Abstract
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The utilization and evolution of classical Chinese writing on the Korean Peninsula exhibit distinctive characteristics within the broader East Asian cultural sphere. In ancient Korea, despite the existence of multiple competing states, a shared cultural civilization emerged wherein Classical Chinese writing played a pivotal role. Subsequently, Korean intellectuals actively assimilated and reinterpreted Classical Chinese texts, significantly contributing to developments in literature, history, law, politics, economics, and various scholarly disciplines. Classical Chinese served not only as a medium for intellectual discourse but also facilitated the dissemination and exchange of shared knowledge. Even after the invention of Han’gŭl in the 15th century, Han’gŭl documents primarily remained restricted to personal correspondence, translations of royal protocols, women's writings, and fictional works.
This paper provides an overview of the historical development of classical Chinese literature on the Korean Peninsula, categorizing its progression into three distinct stages: the formative period of classical Chinese textual conventions, the period of expansion, the era of transformation and diversification. During each period, state authorities rigorously upheld established literary genres and hierarchical writing practices, while simultaneously non-political and popular literary traditions emerged and evolved in opposition to state influence. This complex interplay led to a multilayered literary culture in pre-modern Korea. The classical Chinese literary tradition, forged through the interactions and tensions among state power, non political literary hierarchies, and popular literary movements, generated an extensive corpus that includes fictional literature reflecting national sentiments or reality, scholarly treatises, historical documentation, and rhetorical documents employed in diplomatic exchanges and both public and private contexts. Keywords: Classical Chinese with Classical Grammar, hybrid Korean-style Chinese, transformation texts, rhymes, civil service examination composition, public literature, private literature, diplomatic documents
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Keywords: Classical Chinese with Classical Grammar, hybrid Korean-style Chinese, transformation texts, rhymes, civil service examination composition, public literature, private literature, diplomatic documents
Mutual Interference of Prose, Verse, Transformation Texts, and Official Examination Compositions
While prose is broadly distinguished from verse, as seen in the Anthology of Ancient Prose 古文辭類纂 by Yao Nai 姚鼐 (1732–1815), even rhymed offerings 祭文 and admonitory inscriptions 箴銘 are sometimes included within the category of prose. Furthermore, while transformation texts can be distinguished from the perspective of narrative style, they can also be categorized as prose in that they narrate facts and matters without rhyming. Here, a distinction will be made between prose, verse, and transformation texts. Moreover, ci 辭 and rhapsody 賦 rhyme, but unlike general forms of poetry, they have aspects that are closer to transformation texts. On the other hand, the classification of literary styles should consider not only writing method 書寫法 and the use of rhyme 用韻, but also various other criteria such as function and intended audience, and in particular whether the text is being given to an inferior or superior.
The Development of Prose
The Buddhist intelligentsia and scholar-officials of Koryŏ and Chosŏn adopted Chinese prose styles and utilized them in various aspects of politics and culture. Classical Chinese prose mainly consisted of ancient-style prose 古文, which adhered to the literary language and grammar of the classics and histories and various schools of thought 諸家 of the Qin 秦 and Han 漢 dynasty, as well as the archaic prose style 復古散文語法 since Han Yu 韓愈 (768–824). However, in addition to ancient-style prose in classical Chinese grammar,
idu-style or Korean-style classical Chinese and transformation texts also developed, and Buddhist Sino-literature also occupied a certain status. Prose categories that developed in the late Chosŏn period included writing that utilized the styles of imitative classical prose 擬古文 (which imitated the pre-Qin classical Chinese and listed difficult phrases and obscure characters) and essays 小品文 that expressed sentiments and thoughts in short forms. As the author, I intend to classify these literary styles based on the process, method, and function of writing, as shown in the table below
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(1) Writers of classical Chinese prose employed compositional methods such as the opening and closing of chapters 開合, beginning and end 首尾, warp and weft 經緯, and intricate weaving 錯綜, as well as techniques like introduction and conclusion 起結, call and response 呼應, highlighting 提掇, context 脈絡, pauses and variations 頓挫, and outline sketching 鉤勒. They also emphasized the rhythmic quality of sentences, inserting refined phrases with balanced construction 對偶 or parallelism 排比 within prose sentences 散句. To master ancient-style prose, beginners studied the
Xiangshuo Guwen zhenbao 詳說古文眞寶, and in the early seventeenth century, literati utilized works such as the
Shiji pinglin 史記評林 and the
Tang Song Badajia Wenchao 唐宋八大家文鈔. Scholar-officials who were producing memorials and proposals 奏議文 modeled them after
Lu Xuangong zouyi 陸宣公奏議 by Lu Zhi 陸贄 (754–805). In addition, in the early Chosŏn period, beginners seeking to practice the genres of regulated prose-poem 律賦, memorial 表, memorandum 箋, and policy essay 對策 referred to
Xin jian jue ke gujin yuanliu zhilun 新箋决科古今源流至論 by Lin Jing 林絅 of the Southern Song dynasty and Huang Liweng 黃履翁 of the Southern Song dynasty;
Ouyang lunfan 歐陽論範 by Ouyang Qiming 歐陽起鳴 of the Yuan dynasty;
Xinkan leibian liju sanchang wenxuan duice 新刊類編歷擧三場文選對策 (part of which is
yushice 御試策), compiled by Liu Renchu 劉仁初 of the Yuan dynasty; and
Chehak jigmang 策學提綱,
Danchidudui 丹墀獨對, and
Sheng song mingxian wubaijia bafang daquan wenxui 聖宋名賢五百家播芳大全文粹 and
Sheng yuan mingxian bafang xuji 聖元名賢播芳續集 by Wei Qixian 魏齊賢 and Ye Fen 葉棻.
2 In that same period, the intellectual class used
Ousu shujian 歐蘇手簡, compiled by Du Renjie 杜仁傑 of the Jin 金 dynasty, as a textbook to learn personal letter 尺牘 style.
3 From the mid-Chosŏn period onwards, the narrative styles of miscellaneous notes 筆記雜錄 from the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, as well as the explanatory styles of various autobiographical writings, influenced the logical structure of classical Chinese prose.
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(2) While classical Chinese prose aimed for the triumph of reason 理勝, it possessed diverse functions: public policy literature focused on enabling the successful governance of the dynasty at its zenith, discourse on the domain of daily life, and individual expression. The prose of public policy literature internalized public ideals or the fundamental principles of the state 國是 and emphasized rhetorical embellishment in its style. Prose that served the function of discourse on daily life sometimes leaned towards presenting the arguments of one’s faction in the arena of factional strife. Still, such prose also affirmed public reason 公理, exposed the irrationalities of reality, or reflected the ideologies of individuals or groups by demonstrating historical facts. Prose that served the function of individual expression emphasized the principle of self-reflection and had aspects that idealized the cultivation of one’s nature and feelings, but it also served to refine and reveal complex and diverse emotions.
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(3) Prose in the form of historical records 記錄體散文 prioritized the ideal of reliable history 信史 and focused on objective description. Reflecting the achievements of the studies of Chunqiu 春秋 and Tongjian 通鑑, it pursued the rigorous evaluation of historical events and figures. Such prose, which at times prioritized the a priori logic of righteousness 義理, was not without instances of partiality. For example, in compiling Koryŏsa 高麗史 in the early Chosŏn period, the compilers, in an attempt to deny the legitimacy of King U and King Ch’ang of late Koryŏ, included the historical accounts of Sin U 辛禑 and Sin Ch’ang 辛昌 in the “Biographies of Rebels” 叛逆列傳. As each successive Chosŏn monarch’s annals were compiled, facts were organized in a way that justified the legitimacy of the new ruling class and denigrated opposing factions. The annals of King Tanjong, called Nosangun ilgi, did not record the names of the compilers, and Sǒnjo sillok, Hyǒnjong sillok, and Kyǒngjong sillok have separate revised and supplemented editions.
(4) During the Chosŏn dynasty, officials in the court submitted reports on their travels to Japan and China, causing private records to proliferate. For example, P’yohaerok 漂海錄 was written by Ch’oe Pu 崔溥 (1454–1504) in 1488 and Pojindang yǒnhaeng ilgi 葆眞堂燕行日記 by So Sun 蘇巡 (1499–?) in 1533, both in the early Chosŏn period. After the Manchu invasion of 1636, officials who experienced a “humiliating life” in Shenyang 瀋陽 compiled collections of Han poems arranged by itinerary, titled simyangnok, and intellectuals who participated in embassies to the Qing dynasty wrote accounts of their travels in prose titled Yŏnhaengnok 燕行錄. The delegations that participated in the twelve Korean embassies to Japan recorded facts about Japan’s political situation, humanities, and natural geography in prose and left behind a large number of written conversations and letters. Hong Kyehui 洪啓禧 (1703–1771) collected the diaries of the Korean embassies and compiled the twenty-eight volume Haehaeng ch’ongjae 海行摠載.
(5) In the Three Kingdoms period, the inscriptions on steles and tombs 碑誌文 had prefaces written in transformation texts, but after the Koryŏ period, the prefaces of the inscriptions were written in ancient-style prose. In the late Koryŏ period, in 1388, Yi Saek 李穡 (1328–1396) wrote the “Stele for the Spirit Way of Yi Jach’un” 李子春神道碑, the preface of which was written in ancient-style prose. In the early Chosŏn period, Kwŏn Kŭn 權近 (1352–1409), as grand scholar of the Office of Royal Decrees and the Office of Special Advisors, composed the “Stele for King Hwan’s Chǒngnǔng Tomb” 桓王定陵墓碑. The mid-Koryŏ period saw the development of self-narrative literature 自述文學 such as self-descriptions 自敍, autobiographies 自傳, personal genealogies 自譜, self-accounts 自述, self-account chronicles 自述年紀, self-eulogies 自挽, and self-laudatory writings on portraits 畫像自贊. Self-composed epitaphs 自撰碑誌 were produced as well. In the late Chosŏn period, epitaphs were erected for women with their own tombs, such as noble ladies and female entertainers 妓女, as well as for commoners and concubine’s sons; tomb epitaphs were also produced for deceased children 亡兒墓表. The earliest stele inscriptions for the spirit way 神道碑文 on a woman’s tomb is “Stele for the Spirit Way of Queen Sinŭi of Cherǔng Tomb” 神懿王后齊陵神道碑, written by Kwŏn Kŭn in 1403 for Queen Han, King T’aejo’s consort. “Stele Inscription for the Spirit Way of Royal Concubine Inbin Kim” 仁嬪金氏神道碑銘 for King Sǒnjo’s concubine exists in separate versions: one written by Chang Yu 張維 (1587–1638) and another by Sin Hŭm 申欽 (1566–1628) at different stages of the posthumous elevation of Prince Chŏngwŏn 定遠君 (1589–1619). Subsequently, many steles for the spirit way were produced for queens and the birth mothers of kings. In the late Chosŏn period, epitaphs for noble ladies were mostly written by the deceased woman’s descendants or relatives or by members of the husband’s family.
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(6) The mid-Koryŏ period was a time of frequent compilation and publication of collected works, and prefaces and postscripts came to occupy a significant portion of prose.
7 Furthermore, miscellaneous writings, notes, and compilations of diverse accounts containing literary tastes, factional discourse, and academic material developed. Yi Kwangjŏng 李光庭 (1674–1756) compiled satirical allegories into
Mangyangnok 亡羊錄. Hong Yangho 洪良浩 (1724–1802) compiled
Haedong myŏngjangjŏn 海東名將傳 to commemorate the achievements of military commanders during times of national crisis. Kim Ryŏ 金鑢 (1766–1822) collected unofficial histories 外史 that described people’s political careers. Hong Sŏkchu 洪奭周 (1774–1842), along with his younger brother Hong Kilju 洪吉周 (1786–1841) and their cousin Hong Hanju 洪翰周 (1798–1868), pioneered a world of literary prose.
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Scholars and intellectuals left behind many diaries in which they noted their daily activities and affairs, transcribed the court gazette 朝報, and recorded scholarly inquiries 問學日記. They also left behind various travelogues that described the nation’s natural and historical beauty. It became customary for intellectuals dispatched to Japan or China to leave behind records of their missions (
Yŏnhaengnok in the case of missions to China), and numerous manuscripts were passed down to later generations. Furthermore, letters 書札 were widely used for communication in the Chosŏn dynasty, and correspondents often attached separate sheets of academic material. Among the members of poetry societies 詩社 and social clubs 小集, personal letters were exchanged in parallel with oral conversations 晤言. In addition, various reading notes 讀後記 developed concerning the cultivation and formation of intellectuals’ learning and thought. Hŏ Kyun 許筠 (1569–1618), while in Puan 扶安, Chŏlla 全羅Province, read writings by seventeen masters including Laozi 老子, Liezi 列子, Zhuangzi 莊子, Guanzi 管子, Yanzi 晏子, Shangzi 商子, Han Feizi 韓非子, Mozi 墨子, Xunzi 荀子, Yangzi 揚子, Zihuazi 子華子, Sunzi 孫子, Wuzi 吳子, Luzi 呂子, Huainanzi 淮南子, and Wenzhongzi 文中子 from
Zhuzi quanshu 諸子全書 and wrote reading notes 讀後記.
9 That can be compared to
Dushu hou 讀書後, a late-life work by Wang Shizhen 王世貞 (1526–1590), though its content is entirely different.
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(7) Classical Chinese prose occupied an intermediate space between reports and narratives.
11 Indeed, such prose came to be associated with record keeping during the compilation of biographical records 人物錄, factual accounts 實記, and chronological biographies 年譜 in public and quasi-public projects aimed at recruiting talent.
