Wang U

Timeline

1. 1100–1105Gaeseong (Gaegyeong) · GaegyeongMade crown prince in 1100. After his father King Sukjong died in 1105, Wang U acceded at the Junggwang Hall in Gaegyeong, taking the temple name Yejong and beginning a reign of seventeen years.
2. 1106–1118Gaeseong · GaegyeongYejong promoted Daoism and Confucianism, ordered lectures on the Daodejing, imported Daoist elements from Song, and built Goryeo's first Daoist temple, Bokwanggung. The Bommun Hall hosted lectures on classics and histories; he made good use of civil officials such as Kim Buryul and Kim Buryeol, and court music and literary activities flourished.
3. 1107–1111Goryeo's northeastern frontier · Northeastern CircuitSupported Yun Gwan in leading the Byeomuban to campaign against the Jurchens, achieving results in 1107–1108 and building the Nine Fortresses of the Northeast. Owing to Liao opposition and court controversy, he ordered a withdrawal and returned the nine fortresses in 1109. The famed general Yun Gwan died in 1111, and northeastern defense entered a new phase.
4. 1119–1122Seonjeong Hall, Gaeseong · GaegyeongIn his later years he fell ill from excessive banqueting and died at the Seonjeong Hall in April 1122, aged forty-three; his posthumous name was Munmyeong Yeol Je Sun Mun Hyo the Great King, and he was buried at Yureung. Crown Prince Wang Wuk succeeded as Injong, and the power of the Inju Yi maternal clan rose accordingly.