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12 - Chosŏn poetry in Chinese
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- By Kim Hŭnggyu, Professor of Korean Literature and Director of the Institute of Korean Culture Korea University
- Edited by Peter H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
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- Book:
- A History of Korean Literature
- Published online:
- 22 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 18 December 2003, pp 250-260
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Summary
In the Chosŏn dynasty the members of the scholar–official class continued to occupy the dominant ruling position they had held during the Koryŏ period. Based on their Confucian knowledge and refinement, these literati enjoyed cultural superiority. As the civil service examinations emphasized literary talents, they led to a development of literature and produced excellent poets who wrote in literary Chinese. A member of the scholar–official class was a government functionary when in office and a writer when out of service. This lifestyle led to two distinct characteristics in their literary works: one was a courtier literature comprising, for example, diplomatic documents; the other was a literature of retired gentlemen who sang of leisure and joy in nature.
THE POETIC WORLD OF EARLY CHOSŎN
The representative literary figures of early Chosŏn are Chŏng Tojŏn (d. 1398) and Sŏ Kŏjŏng (1420–1488). Chŏng Tojŏn was an influential official who helped Yi Sŏnggye (1392–1398) found the Chosŏn dynasty and was directly involved in formulating its institutions and policies. Chŏng's poetry shows both a critical consciousness of social problems and the determination of a scholar–official who entered the political stage in late Koryŏ with a mission to reform society. We note especially his works that concern the Confucian kingship, the ideology of the scholar–officials, and the solidarity of his Confucian colleagues. The vigorous and progressive spirit of Chŏng's poems derives from his sense of mission.
16 - Folk drama
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- By Kim Hŭnggyu, Professor of Korean Literature and Director of the Institute of Korean Culture Korea University
- Edited by Peter H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
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- Book:
- A History of Korean Literature
- Published online:
- 22 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 18 December 2003, pp 303-315
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Summary
Korean traditional plays include mask dance and puppet plays, as well as the Tŏtboegi (mask play) and Palt'al (“foot mask”) of the roving troupes. All are folk plays transmitted without written scripts by performing troupes of lower-class origin without the help of professional writers. Folk plays did not always belong to the lower-class performers, however.
Although there is not enough evidence to draw definite conclusions, it appears that performing arts similar to theater plays existed from the Three Kingdoms period to the end of Unified Silla. It also appears that such plays were based on ancient agricultural ceremonies and performing arts designed for Buddhist missionary works. According to “Song of Ch'ŏyong” (a Silla song), and the related record of the myth, the struggle between the magical protagonist Ch'ŏyong and the demon of pestilence was performed as a ceremonial play.
In the late Koryŏ period of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries, as performances at court flourished, song-and-dance plays became one of the main performing arts. One can point to “The Turkish Bakery” as an example with distinct characteristics of a theatrical play. This song, produced during the reign of King Ch'ungnyŏl (1275–1308), tells of a number of women's affairs with a Muslim, a monk, a dragon, and a tavern owner, through song and dance. History records that such song-and-dance plays were popular at court during the late Koryŏ period.
During the Chosŏn period, however, traditional plays declined under the restrictions imposed by Confucian ideology.
13 - Chosŏn fiction in Chinese
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- By Kim Hŭnggyu, Professor of Korean Literature and Director of the Institute of Korean Culture Korea University
- Edited by Peter H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
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- Book:
- A History of Korean Literature
- Published online:
- 22 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 18 December 2003, pp 261-272
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Summary
Until the advent of the Korean alphabet (hangŭl) in the fifteenth century, Korean literature relied either on oral transmission or on the universal written language of East Asia: literary Chinese. The earliest Korean classical fiction, Kŭmo sinhwa (New Stories from Gold Turtle Mountain), was written by Kim Sisŭp (1435–1493) in Chinese. After the alphabet was promulgated, it remained chiefly the language of expression for men of the lower classes and upper-class women, while literary Chinese retained its privileged position as the language of high literature among the literati. Though the use of the alphabet did gradually percolate through most social strata, the situation did not change fundamentally until the end of the nineteenth century. Fiction written in literary Chinese occupies an important place in the history of premodern Korean fiction. In this chapter we will discover why the first Korean fiction was written in literary Chinese and why fiction in the vernacular would have a prevailing influence after the seventeenth century.