12 From the late Koryŏ period, it became customary to organize the family traditions 家傳 of a household. Yi Saek’s composition of “Family Tradition of the Chǒng Clan” 鄭氏家傳 emerged from this context. The custom of recording the deeds of individuals and evaluating their lives to achieve writings for posterity 立言 became firmly established, leading to the development of conduct descriptions 行狀, chronological biographies, standard biographies 傳. In the late Chosŏn period, individuals sacrificed in the arena of factional strife 黨同伐異 were eulogized through private biographies 私傳 and supplementary biographies 別傳, and written records were kept of the sayings and deeds of seniors, teachers, and deceased fathers. In noble families, the lives of female family members were documented in what were called records of conduct within the household 內儀.
13 In the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, Pak Chiwŏn 朴趾源 (1737–1805), Kim Ryŏ 金鑢, Yi Ok 李鈺 (1760–1813), and others exposed the immorality of the nobility by writing biographies of commoners. Also,
Hwach’o mango 和樵謾稿 by Kim Kisŏ 金箕書 (1766–1822) includes tales such as
Ŏmjŏn jŏn 嚴顚傳,
Kapchin jŏn 甲辰傳,
Poryŏng munyŏ jŏn 保寧巫女傳,
Iŏmjŏn 二嚴傳,
Yangmunwang jŏn 梁文玉傳,
Chap chŏn 雜傳, and
Kanginhak chŏn 姜仁鶴傳.
Kapchin jŏn recounts the story of Kapchin 甲辰, a thirteen-year-old female servant who drew blood from her finger to save her master’s wife, Lady Yi.
Poryŏng munyŏ jŏn records the fact that the shaman’s husband followed the procession of newly successful candidates in the licentiate examination, performing vocal mimicry 口技. Meanwhile, Hong Sinyu 洪愼猷 (1724–?), who was of commoner origin but passed the civil service examination, depicted the performers of mask dance drama performers in his poem “Talmun’ga” 達文歌. Talmun is also the protagonist of
Kwangmunja jŏn 廣文子傳 by Pak Chiwŏn.
(8) Classical Chinese prose interacted and intersected with other artistic genres. In particular, inscriptions and eulogies 題贊 appeared in poetic illustrations, literary illustrations, historical record paintings, landscape paintings, bird-and-flower paintings, and portraits of beauties.
Pukgwan yujŏk totch’ǒp 北關遺蹟圖帖, housed in the Korea University Museum, is arranged to appreciate the colored paintings on the left while reading the records on the right in classical Chinese prose. These records cover topics such as erecting a stele to mark the border 拓境立碑, archery at a night banquet 夜宴射樽, composing poetry during a night battle 夜戰賦詩, defeating the enemy with a surprise attack 出奇破賊, expressing sentiments on a scenic climb 登臨詠懷, relieving a siege with a single arrow 一箭解圍, defending a palisade and resisting the enemy 守柵拒敵, and advocating righteousness and suppressing the Japanese pirates 倡義討倭. Nam Kye-u 南啓宇 (1811–1888) left behind a pair of hanging scrolls titled “Painting of Butterflies” 胡蝶圖, which is housed in the National Museum of Korea. On the upper part of this pair of scrolls, Ch’oe Yangun 崔良雲 inscribed excerpts from literature regarding the types of butterflies and their transformation.
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(1) The copper mirrors from the so-called Four Commanderies of Han 漢四郡 in the Hansa-gun region, dating to the early Common Era, contain inscriptions ranging from four to eight characters to fifty to sixty characters wishing for wealth and honor 富貴, blessings and emoluments 福祿, comfort and joy 安樂, longevity 長壽, peace and tranquility 安寧, prosperity and flourishing 繁榮, and ascension to immortality 登仙. These inscriptions were written in three-syllable, four-syllable, five-syllable, six-syllable (two three-syllable lines), and seven-syllable forms, some of which employed rhyme. Meanwhile, the artifacts of Nangnang 樂浪 include tomb inscriptions and shrine steles with complete classical Chinese sentences. “Stele of the Spirit Shrine in Chǒmje-hyǒn” 秥蟬縣神祠碑 records the offering of sacrifices to the mountain spirit for the peace of the people, consisting of a prose preface 序 of about fifty-nine characters and a
Ci 辭 of eight-two characters in twelve four-syllable lines.
15 An investigation of the last characters of each line of the
Ci according to the
Guangyun rhyme dictionary 廣韻 shows that some of the lines rhyme. It seems unlikely that the artifacts excavated from the Nangnang region were produced by Koreans.
(2) Rhyme generally began to be observed in Korean classical Chinese sentences and verses in the early seventh century. That is, the five-syllable, four-line poem “To Yu Chungmun, Grand General of the Right Wing Guard of Sui” 贈隋右翊衛大將軍于仲文 composed by Ŭlji Mundŏk 乙支文德 in the twenty-third year of King Yŏngyang of Koguryŏ (612) used the following rhymes:
神策究天文, 妙算窮地理.
Here, li 理, per Guangyun, is pronounced via fanqie from liang 良 and shi 士, in the rising tone’s zhi 止 rhyme, with an initial lai 來 sound.
戰勝功旣高, 知足願云止.
Here, zhi 止, per Guangyun, is pronounced via fanqie from zhu 諸 and shi 市, in the rising tone’s zhi 止 rhyme, with an initial zhang 章 sound.
Whether rhyme dictionaries of the Qieyun 切韻 system was in use at the time is unknown.
“Ode on Woven Brocade” 織錦頌 by Queen Chindŏk of Silla, composed in 650, maintained a complete rhyming system.
16 The rhymes were investigated using the
Guangyun rhyme dictionary 廣韻;
Pingshui rhyme categories are indicated in parentheses.
大唐開洪業, 巍巍皇猷昌.
[Level tone, chang 昌 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
止戈戎衣定, 修文繼百王.
[Level tone, yun 云 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
統天崇雨施, 理物體含章.
[Level tone, zhang 章 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
深仁諧日月, 撫運邁時康.
[Level tone, xi 溪 series, tang 唐 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
幡旗何赫赫, 鉦鼓何鍠鍠.
[Level tone, xia 匣 series, geng 庚 rhyme (level tone, geng 庚 rhyme)]
外夷違命者, 剪覆被天殃.
[Level tone, diao 彫 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
淳風凝顯遍, 遐邇競呈祥.
[Level tone, xie 邪 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
四時和玉燭, 七曜巡萬方.
[Level tone, fei 非 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
維嶽降宰輔, 維帝任忠良.
[Level tone, lai 來 series, yang 陽 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
五三成一德, 昭我唐家皇.
[Level tone, xia 匣 series, tang 唐 rhyme (level tone, yang 陽 rhyme)]
This poem was likely composed in the palindrome style 回文體, modeled after the story of “Su Ruolan’s Weaving of Brocade” 蘇若蘭織錦圖. In the Guangyun rhyme dictionary, the character kang 康 belongs to the tang 唐 rhyme group, huang 鍠 to the kang 庚 rhyme group, and huang 皇 to the tang 唐 rhyme group; however, in the Pingshui rhyme system, all these characters belong to the level tone yang 陽 rhyme group.
(3) The gathas 偈頌 in “Song of Amitabha’s Realization of Nature” 彌陀證性歌 and “Treatise on the Vajra Samadhi Su
tra” 金剛三昧經論 by Wŏnhyo 元曉, a seventh-century scholar, are all in the seven-syllable, four-line form but do not employ rhyme. By the mid-eighth century,
Wang o ch’ŏnch’ukkuk chŏn 往五天竺國傳 by Hyech’o 慧超 (704–787) included lyric poems in the five-syllable regulated verse 五言律詩 style. Musang 無相 (680–756), who caused Chinese Chan Buddhism to flourish, described his spiritual pursuit through the seven-syllable mixed-style question-and-answer poem “The Turning of the Fifth Watch” 五更轉,
17 and Chijang 地藏 (?–803) composed the seven-syllable regulated verse poem “Farewell to the Young Monk Descending the Mountain” 送童子下山. In the autumn of 881, when Emperor Xizong 僖宗 of Tang fled westward to escape Huang Chao’s rebellion, King Hŏn’gang dispatched the monk Nanghye (800–888), whose monastic name was Muyŏm 無染, as a special envoy to offer condolences. On this occasion, he had someone skilled in the Six Principles of Poetry 六義 compose a farewell song. Nanghye is said to have used many rhymes when composing his works.
18 The inscription for “Stele for Monk Nanghye of Sŏngju-sa Temple, Paegwŏl Pogwang Pagoda” 聖住寺郞慧和尙白月葆光塔碑 by Ch’oe Chiwŏn 崔致遠 (857–?) states that “King Hŏngang personally composed the inscription for the stele of Simmyosa Temple 深妙寺.” In the late Chosŏn period, Yi Tŏkmu 李德懋 partially quoted “Stele Inscription of Taesungboksa Temple” 大崇福寺碑銘 in his
Hanjuktang sŏpp’il 寒竹堂涉筆 and, in his commentary 按語, quoted a four-syllable poem that King Hŏngang bestowed upon Great Master Chijŭng 智證大師 from “Stele Inscription for the Chŏkcho Pagoda of Great Master Chijŭng” 智證大師寂照之塔碑銘 by Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn.
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挽卽不留, 空門鄧侯.
師是支鶴, 我非趙鷗
Though entreated, he does not stay like Lord Deng, who left the mundane world.
The master is like Zhi Dun’s crane; I am not the seagull of Zhao.
鄧侯: 晉書, 鄧瑜字伯道, 爲吳郡太守, 除水以外, 束薪斗米, 不食於民, 稱疾去職, 民至有臥輪. 人歌曰: 鄧侯挽不留, 謝公推不去.
Marquis Deng: As recorded in Jin Shu, Deng Yu (courtesy name Baodao) served as the grand administrator of Wujun. Beyond water levies, he would not take even a bundle of firewood or a peck of rice from the common people. When he claimed illness and sought to resign, the people even lay down in front of his carriage wheels to prevent him from leaving. People sang, “Marquis Deng, though entreated, did not stay; Minister Xie, though urged, did not leave.”
支鶴: 西晉哀帝時, 支遁字道林, 人有遺鶴者, 乃放之曰: 沖天凌雲之物, 豈耳目之所玩哉?
Zhi Dun’s Crane: During the reign of Emperor Ai of the Western Jin dynasty, Zhi Dun (courtesy name Daolin) was given a crane by someone. He released it, saying, “How can a creature that soars into the sky and rises above the clouds be merely a plaything for the eyes and ears?.
趙鷗: 後趙石勒弟名虎, 字季龍, 襲兄之位, 傾心事佛, 圖澄朝會引見, 侍御史擧轝升殿, 太子諸公, 扶翼而前. 主者唱曰大和尙, 坐者皆起, 勅司空李農, 朝夕問候. 支遁聞之曰: 澄公其以季龍爲鷗鳥乎? ○列子曰: 昔有人無心坐江邊, 鷗鳥聚游膝下, 其父見之曰, 取鷗鳥來, 從其父敎, 有心待之, 鳥更不來.
Zhao’s Seagull: Shi Hu (courtesy name Jilong) was the younger brother of Shi Le of Later Zhao. He succeeded his brother and devoted himself wholeheartedly to the practice of Buddhism. When he summoned Master Tu Cheng for an audience at court, the imperial censor would carry him to the hall in a sedan chair, and the crown prince and various dukes would escort him forward. The usher would announce, “It is the Great Monk!” and all those seated would rise. Shi Hu even ordered Minister of Works Yi Nong to greet Master Tu Cheng in the morning and evening. Upon hearing this, Zhi Dun said, “Did Master Cheng treat Jilong like a seagull?” The Liezi tells the following story: Once, a man sat by a river without any intention, and seagulls gathered and played around his knees. His father saw this and said, “Go catch some seagulls.” Following his father’s instruction, the man went back intending to catch them, but the birds never came again.
Here are the tonal prosody and rhymes of the four-syllable poem that King Hŏngang gave to Great Master Chijŭng:
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(a) The poem rhymes in the you 尤 rhyme group, specifically using level tones, with a rhyme on every other line, as well as the opening line.
(b) Within a four-character line, the tonal prosody of the second and fourth characters is not in opposition.
(c) In the second and third lines, the tonal prosody of the second and fourth characters differs.
The parallel prose preface and rhymed inscription forms became established in epigraphic texts in the early eighth century. “Record of the Maitreya Buddha Statue at Kamsansa Temple” 甘山寺彌勒彫像記 from 719 and “Inscription on the Divine Bell of Great King Sŏngdŏk” 聖德大王神鐘銘 from 771 are representative examples.
Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn, who returned in 885, produced transformation texts and ancient-style prose in temple and stupa inscriptions and skillfully employed the changing rhyme method 換韻法 in eulogistic inscriptions 銘. For example, the inscription of “Epitaph for the Stele of Taesungboksa Temple’ changes rhyme eight times and consists of eight sections.
21
(4) The national literature of the Koryŏ and Chosŏn dynasties exhibited a deep interest in the tonal prosody and rhymes of Chinese characters. A representative example is the
Hunminjŏng’ŭm Haeryebon 訓民正音解例本 from the time of King Sejong, which meticulously clarified the breakdown and reading 破讀 of Chinese characters.
22 There are verse summaries in the explanations on character creation, initial sounds, medial sounds, final sounds, and character combinations.
