until it exceeds more than four generations (from the king). Similar to male royals, female royals received titles according to their kinship to the kings. Despite all being called "princess" in English, daughters of the king and queen were called 공주 (gongju). Girls born to other consorts and fathered by the king were called 옹주 (ongju) to differentiate; some further distant female royalties also had different titles. If the above-mentioned females were stripped of titles due to various reasons, they would be referred to as a commoner; for instance, the eldest daughter of deposed Yeonsangun of Joseon was addressed as "Ku Mun-gyeong's wife" after 1506. Later, there were also so-called "Kim Se-ryung's wife" (former Princess Hyomyeong) and "Jeong's wife" (former Princess Hwawan). Middle Era In 1469, Seongjong of Joseon ascended to the throne as the adopted heir to his uncle, Yejong of Joseon. As of 1475, Seongjong asked the Ming dynasty government to ratify his biological father, Crown Prince Uigyeong, to have a posthumous status as a king, and a temple name "Deokjong" was made for the late crown prince. A similar event took place in 1568, when Seonjo of Joseon succeeded the throne as the adopted heir to his half-uncle, Myeongjong of Joseon. Based on official advice, instead of giving his biological father (Prince Deokheung) a title of "king" posthumously, Seonjo created a new title for him in 1569, Deokheung Daewongun (덕흥대원군), as an honor to the late prince. This action had a precedent in 1066, when Emperor Yingzong of Song promoted his biological father (Zhao Yunrang) without posthumously elevating him to the status of emperor. Following the precedent by Seonjo, three more royals were designated as Daewongun throughout the Joseon history: Prince Jeongwon (1623, but later promoted to "King Wonjong" as of 1634"); Yi Kwang (Jeongye Daewongun, 1849); and Prince Heungseon (1864). In 1650, Hyojong of Joseon, as requested by the prince regent Dorgon of the Qing dynasty, adopted a fourth cousin once removed as his daughter. Unusually, he gave her title, Princess Uisun, before she was about to leave Joseon to marry Dorgon. Gojong and Sunjong / Korean Empire (1863–1896, 1897–1910) After the Meiji Restoration, Japan acquired Western military technology. With this power, it forced Joseon to sign the Japan–Korea Treaty of 1876 after the Ganghwa Island incident. It established a strong economic presence on the peninsula, heralding the beginning of Japanese imperial expansion in East Asia.