14. King Yeongjo of Korea, celebrated as a moral and extremely caring ruler, imprisoned his mentally ill son and heir in a wooden box until he died
Yeongjo of Joseon, reigning from 1724 until his death in 1776, was the 21st king of the Korean Joseon Dynasty. The second son of King Sukjong, he succeeded his older brother, Gyeongjong, four years after the death of their father in controversial circumstances. Although speculation abounded at the time concerning Gyeongjong’s ill health and death, with many suspecting Yeongjo, historical opinion today concurs that the elder brother most likely died from the consumption of tainted seafood. A profoundly spiritual individual committed to Confucian ethics, Yeongjo concerned himself deeply with the conditions of his people.
Reforming the tax system and seeking to minimize conflict, Yeongjo even ordered his courtiers to reduce the sizes of their meals to decrease the burden upon commoners during times of famine. Despite this immense concern for others, Yeongjo’s own son and crown prince, Sado, did not inherit these positive traits. Believed to have suffered from a debilitating mental illness, Prince Sado would routinely rape the palace maids and murder people at random. Due to a prescription upon the king from murdering his own family, Yeongjo ordered his son to be entombed in a wooden rice chest. Trapped within his eventual coffin, Sado would die after eight days.