Composed by King Sejong 世宗御製 (Sejong ŏje)
Royal Preface 御製發語: Written in ancient-style prose in classical Chinese grammar
Royal Main Text 御製本文: Written in ancient-style prose, using stylized sentence patterns
Explanations and Examples 解例
Explanation of Character Creation 制字解: Written in ancient-style prose, utilizing both parallelism and stylized sentence patterns, with a verse summary 訣 comprising 43 couplets across seventeen rhymes
Explanation of Initial Sounds 初聲解: Written in ancient-style prose, utilizing both parallelism and stylized sentence patterns, with a verse summary comprising four couplets across two rhymes
Explanation of Medial Sounds 中聲解: Written in ancient-style prose, utilizing both parallelism and stylized sentence patterns, with a verse summary comprising four couplets across two rhymes
Explanation of Final Sounds 終聲解: Written in ancient-style prose, utilizing both parallelism and stylized sentence patterns, with a verse summary comprising 10 couplets across four rhymes
Explanation of Character Combination 合字解: Written in ancient-style prose, utilizing both parallelism and stylized sentence patterns, with a verse summary comprising 10 couplets across five rhymes
Examples of Character Usage 用字例: Written in ancient-style prose, utilizing paired phrases, parallelism, and stylized sentence patterns, with no verse summary
Preface by Chŏng In-ji 鄭麟趾序: Written in ancient-style prose with a high frequency of parallelism
The rhymes of the summary verses reveal the characteristics of blended rhymes of the level tone’s lin rhyme group 平聲隣韻通押, blended rhymes of rising and departing tones 上聲去聲通押, and blended rhymes of entering tone near rhymes 入聲近隣韻通押. The summary verses of “Explanation of Combining Letters” consist of ten couplets and five rhymes, as follows:
初聲在中聲左上 挹欲於諺用相同 [upper-level tone, first dong 東 rhyme]
中聲十一附初聲 圓横書下右書縦 [upper-level tone, second dong 冬 rhyme]
欲書終聲在何處 初中聲下接着寫 [rising tone, twenty-first ma 馬 rhyme]
初終合用各並書 中亦有合悉自左 [departing tone, twenty-first ge 箇 rhyme]
諺之四聲何以辨 平聲則弓上則石 [entering tone, eleventh mo 陌 rhyme]
刀爲去而筆爲入 觀此四物他可識 [entering tone, thirteenth zhi 識 rhyme]
音因左點四聲分 一去二上無點平 [lower-level tone, eighth geng 庚 rhyme]
語入無定亦加點 文之入則似去聲 [lower-level tone, eighth geng 庚 rhyme]
方言俚語萬不同 有聲無字書難通 [upper-level tone, first dong 東 rhyme]
一朝制作俟神工 大東千古開矇矓 [upper-level tone, first dong 東 rhyme]
(5) When the civil service examination was implemented in the Koryŏ dynasty, its literary styles included rhymed prose 有韻, so examinees had to memorize rhyme categories 韻目 and utilize them appropriately in composing the assigned styles. The Chosŏn court prioritized literary styles such as poetry, as well as memorials, memoranda, and inscriptions. To promote the mastery of rhyme, the Chosŏn court even imposed fixed poetic forms on the prospective bureaucratic class while encouraging the official-intellectual class to stick to those forms after entering service. This act raises serious questions about the conventional literary policy of monopolizing literature for the ruling class and creating a hierarchy of expressive forms that ultimately excluded minorities. Rhymed language was also considered important in diplomatic settings. Regarding rhyme dictionaries, there was an attempt in the early Chosŏn period, influenced by Hongwu zhengyun 洪武正韻, to change the system of rhyme categories to reflect the actual sounds of Chinese. However, the Chosŏn court adopted the 106-rhyme system of Pingshui as the standard. This played a role in stabilizing the rhyming system in compositions for civil service examinations.
(6) Some intellectuals produced literary translations into classical Chinese verse of folk songs 謠 expressing the political will of the common people. For example, in the fourth month of 1865 (the second year of King Kojong’s reign), Grand Prince Hŭngsŏn 興宣大院君 issued tangbaekjŏn 當百錢 (worth one hundred times the value of preexisting coins) because he could not secure funds for rebuilding Kyŏngbokkung Palace. It is said that a folk song, which had already foreseen this construction, was popular among the common people during King Ch’ŏlchong’s reign.
(7) Entering the twentieth century, Ch’a Sangch’an 車相瓚 (1887–1946), a founding member of the journal
Kaebyŏk 開闢, and others used the postal system to collect the poems of Kim Satgat (1807–1863). The designation Kim Satgat, though it was the nom de plume of Kim Pyŏngyŏn, refers to wandering literati and itinerant poets collectively. Yi Ŭngsu 李應洙 (1909–1964), who changed his name to Ōzora Ōsu 大空應洙, first published
Kim Rip sijip in 1939, published an enlarged and revised edition in 1941, and published
P’ungja siin Kim Satgat at the Pyongyang National Publishing House in 1956.
23 Kim Satgat’s poetry is divided into six categories: first, strictly regulated short verse 短律 adhering to external meter; second, interrupted lines 斷句 or linked verses 聯句; third, humorous works 戲作 or unconventional poems 破格詩; fourth, archaic styles of Chosŏn 古風 (small archaic style and large archaic style); fifth, coarse and poetic compositions 肉談風月 (vernacular poetic compositions 諺文風月); and sixth, examination poetry 科詩. It is said that Kim Pyŏngyŏn entered the civil service examination and composed the poem titled, “On Praising the Loyal Death of Kasan Magistrate Chŏng Si” 論鄭嘉山忠節死 and “Lamenting Kim Ik-sun’s Crime Reaching Heaven” 嘆金益淳罪通于天, but these poems are not examination poems. Another work appears in the 1941 edition of
Kim Rip sijip, which consists of sixteen lines (eight couplets) and is in a large archaic style that completely disregards rhyme. Noblemen who held influential positions in scholarship or politics did not leave behind works in the large archaic style.
(1) Transformation texts consist of four-character or six-character lines, and except for introductory words 領字 and loose sentences 散句, the prosodic tones are symmetrically opposed. The genre’s structure is characterized by parallel couplets 騈偶, the harmony of sounds, and the frequent use of allusions. While the form of uniform lines 齊言 is found in Koguryŏ prose, perfect examples of transformation texts have not been discovered. In the case of Paekche, “Petition to the Wei Court” 朝魏上表文 of 472 (the 18th year of King Kaero) was written as a transformation text. Subsequently, transformation texts are found in “Record of the Enshrinement of the Golden Reliquaries” 金製舍利奉安記 of the Mirŭksa-ji Stone Pagoda (West Pagoda) in Iksan in 639 and “Stele of Sat’aek Chijŏk” 砂宅智積碑 around 654 (the 14th year of King Ŭija). On that stele, 56 characters in four lines remain legible today. It adhered to the structure of parallel couplets and the “curtain rule” 簾法, which concerns the alternation of level and oblique tones at the end of lines (句末平仄交互法).
24
(2) In Silla, transformation texts developed after the Silla-Tang War 羅唐戰爭. According to the
Samguk Sagi 三國史記, when King Munmu 文武王 (626–681) of Silla captured the Ungjin Commandery 熊津都督府 in 670 and beheaded Tang soldiers in 671, Tang Commander-in-Chief Xue Rengui 薛仁貴 (614–683) sent a letter of protest through Silla monk Dharma Master Imyun 琳潤. In response, Kangsu 强首 wrote “Reply to Tang Commander-in-Chief Xue Rengui” 答唐薛摠管仁貴書, stating that since King T’aejong Muyŏl of Silla 太宗武烈王 (603–661) had paid tribute to Emperor Taizong of Tang from 650 (the twenty-second year of Taizong’s reign) until that time [670, the twenty-first year of Emperor Gaozong’s reign], Silla had observed the proper etiquette of serving the great power. In addition, Kangsu stated that Silla and Tang had allied to destroy Paekche and Koguryŏ before defending the situation of Silla at that time. The letter from Xue Rengui is a complete transformation text, while the reply letter is not entirely one, although it uses uniform lines as its framework and frequently employs parallel couplets. Meanwhile, Wŏnhyo 元曉 (617–686) used the transformation text genre in composing “Preface to the Commentary on the Brahmajāla Sūtra” 本業經疏序 for his commentary 經疏 on
Bosal Yŏngnak Ponŏpkyŏng 菩薩瓔珞本業經.
25 Furthermore, the last testament 遺詔 of King Munmu in the entry for the first day of the seventh month of the twenty-first year of his reign in the
Samguk Sagi 三國史記 is mainly a transformation text, while the final words (“ten days after breath ceases” 屬纊之後 十日) are written in ancient-style prose. Also, upon examining the readable fragments of “Stele for King Munmu’s Tomb” 文武王陵碑, we find that it was originally composed entirely as a transformation text.
26 After the eighth century, the style of preface as a transformation text and verse inscription 銘 generally became established in Silla inscriptions.
(3) The Parhae monk Chŏngso 貞素 (?–828) wrote the preface of his “Lament for the Monk of Great Virtue Yŏngsŏn, Who Was Enshrined in Japan” 哭日本國內供奉大德靈仙和尙詩 as a transformation text.
27 The New Year’s congratulatory message 賀正表 sent by Parhae (698–926) to the Tang Dynasty (recorded in the
Songmo jiwen 松漠記聞 Volume 2), along with state letters sent to Japan—including those by Tae Muye 大武藝 (one), Tae Hŭmmu 大欽茂 (one), Tae Sungnin 大嵩璘 (four), Tae Wŏnyu 大元瑜 (one), Tae Insu 大仁秀 (two), Tae Ijin 大彝震 (two), Tae Kŏnhwang 大虔晃 (one), Tae Hyŏnsŏk 大玄錫 (two), and others—and six official documents 牒書 from the Central Chancellery 中臺省 were all composed as transformation texts. The state letter sent in 727 by King Tae Muye (also known as King Muyŏl 武烈王), the second ruler of Parhae, to Emperor Shōmu 聖武天皇 of Japan is a 170-character transformation text following the communication 啓 format of the Tang Dynasty. The prefaces 序 of “Stele of Princess Chŏnghye” 貞惠公主墓碑, discovered at Yukjŏng mountain 六頂山 in 1949, and of “Stele of Princess Chŏnghyo” 貞孝公主墓碑, discovered in 1980, are both transformation texts, with similar narrative content.
In the case of four stele inscriptions for eminent monks 四山碑銘 by Ch’oe Chiwŏn, particularly “Stele Inscription of the Great Chongfu Temple” 大崇福寺碑銘, composed in 896 (the 10th year of Queen Chinsŏng), the transformation text prefaces employed not only strict parallelism 正對 of equal-length couplets 齊數對 but also couplets featuring parallelism of various types, such as parallelism of word properties 詞性對, parallelism of contrasting structures 背體對, parallelism of meaning 意對, double-line parallelism 雙句對, separated-line parallelism 隔句對, flowing parallelism 流水對, and appropriately arranged irregular parallelism 參差對 with introductory words. “Stele Inscription for the Chŏkcho Pagoda of Great Master Chijŭng, Posthumously Conferred with the Title by Royal Command, of the Former Pongamsa Temple on Pongam Mountain in Silla, with a Preface” 新羅國故鳳巖山寺敎諡智証大師寂照之塔碑銘幷序 by Ch’oe Chiwŏn is also included in “Omissions from the Complete Prose of the Tang” 唐文拾遺 Volume 44 in the
Quan Tangwen 全唐文. The preface of this stele inscription is a mixture of transformation text and ancient-style prose.
28 In the late Silla and early Koryŏ period, Ch’oe Ŏnwi 崔彦撝 (868–941) left behind eleven stele inscriptions. Among them, “Stele for the Great Master Pŏpkyŏng” 法鏡大師碑 shows a masterful command of the four-six parallel couplet 四六句騈偶. He posited that Confucianism illuminated the Way 道 of benevolence and righteousness 仁義 while Taoism explicated the Way of profundity and emptiness 玄虛 through the
Book of Songs, thus placing them in parallel.
(4) In the early Koryŏ period, Ch’oe Sŭngro 崔承老 (927–989) left behind “Evaluation of the Political Achievements of Five Reigns” 五朝政績評 and twenty-two articles of current affairs 時務策, all of which were transformation texts. However, after the eleventh century, ancient-style prose became prominent with the development of literary notes 筆記 and historical writing. In the mid-eleventh century, Pak Inryang 朴寅亮 (?–1096) compiled Suyijeon 殊異傳; around 1145, Kim Pusik 金富軾 (1075–1151) compiled Samguk Sagi 三國史記; and in 1215, Kakhun 覺訓 compiled Haedong kosŭngjeon 海東高僧傳. In 1220, Yi Inro 李仁老 (1152–1220) compiled P’ahan 破閑, and in 1254, Ch’oe Cha 崔滋 (1188–1260) compiled the Sok p’ahan 續破閑, also known as Pohanjip 補閑集. However, transformation texts continued to be regarded as an important official literary style. Looking at Tongmunsŏn 東文選, compiled in the early Chosŏn period, royal edict drafter 知制誥 Yi Kyupo 李奎報 (1168–1241) composed “Beam-raising Blessing for the Great Mud Granary” 大倉泥庫上樑文 in 1225 by royal command of King Kojong of Koryŏ, and Yi Changyong 李藏用 (1201–1272) composed “Beam-raising Blessing for the National Academy” 國子監上梁文 around 1253. Ch’oe Chiwŏn’s one-volume collection Saryuk 四六 was the only collection of Korean transformation texts recorded in The New Book of Tang 新唐書. However, in the late Koryŏ period, Ch’oe Hae 崔瀣 (1287–1340) compiled Tonginjimun saryuk 東人之文四六, which included seventeen literary styles such as reports of serving the great power 事大表狀, investiture documents 冊文, imperial edicts issued on hemp paper 麻制, royal decrees 敎書, royal responses 批答, congratulatory prayers 祝文, Taoist prayers 道詞, Buddhist petitions 佛疏, musical prefaces 樂語, beam-raising blessings 上梁文, memorials from a tributary official 陪臣表狀, memorials 表, memoranda 箋, statements 狀, communications 啓, petitions to superiors 詞疏, and banquet offerings 致語.
