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ljwritesI have taken many liberties with the excerpt in Chapter 18 of Shadow of the Dragon King, both for space and for relevance to the story. Since I don't want to mislead anyone on the historical record, though, here is a full translation of the scene(s) I used:
(Cut out brief description of the prince's life, erratic behavior, and increasing conflict with his father. For more on the Annals of Choson and Prince Sado, see this historical background post.)
上行禮畢, 世子行四拜禮于庭中畢, 上忽叩掌下敎曰: “諸臣亦聞神語乎? 貞聖王后丁寧謂予曰, ‘變在呼吸之間。’
After His Majesty finished the procession and the Crown Prince bowed four times to him, the king suddenly clapped and spoke: "Have you here present heard my words? Truly I say to you, my Lady Queen Jeongseong* has told me that treason is afoot."
* Queen Consort Jeongseong was Yeongjo's chief wife and Sado's adoptive mother. Sado was born to a minor concubine and, as the only available heir, was taken in infancy from his birth mother to be adopted by Jeongseong. The Queen Consort had been dead for five years at this point, though, so Yeongjo is talking about seeing her in a dream or visitation.
乃命挾輦軍 牢塞殿門四五匝 又令摠管等排侍, 向宮墻露刃。
He then ordered the palace guard to block the doors four and five deep, then had guard captains and others stand full guard with their swords to the palace walls.
攔宮城門, 吹角會軍護衛, 禁人出入, 雖卿宰無一人入來者, 獨領議政申晩入來。
The doors of the palace were blocked, horns blown to summon soldiers, and entry forbidden, with the Prime Minister Shin Man alone entering.
上命世子伏地脫冠, 徒跣扣頭, 仍下不忍聞之敎, 促其自裁, 世子扣額血出。
His Majesty the King ordered the Crown Prince to doff his crown and prostrate himself barefoot, then urged him to kill himself with words that this scribe could not bear to hear. Blood flowed from the Crown Prince's bowed head.*
* You can see I left out the parts about the prince being ordered to kill himself, to better fit Zuko's background. Sado's head was probably bleeding because he was banging it on the ground to show his contrition. It may be related to another account of him attempting to kill himself by bashing his head on a rock when his retainers wouldn't let him die.
申晩、左議政洪鳳漢、判府事鄭翬良、都承旨李彛章、承旨韓光肇等入來, 未及陳言。
Shin Man, the Deputy Minister Hong Bong-han*, Lord Jeong Hwi-ryang, Royal Secretary Lee Yi-jang, Deputy Secretary Han Gwang-jo and others entered, but dared not speak.
* Hong was also Sado's father-in-law. As you can see, these supposedly sealed-tight doors turn out to be rather porous. The people who entered were probably high-ranking enough to bully their way through, and may have had soldiers of their own.
上命罷三大臣及韓光肇, 四人皆出。
His Majesty ordered the dismissal of the three retainers and Han Gwang-jo, and the four men went from him.
世孫入來, 脫冠袍伏于世子後, 上抱送于侍講院, 命金聖應父子, 守衛毋得復入。
The royal grandson entered, doffed his crown and royal robes, and prostrated himself behind the Crown Prince.* The king ordered his grandson picked up and sent to his tutor, then ordered Kim Seong-eung and his son to guard the young prince so he could not enter again.
* This is Lee San, Sado's eleven-year-old son. He would later reign king of Choson after his grandfather Yeongjo.
上持劎連下不敢聞之敎, 促東宮自決, 世子欲自經, 爲春坊諸臣所解。
The king took up a sword and urged the Crown Prince's suicide over and over with terrible words the scribe could not bear to hear. The Crown Prince attempted to comply, but his retainers in the House of Spring* remonstrated.
* Meaning the bureaucratic apparatus that served the crown prince. The men in the House of Spring served Sado personally and were loyal to him. It would also have been treason for them not to stop the Crown Prince from killing himself, since Yeongjo could very well changed his mind and then blame anyone who carried out his fatal order.
上仍下廢爲庶人之命。
His Majesty then ordered the Crown Prince stripped of his title as a disgraced royal.
時申晩ㆍ洪鳳漢ㆍ鄭翬良復入, 不敢諫, 諸臣亦不敢爭。
At this time Shin Man, Hong Bong-han, and Jeong Hwi-ryang entered again but did not dare to speak, and the other retainers did not dare gainsay His Majesty.
上使侍衛軍兵, 驅出春坊諸臣, 獨翰林林德躋牢伏而不去, 上嚴敎曰: “廢世子, 豈有史官?”
