- Foretelling the Outcome of the Eastern Learning Revolution
- 1 Jeung-san foresaw that the Eastern Learning Army would not succeed. One night in July 1894, without the light of a candle, He immersed Himself in deep meditation.
- 2 He opened Himself to the primordial spirit of heaven and earth, the sacred spirit of the universe, and entered a state of samadhi. He recited a passage from an old poem that foreshadowed the outcome of the Eastern Learning Revolution:
- 月黑雁飛高 單于夜遁逃
欲將輕騎逐 大雪滿弓刀
- 3 Under the dim moonlight, a wild goose flies high.
The leader of the Huns escapes into the darkness of night.
- 4 I attempt to lead the cavalry in pursuit.
A heavy snow buries arrows and swords.
- 5 Knowing the Eastern Learning Army would be defeated in the winter, He advised everyone not to join.
- 6 That winter, as predicted, the Eastern Learning Army was crushed by government troops. Those who followed Jeung-san’s words were saved, and those who followed the Eastern Learning Army perished.
- 7 Those who believed Jeung-san later called Him a divine person. They said He was a person who knew everything without studying.
- The Third Attempt of the Revolution
- 8 In the autumn of 1894, the commanders of the Eastern Learning Army met in Sahm-nyeh Township, Wahn-ju County.
- 9 At this meeting, Chey Shee-hyung, the head of Eastern Learning, and Sohn Byung-hee, the leader of the northern branch, insisted on a policy of nonviolence and non-revolution. This caused a rift between the northern and southern branches.
- 10 Finally, the discussion leaned toward resuming the battle, and the southern and northern branches reconciled their differences. Sohn Byung-hee and Jun Bohng-joon, the leader of the southern branch, swore brotherhood. From then on, Sohn Byung-hee considered Jun Bohng-joon his older brother.
- 11 On September 18, Chey Shee-hyung ordered Eastern Learning troops everywhere to assemble for an all-out attack. A declaration announcing the recommencement of fighting was printed and circulated. As a first step toward attacking Seoul, they planned a major offensive on Gohng-ju, the old capital of the Baek-jeh Kingdom.
- (JSD Dojeon 1,22)