(5) Memorials to the imperial court 表箋 used in diplomacy employed the transformation text style. After a conflict with the Ming Dynasty over the format of memorials to the imperial court in 1369 (the second year of King T’aejo),
29 the literati-officials of the Office of Special Advisors and the Office of Royal Decrees of Chosŏn considered the composition of diplomatic documents as transformation texts their most important duty. Although the Ministry of Rites of the Ming and Qing Dynasties did not impose its format on Chosŏn’s memorials to the imperial court, the Chosŏn court made a practice of delivering them as transformation texts. In the late seventeenth century, the Qing Dynasty prescribed the format for memorials to the imperial court. Still, the format changed whenever a new emperor ascended the throne, so Chosŏn literary officials and writers assigned to diplomatic missions diligently refined their transformation text skills.
30 In domestic politics, literary officials had produced memorials to the throne 上奏文 and memorials and memoranda 表箋 as transformation texts since the Koryŏ Dynasty. In the Chosŏn dynasty, when Chŏng Inchi 鄭麟趾 (1396–1478) presented
Yongbi ŏch’ŏnga 龍飛御天歌 in 1447 (the 29th year of King Sejong), he submitted an accompanying memorandum. Sŏ Kŏchŏng 徐居正 (1420–1488) did the same when presenting the
Essentials of Koryŏ History 高麗史節要 in 1476 (the seventh year of King Sŏngjong), and Yi Haeng 李荇 (1478–1534) likewise submitted one upon presenting
Sinjeung Tongguk yŏji sŭngnam 新增東國輿地勝覽 in 1530 (the twenty-fifth year of King Chungjong). Although Chosŏn officials did not always write memorials to the throne or reports 啓箚 as transformation texts, the regulations 規式 for transformation text memorials to the throne appear in the
Chŏllyul t’ongbo 典律通補,
Ŭndae chorye 銀臺條例,
Yukchŏn chorye, and
Soch’a chipyo 疏箚輯要. The tradition of compiling
konggŏmun 公車文, a collection of various appeals categorized by period, topic, and government department was continued from the reigns of King Yeongjo and King Chŏngjo to the reign of King Kojong.
(6) Beam-raising blessings, which had been transformation texts since the mid-Koryŏ period, were regarded as important not only for displaying the dignity of the state, the responsibilities of government offices, and the public opinion of regions and academic factions, but also as a literary style embodying an individual’s sense of contentment within one’s space. The main form was parallel prose, and there were rhyming verses offering blessings to the top, bottom, east, west, south, and north of the rafters, known as the song with six repetitions of “arangwi” 六偉頌. New Tales of the Golden Turtle 金鰲新話 by Kim Sisŭp even includes a beam-raising blessing in “Record of a Feast in the Dragon Palace” 龍宮赴宴錄. The six repetitions of “arangwi” are as follows:
抛梁東, 紫翠岧繞撑碧空. 一夜雷聲喧繞澗, 蒼崖萬仞珠玲瓏.
[upper-level tone, first dong 東 rhyme]
抛梁西, 徑轉巖廻山鳥啼. 湛湛深湫知幾丈, 一泓春水似玻瓈.
[upper-level tone, eighth qi 齊 rhyme]
抛梁南, 十里松杉橫翠嵐. 誰識神宮宏且壯, 碧琉璃底影相涵.
[lower-level tone, thirteenth tan 覃 rhyme]
抛梁北, 曉日初升潭鏡碧. 素練橫空三百丈, 飜疑天上銀河落.
[entering tone, thirteenth zhi 職 rhyme]
抛梁上, 手捫白虹遊莽蒼. 渤海扶桑千萬里, 顧視人寰如一掌.
[rising tone, twenty-second yang 養 rhyme / departing tone, twenty-third yang 漾 rhyme]
抛梁下, 可惜春疇飛野馬. 願將一滴靈源水, 四海便作甘雨灑.
[rising tone, twenty-first ma 馬 rhyme / departing tone, twenty-second ma 禡 rhyme]
Following the fire at Kyŏngbokkung Palace on the ninth month of the eighth year of King Myŏngjong (1553), Yi Hwang 李滉 (1501–1570), who was headmaster 大司成, composed and submitted “Eulogy for the Comfort and Stability of the Royal Ancestral Shrine” 慰安宗廟文 during the recovery process. The following year, when the crown prince’s residence 東宮 and Sajŏngjŏn Hall 思政殿 were rebuilt, he composed and submitted “Beam-raising Blessing for the Crown Prince’s Residence” 東宮上樑文, and “Beam-raising Blessing for the Sajŏngjŏn Hall” 思政殿上樑文; in the twelfth month, he also wrote “Record of the Rebuilding of Kyŏngbokkung Palace” 景福宮重新記.
31 The establishment of
sŏwŏn (Confucian academies 書院) starting in the seventh century soon led to beam-raising blessings that embodied their educational and academic ideals. Meanwhile, Yu Mongin 柳夢寅 (1559–1623), in his “Beam-raising Blessing for the Hall of the Eighty-thousand Tripitaka at Kayasan Mountain” 伽倻山八萬大藏經殿上樑文, transformed the literary style by using prose sentences to describe the bookshelves of the Tripitaka woodblocks. Ch’ae P’aengyun 蔡彭胤 (1669–1731) composed “Stele Inscription Commemorating the History of Taedunsa Temple in Haenam” 海南大芚寺事蹟碑銘 in 1725, imitating “Stele of T’ut’asa Temple” 頭陀寺碑 by Wang Jianqi 王簡棲. Later, King Chŏngjo constructed a new city in Hwasŏng and, from 1790 to 1795 (the 15th to 19th years of King Chŏngjo’s reign), established temporary palaces at Kwach’ŏn, Anyang, Sagŭnch’am, Sihŭng, Ansan, and Hwasŏng along the route. He erected memorial steles at Hwasŏng Temporary Palace and commissioned literary officials to compose beam-raising blessings for each building.
32 Kim Chŏnghŭi 金正喜 (1786–1856) wrote “Beam-raising Blessing for the Reconstruction of Haeinsa Temple” 海印寺重建上梁文 in 1818, which was discovered in the main beam during the renovation of Taejŏkwangjŏn Hall in 1971.
(7) Many Buddhist monks strove to master transformation texts. For example, Mugyŏngjasu 無竟子秀 (1664–1737) left behind eleven transformation texts in his
Mugyŏngjip mungo 無竟集文稿.
33
Chŏng Manjo 鄭萬朝 (1858–1936), in his “State Examinations and Examination Papers” 科試及科文 (held in the Karam Mungo of the Kyujanggak Institute for Korean Studies at Seoul National University since 1925), provided an overview of the changes in the civil service examination system from the Koryŏ period under King Kwangjong to the Chosŏn Dynasty. For the essay examination subjects, he elucidated the significance, origins, and forms of fifteen types of examination questions.
34 The format of the written examination answers 應擧文 is as follows:
• Question on doubtful passages 疑: Questions are drawn from doubtful passages in the Analects 論語, Mencius 孟子, Doctrine of the Mean 中庸, and Great Learning 大學. The questions are analyzed and answered in approximately thirty lines.
• Meaning 義: A passage is selected from the Book of Changes 易經, Book of Documents 書經, Book of Songs 詩經, and Book of Rites 禮經 as the question. Its meaning is elaborated upon. The literary style is similar to the eight-part essay 八股文 of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in China, and the answer typically consists of approximately thirty lines.
• Poetry 詩: A line is selected from old poetry, and one character from the question is designated as the rhyme. That character is rhymed in the fourth stanza, and there is no change of rhyme 轉韻 among the eighteen rhyme categories.
• Rhapsody 賦: The topic is the same as poetry, but there is no separate designated rhyme. The author may freely change rhymes but must complete at least thirty rhymes.
• Memorial 表: There are six forms: congratulatory 賀, presenting 進, requesting 請, thanking 謝, resigning 辭, and begging 乞. The writing style employs only four-six transformation texts 四六文 and consists of eighteen to nineteen couplets.
• Memorandum 箋: Same as memorial.
• Policy question 策: Questions are posed on historical precedents 古事 in some cases and on current affairs 時務 in others. The answer must follow the order of introduction 虛頭, body 中頭, itemized explanation 逐條, statement of faults 設弊, remedies for faults 捄弊, and conclusion 篇終, and must exceed three thousand characters.
• Discourse 論: Same as the discourse style 論體 of ancient-style prose.
• Admonition 箴, inscription 銘, eulogy 頌: royal themes 御題 are given, and all are composed with four characters per line. In some cases, a preface 引 is also included. In the late Chosŏn period, the preface was always composed in the four-six parallel style 四六.
The main examination subjects for the licentiate examination 進士科, higher civil service examination 文科 (or 大科), and the spring and autumn mid-month examinations 春秋仲月試 were primarily poetry 詩, rhapsody 賦, policy question 策, memorial 表, and memorandum. The literary licentiate examination emphasized poetry and rhapsody, while the higher civil service examination, the special examination for incumbent officials 重試, and the spring and autumn mid-month rhapsody examination 春秋仲月賦試 emphasized memorial and memorandum. Starting in the mid-Chosŏn period, memorials were given heavy emphasis, being no different from the literary styles used in court rituals or diplomatic customs. The official examination compositions that were distinguished from general literary styles were examination poetry 科詩, examination rhapsody 科賦, and exegetical essay 疑義.
(1) Examination poetry in the Koryŏ and early Chosŏn periods consisted of ten-rhyme extended regulated verse 十韻排律 or regulated poetry 律詩. But in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, that transitioned to long archaic-style poetry 長篇古詩. Thereafter, there was an evolution into long archaic-style poetry of seven-syllable lines and eighteen couplets, known as long-form examination poetry 行詩, or Eastern poetry 東詩. It seems that during the reigns of King Sukjong and King Yŏngjo, a complex and distinct form of long-form examination poetry, distinct from recent-style poetry 近體詩 and archaic-style poetry 古詩, became a fixed examination subject. This is evidenced by the fact that “Manual for the Composition of Long-form Examination Poetry” 行詩格, written by Kang Paek 姜栢 (1690–1777) in the mid-eighteenth century, is known as the “royal poetry curriculum” 御製詩程. A seven-syllable verse with seventeen to nineteen rhymes constituted the standard form, where a seven-syllable line was called one
ch’ŏk 隻 and two
ch’ŏk were called one
ku 句. Therefore, late Chosŏn examination poetry, in the case of eighteen rhymes, basically consisted of thirty-six
ch’ŏk, thus amounting to thirty-six lines (eighteen couplets). Furthermore, the level and oblique tones of the second, fourth, and sixth characters of the two lines alternated, and prosodic rules repeated from beginning to end.
35 When examination poetry was written on examination papers, three lines (three rhymes, three couplets) were allocated per row, so this was also called the three-line, six-part 三句六股 format. On the other hand, examination rhapsody 科賦, which had been in the prose poem 文賦 format since the Koryŏ period, evolved into a special form without rhyme in the late Chosŏn period. The late Chosŏn examination rhapsody followed a format of introduction 入題, exposition 舖敍, and returning to the topic 回題. For a theme based on historical facts, thirty lines of six characters each had to be composed. In each six-character line, an empty character 虛字 was used between the first three and the last two characters, and there was no rhyme.
(2) Exegetical essay 疑義 refers to writings discussing the meaning of certain passages in the Confucian classics. The examination regulations established in the second year of Emperor Renzong of the Yuan dynasty (1313) noted that interpreting the classics 經義 referred to questions drawn from the Five Classics, whereas questioning the classics 經疑 referred to questions drawn from the Four Books. These regulations limited the latter to more than three-hundred characters and the former to more than five-hundred characters. Questions on the Four Books 四書疑 and questions on the Five Classics 五經義 followed the same literary style. In the Koryŏ Dynasty, examinations on the Six Classics began in the fourteenth year of King Yejong (1119), and examinations on questions on the Four Books began in 1344, the year of King Ch’ungmok’s enthronement. According to the
National Code 經國大典, completed in 1485 during the reign of King Sŏngjong of Chosŏn, examinees in the first preliminary examination of the regular civil service examination were required to write two pieces from either the questions on the Five Classics and the Four Books or treatises 論. In the case of the lesser examinations, examinees in both the preliminary and final examinations of the licentiate examination were required to write two pieces on the questions on the Five Classics and the Four Books.
36 In terms of format, pieces on the meaning of the Four Books and the Five Classics after the reign of King Myŏngjong were composed of either four paragraphs (introduction to the topic 破題, elaboration of the topic 承題, main exposition 大講, and conclusion 結尾) or five paragraphs (introduction to the topic, elaboration of the topic, minor exposition 小講, major exposition, and conclusion). This was similar to the content explained by Ni Shiyi 倪士毅 of the Yuan dynasty in his
Zuoyi Yaojue 作義要訣 and differed in format from the Chinese eight-part essay.
37 Although there were limitations to the topics of exegetical essays 疑義,
38 young intellectuals could accumulate knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics by mastering their literary style.
Historical Functions of Classical Chinese
Classical Chinese literature emerged in response to the cultural and political demands of critically engaging with Chinese culture and incorporating it into the political structure. After the mid-Koryŏ period, the civil service examination system was implemented. As a result, the literati, with the exception of the Buddhist monkhood, generally served as government officials to realize their political ideals. Sinitic literature also came to emphasize the ideal of statecraft, prioritizing political functions. Furthermore, intellectuals before the modern era shifted between adhering to the framework of traditional Confucian scholarship and questioning it.
