Preeminent scholar and translator David R. Mc Cann presents an anthology of his own translations of works ranging across the major genres and authors of Korean writing—stories, legends, poems, historical vignettes, and other works—and a set of critical essays on major themes.
A brief history of traditional Korean literature orients the reader to the historical context of the writings, thus bringing into focus this rich literary tradition. The anthology of translations begins with the Samguk sagi, or History of the Three Kingdoms, written in 1145, and ends with ‘The Story of Master Hô, ‘ written in the late 1700s. Three exploratory essays of particular subtlety and lucidity raise interpretive and comparative issues that provide a creative, sophisticated framework for approaching the selections.
Table of Content
Preface
A Brief History of Korean Literature to the Nineteenth Century
Part 1: An Anthology of Korean Literature
The ‘Samguk sagi'(1145)
‘Song of the Oriole”
The ‘Samguk yusa’ (1285)
Book 1: Tan’gun (‘Ancient Chosìn’)
Book 2: The Story of Lady Suro
Book 2: Ch’ìyong and Manghae Temple
Book 2: King Mu
Koryì Songs
‘Would You Go?”
‘Song of Green Mountains”
History as Literature: The Political and Cultural Transition from Koryì to Chosìn
The ‘Sijo’ Exchange Between Yi Pang-wìn and Chìng Mong-ju
The ‘Koryìsa’: The ‘History of Koryì’
Book 2: The Ten Injunctions and the Death of Wang Kìn
Book 117: Biographies: Chìng Mong-ju
‘Song of the Dragons Flying to Heaven’
Early Chosìn (1392–1598)
‘Sijo’
‘Sijo’ Songs
‘Song of the Five Friends” by Yun Sìn-do
‘Sijo’ by Chìng Ch’ìl
‘Sijo’ Ascribed to ‘Kisaeng’
‘Kasa’
‘Song to Spring” by Chìng Kñg-in
‘Song of Longing” by Chìng Ch’ìl
‘Song of a Humble Life” by Pak Il-lo
‘Married Sorrow” by Hì Nansìrhìn
‘Hanmun’: Poems and Prose in Chinese
‘Hansi’ by Yi Kyu-bo and Others
‘Hansi’ by Hì Nansìrhìn
‘Hansi’ by Lady Chìng and Other Women
‘The Story of Master Hì” by Pak Chi-wìn
Part 2: Negotiations in Korean Literary Culture
Introduction
The Story of Ch’ìyong: A Parable of Literary Negotiation
Song of the Dragons Flying to Heaven: Negotiating History
Performance and Korean ‘Sijo’ Verse: Negotiating Difference
Conclusion
About the author
David R. Mc Cann is Korea Foundation Professor of Korean Literature in the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations at Harvard University. His publications includeSelected Poems of Sô Chôngju and
Form and Freedom in Korean Poetry.
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