| Jang Hui-bin | |
|---|---|
| Hangul | 희빈장씨 |
| Hanja | 禧嬪張氏 |
| Revised Romanization | Huibin Jangssi |
| McCune–Reischauer | Hŭibin Jangssi |
Lady Jang Hui-bin (?-1701) is one of the best known royal concubines of the Joseon Dynasty.
She was the daughter of Jang Hyeong (Hangul: 장형, Hanja: 張炯) and Lady Yun of the Papyeong Yun clan, her personal name was Jang Ok-jeong (Hangul: 장옥정, Hanja: 張玉貞).
Ok-jeong became a lady-in-waiting to Queen Dowager Jangnyeol (King Injo's second queen) at the recommendation of Prince Dongpyeong (King Sukjong's first cousin once removed). In 1686, after a visit with his step-great-grandmother (Queen Dowager Jangryeol), King Sukjong saw her and made her his concubine with the title of suk-won.[1] In 1688, she was elevatedto so-ui, and in 1688 was elevated to the rank of hui-bin after giving birth to a son (the future King Gyeongjong). She possibly had a second son, Prince Seongsu, but his identity is disputed. When Queen Inhyeon was deposed & forced into exile in May 1688, Jang hui-bin became Sukjong's third Queen Consort, backed by the Soron faction. Her son was made the Crown Prince.
Later, in 1694, with the reinstatement of Queen Inhyeon, Jang was demoted back to hui-bin. In 1701, Queen Inhyeon died of an unknown disease. It has been said that Jang hui-bin was discovered by Sukjong in her chambers with her brother Jang Hui-jae and Shamanist priestess praying for Inhyeon's death (while striking a figurine with arrows) and her reinstatement. Jang hui-bin, her brother, and anyone involved was arrested and sentenced to death by poisoning, which was carried out on 10 October 1701. She was 42 years old.
After this, on the seventh day of the tenth month in the twenty-seventh year of his reign (1701), Sukjong passed a decree prohibiting concubines from being allowed to become Queens Consort in the future. Jang hui-bin left many folk stories behind including her greed over power, and a story involving right before her death with her son (then the Crown Prince (future King Gyeongjong)).[2]
Nevertheless, as the mother of the Crown Prince, she was given the posthumous title "Lady Oksan, Great Concubine of the Palace; Prefectural Great Concubine of the Indong Jang clan" (대빈궁옥산부대빈장씨 大嬪宮玉山府大嬪張氏).