The Superiority of Official Literature
During the Chosŏn dynasty, the literary positions 文翰 in the Office of Royal Decrees 藝文館 and the Office of Special Advisors 弘文館 were respected as prestigious posts 淸要職 along with the office of inspection 憲職 in the Office of the Censor General 司諫院 and the Office of the Inspector General 司憲府. Literary officials capable of writing transformation texts were concurrently appointed with the title of a drafter of royal edicts 知製敎 to compose documents on behalf of the king. The Chosŏn court utilized transformation texts in memorials to the imperial court 表箋 for diplomatic purposes with China. The importance of diplomatic documents further increased when Japan invaded in the late sixteenth century, necessitating support from the Ming dynasty.
Successive kings emphasized the function of poetry and prose in various rituals and banquets. In 1435 (the 11th year of King Sejong), on the eighth day of the sixth month, the king held a banquet at Kyŏnghoeru Pavilion for the compilers of
T’onggam Hunŭi 通鑑訓義 and had the forty-seven attendees compose five-syllable and seven-syllable poems for a collection whose preface was written at his request by royal secretary Kwŏn Ch’ae 權採. On the twenty-seventh day of the second month of 1436, King Sejong bestowed copies of
Chach’it’onggam Sajŏngjŏn hunui 資治通鑑思政殿訓義, printed with
Choju gapinja movable type, upon literary officials and ordered An Ji 安止 (1384–1464) to write “Preface to
Instructions on the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government” 資治通鑑訓義序. In 1446, King Sejong himself produced the royal preface 御製 to
Hunminjŏng’ŭm. On the fifth day of the twelfth month of 1448, after the construction of the Royal Buddhist Shrine, King Sejong held a five-day celebration 慶讚會 and had Kim Suon 金守溫 (1410–1481) write “Records of Miraculous Effects of the Buddha’s Relics” 舍利靈應記.
39 Furthermore, in the Koryŏ and Chosŏn Dynasties, various literary styles developed for use in state rituals, such as notification texts 告由文, beam-raising blessings 上樑文, ceremonial decrees 冊文, offerings 祭文, and eulogies 誄文. King Munjong of Chosŏn, in the ninth month of the year following his enthronement (1451), personally wrote “Sacrificial Oration for Kŭksŏng” 祭棘城文 to be recited at the rites for unworshipped spirits 厲祭 in various villages of Hwanghae and Kyŏnggi Provinces and Kaesŏng. From 1790 to 1795 (the 14th to 9th years of King Chŏngjo’s reign), when King Chŏngjo moved his father Crown Prince Sado’s tomb to Hyŏllyungwŏn Tomb, he had literary officials compose a beam-raising blessing for each temporary palace along the route.
Since the Three Kingdoms period, the centralized medieval states of Korea erected various commemorative steles 紀蹟碑 to mark the realm of their rule and form a common memory among their subjects. On the twentieth day of the fourth month of 1428 (the 10th year of King Sejong’s reign), when the shrine for Kija was completed, Pyŏn Kyeryang 卞季良composed “Stele Inscription for Kija’s Shrine” 箕子廟碑銘 by royal command. During the Chosŏn Dynasty, memorial steles continued to be erected through the joint initiative of local officials and residents. Victory steles after the Imjin War and steles commemorating the suppression of rebels after Yi Injwa’s Rebellion are representative examples. Furthermore, the Chosŏn court compiled biographical records as part of projects aimed at honoring prominent families and recruiting talented people. For example, when a three-volume collection of commendations related to the Imjin War was completed in 1613 (the 5th year of King Kwanghaegun’s reign), Yu Kŭn 柳根 and others completed the seventeen-volume “Illustrated Guide to the Three Moral Principles of Korea, Newly Supplemented” 東國新續三綱行實圖 in 1615.
In addition, successive kings requested literary officials to write literary responses 賡載 or commissioned poems 應製 from literary officials and Confucian scholars of the Sŏnggyun’gwan, making the resulting poetic works into scrolls or albums 軸帖 for distribution or allowing literary officials to produce their own. Furthermore, they implemented monthly examinations 月課 and commissioned poems for licentiates who passed the lesser examinations and those who entered service after passing the higher civil service examinations, which were effectively re-examinations. They also required lower-ranking civil and military officials to undergo a second examination 重試 once every ten years. These literary activities centered on the king were major events for reinforcing political ideology and refining the literary styles of literary officials. In the late eighteenth century, during the reign of King Chŏngjo, collections of literary officials’ and Sŏnggyun’gwan scholars’ examination writings, examination titles, and lists of successful candidates were compiled into works such as Imhŏn kongnyŏng 臨軒功令, Imhŏn jech’ong 臨軒題叢, and Yugyŏng sŏnghwi 育英姓彙. A handwritten copy of Imhŏn kongnyŏng in seventy-four volumes, spanning from King Chŏngjo’s enthronement year (1776) to the eleventh year of King Kojong (1874), is still extant.
Group Solidarity and Sharing of Intellectual Information
(1) After the mid-Koryŏ period, Confucian scholars and literary officials formed political ties, scholarly lineages, and marriage networks, confirming their sense of belonging through harmonizing poems 和韻, linked verse compositions using rhyming characters 分韻聯章, and jointly composed literary pieces 共同題讚 at small gatherings 小會 and meetings for marriages, funerals, and other rites of passage 冠婚喪祭. In 1343, Yi Chehyŏn 李齊賢 (1287–1367) and twenty-seven others composed inked verse compositions using shared rhyming characters at a farewell banquet for Sin Ye 辛裔 (?–1355), who was traveling to the Yuan dynasty, and Yi Chehyŏn wrote the “Preface to Accompany Official Sin on His Journey North” 送辛員外北上序. In 1447, Grand Prince Anp’yŏng 安平大君 Yi Yong 李瑢 (1418–1453) commissioned An Kyŏn 安堅 to paint “Dream Journey to Peach Blossom Land” 夢遊桃源圖. After writing an account 記 in 1450, Yi ordered Buddhist monk Manu 卍雨 (1357–?) and twenty literary figures including Sin Sukchu 申叔舟 (1417–1475) to compose eulogistic poems 讚詩, rhapsodies, and prefaces. Subsequently, groups of scholars, literary figures, and intellectuals held small gatherings to exchange poems and prose. After the mid-eighteenth century, poetry societies 詩社 proliferated in the capital and the surrounding region. Technical specialists among the middle-class 中人, sons of concubines 庶孼, and female literary figures also formed poetry societies.
(2) In the late Chosŏn period, many collections of unofficial histories 野史, anecdotes 逸話, humorous tales 笑話, miscellaneous records 漫錄, and essays 隨筆 were produced, along with comprehensive collections or records that synthesized them. These include Sodae Suŏn 昭代粹言 by Chŏng Toŭng 鄭道應 (1618–1667) (12 chapters in 12 volumes), Aju Chaprok 鵝洲雜錄 by Hong Chungin 洪重寅 (1677–1752) (107 chapters in 47 volumes), Yŏllyŏsil Kisul 燃藜室記述 by Yi Kŭngik 李肯翊 (1736–1806) (59 chapters comprising a main collection of 33 chapters, sub-collection of 7 chapters, and separate collection of 19 chapters, compiled around 1776 in annalistic style), Ch’ŏnggu paesŏl 靑丘稗說 by Yi Changjae 李長載 (1753–?) (43 volumes, compiled in 1790), Taedong paerim 大東稗林 by Sim Nosung 沈魯崇 (1762–1837) (125 volumes), Hangogwan oesa 寒皐觀外史 by Kim Ryŏ 金鑢 (1766–1821) (140 chapters in 70 volumes, compiled from 1813 to 1819), Ch’anggaru oesa 倉可樓外史 by Kim Ryŏ (148 chapters in 74 volumes, edited from 1817 to 1819), Kwangsa 廣史 by Kim Ryŏ (468 chapters in 200 volumes, a revision in his late life of Ch’anggaru Oesa), and Taedong yasŭng 大東野乘 by an anonymous author (72 chapters in 72 volumes), and Paerim 稗林 by Min Pyŏngsŏk 閔丙奭 (1858–1940) (266 chapters in 193 volumes, a transcription of anonymous compilations). Kim Ryŏ, Yi Tŏkmu, and Sŏ Yugu each attempted to compile a Korean literary anthology 小華叢書.
(3) Chosŏn literary figures acquired information from encyclopedias 類書 such as Shiwen leiju 事文類聚, as well as Tongdian 通典, Wenxian tongkao 文獻通考, and Tongzhi 通志 (known as the Three Comprehensive Histories 三通), and Xu wenxian tongkao 續文獻通考 by Wang Qi 王圻 of the Ming Dynasty. In the late Chosŏn period, scholars used the textual criticism methods of Yang Shen 楊愼, Wang Shizhen 王世貞, and Gu Yanwu 顧炎武 (1613–1682) of the Ming Dynasty, historical anecdotes recorded in comprehensive collections such as Shuofu 說郛 by Tao Zongyi 陶宗儀 (1329–1410) and Baoantang biji 寶顔堂秘笈 by Chen Jiru 陳繼儒 (1558–1639), and the glosses 訓解 of Zihui 字彙 by Mei Yingzuo 梅膺祚 and Zheng Zi Tong 正字通 by Zhang Zilie 張自烈 (1597–1673) as sources of knowledge. Chosŏn scholars excerpted 抄錄 and recited 諷誦 the classics as a learning method, and excerpting led to the compilation of encyclopedias and anecdotal collections 類說. Originally, encyclopedic compilations adopted a system of “incorporating texts” 載文, which meant including poems and essays by previous scholars under each heading. However, Chosŏn intellectuals aimed to compile vocabulary books with parallel notations in Korean, simple definitions, and categorization of vocabulary, a category of miscellaneous studies 雜考 that included textual research and critical commentaries 按說. Sŏngho sasŏl 星湖僿說 by Yi Ik 李瀷 (1681–1763) consists of 3,008 articles (88 additional articles in Sŏngho sasŏl yusŏn) covering topics of refutation 辨正, discussion 尙論, and proposals 提案. Yi Tŏkmu 李德懋 (1741–1793) sought to compile a comprehensive collection that would convey lasting pride in national culture. Yi Kyugyŏng 李圭景 (1788–1856) compiled the sixty-volume Oju yŏnmun jangjŏn sango 五洲衍文長箋散稿 (the first four volumes are lost), and Yi Yuwŏn 李裕元 (1814–1888) compiled the thirty-nine volume Imha pilgi 林下筆記, a collection of miscellaneous studies.
(4) During the Chosŏn Dynasty, funerals and ancestral rites were emphasized, leading to the publication of a considerable number of related ritual books 禮書. Based on a passage from the “Quli Part 2” 曲禮下 of the Book of Rites 禮記 (“Before burial, the funeral rites are read; after burial, the sacrificial rites are read 未葬讀喪禮, 旣葬讀祭禮”), pre-modern Korean intellectuals often compiled ritual books before and after funerals. Along with Kukcho oryeŭi 國朝五禮儀, which began compilation during the reign of King Sejong of Chosŏn and was completed during the reign of King Sŏngjong, Shuyi 書儀 by Sima Guang 司馬光, Jiali 家禮 by Zhu Xi, and Jiali Yijie 家禮儀節 by Qiu Jun 丘濬 became the standards for later ritual books. Furthermore, after two major controversies over rituals 禮訟 in 1660 and 1674, national rituals became linked to factional strife, leading many intellectuals to compile ritual books.
Synthesis of Records, Discussions, Refutations, and Proposals
(1) Official histories 正史, royal annals 實錄, comprehensive mirrors 通鑑, supplementary biographies 別傳, literary notes 筆記, unofficial histories 野乘, records of conduct 行錄, conduct descriptions 行狀, stele inscriptions 碑文, and tomb epitaphs 碑誌 are all literary styles that record the circumstances of events and the deeds of individuals. While primarily focusing on the narrative 敍事 of events and including recorded statements 言 to pursue the ideal of reliable history 信史, these styles also involve the historian’s subjectivity in selecting and compiling the subjects of description, strive for vividness and characterization of individuals 傳神, and convey emotions and thoughts 寓情. In Chosŏn, as in China, collective biographies 列傳 evolved into an independent form that described and highlighted the activities of individuals, and the biographical writing method expanded to include letters 書信, prefaces 序, and postscripts 跋. Unofficial histories under the term ‘miscellaneous records’ 雜記 preserved many significant records related to daily life, folk customs, political administration, and foreign trade. For example, P’aegwan chapki 稗官雜記 by Ŏ Sukkwŏn 魚叔權 (1498–?) records that in the early sixteenth century, a Chosŏn silversmith taught the Japanese how to melt lead and silver together to obtain high-purity silver, after which the Japanese went to Ningbo Prefecture 寧波府 to sell silver coins. People from Fujian and Zhejiang also went to Japan to exchange silver.