The origins and trajectories of fiction in Chinese have been diverse. They include chuanqi (tales of wonder, romances) along the line of Tang tales of wonder, biographical fiction incorporating factual biographies with narrative elements, and unofficial historical fiction written on the basis of well-known stories in the urban areas. While these stories were brief, full-length fiction appeared after the Kuun mong (Dream of Nine Clouds) at the end of the seventeenth century by Kim Manjung (1637–1692) and Ch'angsŏn kamŭi rok (Showing Goodness and Stirred by Righteousness) by Cho Sŏnggi (1638–1689), though some suggest they were originally written in Korean.
15 - P'ansori
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- By Kim Hŭnggyu, Professor of Korean Literature and Director of the Institute of Korean Culture Korea University
- Edited by Peter H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
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- Book:
- A History of Korean Literature
- Published online:
- 22 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 18 December 2003, pp 288-302
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Summary
P'ansori is an oral narrative that has been cherished by Koreans ever since its inception in the seventeenth century. A highly sophisticated genre that demonstrates diverse Korean musical forms, it is at the same time a form of oral narrative that weaves together an array of characters and events using both verse and prose. Traditionally p'ansori was sung by performers known as kwangdae in rural villages or marketplaces. Sometimes the kwangdae were invited to perform at banquets hosted by the literati and wealthy patrons, too. Their talent was for hire.
P'ansori is deeply rooted in popular art. Unlike mask dance or folk songs, however, it possesses depth and versatility and embraces a much larger and more diverse audience. It includes the use of extreme comic expression, witticisms that make the audience burst into laughter, and the caricature of Confucian ideas and taboos. Furthermore, it uses tragic language that touches the soul and expresses the dark side of life. At the heart of p'ansori one finds the vivacious language of the common people combined with a simple grace.
P'ansori performance is remarkably simple. It requires only two performers: a singer (kwangdae) and a drummer (kosu). The singer stands on a straw mat and the drummer sits two or three meters in front of him facing the singer (or occasionally to the side). As the singer sings, the drummer beats the drum to accompany him. Apart from the singer and the drummer, no other special equipment or assistance is necessary.
14 - Chosŏn fiction in Korean
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- By Kim Hŭnggyu, Professor of Korean Literature and Director of the Institute of Korean Culture Korea University, Peter H. Lee, Professor of Korean and Comparative Literature University of California, Los Angeles
- Edited by Peter H. Lee, University of California, Los Angeles
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- Book:
- A History of Korean Literature
- Published online:
- 22 September 2009
- Print publication:
- 18 December 2003, pp 273-287
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Summary
Vernacular fiction appeared in the seventeenth century with Hong Kiltong chŏn (Tale of Hong Kiltong) by Hŏ Kyun (1569–1618) about a century after Kim Sisŭp (1435–1493) had written New Stories from Gold Turtle Mountain. Kim Manjung's (1637–1692) Dream of Nine Clouds and Record of Lady Sa's Journey South, Cho Sŏnggi's (1638–1689) Showing Goodness and Stirred by Righteousness, and others followed between the late seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. It is still unclear whether the first and last of these three were originally written in Chinese or in Korean. One assumes that Kim and Cho wrote in Korean from the fact that they wrote for their mothers, who enjoyed reading vernacular fiction. As Kim's and Cho's works circulated in Chinese and Korean versions immediately upon completion, they acquired a vast readership.
THE FOUNDING OF VERNACULAR FICTION
Why were such works of quality, works that would influence the fiction of later generations, produced at this time? First we may cite the new social reality that obtained after the Japanese and Manchu invasions and a new literary environment: a great number of commoners, the main consumers of vernacular fiction, demanded a literary form corresponding to contemporary reality. Vernacular fiction began as the new literary activity of certain members of the ruling elite who discerned the social contradictions of late Chosŏn society and felt the need to express them.