View source for Yi Chach'un

{{Unreferenced|date=March 2024}}{{family name hatnote|[[Lee (Korean name)|Yi]]||lang=Korean}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Yi Chach'un<br />이자춘<br />李子春
| title        = [[King]] of [[Joseon]] (posthumously)
| succession   = ''Darugachi''
| reign        = 1343–1356
| birth_date   = 20 January 1315
| birth_place  = Aldong, [[Ssangseong Prefecture]], [[Yuan dynasty]]
| death_date   = 3 June 1361 (aged 46)
| death_place  = Gwiju-dong, Hamheung-bu, Dongbuk-myeon, [[Goryeo]]
| burial_place = Jeongneung tomb<br />[[Hamju County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyeong Province]], North Korea
| spouse       = Lady Yi<br />[[Queen Uihye]]
| issue        = 5 sons and 1 daughter
| posthumous name = *First: King Hwan (환왕, 桓王; given in 1392 by [[Taejo of Joseon|King Taejo]])
*Last: King Yeonmu Seonghwan the Great (연무성환대왕, 淵武聖桓大王; given in 1411 by [[Taejong of Joseon|King Taejong]])
| temple name  = '''Hwanjo''' ({{Korean|hangul=환조|hanja=桓祖|labels=no}})
| house        = [[House of Yi|Jeonju Yi]]
| father       = [[Yi Ch'un]]
| mother       = [[Queen Gyeongsun|Lady Bak of the Munju Bak clan]]
}}
'''Yi Chach'un''' ({{Korean|hangul=이자춘|hanja=李子春}}; 20 January 1315 – 3 June 1361) or known by his [[Mongolian name]] '''Ulus Bukha''' ({{Korean|hangul=울루스부카|hanja=吾魯思不花}}), was a minor military officer of the [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan Empire]] who later transferred his allegiance to [[Goryeo]] and became the father of [[Taejo of Joseon|Yi Sŏnggye]], founder of the [[Joseon]] Dynasty.

==Biography==
Yi Chach'un was a chiliarch of a Yuan Dynasty [[mingghan]] in [[Ssangseong Prefecture]] (present-day [[Kumya County|Kŭmya County]], [[South Hamgyong Province|South Hamgyŏng Province]], North Korea - former Goryeo territory annexed by [[Mongol Empire]]). After Ssangseong was reconquered by Goryeo under [[Gongmin of Goryeo|King Gongmin]], he migrated to [[Hamju County|Hamju]] and got promoted to manho (the equivalent of the Mongolian myriarch of a tümen, lit. ''ten thousand'' or chief of ten thousand). He married a Goryeo-Korean lady from Anbyeon, who became [[Queen Uihye]], the mother of Yi Sŏnggye. He died in Hamgyong in 1361.

Since he was glamorized by his descendants, descriptions of Yi Chach'un's life tend to be contradictory to each other. For example, he is said to have risen to the rank of scholar-official. However, when he died, the king at the time expressed condolences for Chach'un as if for scholar-officials, implying that Yi Chach'un was not a scholar-official.{{citation needed|date = August 2010}}

==Family==
* Father: [[Yi Ch'un]] (1265–1342) 
** Grandfather: [[Yi Haengni]] (1236–?)
** Grandmother: [[Queen Jeongsuk|Queen Jeongsuk of the Deungju Ch'oe clan]] (1232–?)
* Mother: [[Queen Kyŏngsun|Queen Kyŏngsun of the Munju Pak clan]] (1268–?)
** Grandfather: Pak Kwang ({{Korean|hangul=박광|labels=no}}; 1240–?)
* Wives and their Children:
#[[Queen Ŭihye|Queen Ŭihye of the Yeongheung Ch'oe clan]] (의혜왕후 영흥 최씨; 1304–?)
##[[Princess Chŏnghwa (Hwanjo)|Princess Chŏnghwa]] (1330–?), ''First daughter''
##[[Taejo of Joseon|Yi Sŏnggye, King Taejo of Joseon]] (1335–1408), ''Third son''
#Royal Noble Consort Yi of the Hansan Yi clan (빈 한산 이씨; 1319–1334)
##[[Grand Prince Wanpung|Yi Wŏn'gye, Grand Prince Wanpung]] (1330–1388), ''first son''
##[[Grand Prince Yeongseong|Yi Ch'ŏn'gye, Grand Prince Yeongseong]] (1333–1376), ''second son''
#[[Royal Consort Jeongbin Kim|Royal Noble Consort Jeong, of the Gim clan]] (정빈 김씨; 1320–1404)
##[[Yi Hwa, Grand Prince Ŭian]] (1348–1408), ''Fifth son''
#Unknown woman (1325–?)
##Yi Yŏng (이영; 1341–1394), ''Fourth son''

==In popular culture==
* Portrayed by Jeon Byung-ok in the 2005–2006 [[Munhwa Broadcasting Corporation|MBC]] TV series ''[[Sin Don (TV series)|Shin Don]]''.
* Portrayed by Jung Dong-gyu in the 2012 [[Seoul Broadcasting System|SBS]] TV series ''[[Faith (South Korean TV series)|Faith]]''.
* Portrayed by [[Lee Soon-jae]] in the 2015–2016 [[Seoul Broadcasting System|SBS]] TV series ''[[Six Flying Dragons]]''.

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== See also ==
* [[List of Goryeo people]]
* [[History of Korea]]

{{House of Yi}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Chach'un}}
[[Category:14th-century Korean people]]
[[Category:Goryeo generals]]
[[Category:House of Yi]]
[[Category:1315 births]]
[[Category:1361 deaths]]
[[Category:Yuan dynasty people]]
[[Category:People from Kumya County]]


{{Korea-hist-stub}}