The Chosŏn dynasty saw not only the development of domestic travel records and landscape travelogues 山水遊記, but also the appearance of a considerable number of overseas travel records. Regarding the latter, P’yohaerok 漂海錄 by Ch’oe Pu 崔溥, first printed in 1488, was repeatedly reprinted using woodblocks in the sixteenth century. After So Sun 蘇巡 wrote Pojindang yŏnhaeng ilgi 葆眞堂燕行日記 during his journey to China in 1533, more yŏnhaengnok were written by those who went on missions to China. Among these yŏnhaengnok, Kapchin choch’ŏnnok 甲辰朝天錄 (1544) by Chŏng Saryong 鄭士龍 (1491–1570); Kabo haengnok 甲午行錄 (1594) by Ch’oe Rip 崔岦 (1539–1612); and Musul choch’ŏnnok 戊戌朝天錄 (1598), Kapchin choch’ŏnnok 甲辰朝天錄 (1604), and Kyŏngsin choch’ŏnnok 庚申朝天錄 (1620) by Yi Chŏnggwi 李廷龜 (1564–1635) are collections of poetry. However, Yi Chŏnggwi included “Ceremonies for the Death of Emperor Wanli” 萬曆皇帝大行儀 and “Ceremonies for the Accession of Emperor Taichang” 泰昌皇帝登極儀 in his Kyŏngsin choch’ŏn kisa 庚申朝天紀事 (1620) and separately wrote the prose record Kyŏngsin Yŏnhaengnok 庚申燕行錄 (1620). After the Manchu invasion of Chosŏn, scholar-officials compiled simyangnok (record of Shenyang 瀋陽錄). Subsequently, once trade with the Qing Dynasty was normalized, lengthy prose yŏnhaengnok began to appear. The records of missions dispatched from Chosŏn to Japan include Haedong chegukki 海東諸國記 (recorded in 1443, published in 1471) by Sin Sukchu 申叔舟, Tongsarok 東槎錄 (1624–5) by Kang Hongjung 姜弘重 (1577–1642), Pusangnok 扶桑錄 (1655–6) by Nam Yongik 南龍翼 (1628–1692), Haesarok 海槎錄 (1636) by Kim Seryŏm 金世濂 (1593–1646), Kyemi tongsa ilgi 癸未東槎日記 (1643) by an anonymous author, Tongsarok 東槎錄 (1682) by Hong Ujae 洪禹載, Haeyurok 海遊錄 (1719–20) by Sin Yuhan 申維翰 (1681–1752), and Pongsa Ilbon simun gyŏllok 奉使日本時聞見錄 (1748) by Cho Myŏngch’ae 曺命采 (1700–1764), among others. Hong Kyehui 洪啓禧 (1703–1771) collected these diaries of the Chosŏn diplomatic missions to Japan and compiled the 28-volume Haehaeng ch’ongjae 海行摠載, Sŏ Myŏngŭng 徐命膺 (1716–1787) transcribed it to create sixty-one chapters of the Sikparok 息波錄, and Jo Ŏm 趙曮 (1719–1777) added his own Haesa ilgi 海槎日記 (1763). Later, Tongsarok by Yu Sangp’il 柳相弼 (1782–?) appeared.
(2) The custom of recording and evaluating the deeds of individuals developed into biographical records along with supplementary biographies, conduct descriptions, tomb epitaphs, and anecdotes through the periods of the Three Kingdoms, the Northern and Southern States (Unified Silla and Parhae), and Koryŏ. Cho Chŏng 趙挺 (1551–?), a figure during the reign of King Kwanghaegun who was exiled after the Injo Restoration, compiled the four-volume
Tonsa poyu 東史補遺 and appended the “Record of Famous Officials of Koryŏ” 高麗名臣錄 to Volume 4. After the seventeenth century, collective biographies in historical works and biographical records appended to annalistic histories were compiled as independent works. Influenced by Zhu Xi’s
Song Mingchen yanxinglu 宋名臣言行錄 and the imperially commissioned
Lidai shinjian 歷代臣鑑 of the Xuande 宣德 era of the Ming Dynasty, various biographical records were produced.
40 Haedong myŏngsinrok 海東名臣錄 (1652) and
Kukcho myŏngsinrok 國朝名臣錄 (1652) by Kim Yuk 金堉 (1580–1658),
Sodae myŏngsin Haengjŏk 昭代名臣行蹟 (1660) by Chŏng Toŭng 鄭道應 (1618–1667),
Kukcho myŏngsin ŏnhaengnok 國朝名臣言行錄 (after 1700) by Song Chingŭn 宋徵殷 (1652–1720) and Song Sŏngmyŏng 宋成明 (1674 –1740), and
Kukcho myŏngsinrok 國朝名臣錄 by Yi Chonjung 李存中 (1703–1761) adopted the method of reproducing original sources. During King Chŏngjo’s time as a potential heir (1772), he and his attendant 侍直 Yi Sangil 李商逸 (1600–1674) chose the style of
Lidai Shinjian and adoptedprocess works like
Haedong myŏngsinrok to the
Haedong singam 海東臣鑑.
41 Meanwhile, during the reigns of King Yŏngjo and King Chŏngjo, the anonymous
Kukcho inmulgo 國朝人物考 in seventy-four volumes (volumes 4 and 7 missing) covered 2,065 individuals from King Taejo to King Sukjong of Chosŏn, featuring one of the following for each: epitaphs for burial 墓誌銘, grave stele inscriptions 墓碣銘, tomb markers 墓表, epitaph inscriptions 碑銘, conduct descriptions 行狀, posthumous records 遺事, reports for posthumous appellations 諡狀, prefaces to collected works, or commemorative steles. Under orders from King Chŏngjo, a group of scholars including Sim Chinhyŏn 沈晉賢, Kim Chosun 金祖淳 (1765–1832), Yi Ikchin 李翼晉 (1747–1819), Hong Ŭiho 洪義浩 (1758–1826), Yun Kwang’an 尹光顔 (1757–1815), Kim Hŭirak 金熙洛 (1761–1803), Kim Kŭnsun 金近淳, Sin Hyŏn 申絢, Kwŏn Chun 權晙, Yi Myŏnsŭng 李勉昇 (1766–1835), Cho Sŏkchung 曹錫中, Kim Iyŏng 金履永 (1755–1845), Kim Ijae 金履載 (1767–1847), Kang Chunhŭm 姜浚欽 (1768–1833), Hong Sŏkchu 洪奭周 (1774–1842), Hwang Kich’ŏn 黃基天 (1760–1821), and Kim Kyeon 金啓溫 drew upon the
Kukcho Inmulgo to summarize the birth and death dates and major activities of 1,805 individuals in biographical sketches, creating the twenty-six volume
Inmulgo 人物考, consisting of a one-volume table of contents, twenty-three volumes of main text, and two supplementary volumes. In 1800 (the 24th year of King Chŏngjo’s reign),
Inmulgo, a collection of 130 volumes, was published by royal order. Moreover, in 1798, King Chŏngjo commanded Ch’ae Chekong 蔡濟恭 (1720–1799) and others to compile
Yŏngnam inmulgo 嶺南人物考 by extracting the birth and death dates and major activities of about 860 figures from the Yŏngnam region. This was done in the same brief biographical 略傳 format as
Inmulgo, using various historical documents. Moreover, anecdotal collections 野談集 from the late Chosŏn period function as commentary on historical figures 尙論, evaluating the deeds of past figures. For example,
Tongya hwijip 東野彙輯, compiled by Yi Wŏnmyŏng 李源命 (1807–1887) in 1869, covered the deeds of a vast and diverse group of figures, ranging from commoners to monarchs.
(3) The logic appearing in Chosŏn’s argumentative writings was somewhat dominated by the law of the excluded middle 排中律, prioritizing the clarity of a priori logic. The law of the excluded middle was also embodied in the tenets of political action. The logic of establishing the image of sages or virtuous men, canonical laws 經法, and national policies 國是 and categorizing phenomena that contradicted these as negative, as well as many writers’ assumption that they were close to a virtuous man, sometimes led to dogmatism. However, in the late Chosŏn period, there was a tendency to explore new methods of refutation 辨正. The issues debated in late Chosŏn’s argumentative writings included the following:
Doubt regarding Gao Yao’s enforcement of law 皐陶執法疑: The issue here was fairness in law enforcement 執法 surrounding the eight privileged classes 八議.
Discussion of Lü Xing 呂刑論: This concerned applying the monetary redemption appearing in the “Lü Xing” chapter of the Book of Documents to actual criminal law.
Debate on the integrity of barbarian rulers 夷狄君主節介論: Regarding the submission 來附 of the Tibetan chieftain Sildalmo 悉怛謀 of Weizhou 維州 during the reign of Emperor Wenzong of the Tang Dynasty, scholars considered whether to accept or reject Zhu Xi’s “Grand Principle of Unity and Righteousness from the Spring and Autumn Annals” 春秋大一統義理, which stated, “The subjects of barbarians should devote their integrity to the barbarian ruler 夷狄之臣, 當爲夷狄之君盡節.”
Deng Bodao’s discourse on abandoning a child 鄧伯道棄兒論: This debate centered on the conflict between compassion 慈 and fraternal duty 悌, stemming from the incident where Deng You 鄧攸, the Right Vice Minister of Works of the Jin Dynasty, abandoned his child to save his younger brother’s son Sui 綏 when he encountered robbers while crossing the Si River 泗水 after his family’s property was confiscated by Shi Le 石勒.
Logical arguments frequently employed the methods of thorough understanding 通解, comprehensive study 通考, and bringing up related evidence 傍引. Chŏng Yagyong 丁若鏞 (1762–1836) did not content himself with compiling literary works but sought to establish a system of citing evidence 引證, supplementary discussion 補論, refutation 反證, and textual criticism 考異.
42 Furthermore, late Chosŏn literary figures developed logic. For example, in the latter part of his “Theory of Po I” 伯夷論, Pak Chiwŏn posited the Five Benevolences 五仁 as types of sages of the late Yin dynasty and argued that the subordinate concepts of benevolence 仁 were in a mutually dependent 相須 relationship. He moved away from the theory of temporal causality and focused on the logic of difference and deferral 差延 in the fulfillment of meaning.
(4) During the Koryŏ and Chosŏn dynasties, scholars had to compose policy proposals for the state examination. In actual government affairs, they were required to draft memorials to the throne 奏疏, reports 狀啓, and deliberations 箚義. Consequently, many writings (including scholars in the private sector) pointed out malpractice in politics and the economy and proposed remedial measures to address them. Literary figures and officials expressed their ideologies of statecraft in discussions on factionalism, the civil service examination system, criminal justice, reforms of the governing system, national defense and diplomacy, and military reforms. The
Analects in the Taibo 泰伯 and Xian Wen 憲問 chapters state that one should “not plan for governance if not in a position to do so,” and the commentary on the images of the “Gen Hexagram” 艮卦 in
I Ching mentions that “one’s thoughts do not extend beyond their position.” Nevertheless, Yi Ik, the author of the
Sŏngho sasŏl, believed that even if one was not directly involved in politics, it was permissible for thoughts and plans to extend beyond one’s official position.
43 Consequently, he collected knowledge and information from various sources, analyzed contemporary issues, and drafted the manuscripts for
Kwakuruk 藿憂錄 and
Sŏngho sasŏl.
(1) Korean culture demonstrated a tendency to adapt and creatively develop the classical allusions 典故 of Chinese texts. In its need to establish and display an independent civilization, the early Chosŏn court encouraged literary officials and intellectuals to develop narratives and discussions using ornate vocabulary rooted in classical allusions in their poetry and prose. In contrast, as the stratum of literary officials and intellectuals diversified and creative activities independent of the court’s guidance emerged during the late Chosŏn period, they freely chose novel classical allusions. Taking as an example the allusion to “a silver bridge 銀橋 of Luo Gongyuan’s 羅公遠,” Kim Sisŭp, through his
Taep’yŏnggwanggi sangjŏl 太平廣記詳節, focused on the fact that Nao Gongyuan told Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that the secular world 世間 and the transcendent realm 方外 could not coexist. In a letter sent to a local magistrate, he borrowed Luo Gongyuan’s style to say that the secular and otherworldly paths diverge. That is different from the allusion of a silver bridge (or “traveling to the moon palace” 遊月宮). However, during the early Chosŏn period, rhapsodies 賦, ancient poetry 古詩, and memorials 表 attempted to use the allusion of a silver bridge (traveling to the moon palace) in different, creative ways, thereby expanding the narrative and enhancing their function of satirical remonstrance 諷諫. Furthermore, in
Sok Tang Myeonghwang yu wŏlgung ki 續唐明皇遊月宮記, Yi Mok 李穆 constructed a fictional narrative structure that has been called novelistic in form. In the late Chosŏn period, the “silver bridge” degenerated to the level of a cliché signifying “the moon” in poetry and prose.
44
(2) New Tales of the Golden Turtle by Kim Sisŭp is considered Korea’s first collection of classical Chinese novels. Other short and medium-length classical Chinese novels appeared, but it cannot be said that they flourished. Rather, collections of narratives with novelistic frameworks were compiled in Ŏu yadam 於于野談 (1621–2) by Yu Mong’in 柳夢寅 (1559–1623), Tongp’ae naksong 東稗洛誦 (circa 1770) by No Myŏnghŭm 盧命欽 (1713–1775), and Sapkyo manrok 霅橋漫錄 (1770–3) by An Sŏkkyŏng 安錫儆 (1718–1774). Several short stories in Sapgyo manrok highlighted the conflicts between riverine merchants and innkeepers. Another production along these lines was Kyesŏ chaprok 溪西雜錄 by Yi Hŭip’yŏng 李羲平 (1772–1839). Kimun ch’onghwa 記聞叢話 was compiled of excerpts from that book and many other stories. Kyesŏ yadam 溪西野談, a mixed compilation of Kyesŏ chaprok and Kimun ch’onghwa, was produced after 1869. Ch’ŏnggu yadam 靑邱野談, from the mid-nineteenth century, and Tongya hwijip, compiled by Yi Wŏnmyŏng in 1869, included not only factual accounts of individuals, legends that embellished historical facts, and anecdotes, but also novelistic narratives.
Hybrid Korean-style Chinese was also utilized in literary prose, novels, and primers written in Classical Chinese. Yi Ok 李鈺 (1760–1813) created “Pyirhyŏng’s Statement” 必英狀辭 to show to village children studying the
Jian Deng Xin Hua, and he also refined a petition submitted by Ae-ŭm, a commoner woman in Sŏngju 星州, to the government to create “Aegŭm’s Petition” 愛琴供狀.
