Cancer?
“To ensure my comfort, Sejong must achieve longevity, and that too, a healthy longevity!” With such a determination, Hyang persistently persuaded Sejong.
“According to the medical texts from the Yuan dynasty obtained through the envoy…” Hyang based his arguments on medical evidence. “I know that Father prefers meat. However, an imbalanced diet disrupts the harmony of yin and yang and the five elements…”
“Excessive consumption of grains along with meat will cloud the blood…” Quoting passages from the medical texts or even laying them out before him, Hyang actively adjusted Sejong’s diet.
He was so proactive that he practically resided in the royal kitchen for a month, urging the cooks and servants.
“The seasoning is too salty! Again!”
“It’s better to eat small amounts frequently rather than binge eating at once. Let’s serve fruits and light snacks to His Majesty in between meals!”
Hyang did not just turn the royal kitchen upside down.
“Is it not shameful for a royal physician to only refer to the medical texts from the Tang dynasty? There are several new texts that have been published since then; you must obtain and read them immediately!”
“If you’ve read the texts, you should act upon them! What are you doing?”
“Is it true that the herbs mentioned in the Chinese texts do not exist in our Joseon? If so, then you should either go find them or discover local herbs with similar effects! Is it not the duty of a royal physician? If you just sit idle, the herbs won’t appear on their own! Go out of the palace and search for herbs at once!”
Under Hyang’s relentless urging, the royal physicians in the inner medical quarters had to sweat it out, researching the latest medical texts and herbs.
“No matter what anyone says, exercise is the best!” Hyang carefully observed what kind of exercise Sejong enjoyed.
Sejong favored stick fighting.
“Stick fighting? It’s similar to golf? Golf… it’s quite a good exercise, but…” After some contemplation, Hyang chose ‘jump rope’ as the exercise.
“It’s funny, but being a king is not a job that allows for much time or space, so jump rope is suitable.” Holding the jump rope made by the craftsmen, Hyang let out a small sigh.
“If making a jump rope is this hard…” Starting from making a light and durable rope for the jump rope to creating sturdy handles, Hyang had to go through considerable trial and error.
“Surely the problem is not the technique but the lack of concept… Do I really have to roll it?” The only unchanging item in Hyang’s mind—due to the need for confidentiality—was the notion that ‘yes, rolling is the way to go.’
As Hyang grew and his synergy with Sejong improved, many would soon find themselves lamenting.
With the jump rope and bells made through much effort, Hyang approached Sejong.
“What is that?”
“This is something I found while searching for medical texts for Father’s health. It’s an exercise involving jumping over a rope, as described in the books of the Westerners.”
“Jumping over a rope?”
“Yes. May I show you the original text?”
“Go ahead.”
As soon as Sejong granted permission, Hyang stepped into the center of the hall, grasped the rope with both hands, and began to jump.
Swish, swish, swish! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!
With each light jump, the bells around Hyang’s ankles chimed cheerfully.
After about ten jumps, Hyang took a light breath and respectfully extended the rope to Sejong.
Receiving the rope, Sejong looked at Hyang.
“It doesn’t seem too difficult. But will this actually help me?”
“Yes, according to the Westerners, ‘if one jumps a hundred times without rest in a day, the lower body will strengthen, minor ailments will disappear, and if a man continues this for several years, his foundation will become strong…’ The next part is hard to interpret, so the Chinese have rephrased it as follows: ‘the relationship between husband and wife will become unbreakable.’”
“Hmm?”
“Ah?”
In that moment, not only Sejong but everyone in the hall—except for the inner attendants—had their eyes widen.
Sejong tightened his grip on the rope and looked at Hyang.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. According to the writings of the Westerners. They also added, ‘those in high positions or those who have been on ships for a long time tend to have weak lower bodies. The best way for men to strengthen their lower bodies is through horseback riding or running, but those in high positions have no time, and those at sea have no space to do so. Thus, this was developed.’”
“Indeed! Truly!”
At Hyang’s elaboration, Sejong clapped his knees in admiration.
His late father and even Taejo had repeatedly emphasized that a man should be strong in horseback riding or running to have a robust lower body.
“Then I must jump a hundred times?”
“Yes.”
“That doesn’t seem too difficult. But what are these bells?”
“They are worn around the ankles. If done correctly, they produce a pleasant sound, and if caught, they make a clattering sound, helping with concentration. Especially, Your Majesty,”
“Yes, Crown Prince.”
“When you jump rope, you must count the bell sounds to reach a hundred. The Westerners wrote, ‘too much is as bad as too little; when starting, aim for thirty continuous jumps, and only then gradually increase the number to a hundred.’”
“I will keep the Crown Prince’s words in mind.”
After conveying the instructions to the attendants, Hyang advised Sejong.
“My greatest wish is for Father to achieve healthy longevity. Please consider your diet and exercise seriously.”
As soon as the Crown Prince finished speaking, the ministers chimed in.
It was a rare opportunity for them to gain favor with the king.
“The Crown Prince’s words are correct! Your Majesty’s health is indeed the most important matter!”
In the end, Sejong began his morning routine by jumping rope after quenching his thirst.
“This is not easy!”
At first, he stumbled over the rope, but gradually, Sejong began to jump over it with ease.
After starting to jump rope, positive changes began to occur in Sejong, the most significant being that he started to see things more clearly.
As Sejong’s complexion improved while he began to see things properly, Hyang smiled with satisfaction.
“Consuming plenty of fiber and stimulating the organs through jump rope, if one does not have smooth bowel movements, what’s the point!”
