the social system, the economy, religion, astronomical and atmospheric phenomena, geography, music, science, military affairs, transportation and arts, as well as the modus vivendi of all classes from the royal household to the populace. Therefore these are precious historical materials for Koreanologists and other interested people, clarifying the lifestyle of the Chosun era. Fourth, the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty are highly reliable records based on actual historical facts. For their compilation, historiographers directly collected material, wrote drafts, edited them and published the annals. These historiographers were progessional official legally guaranteed independence in their record-keeping and the right to keep secrets. Thy had to participate in and record all ot eh king's movements and all national affairs to make out the Sacho or "Draft History". Their daily drafts and the various documents and daily records of the king and government offices became the main sources for the compilation of the annals. When a king died, the annals of his reign were started after the coronation of this successor by the Shillok-chong, the Office for Annals Compilation. Nobody was allowed to read the Draft History, not even the king, and any historiographer who disclosed its contents was severely punished. These strict regulations lend gread credibility to these records. Fifth, the Annals of the Chosun Dynasty, printed with movable type, show the sophisticated status and long tradition of Korean printing. |