The king ordered the guardsmen present to expel the Crown Prince's retainers in the House of Spring. Only Yim Deok-jae, a royal scribe, prostrated himself firmly in place and refused to move. The king said: "There is no more Crown Prince. How can he have a scribe?"
使人扶掖以出, 世子扶德躋衣, 哭而隨出曰: “爾亦出去, 余將疇依?”
He then ordered the scribe dragged out. The Crown Prince wept as he grabbed hold of Yim's robe, saying: "Whom can I rely on if even you are to leave me?"
乃出殿門, 問于春坊諸僚, 事將奈何?
Then the Crown Prince left his father's doorsteps* and asked the retainers in the House of Spring what he should do.
* The palace was a compound of several large buildings, with the king's quarters in the center and the crown prince's in the east, etc. A common euphemism for the crown prince was "East Palace" for this reason.
司書任晟曰: “事當復入殿庭, 以待處分。”
Yim Seong, his interlocutor of texts, said: "As it stands, you must return to the main palace and await your royal father's pleasure."
世子哭而復入, 伏地哀乞, 請改過爲善。
Thus, weeping out loud, the Crown Prince went again before his father's door, begging prostrate to be allowed to redeem himself.*
* I cut out all the parts about the people who interceded on the Crown Prince's behalf, or failed to, and also the change in scene, again to make it more similar to the Agni Kai scene.
上敎愈嚴, 微陳暎嬪之所告, 暎嬪卽世子誕生母李氏, 而有所密告於上者也。
His Majesty's words grew yet more severe and he stated the essentials of what his royal concubine had told him. The royal concubine was Lady Lee, the Crown Prince's birth mother, and the one who had accused him in secret to the King.*
* Yeah, dun-DUN! Not only does his adoptive mother supposedly make a posthumous appearance to accuse him, his birth mother was against him, too.
都承旨李彛章曰: “殿下以深宮一女子之言, 動搖國本乎?”
Royal Secretary Lee Yi-Jang said, "Would Your Majesty shake the foundation of the country* on the words of a woman deep in the palace?"
* Foundation of the country (國本), or root of the nation, was a respectful epithet for the position of crown prince. He was the promise of the dynasty's continuation, after all. As you can see the "palace woman" in the original was the prince's mother, not his sister--although at least on of his sisters was also sympathetic to the Noron faction and hostile to him. Heck, even Sado's wife was from a major Noron family.
上震怒, 命亟正邦刑, 旋寢其命。
The king, incensed, ordered Secretary Lee flogged, then quickly rescinded the order.*
* This is also the same Royal Secretary who was supposed to be fired earlier. Our good king is not at his most stable when he's ordering his son to kill himself, it seems. Similarly, all the men he'd fired earlier went on to have prestigious careers, with a period of exile for speaking out against this treatment of Sado (Yim Deok-je) or for failure to speak for the prince (Shin Man). It's almost like there were two kings, one determined to destroy his son and the other mourning him.
遂命世子幽囚, 世孫倉皇入來。
At last he ordered the Crown Prince deeply confined, at which point the royal grandson came before him in all haste.*
* Can you imagine what this young boy went through? As the next heir was one of the few people who could speak to the king without fear of losing his life, and he probably had half the place begging him to intercede with his grandfather for his father. By one account Yim Deok-je, the brave scribe from earlier, actually carried the royal grandson on his back to bring him before the king. By all rights the kid should have been messed up for life. That's not what happened, though, as I describe in the background post.
上命嬪宮世孫及諸王孫, 送于左議政洪鳳漢第, 時夜已過半矣。
The king ordered his concubines, the royal grandson, and many royal children sent to the home of Deputy Minister Hong Bong-han.* The night was half gone by this time.
* First he's "fired," then he's entrusted with the women and children of the royal family! Though maybe it's not too surprising, given his ties to said family, and the fact hat he's the presumptive heir's maternal grandfather.
上乃下傳敎, 頒示中外, 傳敎史官諱而不敢書。
The king ordered an official proclamation to be posted far and wide, but the scribe did not dare write it.
- 英祖實錄 三十八年 壬午年 閏五月 十三日
- The thirteenth day of the leap month of May, in this the thirty-eighth year of the Annals of Yeongjo, a Year of Black Ox (the equivalent of A.D. 1762)
Then the account of the actual death and part of the aftermath, just eight days later:
思悼世子 薨逝。
The Crown Prince Sado passed away.
敎曰: “旣聞此報之後, 豈不思近卅載父子之恩乎? 顧世孫之心, 諒大臣之意, 只復其號, 而兼謚以名曰 思悼世子。
The king proclaimed: "I have already heard the report. How can I not look back on the bond between father and son of almost thirty years? In consideration of the royal grandson's grief and the will of my retainers I will recover his title and give him the posthumous title of Crown Prince Sado."