As rumors spread that jump rope was effective for constipation, the queen and the concubines began to show interest in it as well.
“Crown Prince, if that jump rope is so good, would it be good for me too?”
With the queen dowager taking the lead, Hyang immediately responded.
“Oh! Please forgive my clumsiness!”
Hyang readily answered and quickly created jump ropes for the queen and the concubines.
Upon receiving the colorful jump ropes made from five-colored threads, the queen dowager and the concubines faced another issue.
“The skirts are inconvenient!”
“Should I tell the Crown Prince about this?” After much deliberation, the queen dowager took the lead once more.
“Crown Prince, it’s good to do this jump rope, but there’s a problem with the clothing…”
“I will think of a solution.”
Though he replied, Hyang found it was not an easy task.
“Did I overstep?” Regardless, having given a response, Hyang pondered and found an answer.
He borrowed the design of riding pants favored by Western noblewomen from the late 19th and early 20th centuries and sent it to the clothing department.
When the queen dowager and the concubines received the clothes, they hesitated at the unfamiliar design but soon realized that they were more comfortable to move in than their previous garments, leading them to wear them not only for exercise but also in daily life.
As a result, an unexpected butterfly effect occurred; Sejong’s nightlife became busier.
This was due to the design that subtly emphasized the waist and hips, unlike traditional designs.
The jump rope created by Hyang for Sejong’s health quickly spread throughout the nation.
Amusingly, its speed far surpassed that of the golden pen.
“If the rope doesn’t work, one can use a string, so that’s fine, but the biggest reason was ‘vitality’!”
Reading the documents sent through the inner attendants during the process of supplying the golden pen, Hyang couldn’t help but chuckle.
Among the reports related to jump rope, the highlight was that a country gentleman, who had been frail past sixty, immediately began jumping rope upon hearing the rumors.
However, there was an unexpected butterfly effect that Hyang had never anticipated.
“Riding pants are trending? No way!”
Due to their comfort for both exercise and activity, riding pants favored by the women of the palace began to spread among the noblewomen as well.
“Why?”
As Hyang investigated the cause, he uncovered an unexpected fact.
The riding pants, which subtly revealed the lines of the waist and hips, were the best means to attract men who were out and about.
Moreover, surprisingly, women in early Joseon were quite open-minded and active.
In fact, the customs of the Korean Peninsula had been quite liberal since the Three Kingdoms period, and this trend continued into early Joseon.
In such a social atmosphere, comfortable and somewhat sexy clothing had all the elements to become fashionable.
“Thus, the gate of virtuous women was created…” Hyang recalled the miscellaneous sayings of Teacher Samcheong.
“The fact that they created the gate of virtuous women and even provided benefits is proof that virtuous women were rare!” Just like how the Westerners, or Catholics, searched for ‘saints’!
“Speaking of which, the Tang dynasty’s clothing, which boldly exposed the cleavage, was said to have come from Silla?”
Time steadily passed, and the time for the envoy to depart for Beijing drew near.
Hyang prepared a scenario and educated the envoy team.
“…Therefore, if they come at you like this, I believe the best response is to answer like this.”
“That may be true, but if we do so, it could lead to a falsehood to the emperor, which could cause diplomatic issues.”
“It’s not a lie, is it? It’s true that the state finances wobble every time the Ming envoy comes and that gold and silver are scarce. It’s also true that we want to emulate the Ming system, but we can’t due to the lack of gold and silver. It’s just not entirely accurate. A bit of exaggeration mixed in.”
“If we get caught, it could lead to diplomatic issues.”
At the pointed remark of the chief envoy, Prime Minister Ryu Jeong-hyeon, Hyang glared at him.
“If we get caught, it’s a diplomatic issue…”
“Moreover, the noble class must always be honest…”
“Then, should we tell the emperor that all the warhorses we’ve sent to Ming were bought from the Jurchens and that we made nearly double the profit from the prices we bought them for? Or should we mention that it’s not that gold and silver are scarce, but that we simply don’t mine or extract them?”
“That’s…”
At Hyang’s retort, Prime Minister Ryu Jeong-hyeon found himself at a loss for words.
As he glared at Ryu Jeong-hyeon, Hyang pressed on.
“Are you saying this out of concern for Joseon’s safety, or are you just trying to undermine my spirit?”
“I have never harbored such unthinkable thoughts!”
“Then what would be the correct answer?”
“…I will follow the Crown Prince’s plan.”
Once the Prime Minister surrendered, the meeting proceeded more smoothly.
“According to the original rules set by Ming for envoy missions, we are allowed one every three years with Daewol and Siam. If Ming were to revive this rule, what would we do?”
“Why would Ming want to revive this principle?”
At Hyang’s question, Ho Pan, who had raised the issue, explained the reason.
“Because they may suspect the nature of the envoy mission based on the size of the trading group.”
“If that’s the case, just as we established the Waegwan, ask Ming to create a Joseon Pavilion. It could be mutually beneficial to establish a permanent presence rather than sending envoys.”
“Inner attendants, bring me a map.”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
After a while, looking at the map brought by the inner attendants, Hyang pondered for a long time.
After some time, Hyang continued speaking.
“If only the sea route is allowed, it would be best to establish it in Shandong, and if only the land route is allowed, it would be good to set it up in the Liao River region. Present this to His Majesty for approval.”
“Understood.”
Returning to his room, Hyang let out a sigh.
“Phew~. It seems there’s no answer other than Shandong!”
Chapter 17: Sprouting...
Cancer? End.