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| The road leading to Empress Myeongseong's tomb in the early 1900s Robert Neff Collection |
By Robert Neff
The funeral procession made its way through the city and out the East Gate where it slowly but steadily made its final push to the tomb site. As mentioned yesterday, the foreign representatives did not accompany the funeral procession so their accounts to their respective governments lacked any description of the procession's progress through the city and instead enclosed clippings from the English-language edition of The Independent.
When the funeral procession reached the tomb site, the imperial coffin was placed in the main sacrificial building at the foot of the hill leading to the mausoleum. It remained here ― lying in this state ― until the emperor and the crown prince arrived and the final part of the funeral would be concluded.
Emperor Gojong and the crown prince (guarded by Korean soldiers and four Russian non-commissioned officers) ― and accompanied by the foreign diplomats and their guests ― arrived a few hours later. The diplomats were each "provided with newly finished rooms with the necessary furniture" and every effort was made to ensure they were comfortable.
Late in the evening, a dinner was given ― the meal was furnished by Felix Bijno, the Italian proprietor of Seoul Hotel ― and the dining room was described as being "rather too crowded for comfort and the assembled guests were thoroughly cosmopolitan." Surprisingly, the usually dour Horace N. Allen, the American minister to Korea, was actually impressed and described the dinner as being "elaborate."
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| An overall view of Empress Myeongseong's tomb site in the early 1900s Robert Neff Collection |
After the dinner, the guests returned to their accommodations and attempted to grab some sleep before the final part of the funeral. One exception, however, appears to have been the writer for The Korean Repository, as evidenced by his account:
"The spectacular effect of the thousands of lamps in long rows along the main road and the camp-fires where squads of soldiers gathered to keep warm, was very impressive. All [through] the night prayers and wailing continued before the bier in the temple in front of the tomb."
Finally, somewhere between 2 a.m. and 3 a.m. on Monday, the foreign diplomats were invited to pay their last respects to the empress. Under the supervision of Emperor Gojong and the crown prince, each diplomat entered the main sacrificial building and bowed before the imperial casket. After the final respects were paid, the casket was lifted up and solemnly conveyed to the final resting place. According to The Independent:
"It was a tedious process and a difficult one. The hill is so steep and slippery that carrying up the heavy casket was very trying to the bearers. His Majesty personally directed the work and he appeared to be very anxious to have the casket conveyed to its last resting place without mishap. After an hour's hard work the bearers reached the level ground where a wooden track was made leading to the mausoleum. The casket was laid on the track, and by a slight pushing, it smoothly reached the edge of the grave."
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| Empress Myeongseong's tomb site circa early 1900s Robert Neff Collection |
It seems somewhat strange that the Westerners present deigned to describe the tomb in any detail. Allen, who was definitely not shy about recording his observations, said nothing about the tomb either in his personal letters, official reports or in the books he later published. Korean tombs have always been a source of curiosity to foreigners, especially in the bars and taverns of the open ports in Japan and China in the late 19th century, when it was rumored they were filled with gold and other treasures. I remember as a young soldier hearing many rumors as to how the dead were buried in Korea ― most of which, naturally, were incorrect. Fortunately, the writer for the newspaper did provide some details:
"The mausoleum is about five and half feet [1.7 meters in] depth and the floor is ten feet [3 meters] square. The walls and floor were packed with lime and sand … The front part was filled in with stone boxes, which contains the personal effect of Her Majesty, such as jewelry, clothes, books, toilet articles, etc. About three feet [0.9 meters] from the edge of the grave a solid granite wall was built in circular form attaining a height of three feet. The inside of the wall will be filled in with earth until the top of the grave will be eight feet from the base of the granite wall…. The base will be sixteen feet [4.9 meters] and the height eight feet [2.4 meters]."
At about 7 a.m., the coffin was lowered slowly into the grave. The Korean Repository poetically described the scene: "[Just] as the day was breaking in the eastern sky, the coffin, under the immediate imperial supervision and with tears and wailing, was lowered and laid away in the inner tomb. Empress Min is buried at last."
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| A close-up of the tomb in the early 1900s Robert Neff Collection |
She may have been buried but the rituals were not finished. The spirit horses were immediately burned after the coffin was lowered safely into its tomb, so that her soul could ride upon them into the afterlife. Allen noted that the "similar grotesque figures for frightening off or propitiating evil spirits" were also burned at this time.
The Korean soldiers brought in from the provinces remained in their camps on the surrounding hills and guarded the tomb site throughout the night. As for the emperor, diplomats and invited guests, they returned to Seoul, arriving at about 5 p.m.
The Independent declared that the funeral was a "remarkable event [that] will never be forgotten by those who took part in it in any capacity." It went on to add, "We are glad the great function passed off without any hitch and that the weather was so favorable."
However, not everyone had nice things to say about the event ― including The Independent ― as we will see in the next article.
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| A view of the tomb and the stone figures around it in the early 1900s Robert Neff Collection |
Robert Neff has authored and co-authored several books including, Letters from Joseon, Korea Through Western Eyes and Brief Encounters.
