Fó (佛), Pwuche (仏体), and Hotoke (保止氣)

The aim of this article is to discuss how the Chinese loanword fó (佛) was incorporated into pre-Old Korean (pre-OK), Old Korean (OK), and Western Old Japanese (WOJ) on the basis of textual research using various primary sources from China, Korea, and Japan. The author proposes that two routes exist to explain the borrowing of the Chinese word fó (佛) into pre-OK, OK, and WOJ: one route from the Six Dynasties to the Korean Three Kingdoms period to Japan's pre-Nara period, and one from the Sui and Tang dynasties to the Unified Silla and Koryŏ periods.

Time Difference in the Social Transformation of China and Korea: A Case Study of Water-Moon Avalokiteśvara Paintings of the Song and Yuan Dynasties and the Koryŏ Dynasty

The Water-Moon form of Avalokiteśvara arose in China during the process of nativization of Buddhism in Tang China. Extant images of Water-Moon Avalokiteśvara tend to have been painted in either China or Korea, but there is an odd dislocation in the changes of style, with the colorful Koryŏ dynasty images paralleling not contemporary Song trends but rather those from hundreds of years earlier. That this effect might simply be a delay caused by geographical distance seems unlikely given the active cultural exchange between the two realms. Dramatic changes occurred in the Tang-Song era, including the rise of plebeian culture and Zen Buddhism. This carried over to a more minimalist style of art in China. Meanwhile, in Koryŏ, Buddhism continued to receive royal sponsorship and remain influential. This article argues that the differences in images and techniques between Koryŏ and Song-Yuan paintings of Water-Moon Avalokiteśvara were caused by the time difference in the social transformations of China and Korea.

Turning Songs into Poems and Poems into Songs: Intersections of Literary Sinitic and Vernacular Korean in Chosŏn Literature

This article investigates the dynamic intersections of Literary Sinitic and vernacular Korean and their impact on the innovations in poetry and song in fifteenth- through nineteenth-century Chosŏn Korea. More specifically, it traces the evolution of poetry or song discourse and explores the different strategies employed by Chosŏn poets and songwriters to render oral songs into text. It also investigates the differing views on the function of poetry and song, musical and textual preservation, and emotional and lyrical immediacy, which influenced the composition and translation of song-poems. The article probes the creative collaboration and competition between Literary Sinitic and vernacular Korean, and the fluid relations between translation and vernacularization. On the whole, it explores the ways in which the evolution of poetry-song discourse and the ensuing literary innovations contributed to Chosŏn's complex linguistic ecology.

Play a Trick and Get a Queen: “Divine Tricksters” in Ancient Korea (and Beyond)

The issue of trickster in old Korean literature has yet to be discussed in a broadly comparative way in a scientific context. Using a structuralist approach, this article addresses the anthropological theme of the “divine trickster” in some stories from ancient Korea and the ancient West. In particular, by examining three famous episodes from Korean folklore alongside three cases from Western fantastic literature, this article investigates the strategies aimed at acquiring the feminine element as represented by high-ranking foreign women. Starting with the hunting mentality of prehistoric society, where man tries to prevail with intelligence over his prey, the article reviews literary episodes from different anthropological contexts (Indo-European societies, Semitic societies of the Near East, and ancient Korean society), underlining their similarities and differences, but always highlighting and emphasizing the presence of a divine trickster. Ultimately, together with the common denominator of the progressive masculinization of the various societies, we note a more passive role of women in the Korean stories, which appear to be of more recent codification than their Western counterparts, and therefore seem more inspired by cultural patterns of patriarchal orientation.

The Learning of the Mind as an Ideological Movement: Probing the Historical Origins of the School of Wang Yangming

As an influential scholar, the Ming 明 Neo-Confucian master Wang Yangming 王陽明 (1472–1529) was also active in the political world. While showing philosophical ingenuity, Wang launched an ideological movement which reached beyond Neo-Confucian discourse and into the social and political spheres. By promoting his xinxue 心學 teachings, Wang aimed to change Ming political life through fostering a moral retrenchment among future officials. To achieve his goals, Wang Yangming implemented several strategies, such as turning to humble local literati for a following, teaching them as a sitting official, and supporting nonofficial academies with his political power. These strategies succeeded to some extent, in part because the Ming court had relaxed the ideological intolerance of the early Ming. The real-world background of Wang Yangming's success can be further explored by comparing Wang with his two predecessors, Xue Xuan 薛瑄 (1389–1464) and Wu Yubi 吳與弼 (1391–1469).

Where Is North?

We take the cardinal directions for granted, but they are social constructs. Directionality is relative to how we locate central points, and these choices reflect a sense of direction in a society. This article illustrates how the notion of “center” changed in Korean society by comparing land registers of the Korean Empire (1897–1910) and the Japanese colonial period (1910–45). The colonial government prioritized mapping with scale, contours, and cardinal directions. As a result, the entire country was mapped to conform to a procrustean order. By contrast, there had been no cadastral map for centuries prior. Instead, the location of each parcel was described in textual information with four cardinal points. The author argues that fundamental difference between the two notions of “center” lay in the consciousness of the relationship between the human and the natural. The difference was expressed through the contrast in their respective conformity and flexibility, standardization and diversity.

Meritorious Heroes

This study explores the allegorical usage of hawk painting to praise a hero with meritorious deeds in Yuan China (1271–1368) and early Chosŏn Korea (1392–1910). Through an analysis of Yuan-dynasty poems inscribed on hawk paintings, this article demonstrates that paintings of a hawk sitting still on a tree in the woods conveyed the allegory of a hero subduing wily beings, such as rabbits and foxes. Moreover, Yuan paintings of a hawk and a bear (yingxiong 鷹熊) employed a Chinese rebus and represented the animals as heroes, comparing them to historical heroic and loyal figures. This article then turns to Chosŏn Korea, where two types of hawk paintings reflected the Korean reception of Yuan counterparts. One was the painting of a hawk sitting still, which indicated the hero's readiness for future achievements. Another, with the motif of a rabbit caught in the hawk's talons, emphasized the hero's successful achievements and gained popularity through the late Chosŏn dynasty. The Chinese and Korean allegories of heroic contributions emerged in response to complicated politics, as the Yuan government comprised multiple ethnic groups and the early Ming and early Chosŏn were newly established after the fall of previous dynasties. For the same reason, the hawk-hero allegory began to lose its relevance over time, and hawk paintings came to take on rather mundane meanings.