In Jeongmi, the most famous female ruler by far is Empress Taejo, who founded the Kim dynasty in 1110 CE and was responsible for the development of several reforms, including the development of jeonggeul.
Empress Taejo was born as Kim Hyohyeon on May 15, 1076 to Kim Dan-won and Lady Eo. Kim Dan-won, her father, had served as a general to Lee Song-heon in his wars to reunify the country.
Due to the family's noble and wealthy status, she had several servants to perform daily tasks for her, allowing her a large amount of free time, much of which was spent on studying, encouraged by her father as the only child of the family. At home, she possessed access to a trove of books regarding politics, government, morality, the military, and other tropics. At the age of 14, she caught Emperor Seongjo's eye and was married to him following his announcement of a new Jeongmian dynasty, becoming Empress Hyohyeon.
Her inability to perform many domestic tasks related to being Empress and the stillbirth of her first child in 1092 resulted in her falling from favor and the Emperor favoring various concubines and other consorts, although she remained the de jure main Empress consort of the Emperor. During this period, she was able to continue on focusing on her studies.
She was nearly demoted from being Empress after Consort Oh bore the Emperor a son in 1094, which Hyohyeon had failed to do so at the time. It was only due to the influence her father had with the Emperor and the imperial court that she was able to remain in her position.
In late 1096, she bore the Emperor a son, Prince Lee Wang, the future Emperor Sindeok, which greatly improved her position at the court and among the royal family.
Following the birth of her son, she and her allies at the court, including her father, began to engage in retaliation against those who had argued for the Empress' demotion for initially having been unable to bear a son. The officials Oh Heon-u and Nam Cheol were executed in 1098 after accusations of treason against the Emperor.
During the autumn of 1102, Emperor Seongjo had a stroke, and Hyohyeon requested that only she be allowed to tend to him, which was accepted. The Emperor remained weak throughout the rest of his life, and she grew increasingly influential in making governmental decisions, soon making most of the major decisions of government in the name of the Emperor. While the Emperor was recovering from the immediate effects of his stroke, she accused his favored concubine, Consort Oh, of having cursed him with the stroke through witchcraft, and had her executed, while her son and Seonjo's firstborn Lee Jeong was sent into exile. Asserting her position as Empress, she forced numerous other rivals and suspected rivals into exile.
During this period, Empress Hyohyeon gave heavy support to the growing and reformist Sinsa, or New Scholar faction, led largely by Lee Taek, a young and handsome official whom she was engaged with in a romantic and sexual relationship, to much controversy. Members of other factions of the court were largely suppressed and the Sinsa grew increasingly in control of the imperial examination system.
On January 4, 1110, Emperor Seongjo passed away suddenly while in decent health, shortly after discovering the relationship between Empress Hyohyeon and Lee taek. Contemporary accounts from her rivals claim that after making multiple major government decisions on behalf of the Emperor, she grew power hungry enough that she poisoned the Emperor herself.
Upon the death of Seongjo, Hyohyeon called for a twenty-seven day period of mourning, but also stated that rather than having power pass onto her son, she would rule as Empress Taejo of the Kim dynasty. This caused a deep amount of controversy, not only due to the declaration of a new dynasty, but also due to the fact that the Empress was a woman and seemed to be betraying her deceased husband. Many prominent and able officials resigned, including the Prime Minister.
Lee Taek was appointed as the new Prime Minister, a controversial move to even some members of the Sinsa faction. During this period, the Sinsa faction obtained complete control of the government, and numerous reforms and projects were undertaken. Among these were the development of jeonggeul, the payment of labor in cash as opposed to corvée labor, and direct government loans paid to farmers during the planting season.
Even prior to having become Empress, Taejo greatly promoted and advanced laws which raised the status and treatment of women in Jeongmi. Forced prostitution was outlawed, and several brothels were closed down during her reign. Women were allowed greater property, marriage, and divorce rights, and the death penalty was instituted for rape.
Taejo grew seriously in the winter of 1161, and remained bedridden for the rest of the year. She died on the evening of 16 September, 1161, and was succeeded by her son, Emperor Sindeok.
During her fifty-one years as empress regnant, the third-longest of any Kim monarch, she oversaw the development of jeonggeul, consolidated and centralized imperial power, expanded the size of the empire to the south, and encouraged trade and scientific development throughout the empire.
