Jinseong was the only daughter of
King Gyeongmun and . Being the younger sister of
Heongang and
Jeonggang, she rose to the throne when both of her brothers died without issue. When
King Jeonggang was dying in 887, he appointed his sister Jinseong as his heir, justifying the choice of a female monarch by pointing at Seondeok's and Jindeok's successful reigns.
Reign According to the
Samguk sagi, Jinseong did licentious conduct that bringing attractive men into the palace and committing lewd acts with them. In
Samguk Yusa, Yang-pae (양패), the youngest son of Queen Jinseong, is mentioned. The
Samguk sagi was written by Confucianists, who held a negative view of female rule, so the precise details therein should perhaps not be taken at face value. Brigham Young University historian Richard McBride supports this point, claiming that historical Korean scholarship has conventionally blamed the demise of Silla on Jinseong, even though Silla was already gripped by political chaos and decline prior to her reign. In contrast, according to the records of her contemporary
Ch'oe Ch'i-wŏn, she was a good-hearted monarch with no greed, who accepted his various recommendations to reform the government of Silla to prevent its downfall. McBride notes that Choe, a talented poet and scholar-official, had presented a ten-point memorial on current affairs to Queen Jinseong, who received it with gladness and advanced Choe's career to the highest capital rank for someone of his status. However, due to Silla's
Bone-rank system, Choe's recommended reforms were unable to materialize as the true-bone nobles who monopolized the Sillan government discriminated against lower-ranked nobles like Choe and hindered his efforts. During her reign, public order collapsed. The crisis began when a serious drought in 888 forced local governments to provide tax relief. Although Jinseong had attempted to assuage the people, by 889, the state's storehouses were empty and she was forced to send out commissioners to collect taxes, which gave rise to banditry in the far-flung regions of Silla. Prefectural officials or local true-bone nobles were incited to revolt. While Jinseong was able to quell the most important rebellions which threatened the Sillan heartland, Silla was beginning to lose control of its more remote regions. Her later reign saw the emergence of
Yang Gil in the northwest (who was later surpassed by Kung Ye) and
Kyŏn Hwŏn in the southwest rebelled and founded their own kingdoms, reviving the fallen states of
Goguryeo and
Baekje as
Later Goguryeo and
Later Baekje respectively. In 895, Jinseong appointed Heongang's illegitimate son
Kim Yo as Crown Prince. By 896, the tenth year of Jinseong's reign, bandits had overrun southwestern Silla and they raided as far east as the outskirts of the Sillan capital. This incursion led to her decision to abdicate in favor of Kim Yo. On June, 897, she abdicated the throne and later died on December 897. She was buried to the north of
Sajasa temple in
Gyeongju. == Legacy ==