(312) Family feud reflected in saju

BY Janet Shin

Many families, especially the rich and powerful, experience discord in their relations over property and other inheritances. A family feud can occur not only among siblings but also between a father and his sons.

The recent battle between two brothers in Lotte Group revealed many problems in their family. It is seemingly being wrapped up but no satisfactory agreement has yet been reached. The death of Lee Maeng-hee, the older brother of Lee Kun-hee and the eldest son of Lee Byung-chul, the founder of Samsung, reminded people of the family’s painful story, which ended up with the death of the eldest son overseas.

If we look at other chaebol families, a lot more of them have gone or are going through the succession issue. Accession by the eldest son has long been a convention since the Kingdom periods. But looking back on our history, the Joseon era (1392-1910), for example, among 27 kings and 29 crown princes during about 500 years, only seven first-born sons took the throne. Health reasons causing early death played a part, while strife among princes also altered the royal succession.

Lee Bang-won (1367-1422), the fifth son of King Taejo, the founder of the Joseon Kingdom, who became the third king, struck against the appointment of his brother as successor. In the process, he killed his brothers, including the crown prince, as well as the then prime minister, Jeong Do-jeon, and other opponents.

An overwhelmingly tragic case was the relationship between Crown Prince Sado (1735-1762) and his father, King Yeongjo (1694-1776). Sado was put to death at his father’s command. The method of execution was grotesquely cruel ― he was put inside a wooden rice chest. According to history, discrepancies in their political views caused their conflict, but it also was obviously related to the desire for absolute power.

There is a delicate contention between a father and his sons and it becomes severe when it comes to sibling rivalry. In saju, the relationship between the father and son is portrayed by the interaction between the day master and the opposite element that is in collision with the day master. For instance, a water day master has a fire element as his or her father and for a wood day master, a metal element represents it. The father element is the energy that is meant to be overcome by the day master.

On the other hand, if a saju has many friend stars, which represent siblings, it is likely to have a dispute over succession. The person with this saju composition, especially when his money star is not sufficient, is apt to be greedy as he has to compete for a restricted property with his rivals. On the other hand, the strife of brothers does not arise when there is no money star. Those who have many friend stars usually are apt to compete with others.

A favorable factor to intervene so that they can be harmonized is a career star that restricts the day master. If so, the day master becomes considerate of others, decent and tolerant, having a law-abiding manner. Those who do not have a career star are uncontrollable and selfish.

We cannot judge which is good, to have a rich father and competition among siblings over the inheritance or to have nothing to contest.

Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny”? For further information, visit Janet’s website at www.fourpillarskorea.com, contact her at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com. The writer is the author of “Life’s Secrets.” The writer is the author of “Life’s Secrets”.