Choong-moo
tul (30 moves)
In his encyclopaedia General Choi told us:
Choong-Moo was the name given to the great
Admiral Yi Sun-Sin of the Lee Dynasty. He was reputed to have invented the first
armoured battleship (Kobukson) in 1592, which is said to be the precursor to
the present day submarine. The reason why this pattern ends with a left hand
attack is to symbolize his regrettable death, having no chance to show his
unrestrained potentiality, checked by the forced reservation of his loyalty to
the king.
What
I’ve discovered
A particular favourite of mine, Admiral Yi Sun-Sin
(1545-1598) was a man of great honour, courage and loyalty.
In his war diaries I read of a man completing his duties
in spite of life’s problems; be it a common cold or the death of his mother.
Admiral Yi won the hearts of his men and designed
the famed turtle boats (Kobukson), which were like floating fortresses, over 30
metres long and armour plated, they had spikes on top to prevent the enemy
boarding.
The Kobukson had a form of smoke screen, which came
out of the ‘dragon’s mouth’ at the front of the boat and also shot flames of
sulphur and gunpowder, like an ancient flame-thrower.
Admiral Yi
had his men make salt in order to provide the money for all of his supplies.
His Kobukson were able to destroy a great number of
enemy ships in many encounters; one of these famous encounters was the
Hansan-do sea battle where 73 Japanese ships were destroyed using Yi’s famous
‘Crane Wing’ formation.
Much free time was spent in practising archery and
this time was proven well spent, when Yi’s best archer shot an arrow through
the Japanese Admiral’s throat while he sat aboard his ship; thus scattering the
fleet in a panic.
Yi’s tactics were to pursue and ram the Japanese,
his traps and inventions were the keys to his success and he was able to
prevent the enemy receiving supplies and reinforcements.
It was at this time that the inner court of the
Korean Government was in inner turmoil with disputes making any kind of
decision-making very difficult.
Admiral Yi faced constant enmity from the jealous
Admiral Won Kyun, who repeatedly falsified reports and orders in order to harm
Admiral Yi in the eyes of the Court.
Admiral Won got the title Supreme Naval Commander
after false accusations finally resulted in Admiral Yi’s imprisonment.
Admiral Yi was accused of: ’Stealing the hearts of
the people and attempting to usurp the throne of the king.’ (
Because of Admiral Yi’s many victories over the
Japanese navy he had many supporters at Court, instead of facing the death
sentence for treason; Yi was imprisoned and demoted to a common foot soldier.
Yi Sun-Sin took this demotion with humility and
continued to serve his country as best he could.
Admiral Won Kyun was repeatedly beaten by the
Japanese fleet; his failure to defeat the Japanese, resulted in his capture and
beheading.
The Court finally found Admiral Yi to be innocent
of all charges.
It was after
this that Admiral Yi was once again promoted to Supreme Naval Commander; with
only 12 of his ships remaining and gathering 120 of his men en route; he was
again victorious in battle at sea.
He finally died during yet another battle, when at
the moment of victory, he was caught by a stray bullet and Admiral Yi is
reported to have requested that his men not be told until after the battle was
over.
‘Do not
weep! Do not announce my death! Beat the drum! We are still fighting!
Finish the enemy to the last one!’ (ibid.)
The posthumous title awarded in 1643, Choong-Moo
represents Loyalty and Chivalry.
For
sources of this information please see the bibliography section of the site.
Website Copyright Zoey Fendt ©2007- no unauthorised copying allowed.