Taejo has been noted for overseeing the development of jeonggeul early in her reign, as well for being one of the only females to hold the title of hwangje in Jeongmian history and the only female Sinju monarch to start her own dynasty. In the modern era, she has been the subject of numerous works of popular culture, being featured in various books, video games, and shows.
Due to the family's noble and wealthy status, she had several servants to perform daily tasks for her, allowing her a large amount of free time, much of which was spent on studying, encouraged by her father as the only child of the family. At home, she possessed access to a trove of books regarding politics, government, morality, the military, and other tropics. At the age of 14, she caught Emperor Seongjo's eye and was married to him following his announcement of a new Jeongmian dynasty, becoming Empress Hyohyeon.
Her inability to perform many domestic tasks related to being Empress and the stillbirth of her first child in 1092 resulted in her falling from favor and the Emperor favoring various concubines and other consorts, although she remained the de jure main Empress consort of the Emperor. During this period, she was able to continue on focusing on her studies.
She was nearly demoted from being Empress after Consort Oh bore the Emperor a son in 1094, which Hyohyeon had failed to do so at the time. It was only due to the influence her father had with the Emperor and the imperial court that she was able to remain in her position.
In late 1096, she bore the Emperor a son, Prince Lee Wang, the future Emperor Sindeok, which greatly improved her position at the court and among the royal family.
Following the birth of her son, she and her allies at the court, including her father, began to engage in retaliation against those who had argued for the Empress' demotion for initially having been unable to bear a son. The officials Oh Heon-u and Nam Cheol were executed in 1098 after accusations of treason against the Emperor.
During the autumn of 1102, Emperor Seongjo had a stroke, and Hyohyeon requested that only she be allowed to tend to him, which was accepted. The Emperor remained weak throughout the rest of his life, and she grew increasingly influential in making governmental decisions, soon making most of the major decisions of government in the name of the Emperor. While the Emperor was recovering from the immediate effects of his stroke, she accused his favored concubine, Consort Oh, of having cursed him with the stroke through witchcraft, and had her executed, while her son and Seonjo's firstborn Lee Jeong was sent into exile. Asserting her position as Empress, she forced numerous other rivals and suspected rivals into exile.
During this period, Empress Hyohyeon gave heavy support to the growing and reformist Sinsa, or New Scholar faction, led largely by Lee Taek, a young and handsome official whom she was engaged with in a romantic and sexual relationship, to much controversy. Members of other factions of the court were largely suppressed and the Sinsa grew increasingly in control of the imperial examination system.
On January 4, 1110, Emperor Seongjo passed away suddenly while in decent health, shortly after discovering the relationship between Empress Hyohyeon and Lee taek. Contemporary accounts from her rivals claim that after making multiple major government decisions on behalf of the Emperor, she grew power hungry enough that she poisoned the Emperor herself.
Upon the death of Seongjo, Hyohyeon called for a twenty-seven day period of mourning, but also stated that rather than having power pass onto her son, she would rule as Empress Taejo of the Kim dynasty. This caused a deep amount of controversy, not only due to the declaration of a new dynasty, but also due to the fact that the Empress was a woman and seemed to be betraying her deceased husband. Many prominent and able officials resigned, including the Prime Minister.
Lee Taek was appointed as the new Prime Minister, a controversial move to even some members of the Sinsa faction. During this period, the Sinsa faction obtained complete control of the government, and numerous reforms and projects were undertaken. Among these were the development of jeonggeul, the payment of labor in cash as opposed to corvée labor, and direct government loans paid to farmers during the planting season.
Even prior to having become Empress, Taejo greatly promoted and advanced laws which raised the status and treatment of women in Jeongmi. Forced prostitution was outlawed, and several brothels were closed down during her reign. Women were allowed greater property, marriage, and divorce rights, and the death penalty was instituted for rape.
Taejo grew seriously in the winter of 1161, and remained bedridden for the rest of the year. She died on the evening of 16 September, 1161, and was succeeded by her son, Emperor Sindeok.
During her fifty-one years as empress regnant, the third-longest of any Kim monarch, she oversaw the development of jeonggeul, consolidated and centralized imperial power, expanded the size of the empire to the south, and encouraged trade and scientific development throughout the empire.
Taejo has been noted for overseeing the development of jeonggeul early in her reign, as well for being one of the only females to hold the title of hwangje in Jeongmian history and the only female Sinju monarch to start her own dynasty. In the modern era, she has been the subject of numerous works of popular culture, being featured in various books, video games, and shows.