- 閏五月 二十一日
- The twenty-first day of the leap month of May
(Cut out brief description of the prince's life, erratic behavior, and increasing conflict with his father. For more on the Annals of Choson and Prince Sado, see this historical background post.)
上行禮畢, 世子行四拜禮于庭中畢, 上忽叩掌下敎曰: “諸臣亦聞神語乎? 貞聖王后丁寧謂予曰, ‘變在呼吸之間。’
After His Majesty finished the procession and the Crown Prince bowed four times to him, the king suddenly clapped and spoke: "Have you here present heard my words? Truly I say to you, my Lady Queen Jeongseong* has told me that treason is afoot."
* Queen Consort Jeongseong was Yeongjo's chief wife and Sado's adoptive mother. Sado was born to a minor concubine and, as the only available heir, was taken in infancy from his birth mother to be adopted by Jeongseong. The Queen Consort had been dead for five years at this point, though, so Yeongjo is talking about seeing her in a dream or visitation.
乃命挾輦軍 牢塞殿門四五匝 又令摠管等排侍, 向宮墻露刃。
He then ordered the palace guard to block the doors four and five deep, then had guard captains and others stand full guard with their swords to the palace walls.
攔宮城門, 吹角會軍護衛, 禁人出入, 雖卿宰無一人入來者, 獨領議政申晩入來。
The doors of the palace were blocked, horns blown to summon soldiers, and entry forbidden, with the Prime Minister Shin Man alone entering.
上命世子伏地脫冠, 徒跣扣頭, 仍下不忍聞之敎, 促其自裁, 世子扣額血出。
His Majesty the King ordered the Crown Prince to doff his crown and prostrate himself barefoot, then urged him to kill himself with words that this scribe could not bear to hear. Blood flowed from the Crown Prince's bowed head.*
* You can see I left out the parts about the prince being ordered to kill himself, to better fit Zuko's background. Sado's head was probably bleeding because he was banging it on the ground to show his contrition. It may be related to another account of him attempting to kill himself by bashing his head on a rock when his retainers wouldn't let him die.
申晩、左議政洪鳳漢、判府事鄭翬良、都承旨李彛章、承旨韓光肇等入來, 未及陳言。
Shin Man, the Deputy Minister Hong Bong-han*, Lord Jeong Hwi-ryang, Royal Secretary Lee Yi-jang, Deputy Secretary Han Gwang-jo and others entered, but dared not speak.
* Hong was also Sado's father-in-law. As you can see, these supposedly sealed-tight doors turn out to be rather porous. The people who entered were probably high-ranking enough to bully their way through, and may have had soldiers of their own.
上命罷三大臣及韓光肇, 四人皆出。
His Majesty ordered the dismissal of the three retainers and Han Gwang-jo, and the four men went from him.
世孫入來, 脫冠袍伏于世子後, 上抱送于侍講院, 命金聖應父子, 守衛毋得復入。
The royal grandson entered, doffed his crown and royal robes, and prostrated himself behind the Crown Prince.* The king ordered his grandson picked up and sent to his tutor, then ordered Kim Seong-eung and his son to guard the young prince so he could not enter again.
* This is Lee San, Sado's eleven-year-old son. He would later reign king of Choson after his grandfather Yeongjo.
上持劎連下不敢聞之敎, 促東宮自決, 世子欲自經, 爲春坊諸臣所解。
The king took up a sword and urged the Crown Prince's suicide over and over with terrible words the scribe could not bear to hear. The Crown Prince attempted to comply, but his retainers in the House of Spring* remonstrated.
* Meaning the bureaucratic apparatus that served the crown prince. The men in the House of Spring served Sado personally and were loyal to him. It would also have been treason for them not to stop the Crown Prince from killing himself, since Yeongjo could very well changed his mind and then blame anyone who carried out his fatal order.
上仍下廢爲庶人之命。
His Majesty then ordered the Crown Prince stripped of his title as a disgraced royal.
時申晩ㆍ洪鳳漢ㆍ鄭翬良復入, 不敢諫, 諸臣亦不敢爭。
At this time Shin Man, Hong Bong-han, and Jeong Hwi-ryang entered again but did not dare to speak, and the other retainers did not dare gainsay His Majesty.
上使侍衛軍兵, 驅出春坊諸臣, 獨翰林林德躋牢伏而不去, 上嚴敎曰: “廢世子, 豈有史官?”
The king ordered the guardsmen present to expel the Crown Prince's retainers in the House of Spring. Only Yim Deok-jae, a royal scribe, prostrated himself firmly in place and refused to move. The king said: "There is no more Crown Prince. How can he have a scribe?"