Yoram 要覽, compiled in the nineteenth century, exemplified fictional situations through various documents presented to government offices by the common people in
idu-employing hybrid Korean-style Chinese. These include “Petition of the Maidservant Myogŭm” 婢苗今所志, “Complaint of the Servant Kudong” 奴狗同原情, “Collective Complaint of Magpies-on-a-Branch” 枝頭鵲諫治等狀, “Crow, Age 165 Years” 加魔怪年一百六十五, “Petition of Squirrel of Yullim-ri” 栗木里接鼯山所志, “Testimony of Mouse the Great Thief” 鼠大盜供辭, “Myodong, Supervisor of Thief-Catchers, Age Ten Thousand” 捕盜監考苗同年一萬, “Collective Complaint of Farming Oxen” 農牛等狀, “Im Jagang’s Lawsuit Against the Mountain” 任自剛山訟上言, “Resolving the Lawsuit Between Brothers Yi Sunp’il and Sunjŏng” 解李順弼順貞兄弟之訟, and “Petition Regarding the Battle-death of Kyŏngmun’s Father, Ki” 慶文父豈戰亡上言.
45 Yoram also includes “The Story of Ch’oe Ch’iwŏn 崔致遠傳,” which utilized motifs from “Record of a Spirit Meeting in the Dragon Hall 龍堂靈會錄” in
Chŏndŭng Sinhwa 剪燈新話, “Monk Wŏn’gwang 釋圓光” in
Haedong Kosŭng Jŏn 海東高僧傳, “The Story of Yŏnjo 元照” from
Taiping guangji 太平廣記, and “The Elder of the River 河上公” from
Taiping guangji. The nineteenth-century manuscript
Kyŏnmun Japki 見聞雜記 (owned by Kim Yŏngjin) contains examples of official circulars 通文, petitions for redress 原情 or 冤情, civil petitions 所志, and petitions to a superior 上書. Among these, “A Lame Man’s Plea for the Return of His Former Wife Who Left Him 躄者乞推還前妻” depicted in a satirical style the tragic situation of a physically disabled commoner making a petition 白活.
46 Around the time
Yusŏ p’ilji 儒胥必知
47 was published and circulated in the late nineteenth century, it appears that numerous new collections of manuals were being created for the intermediate intellectual class. These allowed them to reference and enjoy classical documents in the playful and satirical style 俳諧體 within a certain scope. It seems that
Yoram and
Kyŏnmun japki were also collections of manuals and reading materials compiled by the local gentry 鄉班 or lower-level officials 衙前.
On the other hand, some official examination compositions required the creation of specific situations by adding imagination to the source material of historical facts. The style chosen by Kim Satgat, known as the “literati of the marketplace,” was primarily examination poetry—a style of archaic poetry reminiscent of official documents. Most of this works were exercises that utilized facts from historical books, such as the Shiji 史記, which were shared as general knowledge at the time, as source material while imagining particular circumstances to depict the psychology of the characters.
(3) Late Chosŏn intellectuals began to explore the properties, phenomena, and scale of the living world and the natural world, expanding the method of investigating things to extend knowledge 格物致知 and referring to Western learning 西學. Although the Neo-Confucian view of nature, represented by Wang Bai’s 王柏 “Treatise on the Creation and Transformation of Heaven, Earth, and All Things” 天地萬物造化論, was dominant during the Chosŏn Dynasty, late Chosŏn intellectuals sought new explanatory models for the Four Seasons and Five Elements and climate change. While re-examining the content presented in the classics and literature in the light of mathematics and experiential facts, they made new compositions in classical Chinese. Yi Ik studied arithmetic related to surveying fields 方田, millet and rice 粟米, proportional distribution 差分, diminishing width 少廣, mensuration of volumes 商功, equitable transport 均輸, equations 方程, excess and deficiency 盈不足, and side calculations 旁要 from Jiuzhang suanshu 九章算術. For him, the critical areas of study were the calculations of squares and circles and the Pythagorean theorem 句股. He also advised young scholars to master astronomy 步天 and musical temperament 樂律. Yi Ik sought new standards for astronomical and geographical observation, as well as weights and measures. For example, he called for abandoning the finger-span ruler 指尺 proposed by Zhu Xi in the “Treatise on the Deep Garment” 深衣制度 of
Huianji 晦菴集 and used in
Jiali 家禮 and instead using the Zhou ruler 周尺 considering the average body volume.
48 Furthermore, Yi Ik personally calculated the intercalation method 置閏法 in the discussion of the “three-hundred-day year” 朞三百 in
Shujijuan 書集傳 and then wrote “Commentary on the Three-Hundred-Day Year” 朞三百註解. In this work, building upon
Zhoubi suanjing 周髀算經, he systematized the nineteen-year, seven-intercalation cycle (the Metonic cycle, or “19-year chapter method” 章法) by utilizing the concepts of excess of
qi 氣盈 and the deficiency of the new moon 朔虛. Yi’s descriptive style aptly illustrates how classical Chinese prose developed into the language of natural science.
49 Meanwhile, Sŏ Yugu 徐有榘 (1764–1845), in his treatise “On the Three-Hundred-Day Year” 朞三百, devised a well-organized narrative structure consisting of an introduction 前言, application of numbers 用數, explanation 解說, and concluding remarks 贊曰. In the “application of numbers” section, he listed the main numerical values necessary for calculating the intercalation method. In the “explanation” section, he explained the main concepts in a question-and-answer format, borrowing the style of the
Chunqiu Gongyang zhuan 春秋公羊傳.
50 The content of the “application of numbers” section is the same as that used by Yi Ik in his “Commentary on the Three-Hundred-Day Year.”
51 However, intellectuals did not establish methods of observation or experimentation, nor did they independently apply numbers, such as in functions.
(1) In the late Chosŏn period, the aristocratic class diversified, and there appeared literati born of concubines, commoner literary figures, and female poets. Marginalized intellectuals—such as those from ruined families, remnants of the previous aristocracy, and the local gentry—maintained their livelihoods by teaching others’ children or writing on behalf of others, and they preserved their self-esteem by composing poetry while on the move.
Sin Yuhan 申維翰 (1681–1752), born of a concubine, wrote Haeyurok 海遊錄 as a literary official for the Chosŏn diplomatic envoy to Japan in 1718 (the 44th year of King Sukjong’s reign). Sŏng Taejung 成大中 (1732–1812) wrote Sasanggi 槎上記 and Ilbonnok 日本錄 after returning from Japan as a scribe 書記官 in 1763 (the 39th year of King Yŏngjo’s reign). His son Sŏng Haeŭng 成海應 (1760–1839) covered his wide-ranging interests in Confucian classics, history, and literature in Yŏnggyŏngjae chŏnjip 硏經齋全集. Yu Tŭkkong 柳得恭 (1748–1807) recorded the seasonal customs of Chosŏn in his compilation Kyŏngdo chapchi 京都雜志. In 1844, Cho Hŭiryong 趙熙龍 (1789–1866) compiled anecdotes about thirty-nine commoner poets in Hosan Oesa 壺山外史. In 1862, Yu Chaegŏn 劉在建 (1793–1880) compiled 248 items and anecdotes of 308 people in Ihang kyŏnmunnok 里鄕見聞錄. Yi Kyŏngmin 李慶民 (1814–1883) compiled anecdotes and bizarre tales of commoners in the two-volume Hŭijo ilsa 熙朝軼事 (published in 1866). In 1922, Chang Chiyŏn 張志淵 (1864–1921) used a mixture of Korean and Chinese characters in his compilation of Ilsa yusa 逸士遺事.
Yu Hŭi 柳僖 (1773–1837), a descendant of a yangban family fallen on hard times, wrote Muntong 文通, which spans over one hundred chapters. In 1819, he wrote “Two Humorous Additions to the Materia Medica” 戱補本艸二條, stating that his writings could not be used as medicine, but rather caused pain and harmed the body. Even so, he could not stop due to his demonic nature. In 1812, he wrote “Preface to the Rogue Hero” 盜俠敍, which anticipated the emergence of chivalrous figures.
There were some aristocratic women and female entertainers who compiled poetry collections, which were sometimes published independently. Kim Kŭmwŏn 金錦園 (1817–1851), the daughter of a concubine of a noble family in Wonju, disguised herself as a man at the age of fourteen in 1830 (the 30th year of King Sunjo’s reign), toured Uirimji Pond 義林池 in Chech’ŏn and the four counties 四郡 of Tanyang, Naegŭmgang, Haegŭmgang, and Sŏraksan Mountain in Inje and recorded a travelogue called Hodong sŏrak ki 湖東西洛記 at the age of 34 in 1850 (the 1st year of King Ch’ŏlchong’s reign).
(2) Although Chosŏn created Han’gŭl in the fifteenth century, it was not actively disseminated due to the customs of literacy and the resistance of the intellectual class. Nevertheless, the royal court undertook projects to organize and translate Buddhist texts into the Korean language. In the late Chosŏn period, handwritten Korean translations of classical Chinese letters, collected works, conduct descriptions, and tomb inscriptions circulated for the perusal of women in the court and noble families. Ch’oe Kyusŏ 崔奎瑞 (1650–1735) wrote “Record of the Deeds of the Deceased Lady Yi, the Righteous and Respectful Wife” 亡室貞敬夫人李氏行錄 in Classical Chinese in 1734, and his great-granddaughter (later the wife of Yun Saguk 尹師國) translated it into Korean as “증조비이부인행록” in 1736 when she was eleven years old. In 1709 (the 35th year of King Sukjong’s reign), Kim Ch’angjip 金昌集 (1648–1722), superintendent of the Office of Interpreters 司譯院提調, completed 오륜전비언해, a Korean translation of Qiu Jun’s 丘濬
Wulun quanbeiji 五倫全備記, which Japanese language interpreter Yu Kŭksin 劉克愼 (1691–?) published in 1721 in an eight-volume, five-book woodblock edition
.
In the late Chosŏn Dynasty, handwritten ŏnhae (Korean vernacular translations) of the Komun jinbo 古文眞寶, Komun baeksŏn 古文百選 compiled by Kim Sŏkchu 金錫胄 (1634–1684), and the first volume of Ming dynasty scholar Yu Jin’s 余進 Shijiusi lue tongkao 十九史略通攷 also emerged. Some Chinese novels and dramas were translated into Korean, and many long Han’gŭl novels of unknown authorship were also created. Around 1840, Nam Yŏngro 南永魯 (1810–1858) wrote Ongnumong 玉樓夢. However, classical Chinese culture greatly influenced the production and dissemination of these Han’gŭl documents, literature, and novels. It is challenging to comprehend the nature of literary works written in Korean without understanding the diverse literary styles of Korean classical Chinese.
Materials for the History of Everyday Culture
(1) Correspondences (kanch’al 簡札), letters, concise literary letters (ch’ŏktok 尺牘)
A significant proportion of the lives of Chosŏn intellectuals was taken up with literary activities such as writing official documents, private poems, and prose. Literary works written for both official and private purposes were commonly referred to collectively as munja 文字. These munja encompassed not only official documents, such as those addressed upwards (to superiors) and downwards (to inferiors) but also personal writings and horizontal exchanges (between equals). Intellectuals considered length and style when writing letters. Sin Chŏngha 申靖夏 (1680–1715) stated that one should use the concise literary letter style (ch’ŏktok 尺牘) of Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi “to speak one’s true feelings and describe mountains and rivers” and the precise letter style of Zhu Xi “to discuss righteousness.” He also said that the concise literary letters of Ouyang Xiu and Su Shi were particularly valuable for “speaking one’s true heart and acting in place of face-to-face encounters.”
On the other hand, Chosŏn intellectuals even attached separate sheets 別紙 to lengthy letters to express political views, engage in academic debates, and make endorsements.
Kanshik yup’yŏn 簡式類編,
Hanhwŏ nch’arok 寒暄箚錄, and
Kallye hwich’an 簡禮彙纂 are examples of letter writing manuals that appeared in the late Chosŏn period. In particular,
Kallye hwich’an compiled formats necessary for greetings during rites of passage. By the late Ming Dynasty, concise literary letters were established as a refined artistic style. In eighteenth-century Chosŏn, this concise style was favored based on the emotional solidarity of poetry societies and groups of enthusiasts. Pak Chega 朴齊家 (1750–1805) stated in his “Preface to the
Paektap ch’ŏngyŏnjip” 白塔淸緣集序 that “poetry and concise literary letters often formed one collection.”
Paektap ch’ŏngyŏnjip was a selection of poems and concise literary letters exchanged between Pak Chiwŏn and Yi Tŏkmu. These concise literary letters provided an occasion to spark the pleasure of oral conversations. Correspondences, letters, and concise literary letters are fundamental materials for understanding the entirety of pre-modern everyday life, political history, and academic history
.
(2) Old Documents
Old documents contain the essence of “the reality of administration,” “the material basis of the lives of the literati,” and “the cultural history of the lives of the common people.” Koreans used idu-style hybrid Korean-style Chinese in government documents of local counties and districts (local official class), civil lawsuits of the aristocratic and noble classes, sales contracts, inheritance and accounting documents, household communication, and royal records (for example, ŭigye 儀軌 and tŭngnok 謄錄). However, as seen earlier, some old documents were also written in ancient-style prose using classical Chinese grammar. Pre-modern Korean scholars spent their lives reading and writing extensively, and their lives were managed by written documents. The author attempted to compile preliminary research on this issue in the book Ŏnŭ Sŏnbi Ŭi Munja Saenghwal. To understand the full meaning and context of these documents, it’s essential to organize them chronologically by government office, Confucian academy, and family.
