⑤ Admiral Yi and Chen Lin — Part 1

On June 25, 1598, by the lunar calendar — the final year of the seven-year Imjin and Jeongyu Wars — the Ming naval commander Chen Lin arrived in Joseon with a great fleet of some 500 ships. On July 16, he sailed into Gogeumdo, the Joseon navy's main base, for his first meeting with Admiral Yi Sun-sin. The Battle of Noryang would take place that same year, on November 19 — meaning the Ming navy arrived barely five months before the war's end.

Why Did Ming China Send Its Navy So Late?

Ming China had long been, at its core, a land power, built for fighting the Mongols and the Jurchens. Its navy was weak, and sending a fleet across open water was, for the Ming court, a matter of enormous expense and risk.

In the war's early years, Ming had no reason at all to send a navy. Admiral Yi's Joseon fleet held complete command of the southern seas. Ming's calculation was simple: the sea was already well defended by the Joseon navy, so all they needed to send was an army.

But everything changed in 1597, when Won Gyun's catastrophic defeat at Chilcheollyang left the Joseon navy all but destroyed. The gate to the southern coast swung open, and the emboldened Japanese pushed north along the sea, all the way up the coasts of Jeolla and Chungcheong Provinces.

For Ming China, this was no longer someone else's war. If the sea route opened further, their own homeland — the Yellow Sea, the Shandong Peninsula, even Beijing itself — would lie directly exposed to Japanese blades. It had become a matter of critical national security.

The Ming court hastily appointed Chen Lin, a battle-hardened field commander from the south who had fought against Japanese pirates at sea, as supreme naval commander, and dispatched a fleet of 500 ships to Joseon.

Chen Lin, as Described in the Jingbirok

The best account of Chen Lin's conduct after his arrival in Joseon on June 25, 1598, comes from the Jingbirok, written by Ryu Seong-ryong.

The Jingbirok (Seohae Munjip edition)

Trusting it will help readers understand, I'm including here, translated, the relevant passage as it appears in the Seohae Munjip edition of the Jingbirok.

Before long, the Ming naval commander Chen Lin came down to Gogeumdo to join forces with Yi Sun-sin. But Chen Lin was a violent man, unable to get along with others, and everyone dreaded him. When he set out, the king himself came out to the plain at Cheongpa to see him off in person. I saw with my own eyes how Chen Lin's soldiers struck and cursed local magistrates without cause, and once even dragged Magistrate Yi Sang-gyu along by a rope tied around his neck, bloodying him. I had an interpreter tell them to release him, but they paid no attention to me. I said to the assembled ministers: "I fear Yi Sun-sin is bound to lose. Chen Lin will not even respect a commander's authority, and will do as he pleases with the troops — how could anyone hope to win under those conditions?" All those present nodded in agreement. "Just so," they said. When Yi Sun-sin heard that Chen Lin was coming, he had his soldiers go out hunting, catching deer, boar, and fish, and prepared a great feast. When Chen Lin's ships entered the harbor, Yi Sun-sin arranged his troops in formation and went out far to meet him, welcoming his party with great ceremony — so that Chen Lin, and even his officers and men, were thoroughly pleased, and said with one voice: "Yi Sun-sin is truly an outstanding commander." Soon after, enemy ships attacked a nearby island. Yi Sun-sin sent troops to drive them off, and after taking some forty enemy heads, sent them to Chen Lin, crediting him with the achievement. Chen Lin, met with such unexpected generosity, was overjoyed. From then on, he consulted Yi Sun-sin on every matter, and even on outings had their palanquins carried side by side, never going ahead of him. Yi Sun-sin then reached an agreement with Chen Lin that any wrongdoing, whether by Ming or Joseon soldiers, would be punished by the lash without distinction. All the troops then followed orders, order was kept on the island, and the people, too, were able to live without fear. Chen Lin then sent the king a report of his own, writing: "The Naval Commander possesses the talent to govern all under heaven, and the merit to overcome Heaven's own hardships." He wrote this because he was moved to the depths of his heart.

This was the Chen Lin who arrived at Goguemdo, in Wando, the Joseon navy's main base, on July 16, for his first meeting with Admiral Yi. To understand the relationship that followed between these two men, it helps to know a little more about who Chen Lin was.

Chen Lin Already Knew About Myeongnyang

Before coming to Joseon, Chen Lin had some experience fighting Japanese pirates at sea in southern China, but his real background lay in land warfare. He came to Joseon already knowing the name Yi Sun-sin — the undefeated commander of the Imjin War, whose miracle at Myeongnyang, defeating 133 ships with just thirteen, had happened only the year before.

And yet Chen Lin's arrogance in Joseon had a clear cause. In his eyes, the Joseon navy — however miraculous Myeongnyang had been — was a threadbare force, painstakingly rebuilt to barely sixty panokseon at most, while he himself commanded a great power's fleet of 500 ships, as its supreme naval commander. As the naval commander of a great power, Chen Lin meant to seize the upper hand from the very start, and bend Admiral Yi and the Joseon navy to his own will.

👉 Next post: ⑥ Admiral Yi and Chen Lin, Part 2

— Momcheolhak