使人扶掖以出, 世子扶德躋衣, 哭而隨出曰: “爾亦出去, 余將疇依?”
He then ordered the scribe dragged out. The Crown Prince wept as he grabbed hold of Yim's robe, saying: "Whom can I rely on if even you are to leave me?"
乃出殿門, 問于春坊諸僚, 事將奈何?
Then the Crown Prince left his father's doorsteps* and asked the retainers in the House of Spring what he should do.
* The palace was a compound of several large buildings, with the king's quarters in the center and the crown prince's in the east, etc. A common euphemism for the crown prince was "East Palace" for this reason.
司書任晟曰: “事當復入殿庭, 以待處分。”
Yim Seong, his interlocutor of texts, said: "As it stands, you must return to the main palace and await your royal father's pleasure."
世子哭而復入, 伏地哀乞, 請改過爲善。
Thus, weeping out loud, the Crown Prince went again before his father's door, begging prostrate to be allowed to redeem himself.*
* I cut out all the parts about the people who interceded on the Crown Prince's behalf, or failed to, and also the change in scene, again to make it more similar to the Agni Kai scene.
上敎愈嚴, 微陳暎嬪之所告, 暎嬪卽世子誕生母李氏, 而有所密告於上者也。
His Majesty's words grew yet more severe and he stated the essentials of what his royal concubine had told him. The royal concubine was Lady Lee, the Crown Prince's birth mother, and the one who had accused him in secret to the King.*
* Yeah, dun-DUN! Not only does his adoptive mother supposedly make a posthumous appearance to accuse him, his birth mother was against him, too.
都承旨李彛章曰: “殿下以深宮一女子之言, 動搖國本乎?”
Royal Secretary Lee Yi-Jang said, "Would Your Majesty shake the foundation of the country* on the words of a woman deep in the palace?"
* Foundation of the country (國本), or root of the nation, was a respectful epithet for the position of crown prince. He was the promise of the dynasty's continuation, after all. As you can see the "palace woman" in the original was the prince's mother, not his sister--although at least on of his sisters was also sympathetic to the Noron faction and hostile to him. Heck, even Sado's wife was from a major Noron family.
上震怒, 命亟正邦刑, 旋寢其命。
The king, incensed, ordered Secretary Lee flogged, then quickly rescinded the order.*
* This is also the same Royal Secretary who was supposed to be fired earlier. Our good king is not at his most stable when he's ordering his son to kill himself, it seems. Similarly, all the men he'd fired earlier went on to have prestigious careers, with a period of exile for speaking out against this treatment of Sado (Yim Deok-je) or for failure to speak for the prince (Shin Man). It's almost like there were two kings, one determined to destroy his son and the other mourning him.
遂命世子幽囚, 世孫倉皇入來。
At last he ordered the Crown Prince deeply confined, at which point the royal grandson came before him in all haste.*
* Can you imagine what this young boy went through? As the next heir was one of the few people who could speak to the king without fear of losing his life, and he probably had half the place begging him to intercede with his grandfather for his father. By one account Yim Deok-je, the brave scribe from earlier, actually carried the royal grandson on his back to bring him before the king. By all rights the kid should have been messed up for life. That's not what happened, though, as I describe in the background post.
上命嬪宮世孫及諸王孫, 送于左議政洪鳳漢第, 時夜已過半矣。
The king ordered his concubines, the royal grandson, and many royal children sent to the home of Deputy Minister Hong Bong-han.* The night was half gone by this time.
* First he's "fired," then he's entrusted with the women and children of the royal family! Though maybe it's not too surprising, given his ties to said family, and the fact hat he's the presumptive heir's maternal grandfather.
上乃下傳敎, 頒示中外, 傳敎史官諱而不敢書。
The king ordered an official proclamation to be posted far and wide, but the scribe did not dare write it.
- 英祖實錄 三十八年 壬午年 閏五月 十三日
- The thirteenth day of the leap month of May, in this the thirty-eighth year of the Annals of Yeongjo, a Year of Black Ox (the equivalent of A.D. 1762)
Then the account of the actual death and part of the aftermath, just eight days later:
思悼世子 薨逝。
The Crown Prince Sado passed away.
敎曰: “旣聞此報之後, 豈不思近卅載父子之恩乎? 顧世孫之心, 諒大臣之意, 只復其號, 而兼謚以名曰 思悼世子。
The king proclaimed: "I have already heard the report. How can I not look back on the bond between father and son of almost thirty years? In consideration of the royal grandson's grief and the will of my retainers I will recover his title and give him the posthumous title of Crown Prince Sado."
- 閏五月 二十一日
- The twenty-first day of the leap month of May