Connection with Publishing Culture
(1) In Korea, printed books during the Koryŏ Dynasty included woodblock prints, which were produced using printing blocks 版木 (that is, book blocks 冊板), and movable type prints, which were printed with metal or wood movable type. In Koryŏ, where Buddhism was the state religion, large-scale projects to print Buddhist scriptures using woodblocks took place from the tenth to the thirteenth centuries. In the late Koryŏ period, books about poetics 詩學 were printed with woodblocks in Miryang 密陽, Kyŏngsang Province, through the cooperation of local government offices and temples. During the Chosŏn Dynasty, a movable type culture developed with the production of approximately 350 types of movable type in such materials as metal, wood, clay, and ceramics. Movable type was produced not only in Seoul but also around the country by local schools, Confucian academies, temples, clans, and even individuals. However, it was not uncommon in Chosŏn to create movable type editions in major cities around the country and then send them to the surrounding areas or other regions for printing preparation. Additionally, the central government utilized woodblocks when publishing complex texts, which included large-volume books, vernacular translations, reading glosses, and illustrations. After the seventeenth century, woodblock printing technology was mainly used to publish individual collected works. This publishing culture largely focused on classical Chinese originals, and the format and layout varied according to the nature of the original text. During the Chosŏn dynasty, various catalogs were prepared by local government offices or the central government for the planning and execution of book publishing, the distribution of books, and the preservation of printing blocks. However, most of the woodblocks managed by local government offices or the central government in the Chosŏn dynasty were used for publishing books that embodied Confucian ideals. Furthermore, the concept of
panwŏn 版元, referring to the investors in and owners of woodblock production, was not established. Monks from temples were often mobilized to assist with the work of producing woodblocks and paper, as well as printing. In the eighteenth century, King Chŏngjo directly intervened in the methods of book publication. He compiled
Kunsŏ p’yogi 羣書標記, organizing the titles, volume numbers, type of printing block, and annotations for 155 titles and 3,991 volumes of royally approved editions 御定本 and royally commissioned editions 命撰本.
52
(2) A large proportion of pre-modern Korean publications consists of collected works 文集. Although some were printed with movable type by royal command, most were printed with woodblocks by families, academic circles, and temples. In a considerable number of cases, however, they were not published due to the decline of the family, political reasons, or financial limitations. There are also collected works that were prepared by monks, but their number is relatively small. Pre-modern Korean intellectuals sought to uphold the essence of Confucian scholarship, and as such, the scope of their writings was also limited. Still, when compiling collected works, they often selected or discarded poems and prose to highlight the author’s status in the historical lineage of the Way. There are also issues related to compiling information according to style classification and the handling of sentences in hybrid Korean-style Chinese. That is, the collected works of Confucian literary officials generally excluded poems and prose related to Buddhism or Taoism, actively included literary works focused on supporting the successful governance of the dynasty or glorifying the state, and often omitted or abridged works in
idu-style transformed classical Chinese.
53
Beginning in the mid-Chosŏn period, materials from collected works were also utilized along with historical drafts 史草 when compiling the royal annals 實錄 of previous monarchs. Consequently, writings included in the annals were rarely omitted from the collected works. Furthermore, compilers of collected works in the late eighteenth century always reviewed official literature such as Kukcho bogam 國朝寶鑑, Munwŏn bobul 文苑黼黻, Sŭngjŏngwŏn ilgi 承政院日記, and Pibyŏnsa dŭngnok 備邊司謄錄. Similarly, those compiling collected works during the Japanese colonial period could consult the photolithographic edition of the royal annals, virtually eliminating cases of writings from the annals being omitted from collected works. In the early Chosŏn period, however, there were still many cases where writings from the royal annals were omitted from collected works. For example, in 1394 (the 29th day of the 2nd month of the 3rd year of King Taejo’s reign), Chŏng Tojŏn submitted a petition to the throne proposing to reorganize the military system, fearing a military clash with the Ming Dynasty in Liaodong, while reinstating the private maintenance of soldiers by princes and meritorious subjects. In particular, he suggested reorganizing the regional army 府兵 and royal guards 侍衛 and making lower-ranking officers the actual commanders of combat units. Also, on the twenty-second day of the fourth month of the same year, Chŏng Tojŏn submitted a petition 上言 to King T’aejo to summon high-ranking officials daily to discuss state affairs. These writings are not included in the mid-edition of Sambongjip 三峯集, which was produced in the late eighteenth century.
Conclusion
Korean classical Chinese historically used both standard classical Chinese, which conformed to the literary language of Chinese, and hybrid Korean-style Chinese, or mixed idu, depending on the writing system and textual representation. Following the implementation of the civil service examination system during the Koryŏ dynasty, the Korean intellectual class primarily used standard classical Chinese, conforming to the literary language; however, hybrid Korean-style Chinese was used in practical and official documents. In some records, existing literature was revised to adhere to the grammar of classical Chinese. However, there were also areas where the hybrid Korean-style Chinese was prominent. The expressive vocabulary of idu-style hybrid Korean-style Chinese, which was rooted in national culture and Korean grammatical structure, permeated standard Classical Chinese.
When compiling the collected works of deceased scholars or venerable figures during the Chosŏn dynasty, it was common not only to remove
idu from
idu-style documents before including them but also to alter the sentences themselves. The fact that official documents, such as reports and official dispatches, are presented in standard classical Chinese in various collected works of the Chosŏn Dynasty should be seen as a result of abridgment and refinement. A letter from Chŏng Kyŏngse 鄭經世 (1563–1633) to Yu Chin 柳袗 (1582–1635), Yu Sŏngryong’s 柳成龍 (1542–1607) son, reveals that it was common during the Chosŏn Dynasty to remove
idu when compiling the collected works of deceased scholars or venerable figures.
54 In a letter sent to Yi Chun 李埈 (1560–1635), Chŏng Kyŏngse expressed the difficulty of pruning and revision, stating that when attempting to remove
idu from Yu Sŏngryong’s reports and official dispatches, he had found it necessary to substitute other characters in the connecting parts.
55
On the other hand, the state-sponsored literature of statecraft in pre-modern Korea subtly established a hierarchy in classical Chinese writing styles, effectively placing rhymed language, which adhered to prosodic rules and rhyme schemes, at the top. Furthermore, Paekche had already used transformation texts in diplomatic documents in the fifth century and also employed them in the inscription of the “Stele of Sat’aek Chijŏk” 砂宅智積碑 around 654 (the 14th year of King Ŭija’s reign). Just as all imperial edicts, proclamations, memorials, and petitions 詔誥表章 of central courts from the Six Dynasties, through the Tang, Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, and into the early Qing Dynasty used transformation texts, the Chosŏn court also emphasized transformation texts. Moreover, the reading and intellectual class of pre-modern Korea seized literary power by mastering prosodic rules and rhyme schemes to cultivate their literary capabilities. Therefore, they especially respected the parallel prose style, which utilized prosodic rules in its writing. Buddhist monks also demonstrated their ability to produce transformation texts. Pre-modern Korean intellectuals considered it the essence of a writer to be equipped with various styles of classical prose, transformation texts, and verse, and the collected works that were formally edited after their death favored an editorial system that highlighted that intellectual’s comprehensive mastery of various literary styles 衆體具備.
The exchange of poems and responses 唱酬, written conversations, and correspondence between Korean and Chinese intellectuals, as well as between Korean and Japanese intellectuals, vividly reflects the changes in East Asian civilization.
56 Materials on cultural exchange between Korea and China were organized by Kim Pyŏngsŏn 金秉善 (1830–1891) in the
Hwadong ch’angsujip 華東唱酬集.
57 However, the exchange of academic content and emotional exchange in the Sinitic cultural sphere was not homogeneous. Furthermore, just as Korean-style (
idu-style) classical Chinese existed in Chosŏn,
Wakan 和漢 literature and Japanese-influenced classical Chinese were used in Japan, and the writers of the two narrative styles could not understand each other at all.
58 When discussing the relationship between Chinese literature and Korean classical Chinese prose, the inconsistency of models, the independence of rhetorical logic, and the differences in vocabulary usage and chapter composition must be taken into account.
Korean history and culture have developed through the medium of classical Chinese, and Korea has remembered itself through classical Chinese. While performing the function of elevating and enhancing the power of the monarch and the status of the state, it was also utilized in various rituals to recognize shared memory and universal conscience and to confirm group consciousness. In the private sphere, it fulfilled functions such as expressing resistance against foreign powers, elevating territorial awareness, expressing interest in national history, expressing interest in one’s language and literature, fostering an independent consciousness of civilization, and pursuing the imagination, as well as encouraging the rediscovery of national sentiment, marginalized members of the nation, and the nation’s mountains and rivers. Furthermore, going beyond a narrow definition of literariness, classical Chinese was utilized as an important literary style in factual recording, logical development, and scientific research.
Korea’s classical Chinese literary documents can serve as powerful resources when examining the realities of the stratified society, the formation and dissolution of cultural customs, the multi-layered or hierarchical nature of literacy, the construction of information transmission systems, methods of connecting with the external world, and changes in the scope of the national territory. Indeed, a single classical Chinese literary document can often have a surprising number of uses.
Translator: Jinsook Yoo, Academy of Korean Studies
Notes
Table 6.Process, Methods, and Function of Narrative
|
Narrative Process (Genetic Characteristics) |
Reflection |
Realistic depiction and criticism of reality, presentation of prospects, or expression of indifference or feigned indifference |
|
Expression |
Recording, description, argumentation, accounts of others, self-narration, pursuit of literary aesthetics |
|
Narrative Method |
Recording |
Official records and private memoirs |
|
Discourse |
Communicative function |
|
Story |
Intermediate form between report and fiction |
|
Narrative Function |
Monologue |
Autobiographical prose 自傳文 or autobiographical poetry 自敍詩 |
|
Aside or Address |
Anticipation of the reader (or listener) |
|
Consumption |
Various rituals of the government and officialdom and consumption at official banquets and small gatherings |
Table 7.Types and Characteristics of Old Korean Documents in the Jangseogak Archives
|
Category |
Main Materials and Characteristics |
|
Han’gŭl Novels |
Han’gŭl novels in the Naksŏnjae Edition (original creations, adaptations, translations, etc.) |
|
Vernacular Translations |
Vernacular translations of Tongŭi Pogam, Guofeng, Komun Paeksŏn, etc. |
|
Protocols for Royal Rituals |
Documents of royal investiture ceremonies, such as Myŏngsŏngwanghu Sangjon Hook Ch’aekmun
|
|
Inventory Records |
Royal inventories recording various items of the royal household |
|
Han’gŭl Documents |
Documents issued by the royal court and government offices |
Table 8.Contents of the author’s Ŏnŭ Sŏnbi Ŭi Munja Saenghwal (A Scholar’s Literary Life)
|
Chapter 1. Belonging to Family and Lineage |
Milk name 咳名 and given name 本名 |
|
Coming-of-age ceremony 冠禮, congratulatory address 祝言, and courtesy name explanation 字說 |
|
Wedding ceremony 婚禮 |
|
Genealogical register 族譜單子 |
|
Chronological genealogy 家世年譜 |
|
Chapter 2. Elementary Learning 蒙學 and Entering Officialdom 立身 |
Family learning 家學 , school enrollment 就學 , and curriculum 課程 |
|
Linked verse 聯句 and poetry composition 作詩 |
|
Book-washing and wisdom-drinking rite 洗書飮 (rite of imbibing characters 文字飮) |
|
Compositions 做 : process reports 程表 , examination poetry 科詩, examination rhapsodies 科賦, and policy questions 策文 |
|
Announcement of examination results 放榜, grave sweeping and veneration 掃墳, and announcements made to deities 告由 |
|
Chapter 3. Methods of Knowing |
Excerpting 抄錄 and cataloging 目錄 |
|
Phrasing 斷句 , adding grammatical markers and/or particles 懸吐, and adding critical or explanatory notes in the margins 批點 |
|
Scholarly cultivation through note-taking and miscellaneous records |
|
Production of diaries such as diaries of royal lectures, diaries of crown prince lectures, daily notes 日月註, and daily records 日乘 |
|
Compilation of local gazetteers 方志, records of local customs 風土記, and encyclopedias 類書 |
|
Self-compilation of collected works |
|
Chapter 4. Comforting Conversation 寒喧 and Friendly Communion 交驩 |
Correspondence and vernacular letters |
|
Production of travel records 遊記 and albums of grand journeys 壯遊帖 |
|
Production of poem scrolls in linked verse |
|
Harmonizing rhymes 和韻 and dividing rhymes 分韻 |
|
Dedicatory poems 贈詩 and prefaces 贈序 |
|
Production of inscriptions 銘 and records 記 |
|
Elegies 挽章 and offerings 祭文 |
|
Beam-raising blessings |
|
Chapter 5. Practical and Official Documents |
Public notices 通文 |
|
Memorials to the throne 上疏 and joint memorials 聯疏 |
|
Communications 啓言 and reports 狀啓 |
|
Official dispatches 公移 and legal verdicts 判 |
|
Civil petitions 所志 |
|
Documents on the reclamation rights of fallow land |
|
Agreements 明文 on the sale, redemption, and return of land, houses, and slaves |
|
Chapter 6. Inheriting Wills and Narrating Events |
Records of estate distribution 分財/分衿 and agreements 明文 |
|
Keeping account books 置簿 |
|
Land documents |
|
Slave documents |
|
Organizing and publishing extant writings and family-stored manuscripts |
|
Chapter 7. Records and Reflections on Life |
Record of one’s late father’s deeds 先父君事狀 , remembrances of one’s late mother 先妣遺事 , and epitaph for an infant 乳兒壙銘 |
|
Conduct descriptions, reports for posthumous appellations 諡狀, chronological biographies, and tomb inscriptions for others |
|
Biographies 傳 of recluses 逸士 |
|
Production of style name explanations 號說, autobiographical prefaces 自序, and self-authored epitaphs for burial 自撰墓誌銘 |
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